Football Roundup: Manatee, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch among Week 2 winners

A roundup of high school football action from Week 2, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026.

Sarasota Christian 35, Saint Stephen's 32

Sarasota Christian was not able to hold on to a fourth-quarter lead in Week 1, watching a one-point lead turn into a 21-point

loss.

So, up by two against Saint Stephen’s with four minutes left on Friday, Sarasota Christian refused to let that happen again. At the 39-yard line, quarterback Tait Zeltwanger rushed to the 7. Then, on the next play, he ran it into the end zone to make it 35-26 with 1:20 to go and provide the insurace the Blazers needed. And they would need it as a late Falcons score could not overcome the Blazers.

Zeltwanger completed 11 of his 22 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns. He also had five carries for 54 yards. Receiver Noah Spenn had three touchdowns from 10, 20 and 25 yards out in the first quarter. He also had a crackback block, which head coach Jacob Spenn said was his son’s best play of the game.

“All week long we knew it was going to be a hard game. We knew it was going to take all four quarters,” Noah Spenn said. “Last week…we didn’t have what it took to finish it. This game we definitely had what it took. Staying together, keeping our composure that’s what did it.”

Running back William Hughes added a 4-yard touchdown to open the fourth, in a quarter that featured everything. Saint Stephen's safety Ashton Fischer had an internception as well as Sarasota Christian corner Eli Ford. And while the score was close at the end, Sarasota Christian dominated the first half.

“I was expecting a slug fest,” Jacob Spenn said. “I was expecting the last person who has the ball to win. That did kind of play out. The first half was just all over the place.”

With Saint Stephen’s going three-and-out on its first few possessions, Sarasota Christian capitalized. After running backs Elijah George and Hughes helped the Blazers downfield, Zeltwanger found Spenn in the end zone on three straight drives in the first half.

In the second quarter, Saint Stephen’s relied on running back William Roseboro Jr, who rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns. On a two-play drive with 11:05 in the half, Roseboro ran 86 yards to the end zone.

Then, he did it again on the next, running 16 yards for the score. Both extra point attempts went wide.

By halftime, Sarasota Christian led 21-12.

Following an uneventful third quarter, Saint Stephen’s found the end zone behind a 9-yard rush from Roseboro after quarterback Steven LeBlanc — who finished with 153 passing yards and two touchdowns — hit wide receiver Dion Donker with a 29-yard pass. Trailing 28-20 with six minutes left, Saint Stephen’s scored on the next play, but the team couldn’t make the 2-point conversion.

But then came Zeltwanger’s run. And although Saint Stephen’s scored again, it didn’t matter.

After a fourth-quarter disaster in its second game, Sarasota Christian’s win restores some confidence.

“Last week sucked the life out of us a little bit, maybe more the coaches than the players,” Jacob Spenn said. “Probably only three or four things went wrong, but they all went wrong…we’ll see. It will be interesting in the coming weeks.”

Saint Stephen’s takeaways

William Roseboro Jr. continues to dominate. Roseboro had over 20 carries and two touchdowns on Friday, including an 86-yard score. Sarasota Christian struggled to stop the 6-foot-1 freshman running back.

Dion Donker showed out. The 6-foot-3 freshman wide receiver had pivotal catches, including a 22-yard catch, setting up Saint Stephen's touchdown that put the Falcons back in it. He finished with seven passes and 103 yards.

Don't count out Saint Stephen's. The Falcons struggled during the first half. While Sarasota Christian led 21-12 at half, Saint Stephen's deficit felt much larger. Still, the Falcons inched within two points deep in the fourth quarter, making it anyone's game.

Sarasota Christian takeaways

Sarasota Christian wide receiver Cale Zeltwanger (#3) heads down the sideline as St. Stephen’s free safety Dion Donkor (#9) closes in. The Sarasota Christian Blazers hosted the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Falcons in varsity football Friday evening, Aug. 28, 2026.

