HS roundup (Jan. 29-Feb. 3): Sarasota boys basketball team extends win streak to 13 games
FRIDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
Sarasota 66, Cardinal Mooney 39
SARASOTA − The Sarasota High boys basketball team used its pressure defense in the second quarter to separate from Cardinal Mooney Catholic and superior rebounding on both ends in the third quarter to stay in front.
In a matchup of two of the area’s hottest teams, the Sailors closed the regular season with a dominating performance in a 66-39 victory over the Cougars on Friday night in front of a nice crowd at Eddie Howell Gymnasium.
Up 21-19 midway through the second quarter, the Sailors used a 7-0 run − two free throws by Oliver Boyle, a dunk by Michael Drayton and a 3-pointer by former Cougar Frankin Liriano − to take a nine-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We really talked a lot about getting our defensive energy and effort and trying to get after it at that end of the floor,” Sarasota coach BJ Ivey said. “That fueled a lot of our offense.”
In the third quarter, the Sailors hammered the boards, especially on the offensive end along with their ability to get to the free-throw line.
“That was a point of emphasis yesterday,” Ivey said of the rebounding.
In the first meeting, a 52-47 Sarasota victory at Patterson Pavilion, Cardinal Mooney held a 34-20 edge on the boards, including 15-6 on the offensive side.
“Defense and rebounding wins in the playoffs,” Ivey said. “If you’re going to try to win a district championship, you better do those two things.”
In stretching their winning streak to 13 games and winning 22 of their past 23 games, the Sailors (22-2) received a game-high 20 points from Drayton. Liriano had nine points.
Sarasota got a boost from Nate Gruhl, a 6-foot-8 senior who had 13 points and blocked four shots in his third start of the season.
“He’s playing with more aggression and being assertive,” Ivey said of Gruhl, who was injured last season and did not participate in summer workouts. “Now all of a sudden you start looking at the rhythm and things of that nature. Him coming around is really going to help. He’s catching his groove.”
Losing for the first time in nine games − or since the previous setback to Sarasota − the Cougars (16-8) received 10 points each from Kevin O’Donoghue and Connor Heald and eight points from George Leibold.
“They played hard and we didn’t,” Cardinal Mooney assistant coach Terrence Garner said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about and figure out as we head into districts here. It was not a good night for us. It was a lack of effort on our end. We’ve got to go into next week prepared.”
− Dennis Maffezzoli
Sarasota Christian 56, Out-of-Door Academy 54
AT: Sarasota Christian
TOP PLAYERS: Ben Milliken 25 points, Josh Frazzini 17 points, Matthias Hulka 12 points, Randall Collins 7 points
RECORDS: Sarasota Christian 16-8. Out-of-Door 8-13
NEXT: Sainst Stephen's will host winner of Saint Stephen's-Classical Academy district quarterfinal in district semifinal, Thuraday, 7 p.m.
Booker 52, Palmetto 41
AT: Booker
TOP PLAYERS: (B) Jovan Palavra 10 points, 7 assists, Kaiden Wright 10 points
RECORD: Booker 16-9
NEXT: Booker hosts Bayshore in Class 4A-District 11 semifinal, Thursday, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cardinal Mooney 51, Sarasota 43
SARASOTA − The Cougars did not put on their running shoes until late in the third quarter.
In stretching its winning streak to eight games, Cardinal Mooney (17-6) broke a 31-all deadlock with the final six points of the third quarter on two free throws by Madi Mignery, a putback by Sy’Monique SImon and a layup by San Kotasek to take the lead for good.
“Sarasota had a good game plan for us,” Cougars coach Marlon Williams said. “We’ve got to work on some things. We’ve got to move the ball and get points down in the paint.”
It was a totally different game from the first meeting when Cardinal Mooney consistently beat the Sailors down the court for easy baskets in a 70-40 decision.
Bri Behn topped the Cougars with 15 points. Kali Barrett chipped in with 10 points and Kotasek added eight points.
Cardinal Mooney takes a nine-game winning streak into the district final Friday at home against Bradenton Christian School in the two-team Class 3A-District 11 tournament.
Sarasota (15-8) got 16 points from Sofi Miller, 12 from Paisley Binswanger and 8 from Kennedy McClain.
