CLASS 4A REGION FINAL: LAKE GIBSON 44, LAND O'LAKES 35: Gators look back on game decided by handful of plays. "We just kind of mentally broke down, and that comes with fatigue," Weatherford says.
By JAMAL THALJI
Published December 2, 2003
LAND O'LAKES - Days after his team's whirlwind 44-35 loss to Lake Gibson, Land O'Lakes coach John Benedetto's opinion of the dramatic Class 4A region final at Virgil Ramage Stadium in Lakeland has not changed one iota:
"I thought it was one heck of a high school football game," Benedetto said.
How could it not be? The Gators and Braves traded the lead five times in the first half, and traded 12 scores last Friday night.
Lake Gibson struggled to contain Land O'Lakes quarterback Drew Weatherford, who threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more, and tight end Caz Piurowski, who had a career-high 136 yards and two TDs. The Gators were befuddled by Braves running back Travis Buford (205 rushing yards), quarterback Matt Grothe (243 passing) and receiver/kick returner Roger Frazier (125 receiving yards.)
The Gators-Braves game was decided by a handful of plays that went against Land O'Lakes, plays the coaching staff and players were ruminating over Monday.
"They scored on our breakdowns," Weatherford said. "We just kind of mentally broke down, and that comes with fatigue. We had to go both ways, and they didn't."
The Gators struck first, as Weatherford threw a 42-yard strike to a diving Michael Dantschyschyn in the end zone to go up 7-0 with 8:35 left. But Land O'Lakes found out just what kind of speed it was up against on the ensuring kickoff, when Frazier dropped the ball, picked it up, then raced upfield 98 yards for the TD to tie it 16 seconds later.
In the first half the Gators worked to maintain offensive balance between the run and the pass, and it paid off when Chris Perez broke off a 21-yard run to the goal line. Weatherford scored from there to retake the lead, 14-7, with 2:30 left in the first.
But as it did throughout the night, Lake Gibson rode the elusive, tackle-breaking Buford right back. His 5-yard scoring run tied it again at 14 with 11:60 left in the second. Land O'Lakes' Evan Keel intercepted Grothe to end a Lake Gibson drive with 6:03 left in the second. But then came one of the game's pivotal plays: Perez fumbled after a downfield gain, giving the Braves possession at the 40 with 4:10 left.
The Gators forced third and long and Piurowski broke into the backfield for what looked like a sure sack. But Grothe ducked under the 6-foot-7 defensive end, then fired a 43-yard completion for the first down. Buford's 4-yard touchdown run took a 21-14 lead with 1:24 left in the half.
The Braves struck quickly in the second half. Grothe again eluded the Gators' defensive pressure, then connected with Frazier streaking down the left sideline for a 64-yard touchdown with 7:24 left. After a failed point-after attempt, Lake Gibson led 27-14.
"I think when they scored to make it 27-14, we decided we really needed to throw the ball to get back into the ballgame," Benedetto said. "But every time we scored to shorten it, they came back and scored again."
Weatherford found Piurowski for a 31-yard touchdown, making it 27-21 with 3:53 left in the third. But a miscommunication between Weatherford at safety and Eddy Gibbs at cornerback allowed receiver Josh Duncan to slip behind them for a 65-yard score.
A Gators' lateral on the ensuing kickoff set up Piurowski's second TD catch to cut the lead to 33-28 with 1:04 left in the third.
Back came the Braves, as Grothe threw an 11-yard touchdown to Duncan. A 2-point pass to Frazier made it 41-28 with 11 minutes left in the fourth. Weatherford scored on the next drive, diving for the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown run with 6:38 left, cutting the lead to 41-35.
Lake Gibson drove 50 yards on five plays and running 4:24 off the clock. It was third and 9 in Land O'Lakes territory with 2:59 left when Grothe hit Buford with a short pass. The Gators were in a 50-front, and Buford outran Keel for 91/2 yards to get the first down on the left sideline. Jacob Bloodworth, the Braves' kicker, nailed a 30-yard field goal with 2:06 left.
The Gators drove back down, of course. The last completion of Weatherford's high school career came on fourth and 20 at the 50. He found Piurowski for 25 yards. But Weatherford's last four attempts to the end zone were batted down.
"It was tough," Weatherford said. "I mean athletically, they were bigger, faster and a little bit stronger. They played with a lot of heart, which is something we hadn't seen yet in the playoffs.
"We came out with a lot of emotion but they wore us down a little bit. We couldn't keep up with them after a while."
