 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Point...
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer Land O'Lakes quarterback Drew Weatherford has a better record, better statistics and, ultimately, a better future in football, but if you're looking for a first-half MVP in Pasco County, the player most deserving is Pasco senior Ben Alford. My esteemed colleague on the other side of this page is no doubt offering a convincing argument otherwise, not the least of which would be that Weatherford's Gators beat Alford's Pirates last month. Alford and Weatherford are enjoying perhaps the two greatest passing seasons in county history, on pace to combine for a ridiculous 58 touchdowns. Both are talented, accurate passers; poised, instinctive leaders on the field and off who are as responsible for their teams' success as any two players in the county. But Weatherford's supporting cast is stronger than Alford's. His offensive line returned nearly intact from last year, and he has the county's top receiver, Logan Payne, an MVP candidate himself for the way he's dominated his position. Payne had 29 catches last year, more than all of Pasco's returning players combined. And, yes, the Gators reset the school scoring record twice in their first three games, but they did so against Gulf and Springstead, a combined 0-10 and giving up an average of 38.4 points a game. Alford, by contrast, has four leading rushers in five weeks, and four leading receivers. He's handled all of Pasco's punts, with a 36.5-yard average, and serves as the holder on kicks. Alford has carried Pasco, allowing plays to develop with a scrambling ability he didn't have in his previous two years as starter. He's like the Roadrunner in the backfield, pursued but never caught, just fast enough to stay out of reach of an incoming pass-rusher, or two, or four. Defenses are forced to handle him with constant awareness, whether he's at quarterback, as an aw-shucks-let's-run-for-it holder, or on punts, when the Pirates line up in an extended shotgun, with Alford eager to take any potential rush as an excuse to take off. More impressive, perhaps, than the seasons Alford and Weatherford are having is the notion that this who's-midseason-MVP debate can be held without Wesley Chapel running back Tyrone Tomlin's name popping up. Tomlin is, after all, the county's leading rusher and No. 2 scorer, but even before Friday's surprising upset loss to Zephyrhills, he was facing a real challenge for local supremacy. Look at the cover of our preseason tab, which showed Tomlin smiling and his three eastside challengers -- Weatherford, Alford and Zephyrhills quarterback James Adamo -- glaring at him. Six weeks later, he's probably the only one not smiling after losing five fumbles in his last two games. Tomlin, to his defense, is still recovering from offseason knee surgery. It's understandable he hasn't shown the same big-play burst and invulnerability he had last fall. And if he's struggled to deal with adversity, it might be because he hasn't faced much on a field in a while. Alford is in the opposite boat. He entered this season with a 10-10 record as the starter, a good quarterback confident in his chances to guide the Pirates to their first playoff berth in four years. But could he have foreseen 13 touchdown passes in five games? Zero interceptions in the past four? His only mistake is that his success comes at the same time as another outstanding passer's. Alford is Sammy Sosa to Weatherford's Mark McGwire in that wild 1998 home-run slugfest. McGwire's numbers were gaudier, you'll recall, and he was the one who got the record, the headlines and the history. Sosa had to be content with what was then the second-greatest, home-run total in history, that is, until after the season, when he was named National League MVP.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times Editorial Letters |
