A victory for East Lake just wasn't in the cards on Friday as the team wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They came up short against the Clearwater Tornadoes, falling 35-14. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 228th, while the Tornadoes are ranked 74th).
East Lake's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Brian Ford, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries, and Will Mirabella, who gained 166 total yards. Ford got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 92 yards.
Clearwater's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaylen White led the charge by rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Jerry Drain, who rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
This is the second loss in a row for East Lake and nudges their season record down to 1-6. As for Clearwater, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 5-3.
East Lake has already played their next game, a 21-17 defeat against Largo on the 25th. As for Clearwater, they also didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next match, a 49-6 victory against River Ridge on the 21st.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