Tait Zeltwanger is coming into his own. After graduating quarterback Ben Milliken, who led Sarasota Christian for four seasons, the Blazers have put their trust in Zeltwanger. He’s a young 5-foot-5 sophomore quarterback, but he had some of the biggest plays of the game. “Tait just runs the offense,” Jacob Spenn said. “And we’re not asking him to do the same things that Ben did. But inside of that, he’s able to do some special things…I don’t think he acts like a sophomore.”

The Blazers can rely on Noah Spenn. The senior receiver had three touchdowns on Friday. Ahead of the season, Jacob Spenn said he would put his son against anybody. Jacob Spenn said he’s been reliable for the last five years. “He’s a big, tall receiver,” Jacob Spenn said. “He’s going to go up and get the ball. He’s got a huge wingspan. He’s got a great vertical, and he just loves to do it.”

Don’t sleep on Cale Zeltwanger. While Noah Spenn stood out on Friday, senior receiver Cale Zelwanger had some pivotal catches, including 19- and 35-yard receptions. “Zeltwanger is a tremendous football player,” Jacob Spenn said. “He made some tremendous plays because they’re paying attention to [Spenn] and they forget about [Zeltwanger]. The more we get that, it really opens some stuff up.”

— Emma Moon

Manatee 28, Naples 17

BRADENTON — After overcoming a heartbreaking loss to Plant last week, Manatee secured its first win of the 2026 season against Naples at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium.

“I was happy that we got a victory back at home,” Manatee head coach Jacquez Green said. “You always want to win those kinds of games and seeing the fans show up real made it something. The boys did a great job tonight and how they handled Naples’ heavy run offense and got the job done at home.”

“I did not have any expectations on tonight’s game,” Naples head coach Rick Martin said. “The only thing I wanted was to take a long bus trip to play a quality opponent in Manatee and hats off to their players and staff for a hard fought game. I’m thankful that we are able to have this opportunity to learn and grow as a football program.”

Not even a minute into the first quarter, the Hurricanes (1-1) scored first as junior running back Caedon White ran it in for 80 yards.

“I just saw the moment and took it and it was successful,” White said.

After Manatee’s defense stopped the Golden Eagles running game, it extended the lead to 14-0 as sophomore quarterback Nolan Downes would threw a 3-yard pass to senior tight end Brennen Gunter before finding senior wide receiver Deno Dalacas for an 80-yard catch.

Naples eventually got its first points on the board before the quarter ended thanks to a 30-yard field goal by junior Kevin Diaz.

Naples got the ball in the second quarter, but Manatee junior Amyr Walker recovered a crucial fumble. But the Hurricanes failed to capitalize on a field goal chance, giving the Golden Eagles another chance on offense.

After senior defensive end Loronce Papillion Brenson recovered another Golden Eagles’ fumble, White helped Manatee to a 21-3 with a 4-yard run for his second touchdown.

As the start of the third quarter, Naples scored as junior running back Jevan Raphael scored on a 2-yard run. White responded in the fourth with a 1-yard rush his third TD of the game. Manatee led 28-10.

Naples added one more touchdown as senior Nicksen Volvic scored on a 1-yard run. The Golden Eagles got one more chance, but junior safety Jayden Lewis intercepted Andres Garcia’s pass to seal the win for the Hurricanes.

Manatee takeaways

White’s offensive front. White was the leader of the offense overall as he rushed 20 times for 97 yards with three touchdowns — a career high. “I felt great out there,” White said. “I had a lot of hard runs and kept running hard on every opportunity I made.

Downes’ slight drop. Although Downes numbers dropped a bit, the transfer from IMG Academy completed 9 of 13 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown. In his debut last week, he completed 21 of his 30 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

Made up for penalties. Manatee had five penalties on defense compared to Naples’ two. To make up for it, they would cause three turnovers, which included two fumbles recovered.

Wellen Park 41, Gateway 21

Palm Beach Lakes 51, Sarasota 47

Palm Beach Lakes scored a late touchdown and rallied to defeat the host Sarasota Sailors, 51-47, on Friday night in a game played at Ihrig Field at Cleland Stadium.

A 1-yard touchdown burst by Jacarious Platt with 1:49 left in the game gave the Rams the 51-47 lead with the failed 2-point conversion run. The score capped a 10-play drive and answered an 11-yard TD run by Sarasota quarterback Hudson West six minutes earlier, which put the Sailors up 47-45.

