Where: Bryant Stadium, 1125 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland
Outlook: Lakeland is ranked No. 1 in Class 4S, and Osceola is ranked No. 4. The teams played 13 times between 2005 and 2014 with Lakeland holding an 8-5 advantage. However, Osceola has won the last three meetings. Sophomore running back Taevion Swint has rushed for 245 yards and four touchdowns in two games. Lakeland's offensive line will be tested as Osceola defensive linemen Derrick LeBlank and John Walker are ranked No. 22 and No. 23, respectively, in Florida. Cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson is ranked No. 38. Lakeland running back Donares Johnson, who rushed for more than 900 yards last year, is expected back Friday. He has been out since the Kickoff Classic. In his absence, D'marius Rucker has rushed for a team-leading 191 yards in two games. Tyler Williams has been a big-play player. He has a 45-yard touchdown reception, a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown and an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
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Where: Joe Stangry Stadium, 2800 Hornet Drive, Haines City
Outlook: This is a 4S-8 district game. This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2016 when Winter Haven won, 43-8. Winter Haven is 13-0 vs. Haines City since 2004. Haines City running back Ke'shon Tyler has 256 yards in two games. Haines City has outscored its two opponents, 74-7.
Where: On campus, 93 Panther Paws Trail, Kissimmee
Outlook: This is a 3S-8 district game. This is Gateway's first game since its season-opening 27-20 win over Lake Buena Vista. Gateway rushed for 289 yards in the victory with 14 yards passing. Joshua Fuller Jr., rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries, and Hector Perez rushed for 84 yards. Auburndale was balanced in its win over Kathleen, rushing for 135 yards and passing for 135 yards. Dayrel Glover led the running game with 61 yards on 12 carries. Auburndale is 3-0 vs. Gateway since 2004, outscoring the Panthers, 109-15.
Where: Legion Field, 240-298 N. Wales Drive, Lake Wales
Outlook: This is a 3S-8 district game. Lake Region iso coming off a 31-0 win over Avon Park. The Thunder were shut out in the opener against Winter Haven then followed up with the shutout last week. Lake Wales has outscored its first three opponents, 85-14. The Highlanders have eight interceptions in three games. Running back Jonas Henderson has rushed for 394 yards in three games. Lake Wales is 9-0 vs. Lake Region since 2005, including 42-0 in their last meeting in 2019.
Outlook: This is a 4S-8 district game. Ridge quarterback John Kostuch threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Victory Christian. Running back Joe Jackson has rushed for 310 yards in three games. Bartow couldn't hang on in regulation when it allowed Golden Gate to score in the fourth quarter to force overtime. However, in OT, Bartow quarterback Kaleef Valentine scored to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 28-21 victory. Trequan Jones, who rushed for 97 yards in the opener, and 101 yards against Kathleen is Bartow's No. 1 running back. Ridge is 7-5 all time vs. Bartow, but Bartow won last year's game, 48-7.
Where: Viking Stadium, 1111 Forest Park St, Lakeland
Outlook: Zephyrhills Christian is coming off a 38-16 loss to Land O'Lakes. This is a 1S-5 district game. Lakeland Christian rushed for 332 yards last week against Fort Meade. Jacob Allen leads LCS with 113 yards rushing, and Killian O'Neal has 103 yards. Quarterback Parker St. John has 182 yards of total offense. Defensive end Mack Estrada has 5.5 sacks in two games.
Where: On campus, 4525 County Road 547, Davenport
Outlook: This is a 3S-8 district game. Davenport is coming off a 31-20 loss to Longwood Lyman. Davenport quarterback Aiden George had 315 yards of total offense. He rushed for 145 yards and completed 6 of 12 passes for 170 yards, including a 94-yard touchdown pass to Edward Rogers. The Broncos allowed 437 yards to Lyman. All of Liberty's 287 yards of offense in three games have come on the ground.
Where: On campus, 11605 US-92, Seffner
Outlook: Seffner Christian's Javari Barnett has rushed for 150 yards, Terek McCant has rushed for 108 yards, and quarterback Jordan Magwood has thrown for 174 yards. Ambassadors has been outscored, 81-0.
Where: Emory Lamb Stadium at Frank S. Battlefield, 900-998 Edgewood Dr. N., Fort Meade
Outlook: Fort Meade has a six-game winning streak over Mulberry dating back to the 2013 season. Both teams are coming off losses, with Fort Meade going down to Lakeland Christian, Mulberry to The First Academy. Fort Meade’s bright spot was a starting quarterback Carson Montsdeoca 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver Josh Porter, which tied the score at 7 on the first play of the second quarter. Running back Ja’Marrion Davis leads the Fort Meade rushing attack, averaging 90 yards a game, compiling four touchdowns. On the Mulberry side, the Panthers will dole out all-county running back Lloyd Knight, who racked up close to 100 yards vs. George Jenkins a few weeks ago; Knight averages 70 yards a game on the ground.