The Sailors honored McClain before the game for scoring the 1,000th point of her career Jan. 23 at home against Parrish Community High. McClain played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Cardinal Mooney, scoring 446 points during her two seasons with the Cougars before transferring to Sarasota.
− Dennis Maffezzoli
THURSDAY
GIRLS SOCCER
Parrish Community 2, Braden River 1
PARRISH − John Mentzer saw a side of his Parrish Community High girls soccer team that he had not seen previously.
“We came out a little but panicked tonight for some reason,” Mentzer said. “I think they really wanted this too much. It affected their play. And then they settled down in the second half.”
After Braden River High opened the scoring in the second half, the Bulls settled down and played their game.
Scoring two goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation time, Parrish Community won its third straight girls district soccer title with a 2-1 victory over the Pirates in the Class 5A-District 10 championship Thursday night at the Bulls field.
After a scoreless first half, second-seeded Braden River (11-2-2) got on the board first. Junior striker Niley Molina followed in a rebound with 33 minutes, 14 seconds left in the second half.
“It definitely got me going,” Bulls senior Kendall Hecht said. “I did not want to lose.”
Top-seeded Parrish Community picked up its play and began putting pressure on the Pirates. The Bulls had two straight corner kicks and Sydney Weslowski had a shot deflected wide.
It was not until a foul just inside the penalty area resulted in a penalty kick. Weslowski stepped up to the dot and knocked it past Braden River junior goalie Lorelai Lis, who got her hand on the ball but could not prevent it from crossing the line. The goal with 14:12 left tied the match at 1-all.
“They got the penalty kick,” Pirates veteran coach Don Engelberger said. “We can say it was not, but in the end it was a penalty kick.”
Parrish Community kept pressuring.
“We got back in here and set it straight,” Hecht said. “We focused on what we needed to do better and we did it.”
Three minutes later Hecht took a through ball from Brianne Bonzheim and drilled it into the far corner of the net.
“When we were losing I blacked out,” Hecht said. “All I remember is just shooting that and getting excited.”
Braden River had some pressure of its own down the stretch, but the Bulls hung on.
“It means everything,” Hecht said. “Our season is not over. My high school career is not over. I’m just very excited.”
It was the first meeting between the sides this season. Engelberger went with a lighter schedule because of the amount of youth on his roster. That is the main reason Parrish Community (9-7-1) landed the No. 1 seed despite a lesser record than the Pirates.
“My guys fought hard,” Engelberger said. “I can’t be disappointed in anything they put on the field tonight.
“We learned it’s 80 minutes to play. We’re a very young team. It was an eye-opener for a lot of them.”
The Pirates’ effort impressed Mentzer.
“Hats off to them. They gave us the best game we’ve had all season,” he said. “We weren’t expecting as tough a game as we had.”
While the Bulls, who have four players sidelined with injuries including Herald-Tribune Girls Soccer Player of the Year Hayden Lepley, assured themselves of a berth in the regionals, Braden River will know its fate when the Florida High School Athletic Association announces the pairings 2 p.m. Friday.
“I feel good about our chances to get in. We might even get a chance to see them again,” Engelberger said of the prospect of facing Parrish Community again.
− Dennis Maffezzoli
Canterbury 2, Imagine School at North Port 0
FORT MYERS - After a two-year absence, the Canterbury girls soccer team punched its ticket to the FHSAA regionals on Thursday night with a 2-0 win over Imagine for the District 2A-11 championship.Kali Young scored a goal and an assist, Alyssa LoGuercio had a goal, and Alex Tartaglia had an assist.Nearly three years removed from the 2021 finals appearance, Canterbury's last two seasons came to disappointing ends in the district tournament. The 2022 team lost 7-0 to Evangelical Christian in the district championship game. The 2023 squad did not even make it past the district semis, losing 5-1 to ECS.But over that time, the team has been building a squad with more staying power, led by LoGuercio, the striker, who has 17 goals this year. There are no seniors on the team and the starting lineup has 5 middle schoolers."This core that we've had, they had the hard part of rebuilding," Canterbury coach Paolo Acosta said. "For them to get back to this point and now get a district title is what we are super happy about."The Sharks (8-4-1), in their second straight district championship game, upset Out-of-Door in the semifinals on Monday to get there. Despite a heroic effort by goalkeeper Esther Pushkash and some timely clearing kicks by center backs Sophie Brown and Marina Gordon, they were unable to maintain enough of a consistent attack to get on the scoreboard themselves."We definitely could have played better," Imagine coach Derek Sauline said. "We let them do what they wanted for probably the first half. The second half, we stepped up, but it still again wasn't our best."About four minutes in, LoGuercio took a pass from Young and came up from the left side. She nudged the ball right before a defender crossed her path, and it slipped past the keeper low and to the right to make it a 1-0 lead.Tartaglia brought the ball up on the right wing, then fed a cross to Kali Young, who was right in the middle of the 18-yard box. Young stopped the ball with her left foot, let the Imagine defender overrun it, then used her right to fire it near the right side goal post. The Imagine keeper was able to get a hand on the ball, but not enough to deflect it away. The goal made it 2-0.
