Manatee powered its way into the 5A regional final Friday night, knocking off Cape Coral 55–29 behind a massive performance from quarterback Keith Smith.Smith was unstoppable, rushing for more than 200 yards and finishing with four total touchdowns as the Hurricanes stormed out to a 42-15 halftime lead and never looked back. Manatee piled up big gains on the ground all night, getting long scoring runs from Caedon White and Caleb Cobb while capitalizing on short fields and turnovers.Cape Coral had flashes — including a long touchdown run from Jermaine Skinner and deep strikes from Derek Hooker — but the Seahawks couldn’t slow Manatee’s pace or match its explosive ground game.Cape closes its season at 10–2 in one of the program’s strongest years in recent memory, while Manatee moves on with momentum into next week’s regional championship.FINAL: Manatee 55, Cape Coral 29.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. —
Manatee powered its way into the 5A regional final Friday night, knocking off Cape Coral 55–29 behind a massive performance from quarterback Keith Smith.
Smith was unstoppable, rushing for more than 200 yards and finishing with four total touchdowns as the Hurricanes stormed out to a 42-15 halftime lead and never looked back. Manatee piled up big gains on the ground all night, getting long scoring runs from Caedon White and Caleb Cobb while capitalizing on short fields and turnovers.
Cape Coral had flashes — including a long touchdown run from Jermaine Skinner and deep strikes from Derek Hooker — but the Seahawks couldn’t slow Manatee’s pace or match its explosive ground game.
Cape closes its season at 10–2 in one of the program’s strongest years in recent memory, while Manatee moves on with momentum into next week’s regional championship.
FINAL: Manatee 55, Cape Coral 29.