Where: Lee County Football Field, 1 Trojan Way, Leesburg, Ga, 31763
Outlook: This is the second straight season that Lake Gibson has started off 1-2. The only difference is that last year, Lake Gibson won its third game after dropping the first two, while this year, the Braves are coming off two straight losses, though the last loss was by six points. In a game last week vs. Lehigh, quarterback Jackson Akins was 13-for-30 for 299 yards, with receiver Tyson Gast catching the ball five times for 191 yards. Running back Fentrell Graham rushed the ball 14 times for 56 yards — most of the 86 yards the Braves had as a team. Lee County is a preeminent football program with at least nine wins in eight out of the nine previous seasons; Lee County is ranked No. 79 in the nation by Max Preps. All of Lee County’s victory’s have been by at least two scores, and even in a loss, the school put up 27.
Where: 10351 SE Maricamp Road, Ocala.
Outlook: George Jenkins has had good three-game stretches recently: Last season, the Eagles went 3-0 to start the season, and it included a win over Lake Weir. And last week’s lost to DeSoto County was by six points. In fact, the Eagles had their game won. Up 14-12 late, a bad snap led to a fumble that was picked up for a 26-yard touchdown. Earlier in the game Sincere Burroughs hit Blain Miller for a 36-yard touchdown strike; Burroughs is the leading rusher on the team, averaging 72 yards, while putting up a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes haven’t been close all season, losing all three of their games by three or more scores.
Where: Titan Stadium, 4905 Saddle Creek Road, Lakeland.
Outlook: Frostproof is coming off two convincing wins vs. Hardee and Okeechobee. And it was the Donovan Solomon show vs. Okeechobee last week, as he led the Bulldogs with more than 150 rushing yards and a touchdown and more importantly, a home win on Friday night. Solomon averages 210 yards rushing a game and is up to five touchdowns through three games. This potent rushing attack will be facing a Tenoroc program for the first time since 2017. On the other hand, Tenoroc hasn’t been able to win a game this season, but there are some bright spots. For one, the Titans lost by just two points last week vs. Weeki Wachee. And running back Khalil Hooper posted more than 140 yards rushing in the game.
Where: Johnny Johnson Stadium at Tom Atwell Field, 2600 Crutchfield Road, Lakeland.
Outlook: Kathleen has taken steps back each week on offense when looking purely from a points standpoint. And just last week, Kathleen was held to 110 yards of total offense vs. Auburndale. Also, three offensive possessions ended up being scores for Auburndale. Kathleen running back Robert Anderson had nine carries for 57 yards. And Anthony Oldham had 64 yards passing. Sebring is also coming off a loss, but to Lake Wales. Sebring, a team that entered last week as a top 10 team in Class 3S, stayed with Lake Wales until the end. But the Sebring offense gave up two late touchdowns, specifically two pick-sixs. This will be the first matchup since 2017 for both teams.
Where: Oasis Christian field, 151 King Road SW. Winter Haven.
Outlook: Both teams are coming off blowout wins. All Saints won 38-0 over Lake Mary Prep last week. In the win, All Saints produced 450 yards of total offense. Most of that was from quarterback Daunte Giles, who threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns; he ran for 90 and a touchdown. Last week’s explosion helped his average go to 116 yards a game on the ground, while putting up a total of four touchdowns to date. Oasis is coming off a 38-14 win over City of Life Christian Academy. This is the second year in a row the Lions have gotten off to a 2-0 start. The leading rusher on the team is Gideon Kennon, who is up to 128.8 yards a game; he also has seven touchdowns.
Where: Victory Field, 1000 Longfellow Blvd, Lakeland.
Outlook: Both teams having identical records, but there is a glaring difference: Victory Christian has been in one close game all year. The Storm lost to Ridge Community 27-19 last week. In fact, Victory Christian was up 21-19 with 3:41 left, but gave up late touchdown to fall short. The Storm had a lead in three different points in the game. On one occasion, Victory Christian took a 19-13 lead after Jackson Benton threw a 5-yard touchdown to Will Connell, culminating a eight-play drive. On the drive, Rashad Orr caught a 48-yard pass; he would end up with four catches for 86 yards. Kicker Joe McGrath hit field goals on 29 and 47 yards as well. Jacksonville’s biggest offensive threat is receiver Terrell Sampson, who has 3 receptions for 303 yards.
Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco. Robert Magobet can be reached at rmagobet@gannett.com or at 856-905-4537. Follow him on Twitter: @Magobet31.