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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2002
Sarasota Riverview 54, Bloomingdale 0
VALRICO -- Sarasota Riverview (5-2) gained nearly 400 yards and scored 35 unanswered points against Bloomingdale (0-7) in the first half alone, snapping a two-game losing streak.
PLAY OF THE GAME: After Bloomingdale's best drive of the game (15 plays for 52 yards, using 8 minutes, 35 seconds); Riverview's Mike Ford ran the next play from scrimmage 65 yards for a touchdown, using only 15 seconds.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: The Rams totaled 428 yards on the ground, while snaring another 119 yards through the air. The Bulls had 131 yards of total offense.
KEY STATISTIC: Riverview quarterback Jason Evans led a balanced attack, rushing for 67 yards on 4 carries with 3 touchdowns, while completing 6 of 8 for 119 yards and tossing a touchdown. Teammate C.J. Hamilton had 7 carries for an impressive 134 yards. Bloomingdale's Temoi Ford accounted for nearly half his team's total offense (15 carries for 60 yards).
THEY SAID IT: "We played as good as we could play." -- Riverview coach John Sprague.
-- KURT KRAUS
PLANT CITY -- Lakeland did everything except perform during halftime as the Dreadnaughts easily sent Plant City to its sixth loss.
Lakeland (6-1) shut out the Raiders (1-6) and limited Hillsborough County's top rusher, Joslin Shaw, to 49 yards. The Dreadnaught defense gave up just 54 yards of total offense and did not allow the Raiders into Lakeland territory all night.
On the offensive side of the ball, Lakeland had its way on the ground with two 100-yard rushers, Dominick Walker (110 yards) and Steve Chancey (108 yards and two touchdowns), and in the air with 142 yards passing from Prince Hixon. Kevin Hendrix led the Dreadnaughts with three touchdowns (two receiving and one rushing).
PLAY OF THE GAME: Facing a third-and-13 from the 24-yard line, Hixon hit a wide-open Hendrix with a perfect toss in the corner of the end zone to put the Dreadnaughts up 34-0 late in the third quarter.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Hendrix caught six passes for 78 yards and two scores and rushed the ball once for a 15-yard score.
THEY SAID IT: "The defense played real hard and didn't allow (Joslin) Shaw to get started out there because he's a good runner." -- Lakeland coach Bill Castle.
-- BILL POWERS
North Port scored three second-quarter touchdowns and cruised past visiting Freedom.
Freedom (0-4) gained 265 yards but didn't score until the third quarter, on Matthew Kipp's 1-yard run.
Kipp hit Jamar Long for a 22-yard touchdown during the fourth.
North Port improved 3-3. Two of its victories have come over first-year Tampa schools. It beat Middleton 19-18 on Sept.27.
-- TIMES STAFF
TAMPA -- Quarterback Mike Brewster threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, leading King (2-5, 2-2 in the district) past visiting Gaither (3-4, 1-3) in a Class 5A, District 6 contest.
Brewster hit tight end Orvil Ray for scores from 45 and 46 yards, and wideout Dominick Johnson from 8 and 16 yards. Brewster completed 8 of 10 passes for 174 yards, with his only two misfires being intercepted.
Brewster also scored on the ground from 1 and 25 yards, rushing for 86 yards on 18 carries.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Dominick Johnson's over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone gave King a 21-7 lead just before halftime. That countered Doc Marshall's 92-yard kickoff return for Gaither two minutes earlier.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Brewster was a one-man show, but his receivers made several difficult catches. Ray did the dirty work over the middle, grabbing four passes for 129 yards.
Gaither defensive back Will Daines intercepted Brewster twice, and also recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for a touchdown.
KEY STATISTIC: King out-gained Gaither 451 yards to 213, with a 277-to-144 edge rushing. THEY SAID IT: "We ran it well, and we mixed it up with play action. Everybody contributed tonight." -- King coach Joe Severino.
-- JOEL POILEY
TAMPA -- The Ravens (2-6, 1-3) scored six times in nine possessions to snap a six-game losing streak in a Class 5A, District 6 game at Leto (0-7, 0-4).
Jorge Lopez threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey Office and ran for a 14-yard score to lead Alonso.
Alonso's Kevrik Brown, who gave the Ravens a 6-0 lead on a 14-yard run, was taken off the field on a stretcher in the second quarter after suffering a season-ending broken femur. He finished with 69 yards on 10 carries as Alonso amassed 290 rushing yards to Leto's 89.
PLAY OF THE GAME: After Leto closed to 26-15 on J.B. Bailey's second touchdown bomb to Chris Woolridge -- this one for 41 yards -- midway through the fourth quarter, Alonso's Robert Williams broke free for a 21-yard score to seal the victory with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Alonso's John Forbes led all rushers with 109 yards on 18 carries.
KEY STATISTIC: Alonso committed no turnovers and benefitted from 90 yards in penalties by Leto.
THEY SAID IT: "It felt nice to win here, but I still have a lot of respect for Leto. At the same time, it was hard coming here." -- Mike Heldt, Alonso coach and former Leto assistant under Andy Martin.
-- CONCEPCION LEDEZMA
TAMPA -- Adam Garrison threw for 201 yards and three scores as Brandon (3-4, 2-1 in the district) defeated Plant in a Class 4A, District 8 game Thursday night at Dads Stadium.
The Eagles spoiled Seniors Night for the Panthers (2-5, 0-3) by dominating the line of scrimmage and scoring in every quarter.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Brandon put things out of reach with 2:46 remaining as Garrison hooked up with S.J. Green for the Eagles' longest play of the game, a 45-yard scoring pass that provided a 28-9 lead.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Garrison completed 11 of 19 passes, including scores of 36, 25 and 45 yards. Teammate Jimmy Bogan rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. For Plant, Quinton Williams caught four passes for 88 yards and a score.
KEY STATISTIC: Brandon rushed for 208 yards and passed for 201 yards. Plant was limited to 167 yards, 10 first downs and didn't convert a third down until 1:18 remained.
THEY SAID IT: "Teams (like Plant) fit right into our hands with the game they play. We're not very big, but we can run and get to the ball." -- Brandon coach Ernest Hayes.
-- DON JENSEN