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Pirates, Bulldogs look to topple old order
By JAMAL THALJI © St. Petersburg Times, published September 22, 2000 Pasco and Zephyrhills have provided the county with some of its best teams, its best players, its best games and its best rivalry. Last season, the two programs also provided the county with one of its most ignominious losing streaks: 0-8. That's how east Pasco County schools fared against Hillsborough County schools in Class 3A, District 6 last season. It wasn't even close. Pasco and Zephyrhills were outscored a whopping 278-53 in two losses each to eventual district champion Jesuit, runner-up Jefferson, playoff-bound Robinson and Blake. Pasco finished fifth in the district, but only because of wins over Zephyrhills and Hudson. Last season, both the Bulldogs and Pirates had more than their share of problems. Injuries and waning interest hit both teams hard, as did the rise of defending Sunshine Athletic Conference champion Land O'Lakes. Tonight, the 3A-6 race begins anew for Pasco County. Zephyrhills visits Jefferson and Pasco visits Jesuit in the district openers for both teams. This time, both teams seem primed to topple the old order. Or at least they sure hope so. "We've got to save face," Bulldogs coach Tom Fisher said. "But this is just the first of four (games)." Pirates coach Ricky Thomas said the Hillsborough County teams are all tough foes, but not unbeatable ones. "Those are some pretty tough teams in our district," he said. "But I tell you what, football is a funny game. It's not like we can't beat them. It's just that neither of us has done real well. We were coming off a rebuilding year, and Zephyrhills was sort of rebuilding, so they caught us at the right time. "But I don't believe it will always be that way. This year might be the start of something, the beginning of it." It's not like it hasn't been done before. The last time Zephyrhills beat a Hillsborough County team was in 1996, a thrilling come-from-behind 8-7 win over Robinson. The last time Pasco did it was in 1995, a 14-10 win over Jesuit. It's just that last season the speed, talent and depth was overwhelmingly on Hillsborough County's side. This season, hope abounds at both schools. Zephyrhills has jumped out to an impressive 3-0 start, but while routs of Wesley Chapel and Hudson may not mean much, the Bulldogs overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat River Ridge last week. Pasco (2-1) almost pulled off a shocking upset of Robinson to begin the season, then fell behind Ridgewood the next week. But the Pirates handily won that game, and last week routed rival Hernando. The Pirates desperately need a district win tonight. But Jesuit (1-2) typically excels in district games, and will not want to lose this one after already dropping a district game to Jefferson in overtime. The Bulldogs face the tougher task against a Dragons team (2-1) that is ranked No. 5 in the Times Tampa Bay Top 10, and is coming off an overtime loss to No. 1 Hillsborough. Jefferson is as talented as ever with Dade City native Matt Glavich at quarterback. If Pasco and Zephyrhills need anymore motivation to throw off the Tampa jinx, it is this: The Bulldogs host the Pirates next week in the 59th edition of "The 9-Mile War." Two consecutive district losses would definitely finish one of these teams. "We hope we don't meet our match tonight," Fisher said. "But it's going to be a heck of a match."
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