Lennard, St. Petersburg Catholic Meet With Plenty at Stake in Week 3

Both enter the matchup at 1-1. Both came into the year with high expectations. Neither wants to leave Week 3 sitting at 1-2.

That makes this more than just another early non-district game.

Lennard opened the season with a 17-7 loss at Armwood before responding with a 41-20 win over Morgan last week. St. Petersburg Catholic took care of Gibbs 41-26 in its opener before falling 48-39 to Tampa Catholic.

The records are identical, but the paths here have been different.

For Lennard, the first two weeks have offered a little bit of both sides of what this team can be. The Longhorns struggled to get much going offensively against Armwood, then came back a week later and put 41 points on the board.

Senior quarterback Antonio Balaguer has thrown for 361 yards and four touchdowns while adding 106 yards and a score on the ground. Junior receiver Chayse Brown has emerged as his top target with seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Lennard has the personnel to make Friday interesting.

Robert Gibbons and Bryce Herald have combined for 23 tackles in the secondary, while Nebraska commit Mekhi Williams gives the Longhorns another high-level player on the back end. Up front, Zyion Hall has already produced five tackles for loss and three sacks.

That group will be tested by an SPC offense that has had little trouble moving the football.

Senior quarterback Chase Burrill leads the Tampa Bay area with 702 passing yards through two games, completing 43 of 65 passes with eight touchdowns. Shrodderick Pritchett Jr. has been one of his top targets with 13 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore Elijah Shorter has 14 receptions for 220 yards and four scores.

Then there is Larry Christian.

The senior running back has rushed for 279 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries, giving SPC a legitimate ground game to go with one of the area’s most productive passing attacks.

Through two weeks, the Barons have scored 80 points.

They have also allowed 74.

That makes the matchup with Lennard particularly interesting. SPC has shown it can score enough to play with just about anyone on its schedule, but last week’s loss to Tampa Catholic also showed how difficult it can be to win when a game turns into a shootout.

Lennard presents a different challenge, especially with the talent the Longhorns have defensively.

There is also some pressure on both sides simply because of what comes next.

Lennard still has district games against Newsome, Plant City, Durant and Riverview ahead, along with Tampa Bay Tech on the schedule. The Longhorns expect to be in the playoff picture, and getting back above .500 before that stretch would put them in a much better spot heading into the heart of the season.

SPC has its own difficult road ahead. Clearwater Central Catholic is next after an off week, with district games against Zephyrhills Christian Academy, Northside Christian and Carrollwood Day still to come.

Neither team’s season is over with a loss Friday. It is far too early for that.

But 2-1 and 1-2 are two very different places to be after three weeks, especially for programs that entered the fall expecting to play meaningful football later in the year.

That is what gives this matchup some weight.

Lennard has a chance to build off last week’s 41-point performance and pick up a quality road win. SPC has an opportunity to answer the Tampa Catholic loss and show that the explosive start offensively can translate against another talented opponent.

Two good football teams. Two 1-1 records. Two programs that expect more from this season than an average finish.

By Friday night, one of them will have an early win that could go a long way toward setting up the rest of its season.