Preps

Armwood 26, Tampa Bay Tech 0

The Hawks have little trouble with the Titans and remain unbeaten.

By BRYAN BURNS, Times Correspondent
Published October 6, 2007

TAMPA - Aside from small hiccups on the game's first and final drives, Armwood was nearly perfect in a 26-0 win over Tampa Bay Tech.

The Armwood defense entered Friday allowing slightly more than four points a game through five contests. Against the Titans, Armwood (6-0, 1-0) yielded just 138 rushing yards on 45 carries and didn't allow a single passing yard (TBT passed just three times) to record its first shutout of the season.

In the game's closing seconds, the Titans had eight tries inside the 10-yard line to score but fell a few inches short of the goal line on the game's final play.

"If they push that in, they might have taken a little wind out of our sails," Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. "It would have hurt us. We wouldn't have been excited like we are now."

TBT (4-2, 1-1) took the game's opening kickoff and drove 60 yards to the Armwood 21-yard line before turning it over on downs in what would be the Titans' only sustained drive of the night. Armwood proceeded on a nine-play, 74-yard drive that culminated with Rayshyied Melvin's 3-yard touchdown run.

Armwood added two more points in the first quarter when TBT quarterback Mario Tucker let the snap from center go through his hands into the end zone, where he was tackled for a safety. The Hawks added a 29-yard field goal from Taylor Williams for a 12-0 halftime advantage.

"This game was a measuring stick for us to tell us where exactly our program's at," TBT coach C.C. Culpepper said. "I don't think Armwood's 26 points better than us. We've got a lot of work to do. We're still a young program."

Armwood put the game away in the third quarter. The Hawks rolled 68 yards on the half's opening drive and went ahead 19-0 on Eric Smith's (15 carries for 130 yards) 1-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, Armwood quarterback Mywan Jackson raced 45 yards on an option play to give the Hawks a 26-0 lead.

"We always have one or two turnovers, sometimes three or four, but on a rainy night like this, we protected the ball," Callahan said. "I don't know if we focused a little better or what, but I'm glad the way our offensive (coaching) staff had them prepared."

Armwood 26 Tampa Bay Tech 0

[Last modified October 6, 2007, 01:01:15]