SEFFNER - As if advancing to the Class 4A state semifinal against Miami Washington weren't enough excitement for one night, Armwood coach Sean Callahan had some even bigger news that sent a whoop through the post-game huddle Friday night.
The Hawks (13-0) would be driving down to Miami after their team meal Thursday evening and staying in a hotel together.
The Hawks were practically rolling on the ground with exuberance, and if Callahan had then told them they had also won the lottery, they probably wouldn't have heard him.
So how do you get 40 anxious teenagers to hunker down and get some rest (and nix the shenanigans) the night before the second-biggest game they will play this season?
Callahan isn't sweating it.
"This group here is very mature," he said. "I know I don't have to come into the room and tell them what to do. They're a pretty low-maintenance group."
BEAUTIFUL MIAMI: After a shockingly blustery, 50-degree night against Countryside on Friday, the Hawks can look forward to a much more mild, football-friendly night in Miami.
According to weather.com, the Hawks and Tornadoes can expect a partly cloudy evening with a low of 67 degrees and calm 8 mph winds. Rain is forecast in the day, but it should be dry by night.
UNDERSTATED: When asked about his 75-yard kickoff return in Durant's 13-10 victory over Hillsborough, defensive back Greg Clark didn't exactly get animated.
He said, "I think it helped us a little." A little?
Hillsborough opened the game by quickly going 80 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead, leaving Durant's sideline a bit stunned.
Durant quarterback Chip Bowden said, "I really thought (after the Terriers' opening drive) that we were in for a long night."
All that changed when Clark took the ensuing kickoff and raced downfield, slipping a tackler at the 7-yard line to go in for the score.
"That return gave us back the confidence we lost when they scored so easily on us," Durant linebacker Brandon West said. "That wasn't just a little lift for us.
"That was a huge lift."
On the Terriers' opening drive, Clark also raced across the field to pull down running back Ricky Ponton after he broke for a 43-yard gain on Hillsborough's initial play from scrimmage.
MISTAKE-FREE LOSS: Penalties and turnovers are usually two factors that do a team in, but neither helped Jefferson Friday against Sarasota Booker. The Dragons didn't commit a penalty until they were offside attempting an onside kick following their second touchdown. That was four minutes into the fourth quarter and the team's only infraction.
Jefferson also only had one turnover, same as Booker, an interception that was returned 56 yards by Oliver McNeil to set up Terrence Jones' fifth and final touchdown with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
TRAFFIC JAM: Here's a tip if you're ever going to a Durant football game: Get there early.
One road leads into Durant, which on Friday translated to a creeping - and we do mean creeping - mile-long line of cars in front of the school. And that was 15 minutes after the Hillsborough-Durant game had started.
A few cars didn't wait to pay their parking fee and drove over the little curb to the parking lot, which made for a quarter-mile walk to the stadium.
Most everyone seemed to make it though (attendance was over 5,000), and the Cougar faithful must have had a good time.
Durant won 13-10 and moves onto to play at Daytona Beach Mainland in Friday's Class 5A state semifinal.
HIGH-POWERED: How devastating has Booker's offense been? In their past two games, both against Hillsborough County squads, the Tornadoes have piled up a combined 909 yards of offense on Robinson and Jefferson.
Of that total, 541 yards have come courtesy of senior tailback Jones, who's added eight touchdowns. But Booker's dominance has been limited to one side of the ball. The Tornadoes' defense held Robinson to 60 yards, minus-12 rushing, and the Dragons had just 260.
- ANTHONY GAGLIANO, EMILY NIPPS, SCOTT PURKS, JIM REESE
