George Jenkins head football coach Paul Freeman knew his team was 33 percent stronger heading into Friday night's Class 7A scrimmage at George Jenkins High School.
And that strength was on full display against Lakewood Ranch High School, a playoff team just a year ago, even though they fell just short by a final score of 7-0.
Starting running back Trevon Evans ran nine times for 68 yards. Starting quarterback Cam Turner ran nine times for 72 yards. Elliott Ortiz had two sacks and Zephy Rogers had two tackles for loss.
“As it became clear tonight, it was last year's playoff team. We went up 7-0, but there was one play that cost us, and against a good ballclub. That's what happens in the end,” Freeman said after the game. “We have things to work on and that's good. That's what I told the boys.”
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Regardless of the outcome of the game, Freeman should have had some good footage, especially against a team just 80 miles away with a similar demographic, similar position and similar record in 2023. It was supposed to be an equally competitive matchup.
And that's exactly what happened in the exhibition game, and the only notable difference between a real game and a scrimmage contest is that in a punt situation, the return man catches the ball, and before the umpire blows the ball away, the return man took the ball harmlessly up three yards. whistle. Still, the only score of the game came on a 70-yard touchdown run by Everett Russ for Lakewood Ranch with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
The score at halftime was 7-0.
But after the 15-minute break, it was clear that Freeman had dialed up a game plan that mostly worked. The second half drive began with a 39-yard pass play from Turner to receiver Gabe Solomon.
George Jenkins continued to push the ball all the way down the field to the 1-yard line. But Evans was reluctant to turn the ball over on downs.
“I think we got a little excited,” Freeman said. “We sneaked the quarterback on third down. We made a play on the run up at the last moment and caught them off guard. He wasn't set (and) the ball slipped through (and) we “We had a chance for a fourth down, we bounced it outside and they made a great tackle on us,” Freeman said.
Jenkins, the next offensive line, pushed the ball inside the 15, but Turner threw an interception.
Still, the Eagles went head-to-head against similarly constructed playoff teams. For a team led by rising juniors, it will start with senior QB Turner and five senior offensive linemen, including Genovian Smith, Bryce Hardwick, Robbie Newman, George Dietrick and John Schambach. Tight ends included Sam Frederick and Cody Woodard.
The defense, led by Elliott Ortiz, Deacon Warren, and Josiah Grant, kept the game scoreless in the second half.
“They were really amazing in how hard they worked,” Freeman said. “I told them…that was a playoff team and one play we got wrong cost us seven points.” I mean, it's not bad there. Continue it all day long. ”
In the end, Jenkins fell just short due to the subtle differences between the two teams: attention to detail in procedural formations.
“What we want to accomplish is small things,” Freeman said.
Other goals the program would like to accomplish is to rival the likes of Winter Haven, Ridge Community and Haines City, win a district championship and have a winning season for the first time since the 2019 season.