BOYS SOCCER
Parrish Community 1, Braden River 0
BRADENTON - It’s fitting the only goal scored by the Parrish Community boys soccer team Thursday night was tallied by a converted hockey player.
The goal was sufficient to put the district hopes of the Braden River Pirates on ice until next season.
A goal by Colton Segneri with a minute left in the first half stood up, and the Bulls, the No. 2 seed who came in with a record of 9-8-1, defeated the host, top-seed and one-loss Braden River Pirates, 1-0, to claim the Class 5A-District 10 title, the first in program history.
Parrish now advances to the regional round, and will be a host school. Classes 5A-7A begin quarterfinal play on Tuesday, Feb 13. The semi-finals are Feb. 16, and the regional final is set for Feb. 21. Despite losing to Parrish, the 12-2-1 Pirates will be on the road for regionals.
Braden River defeated the Bulls 1-0 in the season opener, and it appeared Thursday’s match on the Pirate pitch would be similarly low scoring. But with a minute left in the first half of a scoreless tie, Segneri, playing his first year of soccer after years in hockey, pounced on a loose ball in front of the Pirate net and put it past Braden River goalie Dominick Hannaseck for a1-0 Bull lead Parrish took into the break..
It was the senior Segneri’s second goal of the season.
“The ball kind of just bounced to me,” he said afterward. “I really don’t have a mindset coming into most things I do. I’m still learning. I don’t really know what I’m doing, so I kind of just run around.”
After the game, Braden River head coach Braden Chandler lamented his team coming out “flat” for the first half. The Pirates had one good scoring opportunity in the first 40 minutes, but weren’t able to convert.
And in the second half, the Pirates had another when Parrish goalie Luke Zagrocki was unable to corral a corner kick. The ball bounced to ninth grader Omar Guzman, directly in front of the Bulls net. But with Zagrocki out of position, Guzman shot the ball over the net.
Other than that chance, the Pirates were stymied by the hustling Parrish defense, which was able to bottle up and slow the Pirate attack through midfield.
“They made it difficult for us in the midfield,” Chandler said. “They have some really good, strong players in the midfield, and we’re used to being able to control the midfield quite a bit more. They did a good job of just pressuring us and making it difficult for us to build any sort of attack.
“I think they’re just a good team,” Chandler said. “We knew it was going to be a close game. I thought we came out pretty flat in the first half. Unfortunately, they got a goal right at the end of the first half. We had a much better second half.
“We told the boys at the beginning, ‘If you can get an early lead, let’s take them out of it. The longer you keep them in, the more confidence they start to build.’ They stuck with it and hats off to them.”
Though his team lost eight games during the regular season. Parrish head coach Gabriel Mazo said the level of the Bulls’ opponents prepared them for the district final. He also said the mindset of his players changed in the offseason.
“One of the things the boys needed was the mentality,” he said. “Last year we lost (in the postseason) and we were a young squad. We lost and they didn’t know what defeat tasted like. They came in this season and they did what they had to do.”
Befitting a district final, between two rivals, the match was chippy, with players on both teams knocked to the ground.
“At the end of the day,” Mazo said, “they’re all good friends, they all play on different clubs against each other. But, at the end of the day, they love the sport, they love their school, and, obviously, they want to play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.”
