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By Times staff, correspondents
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2001
Dixie Hollins 16, Tarpon Springs 13
TARPON SPRINGS -- For a few seconds, the clocks were turned back to 1978. Joe Pisarcik fumbled and Herman Edwards ran it in.
Only this time the Giants, er, Dixie Hollins, got another chance.
Despite a fumble with 1 minute left that appeared to throw away a key district victory, Dixie recovered on the road to beat Tarpon Springs 16-13 in overtime in one of the more memorable ugly games of the season.
The Rebels had more penalty yards (80) than offensive yards (71), but forged a 13-7 lead on a 91-yard kickoff return from Kevin Marion and a bad Tarpon punt snap that Lorenzo Harrell recovered in the end zone.
With 1:12 left in the game, Dixie's Jarrett Ponder intercepted Tarpon quarterback Alex Kidman on the Spongers' last drive, and the Rebels appeared ready to run out the clock from their 23-yard line.
But a fumble in the backfield was scooped up by Tarpon's Sam Banaee, and he scampered to the end zone to tie the game at 13.
Tarpon's extra point, however, was blocked and the game went to overtime. In the extra frame, Kidman fumbled on Tarpon's first play and Dixie (2-1 overall, 1-0 in Class 4A, District 9) got a winning field goal from sophomore Vince Iacopelli.
"Thank goodness somebody was looking down on us and gave us a second chance," Dixie coach Mike Morey said. "It was that old Pisarcik play, that's all I was thinking of."
Both Dixie and Tarpon (2-1, 0-1) were missing several offensive starters, and it showed. The Rebels rushed for 69 yards on 31 carries and completed one pass for 2 yards, and Tarpon ran for 128 yards (110 from Jeremy Saunders) and passed for none.
Kidman, making his first start for injured Anthony Houllis, went 0-for-8 with two interceptions.
"I really expected the offensive line to step up and help him a little bit, and we didn't get that done," Tarpon coach Don Davis said. "We've got to figure out a way to get some offense with these people out."
LARGO -- Lakewood coach Brian Bruch made his postgame speech short following Tuesday's 33-32 overtime loss to Largo.
He looked at his players, said two words, then walked away.
"Kicking game," he said.
It was a simple statement that spoke volumes on how the Spartans fared. Lakewood (1-2) failed on three extra-point attempts, had a snap sail over the punter's head and allowed the Packers to score on an 84-yard punt return.
"I try, but these guys don't want to take special teams seriously enough," Bruch said. "They think it's mundane and we've been lackluster at it. Well, maybe they'll take it seriously now. We've lost two games because of it."
Special teams has not been so special for the Spartans. In the season opener, two botched punts accounted for scores in a 9-7 loss to Seminole.
Tuesday's loss was more costly because it was a district game. The miscues led to a 19-12 deficit in the third quarter. Nevertheless, Lakewood mounted a comeback as Mike Henry scored on a 30-yard pass from Pat Carter. A missed extra-point followed and the Spartans trailed 19-18 to end the quarter.
Lakewood forced and recovered a fumble on its 24-yard line to start the fourth quarter. The Spartans capitalized on the turnover, capping the drive with Carter's 1-yard touchdown plunge. Darien Copeland ran in the 2-conversion, the only extra-point conversion Lakewood made all night, to put the Spartans ahead 26-19.
Now it was the Packers' turn to rally. Largo drove 65 yards as Marcus Paschal twice was successful on third down, completing two 15-yard passes to Leonard Long. David Riley finished the drive, leaping in front of a defender for his second touchdown of the night on a 14-yard reception from Paschal. Brandon Mai kicked the extra-point and the score was tied.
The Packers won the toss in overtime and, on fourth and 1 inch, Largo coach Rick Rodriguez elected to go for it. Paschal snuck in and Mai kicked the extra point.
Lakewood countered quickly. Copeland ran 10 yards for a score on the Spartans' first play in overtime. Bruch called timeout and elected to go the two-point conversion and the win. Running a sweep, Copeland was pushed out at the 2-yard line to seal Largo's victory.
"Special teams did play a role," Rodriguez said, "but I thought we played well in all phases. It's a real tribute to our kids and a well-deserved victory."
ST. PETERSBURG -- It appears the road to the Class 5A, District 8 championship will run through Northeast this season. The Vikings sent a message Tuesday night with a 47-0 win over St. Petersburg in the first district game for both schools.
The Vikings (3-0) did it with a balanced offense, a stingy defense and good special teams. They rushed for 188 yards on 35 carries and completed six passes for 127 yards. There were three rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, a safety and an interception return.
It was the kind of performance that had longtime Northeast coach Jerry Austin actually saying good things about his team.
"We're playing pretty good right now," Austin said. "I don't know about sending a message. But we're salty on defense. We're doing pretty good."
Northeast, 3-7 last season, jumped to an early lead thanks to its running game. Dominique Flower capped a five-play opening drive with a 9-yard run. That was followed by an 11-play drive highlighted by a diving catch from Martin Teal for 36 yards. William Davis ended the drive with a 4-yard run.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg could do nothing right. The Green Devils fumbled the opening kickoff and it was down-hill from there. St. Peterburg (1-2) gained 15 yards on 28 carries and had only two yards passing.
