Booker pulls away from Bayshore late in 41-7 victory
BRADENTON — The Booker High football team took to the air and pulled away from Bayshore High, 41-7, in a Class 2A-District 15 Suburban game Tuesday evening at Balvanz Stadium.
Will Carter Jr. threw two long touchdown passes to Josiah Booker, and backup Jordan Johnson even got into the act with a strike to Omarion Patterson during a 3-minute, 17-second stretch of the fourth quarter, as the visitors pulled away.
Booker (3-4; 1-1 in 2A-15S) led 14-0 at halftime on Carter Jr.’s 40-yard touchdown run and his first touchdown pass covering 21 yards to Patterson.
Taking advantage of a fumble recovery by Drake Robl, the Bruins (0-6; 0-3 in 2A-15S) got on the board early in the third quarter and made it a game. Quarterback Guyvenson Pierre scored from 11 yards out and Ja’lynn Sanders booted the PAT to cut Booker’s lead in half at 14-7.
The Tornadoes then had their best drive of the game, going 81 yards in nine plays with Ahmad “Tooda” Hunter rambling in from 35 yards to make it 21-7 entering the fourth quarter.
Carter connected with Booker from 80 and 16 yards out during a 17-second span after Zekilynn “Zee” Singleton recovered a fumble to put the Tornadoes in command.
It is a quick turnaround for both teams. Friday, the Bruins are on the road to Mulberry for their third game in eight days. Saturday, Booker plays host to Wiregrass Ranch for its third game in nine days.
Booker takeaways
• Slow starts have been plaguing the Tornadoes. “We’ve got to find a way to execute faster,” Booker coach Scottie Littles said. “We came out in the beginning of the game and played down to our competition. We’ve got to find a way to make plays. We’ve got to find a way to execute. We did that toward the second half. I’m proud of them. All our goals are still in front of us. We’ve got to find a way to fight.”
• Carter Jr. and the Tornadoes’ passing game has taken strides. Carter Jr. went 12-for-18 for 178 yards, connecting with Booker eight times for 141 yards. Booker had three catches for 101 yards after halftime. Carter Jr. also ran four times for 82 yards. “It got better toward the end of the game,” Littles said of the passing attack.
• The Tornadoes still are committing too many penalties on both sides of the ball, stalling drives offensively and extending drives for their opponents. “Not happy with the personal foul in the fourth quarter to keep their drive alive,” Littles said. “We’ve just got to worry about us, focusing on what we can control.”
• Booker received a huge contribution from its defense, who recorded 21 plays for no gain or a loss. The Tornadoes had five sacks, two by Singleton and one each from Rah’shad Hill, Dajien Walton and John Sorio. Brandon Bass was his usual self, plugging holes in the middle of the line. Jayson Evans, Jason Thomas and freshman Kevontay Hugan, who received an offer from Penn State this week, also made huge contributions. “The defense has been solid all year,” Littles said. “I’m proud of those guys. They’re going to continue to get better. We’ve got some really good players over there."
Bayshore takeaways
• Pierre scrambled 30 yards on the first play of the game to get the Bruins to the 50-yard line. Little did the home team know that would be the biggest play of the night. Bayshore ran 12 plays from the Booker 20-yard line or closer in the first half and failed to come away with points. On 10 of those plays, it failed to gain yardage. “That’s us,” Bruins coach Jamaal Sanders said. “We’re our own worst enemy. When we get an opportunity like that, it’s a low snap or holding. We’re just not finishing drives. It’s been our Achilles' heel all year long. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does, as long as we are our own worst enemy. We self destruct ourselves.”
• The snaps did not get better as the game went on, but there was a reason for that. Bayshore’s center went out with a broken hand and it has been shuttling guys along the offensive line. “It’s football,” Sanders said. “You’re going to get those. In those situations it’s always the next man up. When you’re dressing 25 … It’s easy to say next man up when you’re dressing 70.”
• Sanders was happy with his team’s effort for three quarters. “We had kids on their 70th and 80th play because they were playing both ways,” he said. “And then you gotta turn around and play Friday. It’s a blessing we get opportunities to play and make the games up, but the reality is it takes a toll on your body and you don’t get as much prep time as you would like. We’re going to go down and play. We’re not going to make excuses and do our best.”
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Booker scores 21 points early in the fourth quarter to break open close game
