5 takeaways from Florida high school football Thursday night [9/12/2024]

There was plenty of action that took place across the state and we provide some takeaways from the night

No. 3 IMG Academy (Florida) hosts Mt. Zion Prep Academy (Maryland) on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. / Photo by Tyler Hart

The Florida high school football season continued its season on Thursday night with some early Week 4 results before Friday's main course of games. Before Friday's slate of games, there were plenty of good ones played on Thursday and we've got some takeaways from those contests. Take a look below at the five takeaways from Florida's fourth Thursday of regular season games.

IMG Academy defeats Mt. Zion Academy in less than 2 hours

IMG Academy wide receiver Eric McFarland (#16) pulls in a pass in the end zone over Cocoa High free safety CJ Hester (#1) in the first quarter. The IMG Academy National squad hosted the Cocoa High School Tigers Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 in Bradenton. / Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

The IMG Academy-Mt. Zion Academy game kicked off at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. One hour and 55 minutes later and the Ascenders were 57-0 winners over their opponents from Maryland. In a game that was clearly a mismatch from jump street, anyone watching the feed could tell these two teams probably didn't belong on the same field together. There's a strong slate ahead, with teams like Mandarin, Phenix City Central (Alabama) and Venice looming. For tonight, though, this was an utter stinker of a game.

Key West bounces back with win over Belen Jesuit

St. Lucie West Centennial High School competes against visiting team Key West at the South County Stadium on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 in Port St. Lucie. St. Lucie West Centennial won against Key West, 42-14. Tcn Key West At Centennial / ERIC HASERT/TCPALM via Imagn Content Services, LLC

After starting the season with such promise, the Conchs had back-to-back losses against IMG Academy White and Somerset Academy-Canyons occur. Question was how would Key West respond on the road against Belen Jesuit and the answer was just fine. The Conchs soundly defeated Belen Jesuit 36-7 behind their vaunted rushing attack. Key West could go on a little run before Oct. 11th's meeting with district foe Miami Northwestern.

Mosley just keeps on rolling

Mosley captains walk to midfield prior to the start of the Bay game at Tommy Oliver Stadium in Panama City, Fla., Aug. 30, 2024. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) / Tyler Orsburn/News Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arguably the second hottest team on the Florida Panhandle to Niceville has been the Mosley Dolphins. Tommy Joe Whiddon's crew notched win No. 4 when Mosley rolled to a 36-7 rout of Navarre, posing the question of how good can this team really be. Two of the next thee games are against Escambia and the aforementioned Niceville, which should tell us everything we need to know about Mosley. Stay tuned.

Tenoroc overcomes 20-point deficit to beat Lake Placid

Fall Football Preview -Tenoroc High School- Gabriel Millman , Grayson Beasley and Jaidon Furman in Lakeland Fl. Tuesday July 25 ,2023.Ernst Peters/The Ledger / Ernst Peters/The Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Whew. At halftime of the Lake Placid-Tenoroc game played at Southeastern University, the Dragons seemed to be in full control of the contest. That was well, until they weren't. The Titans came roaring back with 30 second half points and overcoming a 20-point halftime deficit to defeat the Dragons 36-32. Having only scored 12 points total against Umatilla and Weeki Wachee, it was a nice first victory for Tenoroc.

Eastside wins defensive slugfest against Trinity Catholic

Eastside Rams Corvin Byrd (6) breaks tacklers in the first half. The Eastside Rams hosted the Trinity Catholic Celtics at Citizens Field in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, September 12, 2024. Eastside lead 16-0 at the half. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner] / Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Starting the season off with a 41-3 victory over Belleview had the Rams feeling themselves a little bit. That was until they faced rival Buchholz and Rickards in the following weeks. Eastside bounced back from back-to-back losses to upend Trinity Catholic 16-10. We'd like to say more about the Celtics' 1-3 start, but they started with the same record last year and ended up in the Class 1S state championship game. This fall, however, has a much different feel surrounding Trinity Catholic.

IMG Academy freshman Eric McFarland III scores 4 first quarter touchdowns

Penn State coach James Franklin visits recruits at IMG Academy in helicopter

Top 25 Florida high school football rankings (9/8/2024)

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