SATURDAY
St. Petersburg Keswick 35, Sarasota Christian 7
SARASOTA – Quarterback Ben Milliken hurled a 55-yard touchdown pass to Travis Miller on the second play from scrimmage to give Sarasota Christian the lead in its spring football game.
Despite the positive early omen, visiting St. Petersburg Keswick Christian went on to dominate the clock and the scoreboard with a 35-7 victory over the Blazers on a sunny and steamy Saturday morning.
The Crusaders maintained possession of the football on a single drive for the entire third quarter and didn’t even score, using a punishing ground game featuring running backs Frank Martinez and Caleb Nordenbrook.
Keswick finally gave the ball up on downs three plays into the fourth quarter before the Blazers got another crack at running their offense.
In some limited playing time, Milliken still managed to complete 13-of-21 passes for 201 yards.
“You can’t lose a spring scrimmage,” Milliken said. “We’re all out here trying to get better.
“It doesn’t go on our record. We’re just out here playing some football and trying to get ready to go for the upcoming season.”
Like Milliken, the versatile Justin Brock has been around for all four seasons under the guidance of head coach Jacob Spenn. After playing the eight-man game for the first two seasons of their high school careers, the two have been around for the transition to 11-man football that began last season.
“I have always liked how we play our offense,” said Brock, who runs the ball, catches it, returns kicks, plays some defense, and can even kick if called upon. “The spring is always good for getting experience. It’s good to get out and play some other people, besides just practice.”
Travis Miller led Blazer receivers with four receptions for 95 yards against the Crusaders. Brock hauled in three catches for 57 yards. Brock also caught a 62-yard scoring pass from Milliken during the fourth quarter that was nullified due to a holding penalty.
“We were a little bit out of sync with our offense all day,”Spenn said. “That was frustrating. I would have liked to move the ball “But it’s a scrimmage. We wanted to see some things and try to get better. We were able to do that.”
The Blazers open the regular season at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School on Aug. 29.
– Jim Brockman
FRIDAY
Parrish 34, Osceola 0
AT: Osceola
TOP PLAYERS _ (P): QB Brycen Volz threw TD passes to Brandon Trucano, Nathan Schueller, and Ashton Fischer. Cameron Houston and Mike Crutchfield added rushing scores, and the Bulls got big plays on defense from LB Markeyon Maxwell, DL Jair Speaks, and DL Kaleb Exume.
THURSDAY
Lakewood Ranch 27, George Jenkins 14
LAKEWOOD RANCH – Lakewood Ranch High looked sharp and disciplined on Tuesday night, especially for a spring football game.
The Class 6A Mustangs jumped out to a 27-0 lead over visiting Class 7A Lakeland George Jenkins and went on to defeat the Eagles, 27-14, as they capped off three weeks of spring practice.
Scott Paravicini, a former Mustangs linebacker who graduated from Lakewood Ranch in 2012, is in his third season as the team’s head coach.
“I think it’s a testament to these guys and the hard work they have done in this three-week period,” Paravicini said. “I think they have worked their butts off and it was fun to watch them get out there and see what we have. It was a good opportunity for everybody to go out and compete.”
Everett Russ played quarterback in the first half for Lakewood Ranch and completed 5-of-7 passes for 112 yards. One of those completions was a 70-yard scoring strike to Kamarion Jones with only 48 seconds remaining in the first half for a 21-0 lead.
Brett Travers quarterbacked the Mustangs most of the second half and also turned in a solid performance. Travers completed three passes, including a 10-yard touchdown toss to Vik Monoki for a 27-0 lead midway through the third period.
Defensively, Lakewood Ranch forced four George Jenkins turnovers. Jackson McGill and Ethan Storbeck collected interceptions and Jayden Rivers and Cooper Orzel recovered fumbles. Karson Rathbun also registered a sack for the Mustangs.
Lakewood Ranch held the Eagles to just 64 yards in total offense in the first half. The Mustangs only committed one penalty in the first half on an illegal block.
“I was happy with what I saw,” Paravicini said. “We still have a way to go on some things. We had some mental mistakes. But they played their tails off tonight. I am pleased with them.”
Colton Dempsey, the Mustangs’ top rusher last season, ran for 64 yards and scored the first touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run to cap Lakewood Ranch’s first drive in the first quarter.
Elidrick Berry led Lakewood Ranch rushers against the Eagles, picking up 70 yards on the ground.
– Jim Brockman
Merritt Island Christian 22, Bradenton Christian 18
AT: All Saints Academy
TOP PLAYERS _ (BC): Holland Hume threw touchdown passes to Dylan Jones and Connar Henderson. The Panther quarterback also scored on a 5-yard run.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Spring football: Sarasota Christian scores first, but drops spring game to St. Pete Keswick
Reporting by Staff report / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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