Preps

North Suncoast: Sunday Morning Quarterback

By DAVID MURPHY AND IZZY GOULD
Published November 4, 2007

When Land O'Lakes announced in December that it was dropping down a classification to compete in Class 4A, District 8, very few thought that, a little under a year later, the Gators would be lining up for a field goal that would seal the district title. With a slew of seniors leaving and an offense devoid of any recognizable stars, many assumed 2007 would be a rebuilding year. But after the Gators' Jerome Harrison took the ball down the field, above, to get it into position for Alex Spock's 37-yard field goal, which sailed through the uprights and clinched a 20-17 win over Ridgewood, Land O'Lakes' remarkable run through the regular season officially became the story of the year. After losing to Pasco in the season-opener, the Gators have run off eight straight wins, and will host a playoff game against Rockledge in two weeks.

The playoff picture 

Land O'Lakes (4A-8) and Pasco (3A-8) clinched district titles with wins over Ridgewood and Gulf, respectively. Joining them in the playoffs as district runnersup are Ridgewood (4A-8), Hudson (3A-8) and Nature Coast (3A-6).

Ridgewood, Land O'Lakes and Nature Coast all know the identity of their opponents. Pasco and Hudson will have to wait for a three-way district tiebreaker between Bishop Moore, Harmony and Eustis in Class 3A, District 7.

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. This week gave 100 picks on the season, and with one week left, David Murphy has taken a one-game lead.

David Murphy

This week: 11-1

Season: 78-22

Best pick: Kudos to Murphy for stepping up and taking a few chances. He was the only one to take Pasco in a game it would have been easy to take Gulf. The Pirates went on to win the Class 3A, District 8 crown, and the pick could prove to crown Murphy the North Suncoast picks champ.

Worst pick: The color of his car (yellow). Oh, we're talking games. Well, he only got one wrong, and since we all picked HCA to win - of course, HCA lost - we'll cut him a little slack. But not on the color of his car. Ouch.

Izzy Gould

This week: 8-4

Season: 77-23

Best pick: Gould pointed out that Land O'Lakes had lost just one regular-season game at home in three seasons, picking the Gators over Ridgewood. They went on to claim the Class 4A, District 8 title a year after winning the 5A-5 title.

Worst pick: So many to choose from. How about Springstead to beat Tarpon Springs? Not even close. The Spongers handed the Eagles their third shutout at home this season. Second would have been Gulf to beat Pasco. Pirates athletic director Jim Ward called on the bus ride home to rub it in.

Tim Jinkens

Occupation: Hernando County entrepreneur

This week: 9-3

Celebrity pickers' season: 72-28

Best pick: Jinkens is pretty smart. He looked at a tangible example, in this case his alma mater Hernando, and gauged the Leopards' loss to Hudson. Then he picked the Cobras to win at Zephyrhills. Genius. Pure genius.

Worst pick: Jinkens knows Murphy's a good guy, but no matter what Murphy said about Ridgewood, Jinkens shouldn't have listened. Murphy's favorite color is yellow. We already discussed this. And the Gators, they wear yellow.e_SClBCompiled by David Murphy, Jamal Thalji, Mike Camunas, Izzy Gould and Joey Knight

[Last modified November 3, 2007, 22:14:49]