North Suncoast: Sunday morning quarterback

By DAVID MURPHY and IZZY GOULD, Times staff writers
Published September 23, 2007

Week 4 has come and gone, and this week featured some juicy district matchups that kept the prognosticators on their toes. After four weeks, we've learned there's a ton of good running backs in these parts and pretty comparable competition among the teams. It should all make for an exciting final week of September.

In hindsight   |   Predictions record

Each Friday, staff writers Izzy Gould, David Murphy and a guest "celebrity" predict the outcomes of each game on the North Suncoast. Each Sunday, they'll look back at just how poorly they did.

A month of football is in the books, and here on the North Suncoast, we're still scratching our heads. We've asked politicians and athletes to teach us about pigskin in the area. But we realized we were no better off, so we went to our man Jeff "The Zoo Guy" Ewelt. Turns out, Jeff should stick to sweeping up gorilla doodoo. Jeff's picks sent the celebrity picker from first to worst, while Murphy climbed within one of Gould for the season lead.

Izzy Gould

This week: 7-3
Season: 24-12
Best pick: Zephyrhills rolls 30-3 over Sunlake. Okay, everyone got this one right, so no big whoop.
Worst pick: You couldn't get Gulf-Wiregrass Ranch any more wrong. With days to change your mind, you picked the Bulls to win by a point. Humiliated, Gould? The Bucs rolled 45-7.

David Murphy

This week: 8-2
Season: 23-13
Best pick: With the obvious pick of Week 4, Murphy selects Gulf over Wiregrass Ranch. Okay, if it was so obvious, how come Gould and Jeff ran with the Bulls?
Worst pick: Not only did Murphy pick Pasco to lose, but he picked the combined score to be 20 points. The Pirates knocked off Hudson, and the teams combined for 73 points.

Jeff "The Zoo Guy" Ewelt

Occupation: Animal ambassador manager at Lowry Park Zoo.
This week: 3-7
Celebrity pickers' season: 21-15
Best pick: One of the three he got right was Ridgewood over Central. He's right, Bears do devour Rams.
Worst pick: (Remember, we can only pick one!) Okay, what's up with picking Wesley Chapel to lose 13-3 to Hernando? So that's where Greg Jenkins got his inspiration in a 35-3 victory.

All-Friday first team 

Ben Perry
LB, Ridgewood

Before the game, the linebacker carried a large wooden battle axe onto the field, his reward for being named defensive player of the week last week.

He might get to tote it again. Perry led a linebacking crew that wreaked havoc on Central, holding Bears running back Duane Marks to under 60 yards rushing.

"A bunch of people could win it this week," Perry said.

We're giving it to him.

David Williams
RB, Gulf

Williams rushed for more than 200 yards for the third time this season. He's now less than 60 yards away from 1,000. And it's only Week 4!

Byronell Arline
RB, Ridgewood

Asked to pick his favorite touchdown run against Central (hey, he had six of them), the senior didn't hesitate.

"The one where I lost my shoe," he said.

That would be his 70-yard run in the fourth quarter, when Arline burst through the right side, outraced Central safety Heath Heroux, then lost his shoe at the 15-yard line and high stepped his way into the end zone. To recap: 27 carries, a school-record 327 yards, and six touchdowns.

Greg Jenkins
QB, Wesley Chapel

Jenkins threw for three touchdowns, including a 62-yarder to Micah Johnson. Jenkins finished 8-of-10 for 205 yards and rushed for 71 yards.

David Rotteveel
QB, Hernando Christian

Rotteveel completed 12 of 20 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns, and an interception. He hooked up with Sena Burn for 117 yards and two scores.

Ridgewood O-line

A running back without his offensive line is a puppet without a hand stuck up its rear. Or something like that. The Rams dominated the line of scrimmage. Arline should buy them all double cheeseburgers.

Friday's football scores

Ridgewood 42, Central 21
Calvary Chr. 49, Bishop McLaughlin 7
Gulf 45, Wiregrass 7
Wesley Chapel 35, Hernando 3
Pasco 39, Hudson 34
Land O'Lakes 14, Springstead 0
Crystal River 18, Nature Coast 15
Tarpon Springs 37, River Ridge 0
Zephyrhills 48, Sunlake 0
Hernando Christian 37, Mount Dora Bible 12

Up next

All games Friday at 7:30 p.m. unless noted.

Central at Lecanto
Hernando Chr. at Titusville Temple Christian, 7
Pasco at Nature Coast
Out-of-Door at Bishop McLaughlin
Ridgewood at Gulf
Mitchell at Hudson
Land O'Lakes at Sunlake
Zephyrhills at Wesley Chapel
Winter Haven All Saints at Academy at the Lakes
Lake Weir at Wiregrass Ranch

[Last modified September 22, 2007, 23:57:56]