Braden River football knocks off Sarasota

After nearly a two-hour delay because of lighting, the Braden River High and Sarasota High football teams met on the field Friday night in a meaningful game for both programs. 

The Pirates were hoping to enter the postseason on a high note; the Sailors were hoping to earn a spot in the postseason at all. It was Braden River (8-1) who walked off the field happy and Sarasota (6-4) who was left needing a bit of luck. The Pirates controlled the ball on offense and threw off the Sailors' rhythm on defense in the course of a 21-6 win. 

Pirates senior wide receiver-turned-quarterback Bryan Kearse threw two touchdowns — one to Chris Kawcak and one to Sam Brooks — and ran for another. The Pirates running backs allowed the team to control each possession; sophomore Trayvon Pinder and senior Nehemiah Jenkins combined for 206 yards on 35 carries. Kearse added 47 rushing yards. 

Sailors quarterback Lance Trippel threw for 224 yards and a touchdown. Most of that yardage came in the fourth quarter; Trippel found senior Olajuwon Mitchell for a touchdown with five seconds remaining to prevent a shutout. 

While Braden River will assuredly receive a postseason spot, Sarasota is in a more precarious position. The Sailors entered Friday just outside of the top-eight in the Florida High School Athletic Association's power rankings of Class 8A Region 3, which is the cutoff for the postseason. Sarasota would need many of the teams on its schedule to win and many of the teams in front of it in the power rankings to lose to have a shot. The Sailors will find out their fate for sure on Sunday. 

The game was the only Sarasota or East County game not to be canceled Friday.