Pine Ridge lost against New Smyrna Beach back in October of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Panthers took a 28-14 bruising from the Barracudas. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 414th, while the Barracudas are ranked 205th).
Despite the loss, Pine Ridge still got an impressive performance from Deandre Weston, who rushed for 79 yards and one TD on only nine carries, and also threw for 110 yards on five of 12 attempts. Weston really tore up the turf during one magnificent 79-yard run.
New Smyrna Beach's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Cole Engler led the charge by rushing for 186 yards and three scores while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Those three rushing touchdowns gave Engler a new career-high. Jace Payne helped out on the ground, rushing for 122 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
This is the second loss in a row for Pine Ridge and nudges their season record down to 2-6. As for New Smyrna Beach, their record is now 5-2.
We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Pine Ridge is set to challenge their familiar foe Rockledge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, New Smyrna Beach will square off against rival Deltona at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
