Opening weekend delivered the biggest receiving game in Florida, a 358-yard performance from a sophomore quarterback, two shutouts and a Seminole team that scored nearly a full season’s worth of points in one night. Here’s what stood out.
Top performers
Joseph Archer, Clearwater, WR — 8 catches, 264 yards, 3 TDs in a 40-19 win at East Lake.
Chase Burrill, St. Petersburg Catholic, QB — 29-of-38, 367 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT in a 41-26 win over Gibbs.
Jaysean Glenn, Clearwater, QB — 16-of-26, 358 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, plus 22 rushing yards and a score.
Cole Kennedy, Lakeside Christian, QB — 319 yards and 6 TDs on 10 completions.
Ben Tifer, Dunedin, QB — 8-of-11, 221 yards, 1 TDs.
Jordan Calvin, Gibbs, QB — 14-of-25, 227 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs.
Jamel Rowe, Northeast, RB — 162 yards, 2 TDs on 21 carries.
Brian Ford, East Lake, RB — 141 yards, 1 TDs on 20 carries.
AJ Avila-Mena, Calvary Christian, RB — 140 yards, 1 TDs in a 36-9 win over North Miami.
Khayse Barrett, Clearwater Central Catholic, QB — 125 rushing yards and 109 passing in a 28-24 win over Palmetto.
Noah Driver, Tarpon Springs, RB — 121 rushing yards, 1 TD in a 35-6 win at Hollins.
Ryan Abbott, Seminole, WR-CB — 109 receiving yards, 2 TDs and an interception against Osceola.
Cedric Jackson, Gibbs, WR — 101 receiving yards, 2 TD.
Jacob Hilton, Countryside, DE — 15 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks in a 21-17 win at Palm Harbor University.
Jayeon Jackson, Clearwater, MLB — 15 tackles.
Josiah Loeffler, Keswick Christian — 15 tackles.
By the numbers
264 — Archer’s receiving yards, the biggest single-game total in Florida for the week.
52 — Yards per kickoff return for Gibbs’ Akierio Brumadge, tops in Florida.
27.6 — Tifer’s yards per completion.
6 — Kennedy’s touchdown passes on 10 completions.
3 — Players with three rushing touchdowns: Dunedin’s Rodriguez, St. Petersburg Catholic’s Larry Christian and Shorecrest’s Ke’mon Dent.
2 — Countryside players with at least two sacks. Hilton had 2.5, Alex Picarazzi 2.
0 — Points allowed by Keswick Christian in two games.
80 — Christopher Butler Jr.’s return yards for Northside Christian, tops in Class 1A.
1 — Pinellas County public school on St. Petersburg Catholic’s 2026 schedule.
5 — Pinellas programs with no individual statistics entered.
Notes
Seminole ends the drought
Seminole’s 19-7 win over Osceola snapped a 10-game losing streak.
The Warhawks went winless in 2025, and the 19 points they hung on Osceola were one fewer than they scored all year.
The drought was that severe — shut out 71-0 by Hernando and 42-0 by Northside Christian, with six points against Indian Rocks Christian and eight against Dixie Hollins, among other results last season.
Abbott did most of the damage. Sophomore Jon Holloman threw for 138 yards and accounted for 169 total. John Saleh had five tackles, Laybin Yokley a sack. The computer noticed: Seminole jumped 232 spots in the MaxPreps’ Florida rankings, the biggest one-week move by any Pinellas team.
The Barons’ one and only
The 41-26 win over Gibbs is the only game St. Petersburg Catholic will play against a Pinellas County public school this season.
In July, district athletic director Marc Allison instructed all public high schools not to enter new athletic contracts with the Barons until further notice. Agreements signed before June 25 are being honored, which is the only reason this game happened.
The rest of the schedule is private schools and out-of-county programs: Tampa Catholic, Lennard, Clearwater Central Catholic, Zephyrhills Christian, Northside Christian, Alonso, Carrollwood Day, SFA and one opponent still listed as TBA.
The dispute centers on transfers — the Barons have taken in at least two dozen over two seasons under coach Jesse Chinchar, who went 12-1 and reached a region final in his first year.
Two quarterbacks, one win at CCC
Clearwater Central Catholic beat Palmetto 28-24 using both quarterbacks. Barrett threw for 109 and ran for 125; Sean Hickey II added 97 passing yards. The Marauders finished with 278 rushing and 206 passing. Dicarieze Williams had 13 tackles and a sack, Harrell Clyde an interception.
Archer’s homecoming
Archer’s 264-yard, three-touchdown night came against East Lake, where he played last season as the Eagles’ leading receiver. He caught five passes for 78 yards against Clearwater last Oct. 17 in a 48-10 loss. Ten months later he was on the other sideline.
Keswick’s clean sheets
Keswick Christian is 2-0 without allowing a point — 14-0 over Seven Rivers Christian on Aug. 14, then 20-0 over Cambridge Christian on Aug. 21, both at home. Loeffler leads with 15 tackles. The Crusaders play an independent schedule, so their opener came a week before the season started for teams playing a district schedule.
The sophomores are already here
Glenn’s 358-yard night was the biggest, but the class runs deep. Tarpon Springs got 121 rushing yards from Driver and nine tackles from Mario Dickson-Green, with Anthony Hanna and K’dyn Harris also contributing. Northside Christian’s Isaiah Rider had six tackles and Butler led Class 1A in return yards. Largo’s leading receiver, Kylen Monk, is a sophomore too.
Friday’s games, Aug. 28
Dunedin at Clearwater, 7
Bishop McLaughlin at Keswick Christian, 7
Zephyrhills Christian at Northside Christian, 7
Calvary Christian at King, 7
St. Petersburg Catholic at Tampa Catholic, 7
Boca Ciega at St. Petersburg, 7:30
East Lake at Pinellas Park, 7:30
Gibbs at Osceola, 7:30
Hollins at Countryside, 7:30
Northeast at Largo, 7:30
Palm Harbor University at Tarpon Springs, 7:30
Port Charlotte at Clearwater Central Catholic, 7:30
Lakewood at Columbia, 7:30
Game of the week
Dunedin at Clearwater, 7
Dunedin got exactly the opening night a first-year coach wants. LC Coleman’s debut produced a 28-13 win over Northeast on Aug. 20, built on an efficient passing game and a back who kept finding the end zone.
Ben Tifer went 8-of-11 for 221 yards, a 27.6-yard average per completion and the most productive passing night in the county. Mike Rodriguez scored three times on seven carries. Deondre Miles caught three balls for 66 yards and a score.
Now comes the measuring stick. Clearwater opened with 40 points at East Lake behind the two big-time performances with sophomore Jaysean Glenn throwing for 358 yards and three touchdowns, and Joseph Archer catching eight passes for 264 yards and three scores against the school he played for last season.
The matchup that decides it is Dunedin’s secondary. Nobody knows yet whether the Falcons can handle it. Northeast attempted five passes all night, completing two for 45 yards with two interceptions. Dunedin’s pass defense has essentially not been tested. Clearwater threw it 26 times and completed 16.
The counter is that Clearwater gave up 141 rushing yards to East Lake’s Brian Ford, and Dunedin can run inside. Jayeon Jackson’s 15 tackles for the Tornadoes tied for the county high, so the Falcons will earn whatever they get.
The larger point is what this is worth to Dunedin. The Falcons went 4-6 last season and were shut out twice, including 34-0 by Tarpon Springs. A competitive night against a Clearwater team scoring at this rate would say more about Coleman’s first month than the Northeast result did.