Fearless Fridays Area Football: Week 4 Scores, Records, Rankings and Player Highlights

September 15, 2026 admin

Venice, Riverview Sarasota, Sarasota and Cardinal Mooney post dominant wins as Manatee, Sarasota Christian and Bradenton Christian also remain among the area’s top performers.

Games played September 10–11, 2026

Week 4 brought several dominant performances across the Sarasota–Manatee area, including shutouts by Venice, Riverview Sarasota and Palmetto, a 67-point outburst by Cardinal Mooney, and Sarasota’s 56–13 win over North Port. Two monitored teams—Braden River and Out-of-Door Academy—had byes, while Saint Stephen’s Episcopal–Babcock was canceled.

Week 4 Area Scoreboard

Team	Opponent	Final score	Result	Record after Week 4	Class / district or program note
Bayshore	Southeast	35–21	Won	3–1	Public school; district listing should be verified
Booker	—	No game	No game	Varsity season canceled	Booker’s 2026 varsity season was canceled before the regular season
Braden River	—	Bye week	No game	3–0	Class 3A; district listing should be verified
Bradenton Christian	Donahue Academy	55–0	Won	4–1 listed by MaxPreps	Private-school program
Cardinal Mooney	Wellen Park	67–10	Won	3–1	Class 3A, District 12
Classical Academy of Sarasota	Shorecrest Prep	48–34	Won	2–2	Private-school program
IMG Academy Junior National	Palmetto	0–40	Lost	Record should be listed separately from IMG National	IMG program; separate from IMG Academy National
Lakewood Ranch	Riverview Sarasota	0–46	Lost	2–2	Class 6A; district listing should be verified
Manatee	Lake Brantley	48–27	Won	4–1	Class 5A, District 10
North Port	Sarasota	13–56	Lost	1–3	Class 6A; district listing should be verified
Out-of-Door Academy	—	Bye week	No game	4–0 listed	SSAA; no Week 4 game
Palmetto	IMG Academy Junior National	40–0	Won	3–1	Class 5A; district listing should be verified
Parrish Community	Palm Harbor University	7–26	Lost	0–4	Public-school program
Riverview Sarasota	Lakewood Ranch	46–0	Won	3–1	Class 6A; district listing should be verified
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal	Babcock	Canceled	No result	Record unchanged	SSAA program
Sarasota	North Port	56–13	Won	3–1	Class 6A; district listing should be verified
Sarasota Christian	Cambridge Christian	35–26	Won	4–1	SSAA/private-school program
Southeast	Bayshore	21–35	Lost	0–3	Public-school program
Venice	Lehigh	69–0	Won	4–0	Class 6A; district listing should be verified
Wellen Park	Cardinal Mooney	10–67	Lost	3–1	New program; classification should be verified

The Week 4 scores are supported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune roundup, Your Observer, The Sarasota Record and MaxPreps’ September 10–11 statewide score listings.

Week 4 Highlights

Cardinal Mooney 67, Wellen Park 10

Cardinal Mooney produced the area’s highest-scoring Week 4 performance, defeating previously unbeaten Wellen Park, 67–10. The loss was Wellen Park’s first defeat in its inaugural season. Cardinal Mooney improved to 3–1 and was listed No. 10 in Florida and No. 1 in MaxPreps’ Class 3A rankings as of September 13.

Cardinal Mooney’s season leaders included running back Connail Jackson, averaging 271.7 rushing yards per game with 10 total touchdowns, and wide receiver C.J. King, averaging 105 receiving yards per game.

Venice 69, Lehigh 0

Venice remained unbeaten with a 69–0 shutout of Lehigh, improving to 4–0. Senior running back Ira Dale Jr. rushed for 179 yards on nine carries and scored four touchdowns.

Riverview Sarasota 46, Lakewood Ranch 0

Riverview Sarasota blanked Lakewood Ranch, 46–0, and moved to 3–1. The Rams were 1–0 in district play after the victory. Senior tight end and defensive end Miles Przekwas was among Riverview’s notable contributors during the team’s 3–1 start.

