By Sarah Morton
Contributing Writer
Twitter – @SarahCarlieUF
Gainesville High school has an away district game against South Lake (Groveland) tonight. This will be a big test for both teams as they each sit with 5-3 records on the season and within a game of each other in 6A-District 5. GHS is 3-1, while South Lake is 2-2. Both teams are also coming off big wins.
Previous Game
Gainesville killed their last opponent, the Leesburg Yellow Jackets, last Friday, 70-6. ‘Canes QB Luke Matthews went 6-8 for 125 yards and 4 TDs. GHS used four guys at running back. Nile Cromwell put up the most yards with 153 yards from just three carries. The receiving was also spread across the board seven players caught a pass. Only Jalen Kelsey caught more than one pass. Kelsey caught two for 76 yards. D’verik Daniel on defense had 3 tackles in the game.
The South Lake Eagles beat the Forest Wildcats last week 42-23. QB Baylee Heuser went 10-16 for 169 yards and 1 TD. Zach Martin had 18 carries for 124 yards and Mike Nafield had 12 caries for 186 yards against Forest. Joey Pendarvis had 6 receptions for 112 yards. On Defense, Shamar Yee managed 9 tackles in the game.
The Stats and Top Players
South Lake on average scores 40.1 points per game and Gainesville scores 34.8 points per game. The Eagles average more rushing yards with 202 yards compared to Gainesville’s 267.4 yards. On defense, South Lake averages more tackles than GHS with 62.8 tackles per game compared to the ‘Canes 57 tackles.
Niles Cromwell for the ‘Canes is their leading rusher putting up 68.4 yards per game. QB Luke Matthews averages 262.3 passing yards per game. Caleb Washington is currently the leading tackler for the team with nine tackles per game.
For the Eagles, Kelley Joiner Jr. averages a whopping 335.3 yards per game. However Kelley hasn’t played for the Eagles last few games. QB Baylee Heuser puts up 202 passing yards. On the defensive side of the ball Ryan Boval leads the team with eight tackles per game.
Game Time
South Lake will be hosting Gainesville Friday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
