Football Game Preview: IMG Academy Junior National Ascenders vs. Riverview Sarasota Rams

The IMG Academy Junior National Ascenders are taking a road trip to challenge the Riverview Sarasota Rams at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.

IMG Academy Junior National's defense heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They claimed a resounding 41-0 win over Oasis. That 41 point margin sets a new team best for the Ascenders this season.

Nolan Downes

Passing Touchdowns

09/26/25 @ Oasis	4
09/12/25 vs Varsity Opponent	4
08/22/25 @ Neumann	3
09/19/25 @ Manatee	2
08/29/25 @ Key West	2

A big part of IMG Academy Junior National's victory came down to the chemistry between Nolan Downes and his top target Deno Dalacas. Downes threw for 182 yards and four TDs while Dalacas picked up 124 receiving yards and three scores. Downes is becoming a predictor of IMG Academy Junior National's success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't). Savyan Alteon Senat handled things on the ground, rushing for 80 yards.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Riverview Sarasota). They took their game on Friday with ease, bagging a 56-20 win over Sarasota. The victory was nothing new for the Rams as they're now sitting on five straight.

IMG Academy Junior National better keep an eye on Isaiah Belt. He was instrumental in Riverview Sarasota's win, rushing for 188 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.0 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Belt is now averaging an impressive 106.7 rushing yards per game.

Riverview Sarasota was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 486 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 167 rushing yards in five consecutive matchups.

Riverview Sarasota didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Leroy Minnis and Snead Tyree.

IMG Academy Junior National's record is now 4-2. As for Riverview Sarasota, their record now sits at 5-0-1.