QB shakes off early miscues and uses a 71-yard TD pass to energize the Gators and lead them to a win.
By FRANK PASTOR
Published October 16, 2004
TRINITY - A sign taped to a press box window Friday at Mustang Stadium mocked, "Got Drew?"
Turned out, Land O'Lakes didn't need him.
It had his brother.
With all-state quarterback Drew Weatherford departed for Florida State, his younger brother, Joe, threw the momentum-changing touchdown in the second half of the Gators' 21-20 comeback victory at Mitchell.
Weatherford's 71-yard touchdown pass to Develin Robinson early in the third opened running lanes for Scott Mays, who had 62 of his 89 rushing yards in the second half, including the go-ahead 3-yard touchdown with 8:37 remaining.
One week after his late fumble doomed Land O'Lakes in a loss at Pasco, Mays, a fullback/linebacker, intercepted Mitchell's Chris Watts in Gators territory with 38.8 seconds left to seal the win.
Land O'Lakes (3-3, 2-0) all but clinched the Class 4A, District 7 championship and homefield for the opening round of the playoffs. Mitchell (4-2, 1-1) likely will finish second and open the postseason on the road.
Mitchell took a 20-7 halftime lead behind two Watts touchdown passes and two Mario Formoso field goals. But it was the power running of Spencer Brown, who had a game-high 109 yards, that kept the chains moving.
Everything changed with Weatherford's touchdown to Robinson, who caught six passes for 150 yards and ran 17 yards for a key first down on a reverse late in the fourth quarter. Weatherford, a sophomore, shook off two first-half interceptions to complete 8-of-16 for 158 yards and a touchdown.
"I think he grew up bunches tonight," Land O'Lakes coach John Benedetto said. "He matured quite a bit, he had success, and when you don't have success you walk around sometimes with your head down. You don't want to look the coach in the eye, but he was looking me straight in the eye tonight."
Afterward, in the darkness of Mitchell's weight room, Mustangs coach Scott Schmitz was left to wonder what could have been.
"Momentum is a great thing when it's on your side," Schmitz said. "We had a lot of momentum in the first half. We played well, we played well defensively, we made a lot of plays, and in the second half we give up that long pass and the momentum just shifted and we couldn't get it back."
