WEEK 1 PRIMER: Area teams look to build on their Kickoff outings

The trailers are over and now it’s time for our feature presentation — Week 1 of the high school football season is finally here.

If you missed the Week 0 tune-ups, the seven Sun Preps-area squads went 4-3, with one loss coming against a fellow area squad. Not a bad outcome.

Charlotte, North Port, Port Charlotte and Venice all came out on the right side of their dress rehearsals with plenty to crow about and a few things to tweak. Even in defeat, Babcock, Lemon Bay and DeSoto County each had encouraging moments to build on.

It’s worth noting that Babcock’s first-ever 8-man game at Cornerstone Christian this past week, was official (the Sunshine State Athletic Conference doesn’t do Kickoff Classics), so all of their firsts — such as Ethan Martinez’s touchdown pass to Brodie Duncan — are now a part of school annals.

On to this week’s matchups:

BABCOCK (0-1)

Who: At Master’s Academy

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Leisure Square, 3705 16th Street, Vero Beach, 32960

Scouting the Patriots: Master’s pretty much dominated every team unfortunate to get in its way on the march to the AAAA championship game. Once there, though, they were toppled by equally dominant Shorecrest Prep, 26-22. It would appear the Patriots picked up where they left off after opening the 2024 campaign last week with a 38-0 win against Riverside Christian.

About the Trailblazers: Babcock lost at Cornerstone Christian, 32-24, this past Friday in its first-ever football game. The Blazers actually led at halftime, 16-6 before a rough third quarter flipped the script. “We did some really good things on both sides of the ball,” Babcock coach Andy Habing said in a text message this week. Babcock’s best performances came on the defensive side of the ball, led by Jonathon Escobedo’s 11 tackles, forced fumble and interception returned for a touchdown. In addition to being on the receiving end of Babcock’s first-ever passing touchdown, Brodie Duncan added two interceptions on defense.

CHARLOTTE (0-0)

Who: Gulf Coast

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Smuggler’s Stadium, Punta Gorda

Scouting the Sharks: There really is no shame in losing to Naples, 45-0, in a Kickoff Classic setting. The Golden Eagles’ unique veer offense is unlike any a team will typically see. But that speaks to Gulf Coast’s defense. What happened on the other side of the ball? The Sharks mustered just 41 total yards. When playing a team like Naples, that, too, can be expected if you’re trotting out a freshman quarterback. Newcomer Michael Hope completed just three passes for 16 yards. That likely will not be who Charlotte faces on Friday night. Expect 6-3 senior Jace Seyler under center. A dual-threat QB, Seyler passed for 735 yards and ran for 521 more in 2023. He’s a superb athlete, as his basketball skills would attest (averaged 11.5 points per game last season).

About the Tarpons: Expect Charlotte to continue its tinkering with a two-quarterback system. Junior Teagen Lipke is the gunslinger while freshman John McCullough is the skitterbug change-of-pace option. Both had good moments during Charlotte’s 20-6 Kickoff win against Lemon Bay. That said, Lipke struggled somewhat with accuracy at times, throwing one interception and being saved from a second by receiver Seven Bulluck, who ripped a would-be pick out of a Manta player’s arms. Bullock and Jackson Hay excelled in the receiving game, but expect Charlotte to work in big tight end Trent Curliss a little more. Speaking of Curliss, he was one among a posse of defensive linemen to have outstanding efforts against Lemon Bay. He had 11 tackles (four for loss) while forcing and recovering a fumble.

DESOTO COUNTY (0-0)

Who: at Okeechobee

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Brahman Stadium, 2800 US 441, Okeechobee, 34972

Scouting the Brahmans: It was a bit of tough sledding last week for Okeechobee as the Brahmans fell to visiting Joaquin Garcia, 21-12. The Bulldogs were 1-9 in 2023, the school’s inaugural season. Among the bright spots for the Brahmans was the play of junior running back Jaleik Brifil, who rolled up 123 yards on 23 carries. Senior defensive end Andre Santiago came up with several quarterback pressures and junior linebacker Fred Hill had an interception.

About the Bulldogs: A different breed of Bulldogs visit Okeechobee this week (note: It’s Veterans Night for the home team). DeSoto County will be seeking a little vengeance for last year’s 49-0 debacle, which marked the first time in five meetings DeSoto County has lost to the Brahmans. That said, the Bulldogs have some work to do after getting skunked, 30-0, at Lakewood Ranch. Last week’s game was a study in near-misses or outright missed opportunities.

LEMON BAY (0-0)

Who: at Lakewood Ranch

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Lakewood Ranch Stadium, 5500 Lakewood Ranch Rd, Bradenton, 34202

Scouting the Mustangs: Lakewood Ranch leaned into its run game while blanking DeSoto County, 30-0, last week. Junior quarterback Liam Fernandez ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns while junior running back Colton Dempsey added 143 yards on 16 carries.

