Welcome to the Midweek Grab Bag. We suggest you pour yourself a nice cool beverage, find a comfortable place to sit, and enjoy a nice bowl of numbers soup.
Power rankings
Here are the 20 hottest things in high school football right now.
1. (NR) The weather: Seriously, that rain last week? Soaked my notebook, ruined my video camera, muddied my shoes beyond repair …oh, and sure, I guess it had an effect on the field and the players, too, but those shoes were new! I won’t even try jinxing everyone by speaking of the probability of that which shall remain unspoken happening on a day that shall remain nameless this week.
2. (9) Garrett Young, Cambridge Christian: I don’t care if Young is playing 2A, -2A or -11A football, the dude has scored at least six touchdowns every week this season, and I’ll go out on a limb and say that hasn’t been done, like, ever.
3. (6) Ryan Davis, Lakewood: Baller. He may have just been showing off for Wil Muschamp, but his six touchdowns in a game the Spartans really needed to win topped off another killer performance.
4. (7) Malik Davis, Jesuit: He didn’t even need to play the full game to do serious damage to Largo last week. Davis has been so good this season, Tampa Catholic had better be game-planning for him now.
5. (1) Pinellas County football: Still have three teams ranked No. 1 in the state, and Indian Rocks Christian and East Lake posted two more impressive victories while CCC relaxed at home and roasted marshmallows under umbrellas.
6. (NR) North Suncoast running backs: Let’s see, Hudson has run for more than 400 yards in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history, and six running backs — River Ridge’s Chris Schwarz, Hudson’s Billy Werner, Mitchell’s Ryan Marsh, Weeki Wachee’s Shawn O’Gorman, Fivay’s Chris Coleman and Zephyrhills’ Jaylen Pickett — all have a 200-yard game to their credit and are on pace for over 1,000 yards.
7. (3) Jeff Smith, Clearwater Central Catholic: You know you’re pretty good when people text me Friday night asking how you did, and you didn’t even play. We all kind of missed you, Jeff.
8. (20) Diontae Johnson, Lennard: Does it all for the Longhorns. Does it all well, too.
9. (19) Patrick Brooks, Plant: I picked him to lead the area in rushing and I still have hope. His receiving (eight catches, four TDs) makes him one of the best dual threats around.
10. (17) Todd Sims, Spoto: Sims is not only averaging 35 yards per catch, but his rushing total has increased by an average of 38 yards every week since the season started.
12. (9) Stephon Williams, Calvary Christian
13. (8) Dwayne Lawson, Hillsborough
14. (NR) Springstead defense
15. (12) Jaylen Pickett, Zephyrhills
16. (13) Carson Lydon, East Lake
17. (14) Sunlake defense
18. (13) Theo Anderson, Indian Rocks Christian
19. (15) Dante Satcher, Countryside
20. (18) Erick Davis, Durant
5 things we love about Lennard’s Diontae Johnson
1. He stepped back from quarterbacking this year, only to reinvent himself as one of Tampa Bay’s most talented all-around athletes. Don’t see that often.
2. He’s a playmaker. He has run an interception back 37 yards, a punt back 75 yards, has 250 yards receiving and 552 all-purpose yards.
3. Johnson is a special teams stud. He is averaging 30 yards per punt return and 36.3 per kick return. His 265 return yards is second in Tampa Bay. And he punts.
4. No, seriously, he punts. Good, too. He is averaging 38 yards a kick this season. He returns kicks, and he kicks kicks!
5. No, seriously, he has touch. Consider: he has punted 16 times this season, and seven have landed inside the 20-yard-line. That’s clutch.
Absolutely the craziest stat of the week
He didn’t play the first game, but since joining Sickles, wide receiver Trey Fullwood has made an impact. Sure, he only has six rcatches, but he averaged 38 yards on each of those and four have been for touchdowns.
District domination
Plant’s victory over Bloomingdale last week was the school’s 30th straight in district competition, dating to a 49-0 loss to Armwood in 2004. How impressive is that streak? The teams right behind Plant aren’t even close, but the Panthers still have some work to do to catch Largo.
1. Largo 37
2. Plant 30
3. East Lake 13
4. Armwood 12
5. Clearwater Central Catholic 9
Cyler Doran, by the numbers
405 Passing yards last week for Fivay’s quarterback (school record)
3 Varsity games for Doran, a sophomore
10 TDs passing this year
30 Passes completed this year
8 Number of Doran’s touchdown passes to WR Trevor Soto
More numbers
0 Passing yards by both teams in the Pinellas Park-Seminole game last week
1 Interception in 136 career passing attempts for Countryside’s Trent Chmelik
2 Sacks and interceptions this season for King’s Demetrius Mann
3 Interceptions this season for Gaither’s Javon Hammond
Unsung guys worth noting
Cody Burgess, Steinbrenner: The wide receiver already has 321 yards receiving on 12 catches, with a pair of touchdowns.
Christian Farria, Ridgewood: He had seven catches for 165 yards last week and might be the most unsung offensive weapon in Pasco County.
Christian Coleman, Fivay: He entered the season with four yards on three carries, and after his 211-yard performance Friday, now has 432 yards on 62 carries.
Just for kicks
Here are the longest field goals in Tampa Bay this season:
50 Austin Cobb, Newsome and Stephen Yaffe, Plant
49 Heath Grady, Freedom
47 Will Shidler, Chamberlain
46 Jack Bryzewski, Alonso
43 Parker Bryant, St. Petersburg
42 Michael Bishop, Easy Bay and Daniel LaCamera, East Lake
41 Sterling Hofrichter, Armwood
40 Jeffrey Guttentag, Berkeley Prep and Tyler Beacom, Brandon
39 Corey Hobson, Gaither
Numbers
4 Interceptions by Blake’s Donte’ Glover, tops in Tampa Bay
15 Sacks for Freedom
19 Points allowed by Sunlake
Hot start
Lennard has had a 4-0 start before, back in 2005, but we think this one is better. Why?
Points scored (now and then): 83-79
Points allowed (now and then): 37-40
Record of opponents in 2005: 4-36; 0-6 at time of games.
Record of teams in 2014: 5-11; 2-4 at time of games.
Brad Mayes, by the numbers
238 Passing yards last week for Berkeley Prep’s Brad Mayes (career-high is 268)
8 TD passes last year for Mayes
7 TD passes this year for Mayes
1 Games in which Mayes completed 60 percent of his passes, coming into this season
3 Games in which Mayes completed 60 percent of his passes, this season
Worth repeating
Remember last week we told you about Dunedin coach Matt LePain’s penchant for defense?
Well, after holding Dixie Hollins’ Tyrie Adams to 83 yards passing (his other two games are for 505 and 448 yards) and holding East Lake to its worst rushing total since 2010, the Falcons took on Tarpon Springs last week and held Michael Ford to 56 yards (his second-lowest total in the past two seasons), the Spongers to 3.1 yards a carry (their lowest average against a team not named East Lake since 2009) and zero yards passing (we couldn’t find the last time that happened). The rain helped, for sure, but we remain impressed.
Contact John C. Cotey at cotey@tampabay.com. Follow @JohnnyHomeTeam.