Sports Notebook: Carrollwood High School Football

Carrollwood Day School:

The Patriots 3-2 (1-2 in district) are coming off of a 49-41 marathon loss to Admiral Farragut.

CDS took a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter, only to see the game slip between its fingers in the fourth quarter.

Junior Robert Davis rolled up just under 400 yards of total offense that included a 90-plus-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at the end of the first half.

In the end, the Bluejacket running game wore down the Patriots, who are recovering from a host of injuries all over their tiny roster.

They showed they can hang with a team like Admiral Farragut, but they also showed they are vulnerable to a late-game rushing attack.

This Friday, the Patriots travel to Canterbury 4-1 (3-1) in a season-making or season-breaking game.

With a 1-2 district record, you might count CDS out of it. However, every team in District 5 has at least one district loss. A win at Canterbury would put CDS right back in the mix, just one game behind Farragut, Cambridge and Indian Rocks. CDS still has games against the latter two.

Gaither High:

The Cowboys 2-2 (1-0) are coming off a much-needed bye week.

While the week off helped the Cowboys to mend, they are still dealing with a rash of injuries.

Gaither hosts a 3-1 Steinbrenner team this Thursday that has surprised some opponents this year, including spoiling Freedom's homecoming by beating them 13-6.

"We need a home win this week," said Gaither head coach Jason Stokes.

Both Cowboys wins have come on the road. Indeed, a home win would go very far into bringing together a young team under a brand new head coach.

The empahsis this week in practice?

"Tempo and execution," said Stokes.

The Cowboys got some rhythm going in their last meeting with Wiregrass Ranch but have been inconsistent over the first four games.

A win would put them in shared possession of first place in the district with Tampa Bay Tech. Tech faces Wiregrass Ranch this Thursday.