2024-08-25 15:55:02
The George Jenkins football philosophy is to earn everything.
And that’s exactly what happened Friday night at Lake Region High School, as the Eagles handled its business 51-26 behind an extraordinary night from starting running back Trevon Evans.
“I thought the guys have really been buying into that,” George Jenkins football coach Paul Freeman said. “Not getting into the hype online, falling into some of those traps. We talked about earned not given. We came out of the gates really strong.”
And that was thanks to now-eligible Evans, who wasn’t able to play last year. But he bounced back with a vengeance thanks to his four total touchdowns, including a 65-yard kick-off return touchdown. He even had an interception in the game. In total, he racked up 218 yards rushing on 19 carries.
“It’s really neat to see a kid (where) it was obviously taken away from his own doings, and then he was able to get it back. He’s enjoying it more than ever,” Freeman said.
Starting quarterback Cam Turner was enjoying it more than ever too, as he put up two touchdown passes with 175 yards passing and a 65-yard rushing touchdown. He had a 45-yard touchdown pass to Quinn Migliore, which he caught in the back of the end zone. Turner tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sam Frederking, who caught the ball four times for 85 yards.
“If Trevon was 1A, Cam was 1B,” Freeman said.
Fullback Andre Caraballo scored on an 18-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, too.
Defensively, defensive end Melik Murray had six tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, while defensive tackle Elliot Ortiz tallied two sacks, and three tackles for loss and Donte Good put up three tackles and one sack.
Next up for George Jenkins (1-0) will be Fort Meade (0-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday at home. Lake Region (0-1) will take on Winter Haven (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road.
Providence 20, Frostproof 17
Frostproof was able to get its young guys some experience against an experienced Providence team. But Providence came out on top 20-17.
“We were just always one play away. We’re not executing well on either side of the ball right now,” head Frostproof coach Richie Marsh said. “I had to play a lot of kids in different positions tonight. And that hurt us execution-wise. We must do a better job coaching, but I think we’re in a good spot Monday to go to work with where we are.”
Wide receiver Albert Plain hauled in a 61-yard touchdown on a post route from quarterback Landon Fuller. Jaquan Jackson blocked a punt that resulted in a touchdown.
Hardee 28, Fort Meade 20
Fort Meade was just 6 yards away from potentially tying the game. But Miner quarterback Jayden McCutchen threw an interception with just over a minute to play.
“Tough loss,” Fort Meade head coach Maurice Russell said. “We just didn’t execute. We had big plays, but we didn’t finish ― defensive side and offensive side. Missed tackles, linemen lined up wrong. (We) just have to execute.”
Still, there were some bright spots for the Miners, as wide receiver Omari Russell racked up three touchdowns, including a 97-yard touchdown on a hitch route and a 20-yard run from the quarterback position.
Durant 40, Lake Gibson 19
Lake Gibson quarterback Ashton Frazier racked up all three of his touchdowns in a loss to Durant Friday at home.
He posted a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cason Dash. He also had two touchdown runs on 5 and 11 yards.
“We’re just making a lot of young mistakes on both sides of the ball. I got a little aggressive towards the end of the second quarter and left too much time for Durant,” Lake Gibson head coach Rich Pringle said.
This put Lake Gibson down 27-5 at the break.
Next up, Lake Gibson (0-1) will play Haines City (1-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road.
Haines City 35, Zephyrhills 12
Haines City started off its season with a bang thanks to a dominate 35-12 win Friday night on the road.
“(I’m) very impressed with the O-line play (The) running backs ran hard, and the defense was very physical,” Haines City head coach Pat Herrington said.” (Great) bounce back from our poor performance last week.”
Santa Fe Catholic 22, South Florida Christian 7
Santa Fe fell short to South Florida Christian 22-7 in the first game of the season.
Hawk quarterback Trevor Smith hit wide receiver Poe Stirk for a 24-yard touchdown.
“Our team fought hard for 48 minutes,” Santa Fe head football coach Gabe Walker said. “Defense played well but our offense couldn’t find any rhythm. We’ll look to get back on track next week against a tough St. Pete Catholic team.”
Victory Christian 28, Golden Gate 14
The incredible duo of My-Shawn McKinley and Jozia Scott continue to make their mark for Victory Christian as their scores propelled the team to a 28-14 win over Golden Gate Friday night at home.
McKinley’s first score was a 60-yard touchdown reception on the first offensive snap. And Scott returned a second-half kick for a 75-yard touchdown.
Quarterback Cru Slocum finished with 128 yards passing and a rushing touchdown.
Linebacker Curtis Ingram scooped up a muffed punt for a touchdown. Defensive linemen Kodi Wright and Jordan Jenkins both had two tackles each.
Next up, Victory Christian (1-0) will play West Oaks Academy Sept. 6 on the road.
Mulberry 39, Avon Park 0
Mulberry toppled Avon Park in a shutout Friday night at home.
The score was actually 39-0 at halftime. And head coach Brad Metheny was able to give some younger players some time Friday.
He wasn’t satisfied, though.
“We squandered two opportunities: We had the ball twice at the 3-yard line and didn’t score a point, but we’re happy with the 39-0 win,” Metheny said. “Defense played really well.”
Defensive tackle Donavon Schoen had six tackles for loss.
Offensively, running back Trey Hines mustered up 153 yards rushing.
Mulberry (1-0) will next play Kathleen (0-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday at home.
Auburndale 55, Ambassador’s Christian Academy 0
Auburndale shut out Ambassador’s Christian Friday night at home.
Quarterback Amari Turner posted 172 yards passing and 20 yards on the ground with three total touchdowns; Turner’s passing touchdown was to wide receiver Joseph Howard. Running back Anthony Howard Jr. tallied 103 yards rushing and a touchdown, while running back Jayden Blocker had a 25-yard touchdown run.
“We came out and we dominated in all three phases of the game,” head coach Antonio Thomas said.
Defensively, Arquan Glanton had a 25-yard pick-six.
Darion Jiles had a 65-yard punt return touchdown.
The Bloodhounds (1-0) will next play Lake Wales (1-0) Sept. 6 on the road.
Ridge Community 40, Kathleen 7
Ridge Community won its first game of the season thanks to a 40-7 blowout over Kathleen Friday on the road.
Bolt running back Lavonski Tubbs registered 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including scores on 68 and 32. Tight end Tristan Allman had two receiving touchdowns, and Chop Black caught a receiving touchdown as well.
“It was a great win for the kids and the program. We needed that. Last year they beat us, and we came back and redeemed ourselves a little bit,” head coach Richard Tate said.
The only score on the Kathleen side was a fumble recovery for a 10-yard touchdown by Asir Chapelle.
“Ridge is just the more physical football team. We had our opportunities,” Kathleen head coach Saul Speights said.
Ridge (1-0) will next play Lake Wales (1-0) 7:30 p.m. Friday at home, while Kathleen (0-1) will compete at Mulberry (1-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Games
Spoto 38, Davenport 19
Clearwater 30, Bartow 0
Astronaut 41, Discovery 6
Geneva Classical Academy 36, City of Life 0
Umatilla 35, Tenoroc 0
