The Pasco Pirates will head out to square off against the Hernando Leopards at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Pasco hasn't scored more than 12 points for five games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.
Pasco is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were beaten by Zephyrhills 49-12 on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 430th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 74th).
Although Pasco took the loss, they still got scores from Sage Stinyard and Matthew Cloversettle.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Hernando, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They never let Central get on the board and left with a 13-0 victory on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Leopards in their matchups with the Bears: they've now won six in a row.
Hernando's win came from a few key players Pasco will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Michael Saltsman, who rushed for eight yards and a pair of touchdowns. What's more, he posted two rushing touchdowns, the most he's had since back in October of 2024.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Hernando proved: they limited Central to a paltry zero yards per carry. The team can thank Mason Pauliot for the heroic effort on defense: he. Hernando didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 6.2.
Hernando's defense also made the game a nightmare for Niko Demos, racking up 7.5 sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Michael Brown and Caleb Williams, who racked up seven sacks between them.
Hernando now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Pasco, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
Pasco ended up a good deal behind Hernando in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, losing 28-13. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
