By Times staff writers
Published September 25, 2004
Hillsborough 26, Plant 11
TAMPA - Quarterback Jarred Fayson and running back Jimmy Sapp each had a hand in two touchdowns for undefeated Hillsborough at Dads Stadium.
Hillsborough (3-0) rushed for 295 yards, but lost three fumbles in its territory as Plant (1-2) crept within a touchdown with 51/2 minutes remaining.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Leading 19-11, Hillsborough marched 80 yards, all on the ground, for a clinching touchdown as Sapp scored from 13 yards out with 54 seconds remaining.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Hillsborough's Stephan Knight rushed for 103 yards, including a 61-yard TD run that put the Terriers on top for good. Sapp's first TD came on a 54-yard pass from Fayson, who also had a 27-yard scoring run. Kenny Allen led Plant with 69 yards rushing on 18 carries.
KEY STATISTIC: After going 75 yards for a Lawrence McClure 21-yard field goal on its opening series, Plant managed only 70 yards on nine possessions. The Panthers scored only once despite recovering fumbles at Hillsborough's 35, 24 and 28.
THEY SAID IT: "This was not a typical Hillsborough-Plant game for the last few years. Plant played with enthusiasm, they played with confidence, they played for four quarters. These guys made us better. I commended (Plant coach) Robert (Weiner) and his staff after the game. He's got a plan and they're going to be a force to be reckoned with - I promise you." - Earl Garcia, Hillsborough coach
- DON JENSEN, Times correspondent
Indian Rocks Christian 21, Temple Heights 14
LARGO - Indian Rocks Christian (2-1) dominated and took a one-touchdown lead for the handful of plays Pinellas County's leading rusher and leading scorer, Jimmy Davis, played until injuring his right ankle. Davis left for a hospital at halftime and IRC found itself holding off Temple Heights (0-3) until the last 1:21, when Taylor McMillen's interception sealed the win.
PLAYS OF THE GAME: Temple Heights had two after trailing 14-0. At the goalline, Sean Patrick blocked an IRC punt that Zaqueray Berridge recovered in the end zone to cut it to 14-6 in the second quarter.
Pinned on his 3 in the third, Temple Heights quarterback Mike Perea somehow got by all 11 defenders on a keeper and ran 97 yards for the score. His 2-point pass to Geoff Cunningham cut the lead to 21-14.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Davis still led IRC with 51 yards. Teammate Dan Joyner had 47 yards, 35 yards on a scoring run in the second.
KEY STATISTIC: Perea's 97-yard run came when his team had 33 total yards. He finished with 105 rushing and 2 passing. His team had 153 total.
THEY SAID IT: "I felt like our players played as capably as (they can) right now. Now next week they may play a little bit better because of this game right here." - Steve Lewis, Temple Heights coach.
- JAMAL THALJI, Times staff writer
Wharton 22, Plant City 21
TAMPA - There was no way receiver Richard Bowman was going to go out of bounds. With 1:13 to go and with Wharton (1-2) down 21-15, the senior took a screen pass from Donald Ankers and scooted 53 yards for the score.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Keon Young's kick return to the Wildcats' 47-yard line set up Bowman's touchdown.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Plant City receiver Dane Jones caught four passes for 111 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown late that gave the Raiders a lead. Plant City's Derrick Hallback led all rushers with 24 carries for 82 yards.
KEY STATISTIC: Plant City committed six penalties for 50 yards, including a holding call on a successful two-point conversion that would have tied the game at 15. The Raiders also were hurt by two personal fouls.
THEY SAID IT: "I was determined to score. That's my goal. This is my first career touchdown and it couldn't have come at a better time." - Bowman.
- JOHN CALKINS, Times correspondent
Riverview 24, Bloomingdale 6
RIVERVIEW - Riverview's defense set the pace by allowing one touchdown and 51 rushing yards.
The first two Sharks touchdowns came on 55- and 57-yard runs. The Bulls came back in the second half with a new look and shut down the Sharks offense.
Riverview quarterback Chris Alexander carried 12 times for 87 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown.
PLAY OF THE GAME: With 19 seconds left in the first half, Alexander passed through the hands of a Bloomingdale defender to Jason Harmon in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown. PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Harmon played well and scored on defense and offense. He intercepted a pass in the first quarter and ran it back for a 55-yard touchdown. KEY STATISTIC: Riverview's defense was intense and occasionally a little too intense for the refs. The Sharks chalked up 12 penalties for 132 yards. Bloomingdale recorded only five for 40 yards. THEY SAID IT: "In the first half, we executed fairly well, but I was a little disappointed in the second half execution. Our defense has been doing well all season." - Riverview coach Dan O'Reagan.
- TERRY JONES, Times correspondent
King 14, Blake 13
TAMPA - After a luckless first half, which left King trailing 13-0 and unable to get anything going on offense, the Lions dominated the second half en route to their first victory of the season. The second-half strategy? Don't change anything. The Lions (1-2) relied on the Blake (0-4) defense wearing down, running the same handful of plays throughout the final two quarters and compiling 216 rushing yards. The final score came on a Chris Gaines' QB sneak with less than two minutes to play.
