Preps

East Lake 28, Pinellas Park 13

By DOUG KATES, Times Correspondent
Published September 29, 2007

PINELLAS PARK - After an early wake-up call, East Lake used a solid ground game to overcome an early deficit and defeat Pinellas Park 28-13 Friday night.

The Patriots (1-3) scored first on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Redden to Brandon Ferguson, and added a 45-yard "Hail Mary" pass from Redden to Jesse Woods before halftime.

But Pinellas Park never found the end zone again. The Eagles (3-2) held a slim 14-13 advantage at halftime thanks to 185 yards on the ground, led by rushing touchdowns by Micah Powell and Richie Bailey. The East Lake defense blanked Pinellas Park in the second half while the Eagles' ground game continued to thrive. Overall, four different East Lake rushers gained 40 or more yards, and the team gained 348 yards.

"That's great for us," said coach Bob Hudson. "We knew coming in we should be able to run like that.

"I think we had some pretty good drives offensively, killed some clock and put some points on the board. We haven't peaked yet, which is a good thing."

Powell finished the game with 138 yards, Richie Bailey 86, Erin Murray 57 and Robles 41.

"Keep the legs moving, fight and don't let anyone take you down," said Bailey. "We should be able to run well against everybody when we play as a team," he said.

Redden was 15-for-25 passing for the Patriots. Seven different receivers had at least one catch, including Robert Joker with two receptions for 57 yards and Ricky Hunter Jr. with four receptions for 17 yards. Joker also had an interception on defense.

East Lake won for the second straight game. Pinellas Park suffered its third loss.

[Last modified September 29, 2007, 00:05:02]