Last Friday, the Manatee Hurricanes faced off with the IMG Academy Junior National Ascenders (Bradenton, FL) and took home a 31-14 win in front of the home crowd on Senior Night. The Hurricanes improve to 2-3 on the season and hope to use this momentum into district play against Pinellas Park (Largo, FL). 

The Hurricanes got off to a quick start when running back Caedon White took the third play from scrimmage for a 71 yard touchdown to give the Hurricanes a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter. IMG was looking to get on the board with a field goal before the end of the quarter, but linebacker Storm Hence blocked the 28 yard field goal and the ball was downed in Hurricanes territory on the 46 yard line.

Running back Keith Smith erupted for a 50 yard yard before the end of the first quarter to take the ball to the 5 yard line, where Caedon White punched it in for his second touchdown of the night, marking his team leading 4th on the season.

After Storm Hence sacked the IMG quarterback on a 3rd down, the offense drove down the field and quarterback Logan Rogers connected with linebacker Ronin Dangler for another touchdown. The Hurricanes closed the half out with one last touchdown from Malik Bryant and a 45 yard field goal to take a 31-0 lead in the first half.

The Hurricanes had a very quiet second half with no points scored through the second half of the game, but the defense was able to make a few big plays but the Ascenders were able to score two late touchdowns to make the final score 31-14.

The Hurricanes got back into the win column in a much needed win that was dominated on both sides of the ball. Davion Bryant led the way defensively with 2 sacks in the game, and the run game accumulating for 275 yards of offense. The Hurricanes go on a 3 game road stand, which kicks off this Friday against Pinellas Park (Largo, FL) and marks the beginning of district play.