- Doug Fernandes
Canterbury 2, Out-of-Door Academy 1
FORT MYERS - It’s funny how fast things can change. Canterbury freshman Uriyah Harness could have shrunk after missing a penalty kick early in the second half. Four minutes later Harness put in the game-winning goal to carry the Cougars past the Thunder, 2-1, to capture the Class 2A-District 11 championship.
“I couldn’t be happier for him. I would put him on the spot for another penalty in a heartbeat,” said Canterbury head coach Jared Rust.
The Cougars' unrelenting offense put them on the scoreboard first at the 19-minute mark. Josh Wiess found a streaking Will Hall who smashed the ball past Out-of-Door goalie Mika Levy for the score.
It didn’t take long for the Thunder to return the favor thanks to a defensive lapse by the Cougars. Midfielder Dylan Walker lined up a free kick 40 yards from the Canterbury goal. He sailed the ball over the Cougar defense floating the ball into the net to level the contest at the 21-minute mark.
Canterbury controlled the ball for the bulk of the first half failing to take advantage of three corner kicks.
Walker nearly nailed another long free kick late in the first half but the Canterbury defense was prepared and goalie Josh Hill made the stop.
Canterbury’s pressure continued into the second half. It finally paid off with a foul in the penalty box giving Harness a chance at a penalty kick. He fired the ball on the ground to his left but Levy made the stop.
It didn’t take long for Canterbury to counter and at the 13-minute mark Harness found himself with the ball and fired it past Levy for the winning goal.
“We focused a lot on having the ball, so if we have possession of the ball, we force teams to have to come backwards and get into their half because we’re building and building and building,” said Rust.
Out-of-Door made one last push with a minute to go and a free kick 50 yards from the goal but the Canterbury defense stepped up one final time to take the title.
“It was a very good team we played tonight, well organized, well played and we knew we were up for a tough task,” said Thunder head coach David Hawkes.
Hawkes is hoping his squad's 13-3 record is enough to get them into regionals.
“We had a hard game on Tuesday, but we’ll come back. We might get in, we might be in the next round,” Hawkes said.
– John Rinkenbaugh
North Port 4, Lakewood Ranch 3
NORTH PORT - For a minute, it looked like the Lakewood Ranch boys soccer team had just won the District 7A-8 championship with a goal in the 99th minute.
The Mustangs, thinking the game was over, stormed the field and celebrated the victory that wasn't theirs.
North Port knew there was still time left, just enough to tie the game and force penalty kicks, which they would win 4-3 to take the championship Thursday at a raucous Preserve.
In the shootout, goalkeeper Christian Heredia made an early save on Broden Beorlegui that put the Bobcats in the catbird seat.
Then it got interesting. Deacon Powell hit the crossbar on the potential game-winning fifth and final kick, giving the Mustangs life. However, Andrew Scott was wide on his kick and it was North Port's time to storm the field, legally this time.
What forced penalty kicks was one of the strangest endings in a soccer game. In the 99th minute, Jose Lopez Perez was able to get the ball in front and put it past Heredia to give Lakewood Ranch a 2-1 lead.
The players stormed the field in celebration. Problem? The game wasn't over. This resulted in five bench players for the Mustangs and the head coaches for both teams to be sent off with red cards, with the coaches forced to leave the field entirely.
North Port (12-3-4) tried to quick start the game with the entire Lakewood Ranch team still celebrating, and got a chance to tie it, and with only a few seconds left, Ryan Larson was able to get the ball in front and poke it past Noah Rueping to tie the game.
After an uneventful first half, things got interesting after halftime. In the 54th minute, Aaron Clark found Beorlegui in front, who then found the net to put Lakewood Ranch on top.
North Port tied it in the 74th minute when Powell won a sprint to the ball with two defenders and the goalkeeper and was able to bounce the ball into the net for the tying goal.
North Port had 19 shots to Lakewood Ranch's 17. The Mustangs had an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
The Bobcats will now wait and see where it stands in the regional rankings. Lakewood Ranch (12-8) came into the week ranked ninth and pretty much needed the win to continue its season. District 7A-7 had its highest ranked team 10th, and it has to have its champion in the field
North Port coach Joey Sorbino won't have those worries. Watching the penalty kicks from afar. He was proud of the guts his team showed.
"This team has stuck together for 21 games. They know what the endgame is and knew it was on the line tonight," Sorbino said. "They knew what the job was and they came here and did it."
