Preps

Armwood 17, Hillsborough 0

Armwood tailback Eric Smith suffers an ankle injury, but the rest of the team steps up.

By JOEY KNIGHT, Times Staff Writer
Published October 19, 2007

SEFFNER - In what is becoming a weekly scenario, an injury forced another Armwood standout to physically shut it down.

Which is fine, as long as the Hawks defense keeps doing the same thing to its opposition.

It's difficult to determine which was more profound Thursday night: the swelling in Armwood senior rushing leader Eric Smith's right ankle or the collective effort of the defense, which held Hillsborough 6-1, 2-1 to 136 total yards and five first downs in a 17-0 victory.

"Everything was pretty good. Everything came out for the best," said Smith, relegated mostly to decoy duty after injuring his ankle while being tackled near the sideline late in the first half.

"(Quarterback) Mywan (Jackson) and (tailback) Sherman Jessie took over the game. The defense stepped up as always and played a great game, and that's how we win ball games."

The triumph not only extended Armwood's home-field winning streak to 30 games but put the Hawks (8-0, 2-0) firmly in the driver's seat for the Class 4A, District 11 title.

And the victory reaffirmed what the Hawks have implied all along: They have the depth and defense to compensate for misfortune.

"Again, we had to deal with more adversity," said Armwood coach Sean Callahan, who has watched no fewer than seven starters get sidelined by injury or suspension this year. "But if anybody's used to dealing with adversity, it's us."

It simply took the Hawks a little more time than normal to deal with it Thursday.

Neither team scored in the first half, though Armwood had its chances. A fumble inside Hillsborough's 5-yard line killed one scoring opportunity, and an interception by Terriers senior Chuck Grace in his own end zone foiled another.

Armwood finally got on the board when Wesley Skiffington booted a 32-yard field goal with 5:48 to play in the third. Its second score, a 4-yard run by Jackson with 2:43 to play in the game, was set up when linebacker Casey Callahan and defensive back Jared Green stuffed Marc Thomas on fourth and 2 from the Hillsborough 25 on the Terriers' previous possession.

Senior Nick Greene added the final score, picking off a Tarean Austin pass near midfield and returning it all the way with 1:31 remaining.

Austin, forced to the air by Armwood's run-stuffing five-man front, finished 6-of-19 for 48 yards with two interceptions. Terriers tailback Lindsey Lamar ran for 62 yards, but 41 came on one run as Hillsborough never moved inside the Armwood 25.

"Our whole focus was to shut down their run and make them one-dimensional," said Casey Callahan, whose team normally employs a 4-3 formation. "After that, a shutout came."

Jackson, connecting with five receivers, went 5-of-11 for 64 yards. Jessie had 53 yards on 15 carries.

"With our injuries and stuff, teams don't really know what we've got," Jessie said. "We've got a lot to still show."

Joey Knight can be reached at jknight@tampabay.comor (813) 226-3350.

[Last modified October 19, 2007, 01:35:45]