The 6-foot-4 West put the Sailor offense on his shoulders, as the junior ran for three touchdowns and threw for four. He was matched by Ram quarterback Jordan Johnson, who threw five touchdowns after tossing five last week in PBL’s 49-7 victory over Seminole Ridge.

West’s scoring throws went for 23 yards to AJ Heater, 23 yards to Jayden Rivers, 20 yards to Evan Larrick, and a 6-yarder to Rivers in the third quarter, which put Sarasota up 41-39. West’s scoring runs covered 32, 3 and 11 yards.

The game saw several lead changes. The Rams grabbed leads of 20-13, 27-13 and 33-13 before Larrick’s TD reception with 9:20 left in the third cut PBL’s lead to 33-20. A Johnson TD pass upped the Rams’ lead to 39-20 before West scoring runs of 32 and 3 yards cut the Ram advantage to 39-34. West’s 6-yard TD to Rivers gave Sarasota a short-lived 41-39 lead before Johnson’s fifth and final touchdown pass put PBL back up, 45-41.

West’s 11-yard run put Sarasota back up 47-45 before the Rams engineered their game-winning drive. Sarasota got the ball back with 1:41 left, but ended up turning the ball over on downs. The Rams took over and ran out the clock to improve to 2-0. Sarasota fell to 1-1.

Sarasota takeaways

West, Johnson light it up. With West and Johnson having combined for eight touchdown throws in the teams’ first games of the season, it was expected that both quarterbacks would have major roles in Friday’s game. They did, as the 6-foot-3 Johnson finished 20-of-28 for 276 yards and five touchdowns. He had a long pass of 48 yards, but many of his completions came on screens and routes underneath the Sailor defense. Not so for West, who finished 19-of-38 for 342 yards and his four touchdowns. His longest completion went for 73 yards to Jayden Rivers. West was pressured by the Ram defense, but managed to buy time with his legs. He finished as Sarasota’s leading rusher with 62 yards.

Sarasota puts ground game on shelf. Perhaps expecting a shootout, Sarasota head coach Amp Campbell ditched his running game. The Sailors rushed a total of 10 times for 64 yards. West, in trying to avoid the Ram rush, ran six times for 62 yards. But Campbell didn’t like his team giving up a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, a play that saw the Sailors miss several tackles. And after fighting back to take a 47-45 lead with about eight minutes left, Sarasota allowed the Rams to drive 67 yards for the game-winning score. PBL converted a fourth-and-3 from the Sailor 4 before running back Jacarious Pratt scored from the 1 with 1:49 left.

Sarasota stays home. After opening with two home games, the Sailors get three more contests of home cooking. Amp Campbell’s team hosts Hudson, North Port, and Parrish before hitting the road for games at Venice, Lehigh, and Lakewood Ranch.

— Doug Fernandes

Out-of-Door 51, Cambridge Christian 6

The Out-of-Door Academy continued its dominant start to the season Friday night, defeating SSAA opponent Cambridge Christian 48-6 on the road behind a balanced offensive attack and another outstanding performance from the Thunder defense.

ODA’s defense set the tone immediately, holding Cambridge Christian to negative-2 yards on its opening possession and forcing a punt.

Quarterback Jaxon Lawhun and the Thunder offense responded with a 58-yard scoring drive, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run from Cam Yates. Lawhun connected with Beau Tack on the two-point conversion to give ODA an early 8-0 lead.

After the Thunder defense forced another punt, Lawhun moved the offense back down the field, including a 25-yard completion to Devin Erdei. Cambridge Christian was able to stop the drive when Bryce Briones fumbled at the 9-yard line.

The ODA defense immediately answered.

Senior defensive end Jake Beasley forced a safety in the end zone, extending the Thunder lead to 10-0 and giving the offense the ball back.

Lawhun then completed a tight-window 15-yard pass along the sideline to Yates before Nate Williams delivered one of the plays of the night, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 22-yard touchdown run. Yates added the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 18-0.

The Thunder defense continued creating opportunities for the offense. Senior defensive tackle Bryce Briones forced a fumble, giving ODA possession at the Cambridge Christian 15-yard line.

