#5 East Lake at Tarpon Springs

When: Friday at 7:30pm

Where: Spongers Stadium, Tarpon Springs

TV: Channel 47 and HD 1147

Live streaming:  log onto bhsn.com to watch the game live and on demand

Coaches:  Bob Hudson is in his 12th season as East Lake head coach. He holds a 82-47 all-time record. Meanwhile, this is Ron Hawn’s 4th season as the Tarpon Springs head coach with a 17-15 mark.

How they match up:

East Lake has picked up right where they left off last season. The Eagles are 4-0 and outscoring their opponents by an average of 33.5 points. Interesting thing is, their top offensive weapon WR George Campbell has been more of a decoy than playmaker. With teams double and triple teaming the Florida State recruit on the outside, East Lake is taking advantage and pounding the ball more than ever before. Senior RB Drew Cuoto has 30 carries and 4 TDs this season. They also found a sophomore in Calvary Christian transfer Xavier Jackson who is very shifty and can find the creases. The running game has made the job of senior QB Jake Hudson much easier. His father, head coach Bob Hudson says he is miles ahead of where he was a season ago. He is more comfortable and the offense is run at a faster pace.  Up front, East Lake always produces great offensive lineman. Last year’s stud Mason Cole is now starting at Michigan. But big left tackle Julian Santos is looking like the next big thing. Defensively, Carson Lydon gives the Eagles everything they want and more. Verbally committed to Virginia Tech, Lydon has become the emotional leader since transferring from North Carolina prior to last season.

Tarpon Springs has very quietly been building a program the past four years under Ron Hawn. The Spongers went through two bitter divorces with head coaches when George Kotis stepped down and Atif Austin was fired in 2011. Since then, Hawn has gotten the kids to buy in and the talent is starting to show.  The Spongers are also 4-0 but have not won by near the margins East Lake has. Last week, they survived a mud bowl with Dunedin 10-7 and are primed to make their first TV appearance in three years. The Spongers will be outnumbered Friday night as far as depth, so they will need to make plays and play mistake free football. Senior RB Michael Ford is up to the task. He is a short but stout runner (5’9, 215) who will pound between the tackles and bounce it outside. The most excitement may come from senior athlete Daniel Davis. The Spongers will line him up anywhere on the field and find a way to get him the ball. His numbers vs. Osceola early in the season were scary-11 touches, 304 yards. Davis is a transfer from Gibbs who has been arguably the biggest surprise in Bay Area football this season. At tight end, look for senior UCF recruit Mitch Wilcox to be utilized as a big target. Wilcox is a football junkie, who has been waiting for this game a long time. The talent is there for Tarpon to hang in vs. East Lake. But they must get off to a good start, get the crowd going and get prime efforts from their best players.      

Things to know:

1). Spongers lead this all-time series 14-10 but East lake has won the past five meetings.

2). There are currently six undefeated teams in Pinellas County. This game features two of them. The rest are CCC (3-0), Countryside (4-0) , St Pete (3-0) , and Indian Rocks Christian (4-0)

3). Former East Lake WR Artavis Scott is making an early impact at Clemson. Scott is currently sixth in the ACC in receiving yards (239) with 2 TDs.

4.) Tarpon Springs Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Costalas is new to coaching but has been around the game a long time and has been a nice addition to the Tarpon staff.