Familiar play, not so familiar result

By Times staff writers
Published December 11, 2005

MIAMI - The Armwood coaching staff has always said it has an offensive play for every situation. The end of Saturday's state final against Ponte Vedra Beach Nease was a familiar one.

Down by a touchdown with just over a minute to play and needing 42 yards to score, Armwood offensive coordinator Chris Taylor dug into his bag of tricks and pulled out a play similar to one Hawks fans know well.

On the first play after a perfectly executed onside kick, and without any timeouts, quarterback Justin Hickman took the snap and lateraled to his right to senior receiver Mat Brevi, who pulled up to throw. Last year in the state semifinals Armwood used a lateral and pass that went for an 80-yard touchdown at the end of the game against Miami Washington.

This time there were no heroics. A Nease defender tripped Brevi as the play developed for a 7-yard loss, Armwood couldn't recover on the drive and three plays later turned the ball over on downs.

"That's just how close it can be," said Taylor, who added Brevi needed just another second to get a pass off. "He was wide open down there. There were actually two guys open. He has two options on that play."

Had the play worked and Armwood scored, the Hawks would be faced with a decision: tie the score or go for two as they did when beating Washington.

"We had it all decided that we were going for two," defensive coordinator Matt Thompson said. "Because why would you want to give (quarterback Tim Tebow) a chance with only 10 yards to get in overtime?"

"There was an article in the St. Petersburg Times about Tim the other day," Pam said. "That made Grandma happy. She was showing everyone."

MAKE IT SIX: Brevi returned a kickoff 83 yards in the second quarter after a Nease safety for his sixth return for a touchdown (punt or kickoff) of the season. Brevi's return gave the Hawks their only lead, 15-14.

TIME ON HER SIDE: Kristin Callahan, daughter of Armwood coach Sean Callahan, worried all week she would be late to the game because she was scheduled to take the ACT college entrance exam at a school near Dolphins Stadium on Saturday morning. But because she opted to take the writing portion of the test another day, she managed to leave early and arrive at the stadium 40 minutes before kickoff.

"I thought I'd miss the whole first half," she said.

Afterward, Kristin, a senior who cheered her final game, had tears in her eyes. But she might have summed it up best, saying, "We can't win them all."

Dwight Thomas, who coached Emmitt Smith at Pensacola Escambia, has followed prep football in Florida for years and attended Saturday's game, has the standout high on his list of all-time greats.

" Daunte Culpepper (of Ocala Vanguard) was my top pick," Thomas said. "But he's in second place now."

- KEITH NIEBUHR, Times staff writer

THOMAS SIMONETTI, Times correspondent

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]