On Friday, Venice faced Clearwater Central Catholic in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Venice Indians came out on top against the Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders by a score of 27-20.
Gata Wilder was his usual excellent self, rushing for 265 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.6 yards per carry. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 71-yard run. Malakai Corbett did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 100 receiving yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Venice's defense and their 3.5 sacks. In that department, Asharri Charles was the leader with 2.5. Another thorn in Clearwater Central Catholic's side was Landon Marsters, who picked up 0.5 sacks and made 17 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Clearwater Central Catholic's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jershaun Newton, who rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 167 yards on 11 of 18 attempts. Sean Cuono also helped out as he racked up 112 rushing yards.
Venice's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, the loss snapped their winning streak at seven games and leaves them with a 7-1 record.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Venice will square off against Sarasota at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Venice is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.7 points per game this season. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, they will face off against St. Frances Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. St. Frances Academy will roll in looking for their fourth straight win, something Clearwater Central Catholic surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
