District Dive – Area battles continue in Week 8

Rick Cantor
Staff writer

With wholesale changes in Florida High School Athletic Association classifications in 2022, the need to win a district to advance to the playoffs is more important than ever.

In the FHSAA’s new 2M-4M and 2S-4S classifications, playoff fields will be made up of 32 teams in each class, with eight qualifiers in each region. These qualifiers will include four district champions and four at large teams, with each team seeded Nos. 1-8 based on the final FHSAA Power Rankings.

In 1M and 1S, playoff fields will be made up of 16 teams in each class. The teams will consist of two FHSAA District Champions and the next two at-large teams based on FHSAA Power Rankings advancing to the region bracket.

In Hillsborough County, all teams compete in the “M” or Metro classification, and most district games are played in Weeks 6, 8, and 10.

As we enter Week 8 and gear up for each team’s second district contest, here is a look at the matchups and standings for five of the 10 districts that include 813 teams – and we will highlight the other five prior to Week 10’s games.

Check out where we will be for our Week 8 Game of the Week by clicking here.

Class 4M-District 7

After losing its first four games of the season, Plant City (2-4, 1-0) has been impressive in its last two outings, as first year coach Michael Clayton and his Raiders have picked up victories against Hillsborough and a district win versus Alonso. If Plant City can keep up the momentum, it will be in a good position to win the district. That won’t be easy on the road in the hostile environment of Dad’s Stadium and facing a Plant (5-2, 1-0) team quietly off to its best start since 2018, when the two square up tonight. That 2018 Plant teams was also the year of the Panthers last district title, and a win against the Raiders would move coach Hank Brown one step closer to his first playoff appearance, and move Plant a step closer to their previous seat atop the 813 mountain.

Both Strawberry Crest (5-2, 0-1) and Alonso (5-2, 0-1) are vastly improved over recent years, a credit to the foundation laid by Chargers head coach Philip Prior and Ravens head coach Hayden Cantrell. One of these teams will be eliminated from district contention with a loss. Something has to give as Crest comes in allowing just over seven points per game, while the high-flying Ravens average over 30 points-per-game.

Players to watch: Plant City RB Jaden McCants has 228 yards on the ground this season and four rushing touchdowns; Plant sophomore RB Waltez Clark is averaging over 10 yards-per-carry, with 13 touchdowns on the ground; Strawberry Crest DE Quintin Walker has six sacks and 31 tackles – including a three-sack game against Spoto; Ravens sophomore QB Terrell Russell Jr. has thrown for 1,255 yards and 14 TD, while Josh Andrews leads a ground attack with 858 yards and nine scores.

Class 4M-District 6

This district consisting of two Hillsborough and two Pinellas County teams featured one of the wildest games of the season in Tampa Bay, as East Lake came from behind and defeated Steinbrenner 55-54 in Week 6. Rather than deflate the Warriors, the loss seemed to motivate head coach Andres Perez’ squad and the results were an eye-opening 22-14 win against Armwood. Steinbrenner (3-3,0-1) will try to stay alive for the district title against Palm Harbor University (4-2,1-0) team that has already matched its win total from last year.

Sickles (1-6, 0-1) would be doing their north Hillsborough neighbors a solid if they could upset the East Lake (5-1, 1-0), however it will be a challenge versus an Eagles squad averaging just under 38 points-per-game this season.

Players to watch: Senior Kirby Vorhees has scored 11 touchdowns this season for Steinbrenner, with 700 yards on the ground, pushing him to 2,282 career rushing yards for the Warriors; Palm Harbor LB/RB Gunner Fodor leads the Hurricanes with 51 tackles and is tied for the team lead with five touchdowns; Sickles senior Erich Raymond has 4 1/2 sacks and 46 tackles, while junior LB Rufus Ferguson has a team-leading 76 tackles; senior Caleb Coburn has been all over the stat sheet for East Lake with nine passing touchdowns, nine rushing scores, 32 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks for the Eagles.

Class 3M-District 5

Don’t let the records fool you, both Jesuit (3-3, 1-0) and Gaither (3-3, 1-0) are good football teams who have had their share of challenges in 2022. The winner of this matchup in Northdale could very well determine the 3M- 5 champion. The Tigers have played one of the more difficult schedules in the county and have had the added challenge of breaking in freshman quarterback Will Griffin after the transfer of Luke Knight after Week 2.  Perhaps no team has dealt with the injuries to key players as much as Kirk Karsen’s Gaither squad has, but the Cowboys have persevered and a tight win against Hillsborough has Gaither in contention.

Speaking of the Terriers, head coach Earl Garcia’s team will look to get back on track versus Leto (2-5, 0-1). Hillsborough (2-4, 0-1) has the chance to play spoiler in a later season schedule which includes Newsome, Jesuit, and Wharton.

Players to watch: Senior RB Joquez Smith continues to build his impressive legacy at Jesuit, so far amassing 756 yards rushing and nine scores as he approaches 4,500 career rushing yards; sophomore DT Antonio Henley leads Gaither’s defense with seven sacks and 32 tackles on the year; Hillsborough senior LB Ekyri Williams is averaging 11 tackles-per-game.

Class 2M-District 5

The four teams in this district come into Friday night with a combined 5-20 record, with Middleton (3-3, 1-0) showing as the best of the bunch, as the Tigers come in with a two-game winning streak including a nice win over Strawberry Crest last week. The Tigers take on Brandon (1-5, 0-1), which celebrated its first win since 2018 with a Week 4 victory over Freedom.

King (1-6, 1-0) knocked off Brandon two weeks ago and went toe-to-toe with a six-win Blake team last Friday before falling 15-7. A win over Chamberlain (0-6, 0-1), it would set up a winner take all Week 10 matchup between the Lions and Tigers.

Players to watch: Senior RB Jyheem Norton has scored five times for Middleton, with 402 all-purpose yards; King RB Kyle Stewart has 257 yards rushing – including a 98-yard game in the Lions win against Brandon; Chamberlain senior Freddie Adams has seven catches on the season, averaging 15.7 yards-per-catch.

Class 2M-District 7

Berkeley Prep (3-3, 0-1) finds itself in an unfamiliar position as a loss to Calvary Christian in Week 6 puts its district title hopes in jeopardy. The Bucs need to take care of business against Dunedin (0-6, 0-1), and will have hopes that Clearwater (3-3, 1-0) defeats Calvary (4-2, 1-0) on Friday. Berkeley would then need to defeat the Tornadoes in Week 10 to force a three-way tie to have a shot at the crown in the Pinellas-heavy district.

Players to watch: A pair of sophomores lead the Berkeley Prep ground game as Jojo Troupe (565 yards) has eight scores, and Dallas Golden (554 yards) has scored six times, while senior Keon Keeley has recorded 8 1/2 sacks on defense; Calvary Christian sophomore RB Sean Cuomo leads the district with 10 touchdowns, including 715 rushing yards and six scores on the ground; Clearwater DT Noel Brown has 6 1/2 sacks and 34 tackles; Dunedin S Samuel Haertle has 76 tackles, an interception and three fumble recoveries.