A roundup of 2026 high school spring football games from the Sarasota and Manatee County area.
Thursday, May 14
Lakewood Ranch 21, Bayshore 0
BRADENTON — Quarterback Sebastian Engel threw three touchdowns as the Lakewood Ranch Mustangs blanked the host Bayshore Bruins 21-0 on Thursday night at Balvanz Stadium in the spring football game.
Engel’s scoring passes covered 71 yards to Dominique Reddick, 21 yards to Kamarion Jones, and 63 yards to Elidrick Berry. After a scoreless first quarter ,the Mustangs tallied 14 points in the second period. Engel’s third touchdown toss, to Berry on a screen pass, upped the Mustangs’ lead to 21-0 with six minutes left in the third.
Bayshore, which went 5-7 last season, one of the losses to Lakewood Ranch, did little offensively. Ace Sanders’ team crossed into Mustangs territory just twice. The Bruins had a chance late in the game to avert the shutout, but a pass from quarterback Nick Valentine was dropped in the Ranch end zone.
What we learned about Lakewood Ranch football
QB Battle brewing. Lakewood Ranch got a good performance from quarterback Sebastian Engel, who threw three touchdowns while completing 11-of-16 for 213 yards. The rising senior started the Mustangs’ last four games last season. “I think we’ll have a good quarterback battle as we get into the fall because we have (Everett) Russ, who started the year for us and tore his ACL,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Scott Paravicini said. “He’ll be back in the fall. They both can do some things.”
Gotta get the horses going. The Mustangs rushed for fewer than 40 yards, but will return Elidrick Berry, their top runner from last season. Where Paravicini will focus on is the offensive line, which will feature five new starters. “Not new to the program,” Paravicini said, “but they are new to varsity football. This was their first look at consistent varsity reps, so that’s kind of our piece that we have to catch up.”
Stingy defense. The Mustangs lost top defender Aiden Getschow to graduation, but the team’s defense didn’t miss a beat against the Bruins. Take away a long run by Bayshore’s Jayden Gibson late in the game, and the Bruins are held to fewer than 50 yards rushing. The Mustangs also recorded two interceptions of Bayshore quarterback Nick Valentine.
What we learned about Bayshore football
Despite the outcome, Bayshore head coach Ace Sanders wasn’t concerned. “Spring game, that’s what I take out of it,” he said. “We’ve got to get a little tougher, that’s all.”
The former Manatee Hurricanes star no doubt will address his team’s myriad penalties; both teams combined for more than 100 yards in penalties. Five times encroachment penalties on the Bayshore defensive line gave Ranch a first down.
A big playmaker to replace. Sanders’ biggest challenge will be replacing graduated quarterback Jaydis Wiley, the centerpiece of the Bruins attack. “I don’t know if you replace him,” Sanders said, “but you just try to fill the void as much as you can.”
Nick Valentine, last year a Bruins defensive end, will get the first look under center. “He was the most composed and the toughest,” Sanders said. “I know he can get back there and make a play, and he actually came in and wasn’t scared to try to do it. He can throw the ball, but can he make the reads?” Valentine finished 3-of-10 for 23 yards and two interceptions.
Learning on the job. Valentine’s inexperience showed when the Bruins had to use three timeouts to prevent delay-of-game penalties. “Nick is not used to playing quarterback,” Sanders said. “He’s defensive-minded, so he’s got to jaw with the guy first, then it’s like, ‘Oh, got to get the play called.’ It’s a learning curve.”
— Doug Fernandes
Bradenton Christian and Classical Academy of Sarasota jamboree
Bradenton Christian and the Classical Academy of Sarasota put themselves to the test for spring football with the three-team spring jamboree, hosted by Bradenton Christian, that included Foundation Christian Academy. Bradenton Christian went undefeated while Classical Academy came up short in their two exhibition halves.
Bradenton Christian 18, Classical Academy 6
Foundation 6, Classical Academy 2
Bradenton Christian 18, Foundation 0
What we learned about Bradenton Christian football
Hume’s Precision Passing. Rising senior Holland Hume was key for the offense in passing for both games, completing 18-of-26 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns while running three times for 23 yards with a touchdown.
Young Running Back Shines. One of the young players that made noise in the games was sophomore running back Joshua Ditzel. During the junior varsity game against Foundation, he would score on a 35-yard touchdown pass before closing the jamboree with a 34-yard touchdown run for the varsity team.
New Season, New Coaches. For head coach Brian Palone, the spring game wasn’t just evaluating new players, but also new coaches on staff.
“The new coaches have worked extremely hard in the spring,” Palone said. “It was fun to see how hard work is starting to pay off. It was a great competition from TCA and Foundation, and they gave the boys some really good competition.”
What we learned about The Classical Academy
Jitters Play Part. With the Patriots still being a fairly new team, head coach Geoff McBride understood how the team looked out of place offensively with sophomore Dominic Ianelli only completing 1-of-2 passes for 29 yards against Bradenton Christian and classmate Tate Young feeling the pressure after throwing three complete passes for only 21 yards against Foundation.
Defense Steps In. Although the offense was not working properly for Classical Academy, their defense did make an effort to step up. They were able to score their only two points against Foundation after a sack by junior Brycen Bosso in the end zone led to a safety. They also got an interception from sophomore River Cunnigham.
Red zone Work. Although the Patriots had some fair moments running the ball, the team missed three straight chances to score in the red zone during the second game against Foundation.
“We shook off some of the butterflies and played a lot better as the night went on,” McBride said. “We have some red zone issues to fix, but overall I’m happy with boys’ effort and just glad to be back to playing football. We’re a young team and have a lot of data and film to look at to see how we can correct things.”
— Patrick Clines
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Spring Football: Lakewood Ranch tops Bayshore, Bradenton Christian hosts jamboree
Reporting by Emma Moon and Ed Reed, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