About the Mantas: Lemon Bay came out on the short end of a 20-6 verdict at Charlotte last week, but there were plenty of encouraging signs in the Mantas’ play. If one can dream a little, it’s easy to see Lemon Bay’s offense looking a whole lot like Naples’ vaunted veer in years to come. That said, the Mantas will need to work on getting some clean yards for their running backs. Drew Moormann and Drew Smith met a lot of opposition at the line last week. Adam Schawrtz’s 37-yard touchdown run was a proof-of-concept for what can happen when Lemon Bay gets it right. The defense played better than the score suggests. If the Mantas had been able to gather in several would-be interceptions, the game might have remained a nail-biter. Caleb Hutcherson did manage an interception, which set up Schwartz’s scoring run.

NORTH PORT (0-0)

Who: Parrish Community

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: The Preserve, North Port

Scouting the Bulls: Parrish dispatched Steinbrenner 23-10 in its Kickoff Classic, but it’s worth noting Year 5 of the Bulls’ program is one of significant turnover. Junior Brycen Volz takes over at quarterback for his brother, Jackson, who graduated. The Bulls’ leading receiver, Lane Tomlinson, also graduated while two other key receivers transferred. It’s possible North Port is catching Parrish at a good time, since the younger Volz needs to break in his receivers while senior running back Jermaine Edwards assumes the bulk of the rushing duties after splitting them last season with Jerone Turner.

About the Bobcats: You better believe North Port is eager to hit the ground running in this rematch of last year’s 43-0 loss at Parrish. In that game, Bobcats head coach Garon Belser was profoundly disappointed in the team’s offensive line play. Sufficiently admonished, that group played much better the rest of the way, especially the following game, a resounding win against IMG Blue. The Bobcats eked out a 14-12 Kickoff victory against a solid Moore Haven program. Peter Kalphat appears ready to be the team’s featured back after rolling up 70 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 10 more yards through the air. The defense actually pitched a shutout, which means North Port has some work to do on special teams — both of Moore Haven’s scores came on Bobcat special teams miscues.

PORT CHARLOTTE (0-0)

Who: Island Coast

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Harbor Nissan Stadium, Port Charlotte

Scouting the Gators: Port Charlotte closed out the regular season against the Gators, so perhaps it’s a nice coincidence the Pirates will pick up where they left off to open this regular season. That said, don’t expect a carbon copy of last year’s 49-8 dismantling of the Gators, who entered that game young and ravaged by injury. Island Coast whipped a scuffling Bonita Springs program, 25-3, in last week’s Kickoff contest. The star of the show was someone Port Charlotte shut down in last year’s meeting: Running back Gervaris Leaphart. Now a senior, Leaphart ransacked Bonita for more than 200 yards rushing and 80 yards receiving. He totaled three touchdowns. Island Coast took the wraps off a vertical passing game, as well, which could test Port Charlotte if the Pirates’ touted defensive line has a rough outing.

About the Pirates: Does anyone really expect that defensive line to have an off night, though? In last week’s 37-12 win at Riverview, Port Charlotte scored the game’s first 37 points to trigger a running clock and held the Rams’ potent rushing attack in check. That might be Port Charlotte’s approach to this game, as well — race out to a running clock lead, then turn it over to the understudies. This has been the way for head coach Jordan Ingman for years now. A fun prop bet, if such things were allowed for high school football, might be who has the most yardage by game’s end: Running back Ike Perry (rushing) or quarterback Logan Flaherty (passing). Perry won that bet last week, with 175 yards on just 10 carries, while Flaherty passed for 121. Both had two touchdowns. FSU commitment Myron Charles will look to launch his senior season in style after a six-tackle effort against Riverview. He tied Tayler Akers and Maddox Wittebort for team-high honors.

VENICE (0-0)

Who: Tampa Bay Tech

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Powell-Davis Stadium

Scouting the Titans: Tampa Bay Tech was 10-3 a year ago, reaching the Class 3M regional finals and opened the 2024 campaign with a 35-7 win against Apopka, which likely captured Venice’s attention. Apopka, of course, was the team Venice defeated to win a state title in 2021. Quarterback Darryon Jones stepped in ably for the departed Xzavier Jackson and has a five-star receiver to play catch with in senior Dallas Wilson.

About the Indians: While the way Venice won last Friday night wasn’t ideal, there were plenty of good takeaways from its 34-19 win against Gadsden County. Right off the bat, new quarterback Jayce Nixon was extremely efficient, completing 15 of 18 passes. The running game is in good hands with Jamarice Wilder and Dorien Jones, who combined for more than 200 yards and three scores. What caught coach John Peacock’s eye during film study was the play of the offensive line, which feature two new starters in Al Oliver and Evan Spencer. One of the reasons Port Charlotte was able to run it up on Riverview might have to do with former Ram Landon Marsters lining up at linebacker for Venice. He collected 16 tackles and a sack.