ODA capitalized on the short field as Yates punched it in from 1 yard out for his second touchdown of the night. Lawhun connected with Dominic Reddick on the two-point conversion.

On Cambridge Christian’s next possession, Beasley forced another fumble, this time recovered by Mark Barre, to give the Thunder offense the ball right back.

Lawhun connected with Brayden Ogle on a 39-yard deep ball to set ODA up at the 4-yard line. On the next play, Lawhun found Erdei crossing the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. Lawhun then connected with Ogle on the two-point conversion to send the Thunder into halftime with a commanding 34-0 lead.

ODA picked up right where it left off to begin the second half.

Sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Dominic Reddick returned the opening kickoff 45 yards to give the Thunder excellent field position. Lawhun connected with Yates for 14 yards and Ogle for 35 yards on back-to-back completions before Yates finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, his third rushing score of the night. Sebastian Parra added the extra point to make it 41-0.

The Thunder defense, led by the linebacker trio of Tack, Erdei and Kingston Kokoefer, then forced Cambridge Christian into a turnover on downs.

ODA took over at its own 40-yard line, and quarterback Christian Garzia connected with Erdei over the middle. Erdei did the rest, taking it 60 yards for his second touchdown reception of the night. Parra added the extra point to extend the Thunder lead to 48-0.

The defense created one more turnover when sophomore defensive back Reddick intercepted the Cambridge Christian passing attack.

Senior running back Alex Kaplan later added 10 yards on two carries before ODA turned the ball over on downs.

Cambridge Christian scored its lone touchdown of the night as time expired when quarterback Sam Lejkowski connected with Ronnie Blair on a 66-yard touchdown pass, producing the final score of 48-6.

Yates led the Thunder rushing attack with three touchdowns, while Erdei scored twice through the air, including his 60-yard touchdown reception. Lawhun directed a balanced ODA offense that produced touchdowns on the ground and through the air Totaling 330+ Yards.

Defensively, the Thunder once again controlled the game from the opening possession, forcing multiple turnovers, recording a safety and keeping Cambridge Christian off the scoreboard until the game’s final play.

The 48-6 victory moves ODA to 3-0 on the season. The Thunder have outscored Indian Rocks Christian, Babcock Ranch and Cambridge Christian 130-13 through their first three games.

Palmetto 35, Key West 7

The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board as Nazir Pitchford took a short pass from Matthew Hennesey and raced 60 yards on Palmetto's first play from scrimmage. That set a tone for the first quarter as the Tigers would score three more times. Hennessey hit Maurice Carter on a quick pass to the right, and he cut back through the middle for a 35-yard score.

Stuck deep in their own territory, the Conchs tried a quick kick, but that was blocked into the end zone and Chase Henson fell on it for a 21-0 edge with 7:14 left in the quarter. Keyron Jones finished the Tigers' next drive with a 1-yard run to make it 28-0 at 3:32 of the first quarter.

Palmetto slowed from there until Shane Partridge scored from 24 yards out at 9:42 of the third quarter to start the running clock. Key West would score a late touchdown to avoid the shutout.

Lakewood Ranch 27, Davenport 0

Running back Eldirick Berry had two rushing touchdowns, while Sebastian Engel added a score, running from 1-yard out. Engel threw a touchdown pass to Ka'marion Jones. Aric Cleveland, Cruz Teich and Sebastian Stokes all had an interception.

Venice 64, SmartEn Sports Academy 8

Receiver Tyree Mannings Jr. had 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns on two carries. He added 32 yards on one catch for a touchdown. Running back Dorien Jones recorded two carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Blakely added one carry for nine yards and one score. Running back Ira Dale Jr. had two carries for 43 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Noah Patton completed one of his two passes for 19 yards, while freshman quarterback Mason Polley went 1-for-2 for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Braden River 17, Fivay 14

In Braden River's first road win since 2023, Jake Polson had a receiving touchdown, while quarterback Louisen Desinor added two touchdown passes. Receiver Jackson Schlabach recorded one touchdown, while running back David Louis had a standout performance.