The New Smyrna Beach Barracudas will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the University Titans at 7:30 p.m. on November 10th. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, New Smyrna Beach was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 45-41 to Leon.
New Smyrna Beach's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Armoni Spurlock, who gained 299 total yards and three touchdowns, and Elijah Rooney who rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Spurlock's longest rush was for an incredible 81 yards.
Even if they lost, New Smyrna Beach's defensive line sure didn't make it easy: Leon's QB was sacked four times before it was all said and done. The heavy lifting was done by Kyle Nilsson and Omahri Meeks who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, University stacked a sixth blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They didn't even let Deltona onto the board and left with a 41-0 win. Given University's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 54th, while Deltona is ranked 375th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead University to victory, but perhaps none more so than Isaiah Baker, who picked up 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Jabailey Morris also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
New Smyrna Beach has yet to win a contest on the road this season, leaving them with a 6-4 record. The slump could be explained by some tough opposition over that stretch, namely Leon, DeLand, and Spruce Creek. As for University, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: New Smyrna Beach has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 165 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like University struggles in that department as they've been even better at 169.2 per game. It's looking like Friday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches. Come back here after the game to get analysis of the match and other football content.
New Smyrna Beach took a serious blow against University when the teams last played back in September, falling 41-7. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of University's Malachi Walters, who threw for 184 yards and four touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes. Now that New Smyrna Beach knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
