After both having extra time off, the Gulf Coast Sharks and the West Broward Bobcats will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
West Broward is hoping to do what Barron Collier couldn't last Friday: put an end to Gulf Coast's winning streak, which now stands at five games. Gulf Coast blew past Barron Collier 51-26. The Sharks pushed the score to 45-18 by the end of the third, a deficit the Cougars cut but never quite recovered from.
Javien Altine continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 329 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 16.5 yards per carry. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 129 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Jace Seyler, who threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes.
Gulf Coast didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kingston Green and Makly Lormil. Armando Estrada was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 13 total tackles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Gulf Coast was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 497 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, West Broward got themselves on the board against Everglades back in September, but Everglades never followed suit. They blew past the Gators 48-0 on the road. That 48 point margin sets a new team best for the Bobcats this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to West Broward's defense and their 13 sacks. Evan Padron led the group effort, picking up seven of those sacks all by himself. Tristan Lewis also sacked two sacks, which is notable because West Broward is undefeated when he posts at least two sacks, but 1-2 otherwise.
Gulf Coast's victory bumped their record up to 5-2. As for West Broward, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 4-2.
Friday's match might be decided in the on the ground. Gulf Coast has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 231.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like West Broward struggles in that department as they've been averaging 218.2. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Gulf Coast came out on top in a nail-biter against West Broward when the teams last played back in October of 2023, sneaking past 21-19. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was West Broward's Jonathan Morillo, who threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.3 yards per attempt. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Gulf Coast to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
