CLEARWATER - For Calvary Christian, a second-year program, a 56-0 preseason loss to Keswick Christian says a lot.
"One of my seniors said it best," said first-year Warrior coach Dave Compton. "We played the way we practiced this week. When its 56-0 you say okay. You shut the doors on it as quickly as you can."
For Keswick, the rout meant improvements in focus areas in its summer conditioning and game plan.
"We challenged our defense all night," said Keswick coach Rick Sanson. "We didn't play well in spring and we challenged our guys to go out there and shut them down."
Keswick's defense was on guard all night, allowing just two Calvary first downs and scoring a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery late in the first quarter by Roman Bruce. Chris Colucci grabbed the game's only interception two possessions earlier. By the end of the first quarter, the game was a lopsided 41-0.
Starting in Calvary territory for all but one possession in the first quarter, the Crusaders showed quick movement to the outside using three backs, all competing for touches.
"Even in a game like this they're all fighting," said Sanson. "They're all going to work."
Colucci scored two touchdowns in the quarter. Freshman Jared DiMaggio ran a punt return for a touchdown and also scored on a running play. Kenny Shorter chipped in with two rushing touchdowns in the second half. Michael Young caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from starting quarterback Blake Engelhardt, and was good on all but one extra point as the team's kicker.
JESUIT 27, COUNTRYSIDE 13: Countryside coach John Davis said his team wasn't ready to celebrate after its loss in Friday's Kickoff Classic, but he wasn't disheartened, either.
"We've got some work to do," Davis said. "But we lost in the Classic last year and we went to the regional championship. We don't put too much into this."
The Cougars turned the ball over five times in the first half, including three interceptions. Still, Davis found some bright sports in the loss. Safety Chris Harriel was all over the field on defense, and Bobby Floyd and Mike James each scored touchdowns to keep Countryside in the game.
"It doesn't count, so we're not going to be too upset," Davis said. "It all starts next week."
SAR. RIVERVIEW 44, CLEARWATER 20: Clearwater running back Jason Harris ran for 178 yards on 12 carries, including touchdowns of 71 and 70 yards, but it wasn't enough for the visiting Tornadoes.
Riverview piled up 406 yards rushing, led by quarterback C.J. Hamilton with 164 yards.
The Tornadoes closed the gap to 24-20 after a score early in the third quarter, but Riverview piled it on from there.
LAKEWOOD 0, MELBOURNE 0: Lakewood travelled three hours to get in 15 minutes of football before its game was called due to a lightning storm. Neither team scored during the 15 minutes of play, but Lakewood running back James Green ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run that was called back by a clipping penalty.
Spartans coach Brian Bruch said his team still found some benefits from the trip across state.
"We played pretty well," Bruch said. "Our offense broke some plays and our defense was tough while we were out there. We're definitely improved over last year."
Lakewood quarterback Chris Bryant completed 4-of-6 passes for 60 yards.
BERK. PREP 50, PALMETTO RIDGE 13: Host Berkeley Prep quarterback Derek Hatcher picked up where he left off last season in leading the Bucs. Hatcher, who led his team to an 8-1 record in 2003 and a spot in the playoffs, passed twice for scores to Andrew McAdams and ran one in himself.
Berkeley, up 36-7 at the half, gave up no sacks and had no plays for negative yardage as coach Frank Sullivan cleared his bench in the second half.
"I was satisfied with our play," he said. "There is still room for improvement but I was very pleased tonight, especially with our defense."
Times correspondent Jeff Berlinicke contributed to this report.