- Chuck Bellaro
Tampa Robinson 1, Booker 0
SARASOTA - Tampa Robinson got a goal in the closing seconds of the first half and held on to defeat Booker, 1-0, in the Class 4A-District 11 boys soccer championship game Thursday night.
The teams battled through a scoreless first half as the Tornadoes controlled play in the early going while the Knights began to assert themselves in the latter stages of the half.
With less than a minute to go before halftime, Booker goalkeeper Carlos Dominguez came out to the left of the net to challenge a Robinson attacker. Both players went down in a heap, leaving the Knight's Nicholas Zamprogno with the ball and an empty net.
"I looked around and I'm like 'Where's the ball?', Zamprogno said. "And I see the goalie on the floor and the defender on the floor and I'm like 'I've got to go get it, right?' And then I see, okay, I'm finally going to have time to take a touch so I hit it. I thought it was going to go out, but it went in. It was so close, but it went in, thank God."
The Tornadoes turned up the pressure in the second half, winding up with twice as many shots as Robinson, but many of them went wide or over the net. Meanwhile, the Knights were focused on protecting their narrow lead.
"We talked about killing a game yesterday because we had issues the other day," Robinson coach Jason Roberts said. "Tactically, not much changed other than the fact that we had to have that mindset. So other than changing the mindset and understanding what to do and when to do it, and not to rush things and still play top notch ball, that's what we had to do and we did it."
Booker had a few good chances, but couldn't put anything past Knights goalie Matthew Sackenheim. The best chance came when Caleb Lee's shot glanced off the crossbar with four minutes to go in the game.
"Booker is a really good team," Roberts said. "They had us in the back end for a little while in the first half. But we weathered the storm and pressed and finally got our opportunity and Nick put it in. Then we had to weather the storm for the whole second half. That was the tough part."
The Booker players lay sprawled and exhausted on the field after the final whistle while the Knights were celebrating their district championship, but a spot in the regional playoffs likely still awaits the Tornadoes, now 11-4-5. Robinson improved to 11-8-2.
"The boys did their best, just one mistake there and they took advantage," Booker coach Flavio Laura said. "That's how the game is. No matter what, I'm proud of the boys. They kept fighting and that's what matters. Now we've got to get back up and look to the regionals."
- Bruce Robins
WEDNESDAY
GIRLS SOCCER
Riverview 2, North Port 1
NORTH PORT − Coming out of the post-match handshake line, emotion took over Rachel Paule.
Riverview High’s junior defender could not hold back.
They were tears of joy.
“I’m just so excited,” Paule said. “This team has put so much into this whole season. And we’re finally getting what we deserved. I’m very happy for everyone.”
What the Rams got was a district title. Paule’s goal in the final 6 minutes of regulation broke a tie and gave Riverview a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over host North Port High in the Class 7A-District 8 final Wednesday night at The Preserve.
In extending their winning streak to seven, the third-seeded Rams (11-4-2) advance to the regional quarterfinals Feb. 13.
“This means everything,” Paule said. “We worked our whole season toward this. This is our goal: winning districts. We’re just ecstatic.”
Paule had plenty to do with the jubilation. Her heads-up play led to the winning goal.
The Bobcats (12-3) tried to make a short clearing pass deep in their own end. Paule alertly stepped in, stole the pass and rifled a shot into the back of the net with 5 minutes, 42 seconds left in the second half to break a 1-all deadlock.
“She’s relentless,” Riverview coach Joe St. Onge said of Paule. “She’s 80 minutes of fire. To steal it, to have energy at the end of the game after 80 minutes and finish it like she did is remarkable.”
Earlier circumstances may have caused North Port to play tentatively late in the match. Four different Bobcats received yellow cards prior to the Rams’ second goal.
“When you have players being ejected like that, for no reason whatsoever, then you can not play the game,” North Port coach Hans Duque said. “It tough. They were told not to play short. With that kind of pressure we’ve got to play out and up.”
After a scoreless first half when both sides took turns controlling the play, it was the Bobcats who struck first.
After the first and only yellow card was shown to Riverview, sophomore Alanna Duque sent a free kick to the center of the goal where senior Danielle Van Deusen headed the ball into the goal with 28:42 left in regulation.
