Coach's son lifts Bogie past Gibbs

Beau Gordon passes for two touchdowns and runs for one in the Pirates' 35-8 victory against the Gladiators.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published September 24, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - His kid had a good game. Ran the offense effortlessly and perfectly, threw a pair of perfect touchdown passes, even ran one in for a score.

But Jean Gordon was keeping mum.

Receiver Jamar Newsome wasn't, though.

"Beau was hot," Newsome said. "He had a great game."

It won't get him off the hook for losing a third-quarter fumble, which Dad said he would make clear during the ride home, but it had to feel good for Beau Gordon as he led the Pirates to an easy 35-8 win over Gibbs in a nondistrict contest at St. Petersburg High.

Gordon was 2-for-2 for 85 yards, both completions for touchdowns to Newsome, and ran for 30 yards and a score as the Pirates improved to 4-1.

His best play also was his worst. He did a nifty shake-and-fake on an option, drawing gasps from the sideline as the Gibbs defenders tried to put on the brakes. But 17 yards downfield, he fumbled, likely drawing a gasp from his dad.

It was one of the few things that went wrong for Bogie.

Newsome was brilliant, catching a quick slant and taking it 65 yards for a score to make it 7-0 then hauling in a perfectly placed fade to make it 21-0 at halftime.

Clifford Smith played for the first time this year and had runs of 42 and 48 yards among his four carries to lead a rushing attack that finished with 248 yards.

And the defense, led by Smith, Josh Bellamy and Brad Chancey, limited the Gladiators to fewer than 100 yards of offense until a late drive produced the only Gibbs points. The Gladiators, who have lost three straight, tried two different quarterbacks and six different running backs to no avail until settling on Jerrel Young in the second half.

Young, who did not start, had 99 yards after the break and 118 for the game. He got the offense moving before two fumbled snaps ended drives in the third quarter and carried nine times during Gibbs' 12-play scoring drive in the final quarter, including a 1-yard touchdown. But the Gibbs defense never found a way to stop Bogie's diverse attack, which never had to punt and had four runners gain more than 30 yards.

[Last modified September 24, 2005, 01:00:22]