Sarasota Christian flexing its muscles in 1st season playing 8-man football

SARASOTA — A result of Hurricane Ian, the bulb on the visitors' side of the football scoreboard at Sarasota Christian School is burned out.

Truth is, the Blazer offense is scoring enough points to burn out bulbs on any scoreboard.

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Forty-two points scored Monday night in a 42-12 victory over Academy of the Lakes. Fifty-seven points scored the week before in a 57-26 win over Foundation Christian Academy. Thirty-five points scored in a 35-18 victory over Four Corners of Davenport.

After losing its first two games, the team of first-year head coach Jacob Spenn has won three of its past four. The Blazers, comprising many players who had never played tackle football, are 3-3 and in line for a playoff berth in the eight-man Sunshine State Athletic Conference.

"Before the season," Spenn said, "no way were we talking about playoffs."

Early on, the reasons for that were evident. At his first practice with the team, fewer than 15 players participated. Spenn was aided by just one assistant coach. It's safe to say that, at that moment, the expectations of the 44-year-old Illinois native weren't much higher than his shortest player.

"I came to that first game not knowing if we could get the ball in the end zone," he said. "Not that you don't have confidence, but you just don't know."

Spenn knew enough that his Blazers wouldn't be ready to play 11-man football their first season. They simply didn't have enough size along their offensive and defensive lines. So, the decision was made to drop down to 8-man, played by 24 teams across the state.

With one senior, surrounded by sophomores, freshmen and eighth-graders, the team's youth has been a plus for Spenn. "They are just doing what they're coached to do," he said. "They don't have bad habits or preconceptions. They're just having fun, and sometimes, when you have a lot of seniors, they all want theirs. We don't have any, and our players are just generally happy for each other."

In a league where teams run the ball a majority of the time, Spenn's Blazers are succeeding through the air. "Across the state, no one's throwing the ball as much as we are," said the former college wide receiver. "For us, and what our guys are, it fits our skill set better. Even as a middle-school coach, we were going to throw the football."

Doing that for Spenn is a 14-year-old whose only football experience was playing the flag variety. But Ben Milliken has made the adjustment better than even Spenn could have expected. In the Blazers' six games, Milliken has thrown for 1,552 yards, 17 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Sarasota Christian is averaging 26 pass attempts a game to 15 run plays.

"He is excellent," Spenn said. "I think he's as good or better than any freshman quarterback I've had in my career. He's a tough kid."

The 6-foot freshman has taken advantage of the defenses he's faced. In an effort to get to Milliken, opponents have been sending extra rushers while defending Blazer receivers in single coverage. "And we have enough receivers that we can find a matchup that works," Spenn said. "They can't cover all of us. Maybe it's because I'm an old wide receiver."

Milliken has had his choice of receivers, all of whom, Spenn said, run precise routes and augment that with sure hands.

Travis Miller, Milliken's favorite target from playing flag football together, has 21 catches for 498 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. Colton Loftus has a team-best 34 receptions for 495 yards and five scores. Randall Collins has 17 catches for 218 yards and four TDs. Justin Brock has 15 receptions for 235 yards and one TD.

And for Spenn, the future looks even brighter with his wideouts. Miller, Loftus and Brock are all freshmen. Collins is the lone sophomore. Spenn's son, Noah, a Blazer eighth-grader, has four catches for 44 yards and a score.

"They're making me look good out there," Milliken said. "On the stat sheet, they're getting their yards and I'm getting my yards. There's been a few busted coverages, but we all had the skills to transition to the tackle format. Our talent level is up with everybody."

Perhaps not St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep. The defending eight-man champions beat the Blazers 29-0 last month. After the loss, however, Shorecrest coaches complimented Spenn, saying his squad resembled theirs three years ago.

"I think we've exceeded expectations," he said. "We have three games left and two that we should definitely win."

On a short week, the Blazers play Friday night at 3-2 Lakeside Christian.

His early doubts now gone, Spenn said he's enjoying himself. After every game, he puts on the film at home and watches it with Noah and son Carson, a Blazer captain and defensive lineman. Sometimes, Spenn said, his wife will join in the film session.

The plan was to remain in eight-man for a couple of seasons. But after this season, Spenn will meet with his players and their parents to gauge interest in playing 11-man next season. "I'm going to have more players next year that I can put on the roster," he said. "I have 40 middle-schoolers playing flag football. I have 20 eighth-graders, and 12 to 15 would want to play tackle football."

If the Blazers have a sufficient number of linemen, they could make the switch. Right now, Spenn is focused on getting his team better over its final three games. He feels a first-round playoff victory is possible. Perhaps even a second.

"We're trending up," Spenn said.

Indeed, right now, the Blazers don't appear to be eight men out.

Week 7 football schedule

Games at 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 7

Bradenton Christian at Cambridge Christian

Braden River at Bishop Moore

IMG Academy White at Berkeley Prep

Lakewood Ranch at Manatee

Out-of-Door at Bell Creek

Parrish Community at Southeast

St. Petersburg Catholic at Saint Stephen’s

Sarasota Chrisitan at Lakeside Christian

The Classical Academy at Sarasota at St. John Lutheran

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Christian flexing its muscles in 1st season playing 8-man football