That might have been the spark the Rams needed.
“We were controlling the game and had the better of it,” St. Onge said. “To have a goal, it woke us up.”
“Yeah, we started off slow,” Paule said. “It was a wake-up call. It really did wake us up.”
With less than 15 minutes left, the Rams got the equalizer. Majestic Van Ingen, the kicker for the Riverview football team in the fall, took a free kick from 35 yards out. The ball took a fortuitous bounce on the field turf and wound up in the far corner of the net.
“She’s been a warrior for us,” St. Onge said of Van Ingen. “I’m glad she got to take advantage of that.”
Not much later, Paule provided the final heroics.
“We gave them two easy goals. They deserved it. We blinked,” Coach Duque said. “Fair and square, they scored two goals. That’s it.”
In losing for the first time in seven matches, North Port was playing at a slight disadvantage with starter sophomore Gabby Louty limited because of an illness.
“It’s not the same when you don’t have the same starting 11,” Coach Duque said. “She wasn’t 100 percent.”
The top-seeded Bobcats (12-3) await their fate when the Florida High School Athletic Association comes out with the regional brackets and at-large bids beginning 2 p.m. Friday.
“We might see them again,” said Coach Duque, who feels good about his chances for a bid. “We’ve just got to keep moving forward.”
− Dennis Maffezzoli
BOYS BASKETBALL
Imagine School of North Port 61, Parrish 54
AT: Parrish
TOP PLAYERS: (IS) Angelo Blas 18 points, JJ Hall 14 points, Wesley Woods 8 points; (P) Dylan Higgins 16 points, Miles Fetterman 13, Malakai Cuffy 13 points, Jamaal George 12 points
RECORD: Imagine School 9-12, Parrish 15-8
NEXT: Imagine School plays at Bradenton Christian in Class 3A-District 11 semifinal, Thursday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. ; Parrish hosts Boca Ciega in Class 5A-District 10 quarterfinal, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Sarasota 80, Southeast 53
AT: Sarasota
TOP PLAYERS: (S) Franklin Liriano 18 points, 4 assists, 3 steals; Nate Gruhl 16 points, 8 rebounds; Luca Lazzari 14 points, 4 rebounds
RECORD: Sarasota 21-2
NEXT: Sarasota hosts Cardinal Mooney, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Riverview 2, North Port 1
NORTH PORT − Coming out of the post-match handshake line, emotion took over Rachel Paule.
Riverview High’s junior defender could not hold back.
They were tears of joy.
“I’m just so excited,” Paule said. “This team has put so much into this whole season. And we’re finally getting what we deserved. I’m very happy for everyone.”
What the Rams got was a district title. Paule’s goal in the final 6 minutes of regulation broke a tie and gave Riverview a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over host North Port High in the Class 7A-District 8 final Wednesday night at The Preserve.
In extending their winning streak to seven, the third-seeded Rams (11-4-2) advance to the regional quarterfinals Feb. 13.
“This means everything,” Paule said. “We worked our whole season toward this. This is our goal: winning districts. We’re just ecstatic.”
Paule had plenty to do with the jubilation. Her heads-up play led to the winning goal.
The Bobcats (12-3) tried to make a short clearing pass deep in their own end. Paule alertly stepped in, stole the pass and rifled a shot into the back of the net with 5 minutes, 42 seconds left in the second half to break a 1-all deadlock.
“She’s relentless,” Riverview coach Joe St. Onge said of Paule. “She’s 80 minutes of fire. To steal it, to have energy at the end of the game after 80 minutes and finish it like she did is remarkable.”
Earlier circumstances may have caused North Port to play tentatively late in the match. Four different Bobcats received yellow cards prior to the Rams’ second goal.
“When you have players being ejected like that, for no reason whatsoever, then you can not play the game,” North Port coach Hans Duque said. “It tough. They were told not to play short. With that kind of pressure we’ve got to play out and up.”
After a scoreless first half when both sides took turns controlling the play, it was the Bobcats who struck first.
After the first and only yellow card was shown to Riverview, sophomore Alanna Duque sent a free kick to the center of the goal where senior Danielle Van Deusen headed the ball into the goal with 28:42 left in regulation.
That might have been the spark the Rams needed.
“We were controlling the game and had the better of it,” St. Onge said. “To have a goal, it woke us up.”