PLAY OF THE GAME: It wasn't anything fancy, but Gaines' plunge into the end zone capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive, all of which came via the ground game. After Gaines muscled his way in, Kevin Savage's PAT was perfect to give the Lions a lead and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: King fullback Michael Sweeney pounded the Jackets' line inside for 112 yards, while running back Bruce Brown raced outside and around Blake defenders for 158 yards and one TD.
KEY STATISTIC: Blake again had penalty trouble, committing 16 for 115 yards, including backing them out of field-goal range from the King 7 on one series. Also, of King's 294 rushing yards, 212 came in the second half against a tired Blake defense.
THEY SAID IT: "We relied on them to wear down, so we just stuck to the basics in the second half. God, it feels good to get a win."- Joe Severino, King coach
- JASON H. DAVIS, Times correspondent
Freedom 23, Alonso 13
TAMPA - The host Ravens suffered their third loss of the season, but may have bigger issues. Six starters were suspended for the game for missing practice during this week. Among them was starting tailback Rob Williams, who watched from the sideline then turned in his jersey after the game.
Freedom celebrated its second-ever victory and the first for new coach Adam Stegeman. Freedom led 10-6 at the break, scoring the only touchdown of the first half on Lorenzo Warren's 39-yard run. Alonso took the lead in the third 13-10 on Carlos Anderson's 1-yard plunge. Patriots quarterback Matt Kipp and fullback Ryan Michelli scored on fourth-quarter runs of 1 and 20 yards to capture the win.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Receiver Jaime Sparling made a leaping 29-yard sideline reception, going over the top of an Alonso defender, coming down with one foot inbounds and keeping alive the go-ahead drive.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Freedom's Kipp and Sparling connected on eight receptions totaling 137 yards. Kipp finished 14-of-20 for 207 yards and completed his last seven passes.
KEY STATISTIC: Alonso rushed for just 18 yards on 11 carries and produced two first downs in the first half. The Ravens fumbled seven times, losing six.
THEY SAID IT: "This is a great win because the guys have been battling so hard and the last two weeks it's been close. ... The guys kept wondering if this was going to be like last year." - Adam Stegeman, Freedom coach
- DAVID NORRIE, Times correspondent
Sickles 42, Newsome 13
LITHIA - The Sickles defense and special teams proved to be the deciding factor. The Gryphons sacked junior quarterback Tim Maguire six times, caused and recovered two fumbles, converting one for a touchdown, and blocked a punt that led to a Sickles score.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Sickles senior running back Nick Carpenter's 35-yard touchdown run with 9:33 left in the first quarter set the pace for the rest of the game for the Gryphons.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Carpenter ran through the Wolves defense during the first half. Carpenter had 113 yards off 11 carries and crossed the goal line four times in the first two quarters. Carpenter finished with 138 yards on 15 carries. Newsome had a good effort from Maguire who completed 9-of-13 for 134 yards.
KEY STATISTIC: The Gryphons had almost 100 more yards in penalties than Newsome with 160 yards coming off of 16. The Wolves had six penalties for 65 yards.
THEY SAID IT: "Nick (Carpenter) was a horse for us. We really seemed to come together as a team and hopefully we can keep that going for next week in our big game against Gaither." - Bob Irvin, Sickles coach
- DAN GENOVESE, Times correspondent
Elsewhere
TAMPA BAY TECH 16, GAITHER 14: Previously undefeated Gaither (2-1) found a determined opponent in Tampa Bay Tech (2-1) Friday night and the Titans topped the Cowboys behind the passing of quarterback Dominic Grooms and an opportunistic defense. Tampa Bay Tech erased a 14-0 deficit aided by Illia Petrov's 38-yard field goal to cut the score to 14-10 at the half. Grooms threw two touchdowns, one to Quentin Williams for 15 yards and another to Andre Patrick for 4 yards.
ROBINSON 20, LETO 0: Jermaine Doster rushed for 70 yards and two scores, of 2 and 8 yards, to pace the Knights. Brad Cobb and Justin Windley each had an interception for Robinson. The Knights played ball control with a strong ground game, short passes and lengthy possessions. "I was pleased with our play tonight," Robinson coach Mike DePue said. "We moved the ball well and I thought our quarterback, Marcello Trigg, ran a very efficient offense."
ORL. FIRST ACAD. 36, TAMPA CATHOLIC 12: Tampa Catholic fell behind early and a strong second half was too little, too late. Tampa Catholic (0-3) scored on a 21-yard pass from Joey Lauteeria to Chris Haverty, and on an 11-yard run by Lauteeria on the last play of the game. On that final play, Lauteeria suffered a neck injury and was taken to the hospital for observation. "We just don't have enough depth to compete week after week," Crusader coach Jim Guderian said. "Our kids never give up as they proved tonight. After being down 28-0 at the half, we still came back to play a real good second half."
