Volusia High School Football Preview: 10/28

There is just one more week until we get into the exhilarating play of Florida High School Football Playoffs. This week, the 3S and 4S District 9 teams have games spread out throughout the weekend into November before most if not all close out their regular seasons on the 4 th of November. Last night, the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas (4-4) travelled to Deland to play the district rival Bulldogs (5-3), coached by Rick Darlington, resulting in a 35-28 overtime win for Deland. Before that game, Deland had a huge 50-0 win over the district rival University Titans, who have been struggling without their starting quarterback. The Barracudas however, lost to the Spruce Creek Hawks last Friday 13-0 in a tight district matchup that jumbles the standings of their district. The Barracudas also have a game this Monday on Halloween at the University Titans (3-5) home field. The Titans had a three-game win streak, outscoring their opponents 98-28, but have found little rhythm in the last three, being outscored 103-7. If University can figure out their scoring problems, they may give New Smyrna Beach a run for their money. The Hawks of Spruce Creek (4-3) have a home game versus the stout Haggerty Huskies (7-1) this Friday. The Huskies’ only loss came two weeks ago 35-0, against their district rival, the Winter Park Wildcats (7-1). Other than that blemish on their season, they have been playing great football. Spruce Creek (4-3) recently improved their district record to 2-0 last week with a 13-0 home win versus the Barracudas mentioned earlier. The Hawks then must play just a few days later in the home of Darlington’s Bulldogs, Tuesday November 1st, as a make-up game rescheduled due to Hurricane Ian. The Pine Ridge Panthers (0-8) unfortunately have not been able to find any rhythm throughout their season still only scoring 19 points total. The Panthers recently lost 66-0 to the Mainland Buccaneers this past Monday, and now travel to Deltona to play the Wolves (5-3), who have not played since their 28-26 loss against Seabreeze on the 17 th of October. The Wolves look to use that rest to get back into the win column against a self-inflicting, winless district rival. The Mainland Buccaneers (6-2) played two games this past weekend, losing on Friday at the Osceola Kowboys, 33-6, and winning a home matchup against the Pine Ridge Panthers 66-0. Their next game comes against a formidable Seabreeze Sandcrabs team (4-4) who flipped their script, losing four straight games, then winning the next four. Now who plays where? That’s easy, the Sandcrabs are the away team on paper, but both teams play at Daytona Municipal Stadium on LPGA Boulevard, so home field advantage may not be super beneficial. As we get to the end of the season, lets check out the overall standings with district records included. 4S District 9 Standings (district record in parentheses): Deland Bulldogs: 5-3 (2-0) Spruce Creek Hawks: 4-3 (2-0) New Smyrna Beach Barracudas: 4-4 (0-2) University Titans: 3-5 (0-2) 3S District 9 Standings  (district record in parentheses): Mainland Buccaneers: 6-2 (2-0) Seabreeze Sandcrabs: 4-4 (2-0) Deltona Wolves: 5-3 (0-2) Pine Ridge Panthers: 0-8 (0-2) The season is ending, so it is important to remember that sportsmanship is the real goal. Let the players play, coaches coach and referees officiate the games if you choose to attend any of these games.