It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact the Palmetto Tigers can now relate to. They were beaten by Riverview Sarasota 49-20 on Friday. Palmetto was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 35-13.
Palmetto's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performance. Perhaps the best among them was Clayton Dees, who threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 11.2 yards per attempt. Rok Lodge was another key contributor, picking up 101 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Riverview Sarasota to victory, but perhaps none more so than Braxton Thomas, who rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, and also threw for 111 yards and two touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes. Riverview Sarasota also got a significant boost from Isaiah Belt, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 141 yards.
Palmetto has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season. As for Riverview Sarasota, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-4.
Palmetto does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Riverview Sarasota will head out on the road to face off against Manatee at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Manatee is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune.
