A roundup of Manatee and Sarasota high school football games played Thursday, Sept. 10 and Friday, Sept. 11.
Thursday, Sept. 10
Cardinal Mooney 67, Wellen Park 10
Well, it was bound to happen at some point.
After beginning its inaugural season 3-0, Wellen Park finally showed that it’s a first-year team.
Defending champions Cardinal Mooney, ranked second in Class 3A, routed Wellen Park 67-10, handing the football program its first-ever loss in school history on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Austin Smithers Stadium.
Cardinal Mooney's defense forced two fumbles and had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. The Cougars held Wellen Park to under 40 rushing yards in the first half.
"We're very young on defense," Mooney head coach Jared Clark said. "So, we're still learning. And, I think this is a good
game for these guys to see, get lined up properly, do your job and good things happen."
During its first drive, the Eagles looked like they might contend with the powerhouse, making it to the Mooney 12 before settling for a 37-yard field goal. But it went downhill from there.
Junior receiver Seneca Hawthorne returned a kickoff for 99 yards.
Wellen Park (3-1) fumbled on its next drive, leading to a two-yard Connail Jackson score after defensive end Julian Williams recovered it. Then, Wellen Park quarterback Noah Wireman’s pass was intercepted by cornerback Troy Owens. Jackson ran the ball into the end zone for six yards five plays later.
To close the first quarter, as if on replay, Wellen Park fumbled again. Williams recovered it again. And Cardinal Mooney (3-1) scored again. This time thanks to quarterback Davin Davidson, who forced his way in for the score.
"He's a kid that played receiver for us last year," Clark said of Williams. "We thought he had a chance to be really good at defensive end. He embraced it all offseason. He's put 20 pounds of muscle on. And he's another young guy that gets better every day."
By the end of the first quarter, Mooney led 19-3. And it didn’t get much better in the second.
Jackson scored a 70-yard touchdown. Then, junior slotback Jared Sanders had a pick-6. With three minutes left in the second quarter, Davidson connected with Hawthorne for a 22-yard score. By halftime, Mooney led 46-3.
The running clock started in the third as subs took the field. Mooney backup quarterback Walker Beach scored two touchdowns — connecting with freshman Wesley Mignery and running for 16 yards — to help Mooney to its eventual 57-point win.
Wellen Park takeaways
The loss doesn’t take away from the start. Sure, it's a bad loss, but it doesn't detract from Wellen Park's first four weeks in program history. The Eagles barely had a spring, and they had to put things together quickly in the summer. Despite the challenges of a first-year team, Wellen Park has dominated, defeating Martiner 24-21, Gateway 41-21 and DeSoto County 40-0. The Eagles will rebound and continue to grow in years to come under head coach Sascha Hyer. "I have a ton of respect for Sascha and his staff," Clark said. "They're obviously coached up very good."
Wellen Park moves on. The Eagles will play Bayshore in Week 6, but will have a bye week in the meantime. After the loss, it’s likely a much-needed break to regroup after an impressive start for the young program.
Cardinal Mooney takeaways
Defense showed out. Cardinal Mooney’s defense recovered two fumbles and two interceptions, one returned by Sanders at the Eagles 3. The Cougars held Wellen Park to under 40 rushing yards in the first half.
Connail Jackson is Connail Jackson. In his senior season, the three-star running back has continued his dominance after running for 2,452 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2025. Against Wellen Park, Jackson had two touchdowns, rushing for over 160 yards before being taken out in the second half.
Taking it “day by day.” After a 14-1 state championship season in 2025, Cardinal Mooney had a lot of pressure heading into the year. Following slow first-half starts and a devastating 47-46 loss to Cardinal Newman in Week 2, Clark has worked to improve his team steadily. “It’s a fluid thing,” Clark said. “You want to make sure they’re just getting better every day. And I think that’s what we’re doing. I think we see a better product. We’re starting to learn how to practice properly. And leaders are starting to be leaders. Hopefully, it’s starting to click for these guys.” He said leaders are starting to be leaders and that his team is beginning to "practice properly." "You got to take it seriously," Clark said. "Every rep matters. Meetings matter. Our walk-throughs matter. You got to learn how to be a pro. Concentrate. Lock in. Come out in practice and empty the tank." Recently, the Cougars have been doing those things.
— Emma Moon
Sarasota 56, North Port 13
Riverview 46, Lakewood Ranch 0
Quarterback Logan Carrillo threw three touchdown passes, and Justin Flores scored twice on the ground as Riverview clobbered Lakewood Ranch, 46-0, on Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Ram Bowl at John Sprague Field in a Class 6A-District 12 game.
