Gibbs 31, Dixie Hollins 7

By NATHAN COWAN, Times Correspondent
Published September 21, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - In one of the county's fiercest rivalries, Gibbs and Dixie Hollins played their first district game of the season in a steady downpour. Neither team's offense seemed able to adjust.

Gibbs senior Larry Murphy blocked a Dixie punt, returning it 17 yards for the first score. Tommy Haines made the first of four PATs to make the score 7-0.

"Murphy is a playmaker and he does a lot of things for us," coach Yusuf Shakir said.

On the Rebels' next drive, quarterback Josh Brown, who struggled all night, missed an open receiver and Dixie Hollins was forced to punt.

"We wanted to give them a lot of different looks," Shakir said. "We never wanted to sit in the same defense."

Senior Devon McCullough broke off runs of 12- and a 36 yards to bring Gibbs into Dixie territory. Once there, quarterback Lamar hall threw a hitch route to Marcus Russ, who turned it into a 26-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Just before halftime, Dixie Hollins' Jermeil Douse returned a Gibbs punt 45 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 halftime score.

The rains continued throughout the third quarter. Even though Gibbs spent most of its time in Dixie territory, they couldn't find the end zone.

"Our kids played well in the third quarter," Dixie Hollins head coach Mike Morey said. "We had two bad snaps on punts but didn't allow them to score a point.

Dixie Hollins opened the fourth quarter on the move again. Brown's running and passing moved the Rebels from their own 9 to inside the Gibbs 30-yard line before he fumbled at the end of a long run. The ball was recovered by Kevonta Brown.

"That fumble was the turning point in the game," Morey said. "They made the plays that we didn't make."

The Gladiators got a 44-yard field goal from Haines to open up a 17-7 lead.

After Dixie Hollins picked up a first down, Murphy again made a big play picking off a Brown pass and returning it 53 yards for his second touchdown of the night.

Hall and Russ connected again, this time for a 33-yard closing touchdown to shut the door.

"We were happy to win this game but we were very undisciplined," Shakir said. "We just have to relax and play within ourselves."

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 23:47:40]