It was two quarters of play, hardly enough time for Tarpon Springs coach Don Davis to judge how his team will do this fall.
But it was a start.
After consecutive 3-7 seasons, the Spongers appeared to have turned the corner with victories over Lakewood and Gibbs in a three-team jamboree May 21.
In the first quarter, Tarpon Springs beat the Spartans 14-7. Mike Koulianos set the tone, running 40 yards for a touchdown on a draw play.
The Spongers squeaked by the Gladiators 7-0 in the other quarter.
Offensive linemen Mike Leynaard, Joey Thompson, Kevin Nelson, Theo Kappas, A.J. Couchenour and Adam Siauciunas were a big reason Tarpon gained 200 yards.
In the other quarter, Gibbs beat Lakewood 16-0. It was the first time siblings, Ernest and Anthony Givins, faced each other from opposite sidelines.
Anthony stepped in for Dave Cleppe, who left Gibbs for Pinellas Park. Ernest, a former NFL receiver, returned to his alma mater.
LAKEWOOD RANCH 21, PALM HARBOR U 10: Playing the varsity squad in the first half, PHU was ahead 7-0 thanks to Richard Drozdyck's 60-yard interception return.
The lead could have been more. Evan Steele, who kicked the extra point, barely missed on a field-goal attempt.
The Hurricanes played freshmen in the third quarter and were outscored 7-3. In the fourth, the junior varsity gave up two TDs. The game marked the return of coach Mike June, who spent the offseason battling a relapse of leukamia. June had a bone marrow transplant in January and was cleared to return to the sideline.
NORTHSIDE CHR. 14, KESWICK CHR. 13: In a matchup of district rivals, the Mustangs scored early and held on.
In the first quarter, Zack Cole blocked a punt and Daniel Redinger recovered in the end zone for Northside's first touchdown. The Mustangs scored again in the second half on a 22-yard pass from Bobby Dare to Tim Devlin.
The Crusaders rallied with two scores, the last on a quarterback sneak by Blake Englehart with less than a minute left. Trailing 14-13, Keswick elected to go for the win, but Englehart's pass on the two-point conversion failed.
INDIAN ROCKS CHR. 35, NATURE COAST TECH 24: Golden Eagles coach Chris Westerfield wanted to play a public school in a larger classification to see how his team would perform. The move paid off as IRC rolled up nearly 400 yards against Nature Coast, a second-year school playing varsity for the first time.
Houston Blackwell gained 210 all-purpose yards and scored three times.
