Gulf Coast gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Friday. They walked away with a 26-16 win over the Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons. This was payback for the Sharks, who suffered a 27-6 loss the last time these two teams met.
Julian Rodriguez
| 08/22/25 vs Charlotte | 131.3 |
| 10/18/24 vs West Broward | 118.2 |
| 08/30/24 @ Bartow | 46.8 |
| 10/25/24 @ Immokalee | 39.6 |
| 08/23/24 @ Charlotte | 6.3 |
Gulf Coast's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Julian Rodriguez, who rushed for 41 yards and two TDs, and also picked up 44 receiving yards. The dominant performance also gave Rodriguez a new career-high in passer rating (131.3). Gio Marenco helped out on the ground, rushing for 107 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Gulf Coast's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Rodriguez and Javien Altine, who racked up four sacks between them. Gulf Coast got some further help from Cooper Price: he picked up a sack, made five total tackles (2.0 for loss), and defended one pass.
Coming up, Gulf Coast will host Bartow at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Charlotte, they are taking a road trip to face off against North Port at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
