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Friday night rewind

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"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It's awkward. It's embarrassing. It's humbling." - MARK NASH Hudson coach, who watched his team from the track in the southwest corner of Cobra Stadium while serving a one-game suspension

"We're family, and Coach Nash is the head of the family. We tried to pull together. I think it's a testament to him that we played so well in his absence." - TIM WHITE, Hudson assistant, who acted as interim coach

SPENCER BROWN, MITCHELL The senior fullback/defensive end rushed for 95 yards, including touchdowns of 12, 3, 1 and 3 yards, recorded a sack and recovered a fumble.

AARON DICKLER, WESLEY CHAPEL: Filling in for injured Nigel Bryant as he did last season when Bryant missed three games, the senior rushed for a game-high 138 yards and two touchdowns.

NATE TOOLE, HUDSON: The senior fullback helped the Cobras snap a two-game losing skid with 145 rushing yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

RAY SOUSA, GULF: The senior running back/linebacker scored on a 13-yard run and 22-yard fumble return to help the Bucs to their first victory.

TONY SMITH, PASCO: The sophomore quarterback came through in the clutch, throwing for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yarder to Darrell Davis for the winning score.

SCOTT MAYS, LAND O'LAKES: The senior carried the load on offense, rushing for a game-high 170 yards and scoring on runs of 24 and 60 yards.

During Thursday's walkthrough, Pasco receiver/defensive back Darrell Davis turned his ankle when he tripped on a large divot in the field. Though the injury was not severe, coach Dale Caparaso decided as a precautionary measure to only use Davis on defense. That changed after Pasco fell behind 7-0. Davis came in as a receiver and made two big receptions on the winning drive - a nine-yard pass on fourth down and a 40-yarder for a touchdown. "Whew!" Caparaso said. "Thank goodness we were able to use him (Friday). We needed him tonight."

As it did earlier in the season, River Ridge alternated quarterbacks Mike Gregory and Phil Petrini against Central. Gregory, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound senior, completed 3-of-9 for 16 yards. Petrini, a 5-10, 155-pound junior, was 2-of-6 for 58 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown pass to Adam Clarke. "Phil brings more of a running game, he's more mobile than Mike," River Ridge coach Mike DeGennaro said. "We just tried moving them around a little bit to change it up a little bit. We'll see what we need. We did it early in the season, then we stopped for a little while, now we're trying it again."

Wesley Chapel is on a school-record 15-game regular-season win streak, but coach John Castelamare was displeased with his team's play after Thursday's 21-0 win over Ridgewood. The Wildcats were flagged for 80 yards in penalties and were slowed in the second half against a team that primarily relied on a backfield of freshmen. Castelamare said the Wildcats must play better to win what would be the school's first playoff game in what could be a second straight unbeaten regular season.

Sam Bell returned a punt 72 yards for the winning score in River Ridge's 17-14 victory over Gulf earlier this season, but Central never gave him the chance. The Bears used directional punts to keep the ball from Bell and refused to kick off to him. "He's tough," Central coach John Wilkinson said. "We knew he was the one that could take it to the house on us and, if he didn't then we'd be okay. I thought we contained him pretty well."

Former Pasco standout Johnny Peyton, now a freshman receiver at South Florida, attended Friday's game.

Land O'Lakes quarterback Joe Weatherford made the most of his two completions, throwing the first for a 4-yard touchdown and the last for 40 yards to put the Gators in position for a potential winning score.

Pasco's turnaround from an 0-2 start can be attributed largely to its defense, which has forced 16 turnovers during the team's three-game win streak.