North Suncoast Week 8 Roundup & Top performances (Oct. 10-14)

We go over the final scores and some of the top performances from Week 8 across the North Suncoast

The Week 8 slate of games on the North Suncoast brought us a little closer to seeing which teams will be punching their ticket to possibly winning a district title. For others, it was watching a more complicated situation unfold within their respective districts. Over in Spring Hill, the Springstead Eagles have now improved to 8-0 on the season after grinding out a win over previously undefeated Land O’ Lakes. The Eagles have put themselves in position to win the Class 4A-Suburban, District 6 championship. 

The 9-Mile War between Pasco and Zephyrhills absolutely lived up to the billing. In the 65th edition of the annual rivalry, the Bulldogs were able to jump out to a quick lead and overpower the Pirates. Hudson had themselves a tougher than expected time versus a feisty Weeki Wachee group, that’s getting a little bit better every week. Cypress Creek tied a school record for wins in a season with six when they won the ‘Boyette Brawl’ over Wesley Chapel. The Coyotes had six turnovers, with four being interceptions. 

What has been the wild, Wild West of a district is Class 3A-Suburban, District 6 and the Gulf Buccaneers had a chance to inch a closer to winning the program’s first ever district title. A narrow loss to Lecanto has created some chaos within the district as its a four-team race between Gulf, Fivay, Lecanto and River Ridge. Speaking of Fivay, they bounced back in a big way with a 41-point blowout of Citrus on the road. River Ridge had a bye week. 

Crystal River kept up with northern neighbor Dunnellon in a tight ball game, but did end up losing by three. Wiregrass Ranch has seemingly found its stride with a second straight win when they beat Sunlake. Nature Coast kept it rolling in a blowout victory over Anclote and Zephyrhills Christian Academy cruised past Bishop McLaughlin. 

Below we’ve got all the scores from Week 8 action and some top performances from Friday night. 

Jack Niemann and the Coyotes got back on track with a 44-6 win over Wesley Chapel.  / Photo by Alex Walworth

Week 8 North Suncoast scores 

Monday 

Nature Coast 38, Weeki Wachee 0

Friday

Zephyrhills 28, Pasco 16

Springstead 27, Land O’ Lakes 17 

Hudson 33, Weeki Wachee 21

Cypress Creek 44, Wesley Chapel 6 

Lecanto 14, Gulf 13

Wildwood 56, Jefferson County 6 

Fivay 48, Citrus 7

Wiregrass Ranch 49, Sunlake 14

Zephyrhills Christian 40, Bishop McLaughlin 0

Dunnellon 18, Crystal River 15

Nature Coast 58, Anclote 6

Brooksville Central 28, Branford 27

South Sumter 62, Hernando 0

Top Week 8 performances 

DJ Pickett, Zephyrhills, wide receiver: The sophomore star caught four passes for 127 yards and scored twice in the Bulldogs win over Pasco. 

Rodney Smith, Zephyrhills, running back: Smith was intricate to the Bulldogs’ win over Pasco as he rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries. 

Tayshaun Balmir, Pasco, running back: Yes, I’m a losing effort even, Balmir produced. The senior back went for 170 yards on 25 touches. 

Jackson Hoyt, Nature Coast, quarterback: Hoyt had a big hand in the Sharks’ big win over Anclote going 9-of-13, 125 yards, touchdown. He also rushed five times for 95 yards.

Christian Cromer, Nature Coast, running back: Cromer has been a scoring machine all week long, with the junior running back carrying the ball 11 times for 90 yards and four touchdowns. 

Logan Shawell, Hudson, running back: The Hudson running back had himself a night against Weeki Wachee’s defense, rushing for 185 yards on 17 touches and scored twice. 

Braden Joyner, Brooksville Central, quarterback: In Central exciting 28-27 win over Branford, Joyner completed 13-of-20 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns. 

Ethan Bergantino, Brooksville Central, wide receiver: The freshman wide receiver played well in the victory for the Bears, catching three passes for 50 yards and scoring two times. 

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.