After flying high against Lake Region last Thursday, Winter Haven came back down to earth. The Winter Haven Blue Devils lost 34-14 to the Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish on Friday. While losing is never fun, the Blue Devils can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 188th in Florida, while the Fighting Irish are ranked 24th in Tennessee).
When it comes to explaining why Winter Haven lost, don't look at John Kostuch. Despite the final result, he rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 45 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in rushing yards.
Winter Haven wouldn't let Knoxville Catholic keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Winter Haven can thank Micah Mcdaniel and Vario Mcbride for forcing both of them. Mcdaniel also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making four total tackles.
Knoxville Catholic got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Tyreek King out in front who picked up 61 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Mack Bartholomew was another key player, throwing for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
Winter Haven now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Knoxville Catholic, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-0.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Winter Haven will square off against Lakeland at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Knoxville Catholic, they will play host again on Friday to welcome Ensworth, where kickoff is scheduled. Ensworth has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 121 points over their last three games.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
