By Danny Villanueva
Contributing Writer
Twitter – @Danny_361
Broadcast coverage: The game will be broadcast Live (video) on the Eastside High School Athletics Facebook page beginning at 7:15 p.m. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Eastside Rams
Head Coach: Ceddrick Daniels
Record: 3-1
Key Players: Anthony Richardson (QB, WR), Deion Jenkins (RB), Jabari Robinson (WR), Jahren Phillips (MLB), Vermonte Williams (DE), Tyreese Sanford (MLB)
Outlook: After crashing Newberry’s homecoming parade last week, the Eastside Rams are coming into this week firing on all cylinders. The Rams return home for the first time since their 38-27 loss to Buchholz in the season opener. Since then, Eastside has fired off three consecutive wins on the road. Deion Jenkins had himself a nice day against Newberry last week and he will look to continue that success on Thursday against Lake Weir. The junior rushed for 127 yards and three touchdowns against the Panthers. If the Rams want to win their fourth game in a row they will need another solid game from UF commit Anthony Richardson. The dual-threat quarterback had 173 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 47 yards on the ground. Defensively, they will have to make sure Lake Weir doesn’t get in rhythm in the passing game. The Rams only had one sack against Newberry after getting to the quarterback nine times against Central the week prior. Last week against Newberry, was also the first game of the season in which they didn’t have an interception.
Lake Weir Hurricanes
Head Coach: Knox Robinson
Record: 3-1
Key Players: Deiontae Simpkins (QB), Zian KIng (RB, LB), Tavoo Randall (RB), Brian Dillard (SS, WR), Yanick Chin (MLB), Alex Jordan (DB)
Outlook: Like the Rams, the Hurricanes are undefeated on the road. Lake Weir hopes to keep their away record unblemished as they face a tough Eastside team. The Hurricanes are known for their explosive aerial attack led by Deiontae Simpkins. The team is averaging over 250 yards through the air each game. Each completion is gaining 22 yards on average. The junior is the main reason for the Hurricanes’ success in the passing game as he has already thrown 10 touchdowns through four contest. Like Anthony Richardson from Eastside, Simpkins is capable of hurting the opponents with his legs as he has scored three touchdowns on the ground, gaining 192 yards. Simpkins is one of three players on the team with three or more rushing touchdowns. The other two are Zian King and Tavoo Randall. Every wide receiver aims to have over 1,000 yards receiving at the end of the season but Brian Dillard might be shooting for 2,000. The senior has 600 receiving yards to go along with 10 touchdowns. He has been putting on a show on both sides of the football as he also leads the team in total tackles with 33, an average of 8.3 tackles per game.
