Cardinal Mooney tops unbeaten Clearwater Central Catholic 47-35

Cardinal Mooney handed previously unbeaten Clearwater Central Catholic its first loss of the season with a 47-35 victory Friday, Oct. 2, in a matchup of two of Florida's top-ranked high school football teams.

Senior running back Connail Jackson carried 19 times for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars, who entered the game ranked No. 7 in the state by Yahoo Sports/SI. Clearwater Central Catholic entered the game undefeated with wins over Palmetto, Port Charlotte and Tampa Catholic.

Jackson entered the week with 1,213 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. He did much of his damage against Clearwater Central Catholic early and sat for much of the second half. Junior wide receiver Seneca Hawthorne caught touchdown passes of 88 and 35 yards, finishing with 123 receiving yards, according to Your Observer.

The game's defining play came with less than two minutes remaining. Junior safety Jordan Sanders intercepted a pass at the Clearwater Central Catholic 31-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, extending Mooney's lead to 12 points and helping seal the victory, the Herald-Tribune reported.

Cardinal Mooney improved to 5-1 with the victory, while Clearwater Central Catholic fell to 5-1.

The Cougars are the defending Class 2A state champions after defeating The Bolles School 52-28 in the 2025 championship game. Cardinal Mooney has scored at least 39 points in each of its six games this season.

Quarterback Davin Davidson, a University of Florida commit, leads the Cougars' offense.

Sarasota Christian pulls away for 36-15 win

Sarasota Christian scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat Keswick Christian 36-15 on Friday.

The Blazers improved to 5-3 with the victory.

Quarterback Tait Zeltwanger completed 10 of 21 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. He added six carries for 35 yards and two rushing touchdowns. William Hughes ran 10 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Matthew Manyak recorded eight tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss. Peyton Gray had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Reed Gibson added nine tackles and an interception.

Noah Spenn contributed on both sides of the ball with two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown, along with three tackles and a pass breakup.

Sarasota Christian trailed 8-7 after the first quarter and the score remained unchanged at halftime. Each team scored seven points in the third quarter before the Blazers broke the game open with 22 points in the fourth. Sarasota Christian held Keswick Christian scoreless in the final period.

Out-of-Door Academy improves to 7-0

Out-of-Door Academy remained unbeaten with a 49-14 victory over Southwest Florida Christian on Friday.

Senior quarterback Jaxon Lawhun threw for 188 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes.

Sophomore Dominic Reddick caught five passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jake Beasley added seven carries for 80 yards and a rushing touchdown.

ODA entered the game 6-0 and improved to 7-0 with the victory. Lawhun had already surpassed 1,000 passing yards this season, according to the Naples Daily News.