_{October 31st, 2025}
by Josh Zedner
Miami, Fla. | “Gators Chomp Through Spartans”

Florida Man Sports is back with Week 11 coverage of the South Florida high school football season! It is the final week of the regular season. Things are beginning to tighten up and it’s time to get ready for the playoffs. What a fantastic regular season that it has been. To finish it up, we had a Halloween night matchup between the Barbara Goleman Gators and the Monsignor Pace Spartans. Goleman, at 5-4 is coming off of a 50 point blowout win against Taravella last week. Pace had a thriller last week, beating North Miami Beach in a 29-28 banger.

Goleman got the ball to start the game. 2027 QB Timothy Potts dished the ball off to 2026 ATH Darryll “Tre” Bell (FSU commit) and he took the ball for a first down. Potts then connected with 2026 ATH Franki Sosa Jr. for another chunk gain. 2026 ATH Rashad Gaines then ran for a first down, followed by a personal foul that got Goleman inside the 20. Potts found Sosa Jr., who broke multiple arm tackles and crashed into the endzone to give the Gators a 6-0 lead.

A nightmare occurred on Pace’s first touch. A fumble on the kickoff forced by 2028 ATH KJ Belamour Jr., that was recovered by 2027 DB Issac Pena. Spooky stuff. The Spartan defense held firm though with a TFL by 2028 OL/DL Jaden Parker that eventually forced a turnover on downs. 2027 RB Isaiah Thurston ran for a first down, but the drive was snuffed out after a huge TFL for a loss by Bell and another TFL by 2027 DE Ethan Medina.

Pace finally got a decent drive going at the end of the 1st. All by the way of penalties. After a combined sack by Belamour Jr. and 2026 DT MaRail Harp, the Spartans turned the ball over on downs inside the red zone. The lack of a kicking game was apparent for both teams by the way. Once again, Pace’s defense got the job done on Goleman’s next drive and forced a punt after back-to-back sacks by 2027 LB Jayden Gummer and 2026 LB Cleveland Gary (Bryant commit).

The Spartan offense just couldn’t get much going. After another first down tote by Thurston, Medina sacked 2027 QB Jordan Fernandez, and 2028 DB Jimmy Gonzalez forced a turnover on downs with a nice play. Finally, Potts and the offense found holes in the defense. The signal caller connected with Sosa Jr. and Gaines for first downs. Potts scrambled for another on his own. Then he found Bell, on another screen in which he made a series of moves and ran past the entire defense for another touchdown. 12-0 Goleman at this point.

The Gator defense made yet another fantastic play after Belamour Jr. punched the ball out of a Pace receiver’s hands and it was recovered by Bell. But the offense was stuffed again through the efforts of 2027 DB Tristan Barnett and Gary, who had another sack that forced another turnover on downs. Pace made nothing of the turnover though, as Fernandez threw a pick into the arms of Sosa Jr. that led to the halftime margin being at 12 for Pace.

Pace needed some momentum coming out of the half. The offense was looking lost. Thurston ran for another first down, but the drive stalled out and they had to punt again. Another nightmare occurred. 2026 ATH Adrian Morales Jr. blocked the punt, which was returned by Bell for a touchdown. A scintillating turn of events. Goleman also converted the 2-pointer which made the lead 20. It was insurmountable for Pace.

Potts tossed another touchdown to 2027 ATH Malik Meza, which made the score 26-0. Bell added another TFL late in the game. 2028 DL David Veras got in on the fun with a sack of his own. Pena got another turnover on his tally with a late pick. Fernandez got Pace on the board with a touchdown strike to 2028 WR Mykei Wade, but that was essentially a garbage time score. Thurston ran in for the 2-pointer. Final score, Goleman 26, Pace 8.

A very nice road win for the Goleman Gators. They were ready to play tonight. Especially the defense. They forced quite a few turnovers tonight. Bell showed that he was the best player on the field. Potts got better as the game went along, tossing 3 scores. They have some ready and willing corners that were locking up the Spartan receivers all night and forced Fernandez to scramble the whole game. We’ll see who they get in the playoffs next week, but this team is definitely a sleeper right now.

Pace has had a super uneven season. The defense did its job for the majority of the night, but they showed cracks throughout. The offense was running around in circles doing mostly nothing until the very end. Way too many miscues as well, with loose footballs and poor decisions. They are in the playoffs, but will be up against it if they play this type of game. It isn’t possible to win when you operate like this.

FINAL SCORE:
Goleman beats Pace 26-8

Florida Man Sports Player of the Game:

2026 ATH Daryll “Tre” Bell (Receiving TD, 2 FR (1 for TD), 2 TFLs)


About Josh Zedner:
Joshua Zedner is a beat writer covering high school football for Florida Man Sports. A native of Miami Beach, he attended Florida International University before finishing his undergraduate Business Administration degree at the University of Florida. Josh is an avid Miami sports fan, and he also writes a music review blog as a passion project under the @AlbumAnalysisWithZ handle on Instagram.