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Pasco rewind

By FRANK PASTOR, STEVE LEE, IZZY GOULD
Published October 30, 2005

Wharton 35 Land O'Lakes 34

Springstead 38 Ridgewood 10

Hudson 32 Gulf 22

Zephyrhills 31 Pasco 6

Mitchell 38 Wesley Chapel 13

Central 30 River Ridge 13

Calvary Christian 36 Bishop McLaughlin 19

"The kids finally realized. Last week (against Wesley Chapel) we weren't ready to play the game and it showed. This week it was completely different, the whole atmosphere."

- TOM FISHER, - Zephyrhills coach, on the Bulldogs' win.

"Just will. It's just will. It was two teams fighting as hard as they could. It was a dogfight."

- MARK NASH, Hudson coach, during an emotional postgame celebration.

BRYAN THOMAS, ZEPHYRHILLS: The senior carried 10 times for 55 yards, caught two passes for 32 yards, completed a 40-yard halfback pass and returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.

DEVELIN ROBINSON, LAND O'LAKES: The junior receiver/defensive back nearly willed the Gators to a district title, catching nine passes for 218 yards and touchdowns of 12, 49 and 21 yards.

ALTON VOSS, GULF: The junior quarterback accounted for 184 of his team's 265 yards on offense. He ran for two touchdowns, passed for another, had a conversion run and tossed a conversion pass to Marcus Neeson.

VINCE FERLITA, HUDSON: All three of the junior running back's touchdowns gave Hudson a lead, the last one - a 45-yard burst off left tackle midway through the fourth quarter - for good. No defender came up bigger than the 5-foot-7 Ferlita's interception with 22 seconds left.

TATE HUMPHREY, MITCHELL: The sophomore quarterback put Wesley Chapel in an insurmountable first-half hole, rushing for touchdowns of 41 and 38 yards and throwing a 37-yard touchdown to Ryan Garton. He finished with 146 yards through the air and 96 on the ground.

Quarterback Joe Weatherford has the famous older brother. Tight end Caz Piurowski has the scholarship to Florida State.

But Robinson was the player everybody was talking about after the Land O'Lakes-Wharton game.

"That guy, he's just a blue-chip player," said Wharton coach David Mitchell. "That guy's an athlete. That's the guy that bothered me, and I knew he was going to get his, but I didn't know he was going to get that much of it."

Said Land O'Lakes coach John Benedetto: "Great player, isn't he? I've said it all season long, Develin is not only in my opinion the best player in Pasco County, he's one of the best players in central Florida."

The Zephyrhills-Pasco nine-mile rivalry was put on hold before kickoff to remember 17-year-old Jamie Endress, a Pasco senior who died Thursday.

Pasco cheerleaders were visibly shaken by the loss, some crying while others hugged one another for support. They wore ribbons with the letter "J" in honor of Endress.

Bulldogs cheerleaders walked around the track arm-in-arm over to Pasco's sideline to present each Pirates cheerleader with a red carnation. They offered more hugs and encouragement.

Zephyrhills also held a moment of silence before the national anthem.

At the beginning of the Hudson-Gulf game, it looked like coaches were trying to out-trick one another.

Hudson's Mark Nash called for two onside kicks, both of which failed and gave the Bucs prime field position. After the second, Gulf drove 55 yards in four plays for a tying touchdown.

Gulf coach Jay Fulmer called two reverses in the first half with Shawn Williamson gaining 26 yards on the second one. And throughout the game, Fulmer gambled on fourth down with the Bucs going 2-for-5 in those situations.

With Gulf leading 14-6 late in the second quarter, Voss' incompletion off a fake punt gave Hudson the ball on Gulf's 35-yard line and the Cobras tied the game at 14 on Kyle Hatcher's 1-yard touchdown run, followed by his conversion run just 46 seconds before halftime.

James McCarragher caught two touchdowns and intercepted a pass in Bishop McLaughlin's loss.

Evan Keel rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown, Brad Patton had 55 and a score and John Weatherford picked up 41 to lead Land O'Lakes' balanced running attack.

Wharton proved resilient, but Land O'Lakes was the better team.

In the end, Hudson won where it counted most - up front.

Zephyrhills is the best team no is talking about.

[Last modified October 30, 2005, 01:13:18]