The Destin Sharks will venture away from home to square off against the Bozeman Bucks at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Destin is coming into the matchup on a five-game losing streak.
Destin's offense might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Pensacola Catholic on Friday. They took a blow against the Crusaders, falling 45-0. While losing is never fun, the Sharks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 433rd, while the Crusaders are ranked 107th).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bozeman). They walked away with a 33-20 win over Port St. Joe last Friday. The Bucks haven't had any issues with the Tiger Sharks recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Destin better keep an eye on Hayden Gay. He was instrumental in Bozeman's win, throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes, while also rushing for 35 yards and one score. Gay's passing game has become a key predictor of the Bucks' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 0-3 otherwise. Bozeman also got a significant boost from Melvin Monds, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 84 yards.
One reason for the win was Bozeman's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Brayden Spence, Lincoln Young, and Blake Durham, who each picked up one sack apiece. Another thorn in Port St. Joe's side was John Hanson, who forced one fumble and made 14 total tackles (2.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception.
Destin's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Bozeman, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
Destin skirted past Bozeman 24-21 when the teams last played back in October of 2024. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Bucks' Kalib Williams, who rushed for 76 yards and one TD, and also caught one touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for the Sharks to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
