Week 7 Football: Mooney, Southeast, Sarasota Christian among winners

A roundup of high school football games played in the Sarasota and Manatee county area on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026.

Cardinal Mooney 47, Clearwater Central Catholic 35

Quarterback Seneca Hickey drew back, looking downfield for a receiver at the Clearwater Central Catholic 31. But the pass landed in the hands of Mooney safety Jordan Sanders.

Sanders ran the opposite way and into the end zone, giving Mooney a 12-point lead and the security it had been searching for all night.

"We told our guys, no matter what happens, it's going to be a four quarter game," head coach Jared Clark said. "That's what we were ready for and that's what we did."

Cardinal Mooney defeated Clearwater Central Catholic 47-35 at Austin Smithers Stadium. The game featured four lead changes. Sophomore receiver Mylin Brown scored from

1-yard out with 2:35 left, giving the Cougars a 35-34 lead — its first since the beginning of the third quarter.

Receiver Seneca Hawthorne had two touchdowns for 88 and 35 yards. Three-star running back Connail Jackson — who didn't play much in the second half due to cramping — scored 50- and 80-yard touchdowns.

"He's a really fun running back to block for because of all the crazy plays he makes and how good he is at running," center Luke Buttle said. "He's been doing this for four years. He's one of the hardest, maybe the hardest working guy I've ever met. He puts a lot of time into it."

The Cougars were in charge to begin the first half.

Mooney (5-1) took a 20-7 lead. Quarterback Davin Davidson — a four-star Florida pledge — connected with Hawthorne for an 88-yard score. Then, came Jackson's two touchdowns.

But CCC (5-1) came back. Senior quarterback Khayse Barrett ran 57 yards to narrow Mooney’s lead to six points. Then, after the Cougars couldn’t convert on fourth-and-2, Clearwater Central scored with 7:25 left in the first half. QB Sean Hickey — who traded snaps with Barrett — found Daveon Belhomme for 22 yards.

Mooney retook the lead after Hawthorne caught a 35-yard pass with 4:13 left in the second, but Marauders responded on the next drive.

They found the end zone in four plays. At the 30, receiver Luke Wilson caught a 70-yard touchdown pass. Leading 28-27, the Clearwater defense sacked Davidson, stripping the ball to keep the lead at halftime.

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot with a couple things," Clark said about the first half. "But the game plan didn't change a whole lot. It was eliminate the big plays for them."

Receiver CJ King caught a 52-yard pass from Davidson to open the second half, but it got messy from there. Mooney had two back-to-back fumbles, both recovered by Clearwater. The Marauders scored in one play after the second fumble. In response, on a 13-play drive, the Cougars made it to the Clearwater Central 18 before settling for a field goal the Cougars missed.

But then Brown scored. And Sanders had a pick-six. And Mooney players danced down the sideline when the game ended.

"We overcame a lot of mistakes, lot of critical errors in this game," Clark said. "So, we get out of here with a win, and then you get to fix those things. It's a lot easier to them after after a win. It's a lot more to fix them after a win than it is a loss."

Cardinal Mooney takeaways

Is there anything more someone can say about Connail Jackson? Although Jackson didn't see much time in the second, he has led the Cougars this season. Before Friday, Jackson had 1,213 yards and 18 touchdowns on 82 carries. On Friday, he added 19 carries for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. "These boys up front, all they got to do is get him to the second level, and it's lights out," Clark said. "Cause he's got breakaway speed. And the thing about 'Fat' is he does it every day in practice. He's done it for four years. He does it all off season. He's a great kid."

There's some things to clean up. Mooney struggled on special teams in the first half, often giving the Marauders great field position, especially in the first half. Belhomme opened Clearwater's scoring with a 90-yard kickoff return.

Looking ahead. Mooney will face district foes Bayshore in Week 8 and Southeast in Week 9. Bayshore is 3-4, losing 27-7 to Wesley Chapel in Week 7. Southeast picked up its first win on Friday, Oct. 2 and are 1-5. In Week 11, Mooney closes its season against SmartEn Academy.

— Emma Moon

Columbia 51, Manatee 28

BRADENTON — In the wake of their homecoming game, the Manatee football team fought late in the second half against Columbia. But the Hurricanes (4-3) fell to the Tigers (7-0). They will look to bounce back next week as they welcome Palmetto (5-1), resuming 5A-10 district play.

“The boys gave some fight, but they couldn’t just give up the fight,” head coach Jacquez Green said. “We needed to jump ahead at the beginning of the game, but we fell behind. Hats off to Columbia. They’re good athletes and are undefeated for a reason. We had opportunities in the second half to make plays, but there’s no excuses in the end. We look to focus on getting back into Manatee football when we face Palmetto next week.”

Manatee started quick on the first play, thanks to an interception by junior Tai'von Monix, but could not complete the offensive drive. Eventually, the Tigers would get on the board, scoring the first two touchdowns for a 14-0 lead.

Seven seconds into the second quarter, sophomore Carter Fraser rushed for a 28-yard touchdown run. After a Columbia field goal, sophomore Nolan Downes found senior receiver Tavares Powell for a 33-yard touchdown and cut the Tigers' lead to 16-14 before Columbia extended it to 30-14 with two touchdowns before the first half ended.

As the third quarter commenced, Columbia scored two more touchdowns, but Manatee tried to rally as Downes found junior Elijah Christian for a 10-yard touchdown before hitting Powell for 35 yards. Ultimately, it would not be enough for the Hurricanes.

