Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but unfortunately for the Manatee Hurricanes, they weren't the ones who walked away with it. They fell to the Rams 35-30. Manatee has struggled against Riverview Sarasota recently, as their match on Friday was their sixth consecutive lost matchup.
When it comes to explaining why Manatee lost, one person who can't be blamed is Andrew Heidel. Despite the final result, he threw for 287 yards and a touchdown while completing 73% of his passes, and also punched in a rushing scores. The team also got some help courtesy of Bonshavior Bean Jr., who picked up 94 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Riverview Sarasota was led to victory by Braxton Thomas and Dj Johnson. Thomas rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, while Johnson rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Johnson was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 65 yards.
Manatee's loss dropped their record down to 9-3. As for Riverview Sarasota, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 8-4.
Manatee does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Riverview Sarasota will head out on the road to face off against Venice at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Venice's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last ten matchups.
