Coming off their first regular season loss since 2013, the Braden River Pirates were in a must-win situation vs. Palmetto to keep their playoff hopes alive. To say they responded well would be quite an understatement.
Braden River demolished the Tigers to the tune of a 35-0 running-clock victory, recording nearly 400 yards of offense while holding Palmetto to just 105 total yards. The win moved the Pirates into a tie for second place in 7A District 11 with Palmetto, with both teams trailing undefeated Venice.
Raymond Thomas, originally from Palmetto, had a successful homecoming, rushing for 34 yards and a one-yard TD on the game's opening drive. He finished the night with 65 rushing yards and two TD.
Louis Colosimo had his second straight spectacular performance. A week after throwing for 469 yards and four TD in the 42-35 loss to Venice, the senior followed it up with a 12-of-16 performance for 293 yards and three TD. He connected on TD receptions to Tyrone Collins (91 receiving yards), Deshaun Fenwick (78 receiving yards) and Knowledge McDaniel (74 receiving yards).
The Pirates recorded their third shutout of the season, and were led by Player of the Game Collins (sack and INT) and several bone-crunching hits from senior MLB Noah Arce.
It had been Palmetto riding the dominant defense in recent weeks, as the Tigers had recorded three straight shutouts entering this week. But for the third straight season, it was Braden River's defense that kept the Tigers at bay.
QB Jason Spicer, Jr. was limited to 50 total yards and sophomore RB Johnny Jones managed just 23 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Next week Braden River (6-1, 3-1) faces a Sarasota team that narrowly kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating winless North Port 13-12 this week. Palmetto (6-2, 3-1) will face Venice (7-0, 4-0) in what is most likely a must-win game of their own, in hopes to force a three-way tiebreaker at the top of 7A District 11.