Manatee takeaways

Injury bug shows. The Hurricanes suffered injuries to a few key players, including Powell, Delacas and junior running back Caedon White. White will return to action against Palmetto next week.

Stepping up. Despite White being out of the game beforehand, and Delacas and Powell getting injured during the game, Fraser and sophomore Sam Shuler stepped up. Fraser rushed for 49 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown while Shuler, who entered the game in the second half, made three catches for 33 yards.

Powell still makes difference. Despite not finishing the game, Powell had nine catches, two touchdowns and 189 total yards (134 receiving yards, 55 yards on kickoff and punt returns).

— Pat Clines

Lemon Bay 40, Wellen Park 7

ENGLEWOOD — Hogan Winow ran for 285 yards and three touchdowns as Lemon Bay dominated Wellen Park, 40-7, on Homecoming night for the Manta Rays.

Lemon Bay (6-2) piled up 482 rushing yards against the Eagles defense while thoroughly shutting down Wellen Park on the ground.

The Eagles fumbled on their first possession after picking up a first down in Lemon Bay territory. Led by Parker Williams, the Manta Rays covered 62 yards in eight plays as Williams finished the drive with a 4 yard touchdown run.

Wellen Park's next drive was derailed by an interception by Lemon Bay's Cory Baker at the 24. On the first play, Winow scampered 76 yards untouched to extend the lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Eagles next possession ended with a 60-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard line. Undaunted, the Mantas moved 99 yards in 11 plays, with Winow bursting through the line again for a 47 yard scoring run.

The Manta Rays pulled off a fake punt from midfield on their next drive, with Devon Spanninger completing a 27-yard toss to Eli Humphrey. That set up Winow's third touchdown run of 22 yards to make it 28-0 at halftime.

Humphrey added two long touchdown runs of 31 and 78 yards in the second half to give Lemon Bay a 40-0 lead and start a running clock for the rest of the game. Wellen Park had just enough time to move 58 yards and score on a 9-yard pass from Noah Wireman to Sawyer Schlophy as time expired.

Wellen Park takeaways

Lemon Bay's defense made the Eagles offense one dimensional. Wireman was forced to throw the ball 42 times, completing 17 for 223 yards. "Lemon Bay was ready, they came to play," Wellen Park coach Sascha Hyer said. "They're well disciplined and it's hard to stop that offense. I explained to the kids this past week, if you look at this style of offense and look at what Army, Navy or Air Force does, they beat top tier teams. They did a phenomenal job and I just didn't have our guys ready."

Winow was basically unstoppable in the first half. The Manta Rays' junior running back picked up 208 of his yards in the first two quarters, seemingly running the same play over and over. "They ran about three or four plays and we just couldn't stop it," Hyer said. Humphrey added 135 yards on 7 carries for Lemon Bay.

Wellen Park still has a winning record in its inaugural season. Despite the lopsided result, the Eagles are 4-2 and will look to put the loss behind them and get back on the winning track next Friday when Clewiston visits. "The sun rises tomorrow," Hyer said. "An old coaching buddy of mine told me that. The sun rises tomorrow, so we'll see what happens."

— Bruce Robins

Canterbury 46, Saint Stephen's 6

BRADENTON — The Canterbury Cougars (6-0) showed everyone at the Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Fields on Friday night why they are an undefeated football team.

The team from Fort Myers recorded a victory over the Saint Stephen’s Falcons (5-3).

Senior Brock Catlin led the way on offense, rushing for four touchdowns. Senior quarterback Anthony Sinatra threw scoring passes of 48 yards to Brooks Selby and 13 yards to Lance Fleming as the Cougars dominated every aspect of the game.

“It’s a testament to these kids,” Canterbury head coach Tommy Bohanon said. “They have truly bought in. They come to work each and every day. It’s exciting to see the progress they have made.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, Catlin gave the Cougars a 7-0 lead in the opening moments of the second period on a 6-yard scamper.

The Falcons came back to make it 7-6 on a 79-yard scoring pass from sophomore Steven LeBlanc to freshman Dion Donkor moments later. But the Falcons would not find the end zone again.

“We knew they were a good team,” Falcons head coach Chris Valcarcel said. “They got some big boys. They beat us at the line of scrimmage.

“We really got physically beat up. We didn’t give up. We kept fighting.”

Saint Stephen’s takeaways

The running game was non-existent. The Falcons had just 10 yards rushing on seven attempts in the first half. The lack of a rushing attack put more pressure on LeBlanc when he dropped back to pass. LeBlanc was 11 of 28 for 167 yards, one TD and four INTs.

The injury bug was biting. The Cougars were a tough enough opponent even before the Falcons started going down. “We lost three two-way starters and one one-way starter before the first half ended,” Valcarcel said. “We had people playing everywhere.”

Looking ahead. The Falcons get an opportunity to regroup with their bye week coming up. They get back to business against another good team on Friday, Oct. 16, when they travel to Lakeland to take on Santa Fe Catholic, before closing out the regular season at home against St. Joseph Academy of St. Augustine.

— Jim Brockman

Sarasota Christian 36, Keswick Christian 15

The Blazers scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to win on the road, improving to 5-3. Quarterback Tait Zeltwanger finished 10-of-21 with 151 yards and one touchdown. He added six carries for 35 yards and two scores. Running back Will Hughes had 71 yards and two scores. Noah Spenn finished with two catches for 36 yards and one touchdown, adding three tackles and a pass breakup. On defense, Matthew Manyak had eight tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss. Linebacker Peyton Gray finished with nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Safety Reed Gibson had nine tackles and an interception.