Hudson gets big night from Riley Blevens as the Cobras roll past Central

HUDSON, FLORIDA- Hudson Cobras’ quarterback Riley Blevens stepped into this season having some big shoes to fill.

Hunter Young set school records last year as Hudson’s starting signal caller, with Blevens waiting in the wings for his turn under center. He’s made the most of it and then some.

Blevens has already had multiple 300-yard plus performances and added another one under his belt as he threw for 325 yards to lift Hudson to a 47-21 win over Central Wednesday night at Cobra Stadium in a Class 2A-Suburban, District 11 matchup. Hudson improves to 4-2 on the season while Central falls to 3-3.

“We’ve played pretty well so far on the offensive side of the ball,” Hudson head coach Tim Hicks said. “Riley (Blevens) has stepped up a lot. We weren’t even sure what we were going to get coming into the season.”

Both teams came out slinging the ball around, but it would be Cobras’ running back Logan Shawell (four catches, 127 yards) starting off the scoring with a 2-yard run to put Hudson up 6-0. Tanner Testori (seven carries, 76 yards) joined in on the action and walked in nearly uncontested on a 2-yard touchdown to give the Cobras a 12-0 lead after one period.

Hudson (4-2) then started to open it up offensively through the pass game as Blevens would connect with Shawell on a short screen pass that went 65 yards to pay dirt. Up 19-0 early in the second quarter, Hudson was in full command of the game.

Central (3-3) got themselves on the board when quarterback Braden Joyner (13-of-21, 155 yards) found wide receiver Caden Bergantino (five catches, 74 yards) on a 60-yard scoring play to cut Hudson’s lead to 19-7. Blevens to Shawell worked again in the short game, with the latter taking it 58 yards for a 26-7 advantage.

By halftime, Hudson led 26-14 and Central had its chances to get themselves back into the game on a couple possessions but the Cobras eventually put their foot on the gas pedal. Midway through the third quarter, Testori found the endzone for the second time and this time on a 13-yard end around.

Up 33-14, the Cobras were able to get multiple touchdowns through the air attack of Blevens finding wide receiver Anthony McFarlane (five catches, 101 yards) on passes of 11 and 22, respectively. Blevens, who made his homecoming proposal to his girlfriend right after the game, ended the night completing 19-of-28 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns.

“Our offense played good. The line blocked great,” Blevens said. “The running backs did their thing. Overall, it was a great game for the offense.”

The Cobras’ defense stepped up to the plate as well against the Bears’ high-flying offense, with defensive end Nasir Newsome recording three sacks, a fumble force and fumble recovery. Hudson defensive end Elias Williams was also in the face of Joyner all night, putting on immense pressure every play.

Hudson has four games to go against Weeki Wachee, Windermere, Anclote and Fivay in the ‘Backyard Brawl’ at the end of the season. Despite a loss to Nature Coast, the Cobras still have a chance at winning the Class 2A-S, District 11 title. 

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.