Riverview’s defense sacked Mustangs quarterback Everett Russ six times and completely shut down senior star running back Elidrick Berry.
Flores, who previously played for Lakewood Ranch, scored Riverview’s first two touchdowns on a pair of 2-yard runs.
After leading 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Rams (3-1) erupted for four TDs in the second quarter to take a 32-0 lead at halftime.
After Flores scored his second touchdown, Carrillo tossed his first scoring pass of the night, connecting with Trenton Huffman on a 15-yarder. Carrillo also found Imari Thomas for a 14-yard TD reception. Mike Peterson scored from 7 yards out in the final minute of the first half.
Despite dominating the Mustangs (2-2) in every phase of the game, second-year Riverview head coach Mark Cristiani found plenty of things for the Rams to work on.
“We need to be a lot more poised,” Cristiani said. “We need to understand what is going on in the game and keep our heads focused on what’s important. It’s a very resilient group, but sometimes we get distracted.”
Carrillo threw his third and final scoring pass from 16 yards out to Huffman in the opening moments of the third quarter.
“You have a lot of thoughts after a game like this,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Scott Paravicini said. “It’s important to keep an eye on our growth from day one. You have to evaluate to see if you’re on the right track. We made too many mistakes. We have to look at this tape and gather ourselves together and fix those mistakes. These guys respond well to adversity.”
Riverview takeaways
Either guy can carry the load. Whether it’s Flores or Michael Peterson lugging the pigskin, the Rams are in good hands with their top two running backs. Flores finished the first half with 64 yards on the ground, along with his two TDs, while Peterson scampered for 77 yards and one score.
The backup can throw it, too. Sophomore southpaw quarterback Owen Sterling got some playing time in both the first and second half and tossed his first varsity touchdown for the Rams. He connected with Liam Jacobsen for a 13-yard score. Sterling finished 5-of-8 for 81 yards.
Despite the lopsided victory, the Rams committed too many penalties. Riverview was penalized nine times for 75 yards in the first half. A 45-yard scoring pass from Carrillo to Kobran Waters was called back due to a holding penalty. “We did not execute well at times,” Cristiani said. “We had a very disjointed week of practice due to lightning. We looked like a team that hadn’t practiced a lot. We had a lot of personnel issues. We’ve got to clean that up.”
Lakewood Ranch takeaways
The Mustangs need to solidify things up front. The Lakewood Ranch offensive line did not hold up on Thursday night. In addition to allowing six sacks, running back Elidrick Berry could find no room to run. After cruising for 159 yards on 14 carries against Braden River last week, Berry had just 16 yards on nine attempts in the first half against the Rams.
There is no place like home. Due to a quirk in scheduling, the Mustangs played their first four games of the season on the road. They finally return to their campus next Friday to host Dunnellon. “It’s going to be good to be back home,” Paravicini said. “We’re excited about the opportunity. But we’ve got to do a lot better job than we did tonight.”
And now for something really important. Diagnosed with colon cancer in January, Paravicini had some good news to share following the game. “I have my last chemo treatment on Monday,” Paravicini said. “Wednesday is my birthday, and that’s when I get my chemo pump out. Then I start my scans and hope that nothing comes back. Right now everything is looking positive.”
— Jim Brockman
Venice 69, Lehigh 0
Venice head coach John Peacock earned his 199th win — breaking the program win record. Against Lakeland, Peacock tied former head coach Jim Powell's record after defeating the powerhouse 32-25 in double overtime in Week 3. And on Thursday, the head coach took the lead.
Freshman quarterback Mason Polley finished 8-of-10 with 170 yards and one touchdown. Senior Terrell Jones added a score, completing one of his two passes for 10 yards. Freshman wideout Mike Blakely had four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Jayvian Hoffman had three receptions for 70 yards.
Three-star FIU commit Dorien Jones recorded 92 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Senior Ira Dale Jr. had six carries for 78 yards and four touchdowns.
Manatee 48, Lake Brantley 27
Friday, Sept. 11
Southeast at Bayshore
IMG Jr. National at Palmetto
Donahue Academy at Bradenton Christian
Cambridge Christian at Sarasota Christian
Shorecrest Prep at The Classical Academy
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Football Week 4: Venice's Peacock wins 199th; Mooney, Sarasota, Riverview roll
