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Wiregrass Ranch JV leaves no doubt in win

By STEVE LEE
Published September 10, 2006

WESLEY CHAPEL - A combined three points in two games kept Wiregrass Ranch's first-year junior varsity team out of the win column.

The Bulls made sure it would not come down to that again with Thursday's decisive 27-6 win at Hudson.

"It was definitely a history-making moment, that's for sure," Wiregrass Ranch coach Ricky Thomas said.

Wiregrass Ranch is 1-2, including a 14-12 overtime loss to Pasco and 13-12 loss to Zephyrhills.

"My biggest thing, I've been trying to tell players, is you can't give up," Thomas said. "You keep trying hard, you're going to get somebody."

The Bulls led 14-6 at halftime on an Angel Rodriguez scoring pass to Travis Duffy and Paris Wolf's touchdown run. Rodriguez also threw a touchdown to Wolf and Tony Standifer scored after stripping the ball from a Hudson player.

River Ridge's JV improved to 2-1 with a 12-6 win over Mitchell. Mario Stewart returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Jack Paris booted a 37-yard field goal and the Royal Knights got a safety.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS: Tony Qualtiere has a warning for his fellow middle school coaches on the west side of the county: Don't underestimate newcomer Paul R. Smith Middle.

Hudson rallied for a 19-18 win Tuesday over the first-year school in Holiday. The Cougars came back twice, going ahead for good with one minute, 30 seconds left.

"For its first year, Smith's a quality team," Qualtiere said.

Dylan Buono's 18-yard touchdown run and his subsequent point-after kick in the waning minutes accounted for the final margin.

"He did a really good job of seeing the hole and he took off," Qualtiere said of Buono's decisive run, set up by a block from right tackle P.J. Takahashi. "He did a couple of spins and broke away."

Buono caught a 33-yard score from quarterback Scott Kujak to give the Cougars a 7-0 halftime lead. Buono, who had two scoring runs in the second half, rushed for 97 yards and Kujak went 7 for 7 for 93 yards.

Jared Molina sparked Hudson's defense with seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

On the east side, only one of three games was played with lightning postponing the Centennial vs. Long and Pine View vs. Weightman matchups until Oct. 10.

Pasco posted a 29-0 win over Stewart after a one-hour rain delay on a soggy W.F. Edwards Stadium field. The Pirates lost four of five fumbles, but Stewart failed to capitalize.

"We were ready to go," Pasco coach Danny Wade said. "We wanted to get that game out of the way."

Quarterback Gus McLaughlin scored on a bootleg and threw a touchdown to Rashad Morrell. Jamie Byrd ran for a touchdown and Willie Jackson returned an interception 50 yards for a score.

Contact Steve Lee at lee@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 10, 2006, 09:05:51]