It wasn't strong on special teams either. Already down 14-0 to start the second quarter, the snap to punter Alex Powell sailed way over his head. Powell had to step out of the end zone for a Northeast safety.
There was another punt that sailed over his head later in the game, and Powell also had a punt blocked. On both occasions, Northeast turned the miscues into points.
Even when it appeared something went St. Petersburg's way, it was called back by a penalty. Late in the second quarter, Green Devils defensive back Robert Doles had a 50-yard interception return to the 5-yard line called back for pass interference.
"We've got to play better than this," first-year St. Petersburg coach Todd St. Louis said. "We've got to be better prepared and that's my fault. We had way too many penalties."
St. Petersburg had 11 penalties for 84 yards, including two straight illegal participation penalties late in the game.
Northeast was able to put the game away with its passing. Quarterback Josh Harris completed two touchdown passes in the second half, one for 28 yards to Teal and one for 27 yards to Ryan Ross.
Harris completed six of 17 passes for 127 yards. Teal had two catches for 64 yards.
Fittingly, the game's last score came on a 49-yard interception return by William Bell with 28 seconds left in the game.
Both teams play again Friday night. St. Petersburg travels to Tarpon Springs while Northeast hosts Palm Harbor University.
PALM HARBOR -- Clearwater Central Catholic scored on its first five possessions and Matt Galley returned a punt 47 yards for a touchdown as the Marauders romped.
The Marauders (3-0) jumped to a 37-0 halftime lead, scoring on three Mike Scanlon runs, a Joe Ijjas field goal, Galley's punt return and a 60-yard pass from Orlando Rivas to Galley with 5:09 left in the half.
PLAY OF THE GAME: On second and 10 from the Hurricanes' 46, Scanlon took a handoff, wiggled through the line of scrimmage, juked left and sprinted up the sideline, distancing himself from defenders until he hit pay dirt. It was the Marauders' first touchdown of the night.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Scanlon finished with 16 carries for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Rivas completed 7 of 13 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.
KEY STATISTIC: Palm Harbor opened the game with four consecutive runs by Roney Fulp, gaining 11 yards and earning a first down. It switched to a shotgun formation, threw two incomplete passes and had a third pass intercepted. THEY SAID IT: "We didn't show everything tonight. We came out and executed and did what we needed to do tonight." -- CCC coach John Davis.
EAST LAKE -- In a game in which the teams combined for more than 700 yards, the Eagles improved to 2-1 with the help five Gladiator turnovers.
PLAY OF THE GAME: With Gibbs driving for a tying touchdown, D.J. Brooks stepped in front of a Ron Mathis pass at the East Lake 28-yard line. East Lake went on to drive 63 yards in eight plays and score an insurance touchdown to take a 40-26 lead with 3:48 left.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: The Eagles ground out 317 yards with Mike Wynn gaining 151 yards on 14 carries. Jamar Jackson added 114 on 18 carries. Gibbs quarterback Mathis completed 17 of 39 passes for 265 yards.
KEY STATISTIC: Turnovers. The Eagles forced four interceptions and one fumble to stop several Gibbs drives.
THEY SAID IT: "We wasted a couple of scoring opportunities in the first half, that may have changed things in the second half." -- East Lake coach Tom Keeler
SEMINOLE -- The Warhawks earned a convincing Class 5A, District 8 win against the Pirates. Seminole was led by the scoring of D'Qwell Jackson both on the ground and through the air. The Pirates briefly held their own before a blocked punt opened the floodgates for Seminole's 33-point first half.
PLAY OF THE GAME: After a 47-yard kickoff return by Boca Ciega's Shamon Washington, Raiston Garvey scored on a 42-yard cutback to give the Pirates their only touchdown.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Quarterback T.J. Layfield began the scoring for Seminole with a 2-yard sneak and was followed by three rushing touchdowns by Jackson.
KEY STATISTIC: The Warhawks rushed for 215 yards.
THEY SAID IT: "It hit the coaches pretty hard. We are mourning for all the families. We as a team have to keep our focus." -- Jackson, speaking of the team's mood after last week's tragedies.
CLEARWATER -- Countryside capitalized on good defense and a crucial turnover to score two unanswered touchdowns in the final 8 minutes. While Countryside never trailed, Dunedin rallied twice to tie , including a DeJuan Graham touchdown run to make it at 21 with 1:04 left in the third period.
PLAY OF THE GAME: With 2:04 left and Dunedin threatening to tie it a third time, Countryside's Joel Morgan intercepted Aaron Ford's pass and returned it 60 yards to the Dunedin 5-yard line. Countryside scored the game's final touchdown two plays later.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Countryside defensive end Raymond Schroeder recorded two sacks and returned a Dunedin fumble 83 yards for the game's first score. Countryside running back Isiah Gwyn had 157 all-purpose yards (112 rushing, 45 receiving). He was countered by Dunedin's Graham, who had 67 yards rushing and 78 receiving, and Bryant Tisdale, who had 135 yards rushing and 43 receiving.
KEY STATISTIC: Graham and Tisdale accounted for 323 of Dunedin's 410 yards. The two combined to score all three Dunedin touchdowns.
THEY SAID IT: "Joel (Morgan) hasn't been playing much, but he made some other great tackles in the backfield too." -- Countryside coach Joe Ionata.