Mitchell, Springstead to clash on Friday night in key Class 4A-Suburban, District 6 tilt

TRINITY, FLORIDA- The last time the Springstead Eagles football team has won a district championship in football, ‘Thrift Shop’ by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis was the top song out on the charts.

That was back in 2013 when the Eagles were able to notch the Class 6A, District 6 championship under former head coach Bill Vonada. Since that time, Springstead has had its fair share of flirting with winning a district title championship. 

Standing in their way many of those times was one team: The Mitchell Mustangs. This upcoming Friday, though, the Eagles will have a chance to right the past wrongs when they face the Mustangs on the road over in Trinity.

The difference this time around is Springstead is undefeated at 8-0 and have a chance to be one of the best Eagles’ teams in program history. In 2013, that very Springstead team was one for the history books as the Eagles reached the region final that year before losing to Armwood.

Springstead (8-0) has relied heavily on a strong defense and rushing attack in order to beat opponents, but something else they’ve been able to add to the equation is a consistent passing game. Quarterback Ayden Ferguson missed most of last season via injury has returned this 2022 campaign bringing an extra dynamic on offense.

The Eagles play more as a spread offense team from traditionally being a single-wing, triple option club and have flourished. Ferguson has thrown for over 800 yards and 11-plus touchdowns. Sophomore running back Connor Mccazzio has impressed everyone on the North Suncoast, with over 700 yards on the ground.

The backbone of the team has been its always stout defensive unit led by the play of senior linebacker Madden Buratczuk, who leads the Eagles with 56 tackles, 23 have gone for a loss and 15 sacks. Joining Buratczuk in the front seven Craig Corbett (48 tackles) and Clint Huggins (49 tackles). Sophomore defensive back Dalton Williams leads the secondary with a team-high four interceptions.

What has really shown the progression of this Springstead team from last year to this season is the convincing fashion they continue to win week in and week out. The Eagles started off the season with blowout victories over Tavares and Citrus by a combined score of 95-7.

Since that time? The Eagles have won every game by a minimum of double digits, with the tightest game being a 27-17 decision over Land O’ Lakes recently. Now Springstead will face a Mitchell team that has its district title and possibly playoff hopes hanging in the balance on Friday night at Mustang Stadium.

Mitchell, with the exemption of the 2020 season, has won six district championships in the last seven years and the mantra hasn’t changed despite the team dipping off from the 2020 region finalist squad. In 2020, the Mustangs were able to reach the Class 7A region final and eventually lost narrowly to Edgewater.

The Mustangs have leaned heavily on the play of quarterback/safety Chris Ferrini, who platooned as signal caller last season. This season, Ferrini has completed 62-of-119 passes for 758 yards and six touchdowns and also rushing for 567 with eight scores. 

Mitchell’s top running back has been Jamarion Miller (384 yards, four touchdowns) and at wide receiver, Drayk Simmons leads the team with 31 catches for 434 yards. Defensively, junior Jake Malvar has a team-high 47 tackles and as a team, Mitchell has 24 sacks. 

Now on the line here between the Eagles and Mustangs is for one team to lockdown their first district title in nearly a decade and for the other to continue its reign of capturing championships. It’ll all get decided on Friday night and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

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