Sarasota 56, North Port 13

Sarasota defeated North Port, 56–13. Quarterback Hudson West threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns before halftime. Wide receiver A.J. Heater also returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns, including a 68-yard punt return.

Manatee 48, Lake Brantley 27

Manatee won its third consecutive game, defeating Lake Brantley, 48–27, and improving to 4–1. The Hurricanes’ schedule lists the team at 4–1 overall and 0–0 in Class 5A, District 10.

Sarasota Christian 35, Cambridge Christian 26

Sarasota Christian earned a 35–26 victory over Cambridge Christian. Safety Wyatt Campbell recorded 11 tackles, while receiver Cale Zeltwanger caught eight passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Tait Zeltwanger completed 11 of 18 passes for 194 yards and accounted for five touchdowns.

Bradenton Christian 55, Donahue Academy 0

Bradenton Christian posted a 55–0 shutout of Donahue Academy. The Panthers entered Week 4 averaging more than 38 points per game and were listed at 4–1 by MaxPreps after the victory.

Classical Academy 48, Shorecrest Prep 34

Classical Academy of Sarasota defeated Shorecrest Prep, 48–34, and moved to 2–2. The final score is listed in MaxPreps’ September 11 statewide results.

Bayshore 35, Southeast 21

Bayshore defeated Southeast, 35–21, in a matchup between two monitored Manatee County programs. The victory moved Bayshore to 3–1, while Southeast fell to 0–3.

Palmetto 40, IMG Academy Junior National 0

Palmetto shut out IMG Academy Junior National, 40–0. Tempo News should identify this opponent as IMG Academy Junior National, not IMG Academy National, because the two IMG teams are separate programs and should not be combined in the records or rankings.

Week 4 Byes and Canceled Games

Braden River — Bye

Braden River did not play in Week 4 and remained 3–0. Its schedule lists the Pirates’ next game at North Port on September 18.

Out-of-Door Academy — Bye

Out-of-Door Academy also had a bye and remained unbeaten. Your Observer listed the Thunder at 4–0 entering the next week.

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal vs. Babcock — Canceled

The Saint Stephen’s–Babcock game was listed as canceled rather than a completed 0–0 game. MaxPreps’ display is inconsistent, showing a 0–0 result while local reporting identifies the game as canceled.

Canceled — no result

Week 4 Storylines

Largest area victory: Venice over Lehigh, 69–0
Highest-scoring area team: Cardinal Mooney, 67 points
Most notable individual performance: Cale Zeltwanger, 161 receiving yards and four touchdowns
Best passing performance: Hudson West, 257 yards and four touchdowns before halftime
Top defensive performance: Riverview Sarasota’s 46–0 shutout
Unbeaten monitored teams: Venice, Braden River and Out-of-Door Academy
First loss for a new program: Wellen Park fell to Cardinal Mooney after opening the season 3–0

Rankings Snapshot

Cardinal Mooney: No. 10 in Florida, No. 92 nationally and No. 1 in Florida Division 3A.
Manatee: MaxPreps listed the Hurricanes at No. 65 in Florida.
Braden River: MaxPreps listed the Pirates at No. 227 in Florida and No. 30 in Division 3A.
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal: MaxPreps listed the Falcons at No. 352 in Florida and No. 19 in SSAA.
Other monitored teams: Their exact statewide or national positions should be identified from the individual team pages rather than labeled simply “unranked.”

These rankings are computer rankings and should be labeled MaxPreps rankings, not official FHSAA rankings. MaxPreps pages identify FHSAA as an official partner, but the ranking numbers themselves are MaxPreps’ ratings.

Week 4 State and National Power Rankings

Rankings reviewed September 15, 2026. These are computer or media power rankings—not official FHSAA standings unless specifically identified as such.