“Yeah, we started off slow,” Paule said. “It was a wake-up call. It really did wake us up.”
With less than 15 minutes left, the Rams got the equalizer. Majestic Van Ingen, the kicker for the Riverview football team in the fall, took a free kick from 35 yards out. The ball took a fortuitous bounce on the field turf and wound up in the far corner of the net.
“She’s been a warrior for us,” St. Onge said of Van Ingen. “I’m glad she got to take advantage of that.”
Not much later, Paule provided the final heroics.
“We gave them two easy goals. They deserved it. We blinked,” Coach Duque said. “Fair and square, they scored two goals. That’s it.”
In losing for the first time in seven matches, North Port was playing at a slight disadvantage with starter sophomore Gabby Louty limited because of an illness.
“It’s not the same when you don’t have the same starting 11,” Coach Duque said. “She wasn’t 100 percent.”
− Dennis Maffezzoli
The top-seeded Bobcats (12-3) await their fate when the Florida High School Athletic Association comes out with the regional brackets and at-large bids beginning 2 p.m. Friday.
“We might see them again,” said Coach Duque, who feels good about his chances for a bid. “We’ve just got to keep moving forward.”
Saint Stephen's 2, Indian Rocks Lake 0 (Class 2A-District 10 final)
AT: Indian Rocks Lake
TOP PLAYERS: (SS) Ashling Marshall 1 goal, Julia Villaveces 1 goal, Mak Owens 4 saves in goal
RECORD: Saint Stephen's 10-3-3
NEXT: Saint Stephen's advances to regional quarterfinals, Feb. 6
TUESDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
Cardinal Mooney 80, Mitchell 70
AT: Mitchell
TOP PLAYERS: (CM) Connor Heald 29 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists; Kevin O'Donoghue 23 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists
RECORD: Cardinal Mooney 16-7
NEXT: Cardinal Mooney at Sarasota, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Riverview 70, Sarasota Christian 40
AT: Riverview
TOP PLAYERS: (SC) Ben Milliken 18 points, Matthias Hulka 10 points, Justin Brock 5 points, Josh Frazzini 5 points, Randall Collins 2 points
RECORD: Riverview 15-8, Sarasota Christian 15-8
NEXT: Sarasota Christian hosts ODA, Friday, 7 p.m.
Booker 76, Avon Park 50
AT: Avon Park
TOP PLAYERS: (B) Jamareon Ruffin and Zion Fernandez each had 13 points
RECORD: Booker 15-9
NEXT: Booker hosts Palmetto, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
AT: Out-of-Door
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Charlotte 62, Sarasota 33
AT: Sarasota
TOP PLAYERS: (S) Paisley Binswanger 16 points, Ghita DiNota 7 points
RECORD: Sarasota 15-7
NEXT: Sarasota hosts Cardinal Mooney, Friday, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Imagine School at North Port 1, Out-of-Door Academy 0
TOP PLAYERS: (IS) Morgan Larson 1 goal, Mallory Gordon 1 assist
RECORD: Imagine School 8-3-1
NEXT: Imagine School at Canterbury, Thursday, 5 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Bishop Verot 5, Cardinal Mooney 1
AT: Bishop Verot, District 3A-8 Final
TOP PLAYER: Samuel Shamsey 1 goal
COACH QUOTE: “The challenge with that Verot team, I would say, is that they have a lot of upperclassmen, they’re pretty well organized and they fight really well,” Cardinal Mooney head coach Juan Osorio said. “They’re very aggressive.”
WEIGHTLIFTING
Riveview second at Tarpon Invitational
AT: Charlotte
TEAM SCORES: Charlotte 28, Riverview 19, LaBelle 12, Lemon Bay 8, North Port 6, Imagine School at North Port 5, Hardee 2
TOP LIFTERS: (139) 2. Andrew Salazar (RV) 415 total; 3. Jonathan Williams (NP) 395 total; (154) 1. Jake Nicholson (RV) 525 total; (183) 1. Jeremiah Richards (NP) 565 total; 3. Cooper Dotson (RV) 525 total; (199) 1. Rodrigo Barrion (RV) 555 total; (219) 1. Brayler Zalda (RV) 600 total; (UNL) 1. Osaiah Maldonado (NP) 620 total.
MONDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
Sarasota 57, Riverview 43
SARASOTA − The Sarasota High boys basketball team wants to make a concerted effort to establish its defensive prowess early in games.
The Sailors needed a solid showing on defense, since their offense was slightly off.
Sarasota used an early spurt to take the lead for good and went on to post a 57-43 victory over Riverview High on Monday night at the RHS Gymnasium.
In winning for the 11th straight time, the 43 points the Sailors permitted was nine better than their season average of 52.
Conversely, the 57 points Sarasota scored was eight below its average.
“We talked about trying to come out with the right defensive effort. I felt we did that,” Sailors coach BJ Ivey said. “We just missed a lot of easy scoring opportunities that we normally make. Thank goodness we were able to play good enough defense to hold them to 43, because 57 is uncharacteristic for us.”
Sarasota’s offense sputtered throughout the court. It missed open threes, failed to drop in easy layups and were 18-of-25 from the foul line.
“Usually we are better,” Ivey said of his club’s free-throw shooting. “I feel like we missed four or five easy bunnies that are right there that are sure things. We ran some stuff, got some wide-open looks, and the ball just went in and out.”
Riverview greeted its former coach by scoring the first four points of the night. But the Rams failed to transition well enough to combat Sarasota’s running game and got into deep foul trouble early, leading to unfamiliar combinations on the floor.
“I actually liked the way we started,” Riverview first-year coach Brandon Knecht said. “We just had a couple of mental lapses. We knew we had to get down the floor. They like to play fast. They beat us down a couple of times. We missed a couple of box-out assignments. When you do that against a really good team, it can get away from you in a hurry.”
The Rams (14-8) whittled a 13-point deficit to 33-25 by scoring the first six points of the second half.
“I was proud of the way we fought,” Knecht said. “When we got to that seven or eight, we just had another one of those mental lapses that allowed them to push it back out to where it was. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Winners of 11 straight, Sarasota (21-2) responded with eight straight points, the first four from the free-throw line, along with a dunk by Michael Drayton and a steal and layup by Franklin Liriano.
Drayton ended with a game-high 26 points. Danny Mumm had 10 for Sarasota and Johnny Lackaff finished with nine points for the Sailors, who wrap up the regular season with home games Wednesday against Southeast High and Friday against Cardinal Mooney Catholic.
“I want to see us play to our potential,” Ivey said. “We’re leaving points on the floor. There’s lapses in our defense. Not necessarily effort tonight, but mental lapses. We’ve got to tighten that up if we are really going to make the run we want to make.”
Riverview got 17 points from Josh Harris.
The Rams also conclude with two home games to close the regular season: Tuesday against Sarasota Christian and Friday against Lakewood Ranch High.
“I like the way they responded in the locker room,” Knecht said. “I want to see them respond well to this, fight through this, play really hard tomorrow and Friday night and go into the district tournament with a couple of wins under their belt. We’re going to see them again. Use them to get back to that spot.”
For Ivey, who spent most of his career teaching and coaching at Riverview High, returning as a visitor still is strange.
“Very,” Ivey said. “Weird going into the visitor’s locker room, weird sitting on this side. I’ll get used to it quickly.”
− Dennis Maffezzoli
Booker 47, Parrish 42
AT: Parrish
TOP PLAYERS: (B) Jamareon Ruffin 18 points, Darius Behn 10 points, Kaiden Wright 8; (P) Dylan Higgins 13 points, Lane Tomlinson 12 points
RECORDS: Booker 14-9, Parrish 15-7
NEXT: Booker at Avon Park, Tuesday, 8 p.m.; Parrish hosts Imagine School at North Port, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Imagine School at North Port 8, SW Fla. Christian 0
AT: Imagine School
TOP PLAYERS: (IS) Avah Declercq 2 goals; Addy Rattai 2 goals, 3 assists; Morgan Larson 1 goal; Esther Pushkash 1 goal, 1 assist; Aggie Gordon 1 goal; Stella Tracy 1 goal; Hannah Goncalves 1 assist; Brooklyn Brown 1 assist
RECORD: Imagine School 7-3-1
NEXT: Imagine School at Out-of-Door Academy, Tuesday, 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Manatee high school sports roundup for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 3
