Bloomingdale (3-1) vs. Alonso (2-3)

When: Thursday at 7:00pm

Where: Alonso Stadium, Tampa

TV: Channel 47 and HD 1147

Live Streaming: Log onto bhsnlive.com to watch the game live and on demand

Coaches: Brian Surcy is in his 1st season and 3-1 as Bloomingdale’s head coach; Brian Emanuel is in his 4th season leading Alonso with an 18-17 all-time record.

How they match up:

There has been a major development in East Hillsborough County over the past few years. Bloomingdale Football actually has a chance to be pretty good! We say that because the Bulls have fielded a team since 1987 and have only made one postseason appearance. With one playoff berth every 27 years, the rest of Hillsborough County has never truly looked at the Bulls as a formidable opponent.

That could be changing.

With wins over Strawberry Crest, Brandon and Plant City, the Bulls are slowly gaining respect. Perhaps more impressive than any of the wins was the fact they hung in with Plant for more than a half before falling 20-6. The big key this year has been the emergence of a young head coach in Brian Surcy. Surcy graduated from Bloomingdale, he’s lived in the community since he was 7 and has brought a true sense of pride to the program. Offensively, QB Isaiah McIntyre can make all the throws and when he gets into a groove, he can hurt you. Athletically, he may be the best at his position locally. What he need to do better is develop into more of a field general and display needed leadership in tight situations when the game is on the line.

As for his weapons, RB Fred McCoy runs like a fullback. He’s not a burner but he can carry it 25-30 times a game. At WR, this is where the Bulls can really shine. Doug Sandberg is one of the best kept secrets in Hillsborough County. Currently being recruited by Air Force, Sandberg plays all over the field and on special teams. His  4.O GPA also makes him a leader by example. On the other side is Logan Crouse,  arguably the best right-handed pitching prospect in the state of Florida for 2015. Committed to FSU, he could be a top pick in the upcoming MLB draft.  At 6-5, when Surcy calls his number, he goes and gets the football. The defensive line leads the way on the other side of the ball with seniors Tyler Clark, Tyler Jahn, Sam Skinner and Otto Lima all having tremendous first steps and staying with their assignments. Linebacker Ryan Voyles is the heart of the Bulls defense and one of the biggest reasons Plant was held to only 20 points.

Alonso is 2-2 but could easily be 4-0. Two heartbreaking losses to Newsome and East Bay have the Ravens still seething. But with Thursday night being a key district game against Bloomingdale, this team knows they’re still in the district hunt. Head Coach Brian Emanuel feels the Ravens are ready to take the next step with postseasons on a regular basis. His staff got a huge boost in the offseason when Hillsborough County assistant coach of the year Kirk Karsen made the jump from Sickles. Karsen is the Monte Kiffin of Hillsborough County Football. When he has coached defense at Chamberlain, Gaither, Sickles and now Alonso, those units have made great strides. The same has happened with the Ravens through 4 games.

Offensively, Junior Chris Oladokun is one of the emerging quarterbacks in Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, his skills haven’t been fully utilized this season, mainly because of the horrible weather so far on Friday nights. Hopefully for the Ravens, that changes on Thursday. Oladokun is not very big at about 180 lbs, but he has a whip for an arm and tremendous upside. He already has offers from USF and Toledo and more should follow. At RB, Roosevelt Lawrence reminds the staff of the great Jarvis Giles with tremendous burst. RB Joshua Elias should get plenty of carries while WR Terryl Scott is just waiting to break out. The offensive line is very young, so it will be a tough matchup against an aggressive Bloomingdale front.

The defense is led by Regan Upshaw, son of the former #1 pick in 1996 by the Bucs. Surprisingly, Upshaw is in his first year of playing football. He is an extremely intelligent player, and has gained toughness from playing rugby and ice hockey. Senior NG Isiah Garrett has been the surprise of this team, coming out of nowhere to play like a brick wall up front. Junior Kelvin Clemmons is a DE who flies around the field. He’s had some issues with the coaching staff which kept him out of the Newsome game. But those appear to be behind him and now he’s bought into the team concept.

Things to know:

1.) 2013 was the first winning season is school history for Bloomingdale when they went 6-4  

2.) Last spring, Logan Crouse led Bloomingdale Baseball past Park Vista in the final four (1-0 in 8 innings) and all the way to the 8A state championship

game. His 9-2 record and .63 ERA was among the best in Tampa Bay.

3.) Plant will likely represent 8A District 6 as the top seed in the postseason. After that, Newsome, Wharton, Alonso and Bloomingdale will battle for the #2 spot.

4.) Both programs will take advantage of the TV exposure. Bloomingdale made their last football Game of the Week appearance in 2000 when they battled Sickles. Alonso has not been featured since 2008 in a loss to Chamberlain.