The Week 4 rankings picture is led by IMG Academy and Venice. IMG Academy National remained No. 1 in Florida and No. 3 nationally, while unbeaten Venice moved into the state’s Top 10 at No. 8. Cardinal Mooney ranked No. 10 statewide and No. 92 nationally after its 67–10 win over Wellen Park. Riverview Sarasota and Manatee also appeared in the Florida rankings, while Palmetto was listed in the Tampa-area Top 15.

The strongest nationally and statewide-ranked programs among the monitored Sarasota–Manatee teams were IMG Academy, Venice, Cardinal Mooney, Riverview Sarasota and Manatee. Rankings reflect each service’s methodology, which may consider record, strength of schedule, margin of victory and opponent quality.

Team	Record after Week 4	Florida ranking	National ranking	Classification / power ranking
IMG Academy National	3–0	No. 1	No. 3	National program
Venice	4–0	No. 8	No. 61	No. 1 in Florida Class 6A
Cardinal Mooney	3–1	No. 10	No. 92	No. 1 in Florida Class 3A
Riverview Sarasota	3–1	No. 57	Not listed in the national ranking cited	No. 12 in Florida Class 6A
Manatee	3–1	No. 65	Not listed in the national ranking cited	No. 18 in Florida Class 5A
Palmetto	3–1	Not listed in statewide ranking cited	Not listed	No. 11 in the Tampa-area ranking
IMG Academy Junior National	Separate IMG program	Not listed with IMG National	Not listed	Should be ranked separately
Other monitored teams	Varies	Not listed in the ranking sources reviewed	Not listed	Outside the cited ranking groups

MaxPreps’ Florida rankings page was last updated September 13, 2026. Its regional Tampa rankings placed IMG Academy No. 1, Venice No. 2, Cardinal Mooney No. 4, Palmetto No. 11, Riverview Sarasota No. 13 and Manatee No. 16.

IMG Academy Remains a National Power

IMG Academy continued to lead the local rankings conversation. MaxPreps listed the Ascenders at No. 1 in Florida and No. 3 nationally with a 3–0 record. The ranking applies to IMG Academy National, not IMG Academy Junior National or IMG Academy State.

Venice Enters the State Top 10

Venice remained unbeaten at 4–0 and was listed No. 8 in Florida by MaxPreps. The Indians also held the No. 1 position in the Florida Class 6A rankings. Venice’s schedule included wins over Rabun Gap-Nacoochee, SmartEn Sports Academy, Lakeland and Lehigh.

MaxPreps pages displayed slightly different national-rank snapshots for Venice—No. 55 on one updated team page and No. 61 on another—so the article should either use the dated ranking page available at publication or simply report the more consistent state and classification rankings.

Cardinal Mooney Holds a Top-10 State Position

Cardinal Mooney was listed No. 10 in Florida and No. 92 nationally after improving to 3–1 with its 67–10 victory over Wellen Park. The Cougars also ranked No. 1 in the Florida Class 3A rankings. (MAXPREPS)

Riverview Sarasota Ranked in Class 6A

Riverview Sarasota entered the latest MaxPreps update at No. 57 in Florida and No. 12 in Class 6A. The Rams improved to 3–1 after shutting out Lakewood Ranch, 46–0, and were listed second in District 6A-12.

Manatee Moves Into the Florida Top 70

Manatee was listed No. 65 in Florida and No. 18 in Class 5A after defeating Lake Brantley, 48–27. The Hurricanes’ team page listed Caedon White as the leading rusher with 170.8 rushing yards per game and 13 total touchdowns.

Palmetto Appears in Regional Power Rankings

Palmetto was not included in the statewide Top 25 listings reviewed, but MaxPreps’ Tampa-area power rankings placed the Tigers at No. 11 after their 3–1 start. Riverview Sarasota was No. 13 and Manatee No. 16 in the same regional table.

Ranking Note

Rankings reflect MaxPreps computer rankings and regional power ratings updated through September 13, 2026. They are not the same as official FHSAA standings. Rankings may vary by update time, classification and ranking service. IMG Academy National, IMG Academy Junior National and IMG Academy State are separate programs and should not be combined.