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A late touchdown is the only blemish in a 33-6 victory.
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2002
OCTOBER 17, 1992 -- Central coach Barry Gardner joked afterward that it was his team's best play of the night.
Quarterback Tyrone Goodson fumbled the snap, which rolled forward 5 yards. Pasco's Jamie Byrd tried to pounce on the ball, but it rolled forward another 5 yards. Finally, Chris Shirley found the ball 5 yards later inside the pile, and the Bears had first-and-goal inside the 5 with less than a minute left.
"Bring the first team back in here," linebacker Darren Hambrick yelled from the field to the sideline. The coaches just shook their heads at him.
Using a triple I-formation, Central's Deo Wyatt scored from 2 yards out.
Final score: Pasco 33, Central 6.
"That was our best offensive play all night," Gardner told the Times. "It was a long gainer. We called that play the rugby scrum."
The Bears started the game with a new one-back, double-wideout set. But after backup quarterback Tim Dillow hit Shirley for a 31-yard gain, the Pirates' Chris Roberts intercepted his next pass and returned it 76 yards for Pasco's first score.
With 13 seconds left in the half, Issac Johnson threw a 33-yard touchdown pass -- which Taras Ross had to wrestle away from Shirley -- to take a 19-0 lead. Ross also returned a fumble for another score.
Darren Hambrick ran for a 48-yard touchdown in the second quarter and brother Troy had a 33-yard score in the third.
Pasco, ranked second in the Class 3A poll behind defending state champion Alachua Santa Fe, improved to 5-0. The defending Class 3A, District 7 champions remained unbeaten in the district.