TOP GAMES OF THE WEEK PREVIEW: Bartram Trail at Mandarin

Bartram Trail Bears (1-0) at Mandarin Mustangs (1-0)

When: Friday

Where: The Corral, Jacksonville

Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET

Coaches: Darrell Sutherland, Bartram Trail; Bobby Ramsay, Mandarin

Last Two Meetings (Regular Season)
2019: Bartram Trail 32, Mandarin 7
2004: Bartram Trail 43, Mandarin 37

Skinny: In most years these teams would have met in the kickoff classic where nothing officially counted on the record, but in the last two times these teams have met in terms of when it has counted, Bartram Trail has had the upper hand on the scoreboard. For the visiting Bears, they are coming into this game with a 50-40 barn burner win over rival Creekside that got the season going for them. In such one of the biggest names of the week last week for the visiting Bears was Eric Weatherly (2022) who scored touchdowns four different ways via punt return, kickoff return, receiving, and rushing that helped lead the Bears to victory. As such, the Bears are going to be expecting another big performance from him against the Mustangs. Another key player to watch is A.J. Jones III (2021) after he had 111 yards rushing and had two total touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing) for the Bears last week. The host Mustangs are coming off a 14-0 win over Atlantic Coast to keep the Principals Trophy for another year. New starting quarterback Tre Lawrence (2021) threw for one touchdown last week to Jaylen Smith (2021) that iced the game after Mandarin scored its first touchdown on the opening kickoff by Diondre Johnson (2021). As such when these two teams usually meet, it can be a competitive ball game, and given that each team only has one game under their belts, anything can be expected in the 2020 meeting.

Joe Pinkos’ Forecast: Bartram Trail by 14

Twitter Poll

POLL: Who wins Friday night?

Bartram Trail at Mandarin
When: Friday
Where: The Corral, Jacksonville
Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET#flhsfb @BTHS_Football @bt_athletics @Mandarin_hs_fb @CoachRamsay1 @MHSsportszone @talleymama

— FloridaHSFootball.com (@FlaHSFootball) September 16, 2020