Strawberry Crest heads into their final game of the season sitting at 3-6, looking to add one more victory against Leto on Friday to put their win total at four on the season.
Realistically, the goal for the Chargers this season was not a state championship. And in a loaded district that includes undefeated Tampa Bay Tech and a pair of extremely talented two-loss teams in Armwood and Wharton, the hope of a district championship was a lofty goal as well. Especially for a team that has finished with no more than two wins in a single season since 2013.
Strawberry Crest’s goals were relative this year for head coach Phillip Prior, to lay a foundation for the program and give themselves a chance to win more games in 2021 than the school has seen in over seven years.
With wins over Spoto, Freedom and Brandon in 2021, Strawberry Crest has already reached that goal as they head to Leto on Friday and search for their fourth win of the year, something the team has done just three times in their 12 seasons prior and hasn’t done since going 7-5 in 2013.
Leto sits at 1-6 on the season, with their lone victory coming in a 14-12 win over Brandon in September.
In their three victories this season, the Chargers have averaged 20.6 points while allowing just 14 total points against, with shutouts against Spoto and Brandon.
Offensively the Chargers have been led by quarterback Coby Burger who has accrued just 42 yards passing but has been a threat on the ground with 295 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In the backfield they’ve largely utilized a three-man rotation, most notably junior Ryan Weems who has totaled 319 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries this season. Behind Weems, sophomore Devin Blunt has racked up 148 yards on 37 carries and senior Miles Jones has 107 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Weems and Blunt have also been factors on the defensive backfield as well, notching two of the Chargers’ four interceptions on the year.