The Sharks (0-1) and Eagles (0-1) square off in Sebastian on Friday at 7 p.m. Both teams may be winless, but they are different kinds of winless.
Centennial was shut down by a tough Westwood team last Thursday, and their 41-0 loss could have been even worse. They had no answer for the team speed of the Panthers, as they allowed a missed field goal to be returned for a TD as well as a kickoff return TD.
SRHS, on the other hand, lost to state power North Broward Prep 39-19 in a game where they led at halftime. The Sharks led 19-7, but 32 unanswered points led to a disappointing loss.
SRHS Coach Randy Bethel liked what he saw in practice the past two weeks, and feels good about his team going into this game. “We’re getting better day by day, and that’s always a good thing,” said Coach Bethel. “We had some time to get some players healthy, and work on a few problem areas in practice.
Playing North Broward Prep early in the year has set the bar for the Sharks. While obviously not happy with the loss, Bethel used the game as a learning tool to improve his team. “When you play a team like them, they really expose your weaknesses,” said Bethel. “Our pass defense and red zone defense showed weakness, and we’ve had two weeks to address that.”
Coach Jim O’Neal will have the Eagles ready to play, and Bethel expects to see a balanced attack on Friday. “They bring in a talented stable of backs,” said Bethel. “Javaris Giles and Randy Hunter are solid backs, and they will spread the ball around the field with (QB) Cody Bragg. We’re in for a good game.”
The Sharks gave up over 200 yards rushing to a running back committed to Oregon, and almost 300 yards passing to a QB with scholarship offers from Mississippi State and Florida International two weeks ago. The Eagles don’t have anyone on their roster with this kind of ability (not many do) and in short, will be the perfect opponent to play after having two weeks to recover from getting beat by a great team. SRHS should win by two scores or more.
