Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2001
Hillsborough 67, Alonso 0
TAMPA -- It was a Class 5A, District 6 game, but it was not close.
Hillsborough led 28-0 after the first quarter and 47-0 at halftime. The coaches instituted a running clock in the second half.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Take your pick of Hillsborough highlights: Marlon Wood's 50-yard punt return, Harvey Lester's 53- and 20-yard touchdown catches from Ian MacAlister, or perhaps Elijah Dukes' 70-yard kickoff return -- all of which ended in touchdowns.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Ronnie McCullough scored three touchdowns, and Dukes and Lester scored two apiece.
KEY STATISTIC: Alonso had two first downs, but both came as a result of 15-yard penalties called against Hillsborough.
THEY SAID IT: "Those guys have a right to be mad at us. But I want them to know the coaches didn't call those plays. That's the truth, I swear it. On the punt, the punter is told that if he sees that the outside man is not covered then he's supposed to call the fake. That's what he's coached to do. But that should not have happened in this game against that team. On the two-point conversion fake, well, someone called that play on the field and someone is going to answer for that. I'm not at all happy about that one." -- Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia, in response to a fake punt and a fake extra-point conversion attempt in the second half with his team leading by more than 50 points.
-- SCOTT PURKS
TAMPA -- Ryan Watts scored two touchdowns, and Armwood never trailed in a victory over visiting Blake.
After a scoreless first quarter, Franklin DeRoachmont kicked a 41-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to give Armwood a 3-0 lead.
Watts scored the first of his touchdowns on a 5-yard run with 26 seconds remaining in the half. The play ended a 67-yard drive.
Watts scored from 1 yard in the third quarter, concluding a 69-yard drive.
Kalvin Bailey added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
-- NICOLE JOHNSON
TAMPA -- Using a strong three-touchdown performance from the special teams, the Tigers earned their sixth win, defeating Fort Pierce Westwood. A 55-yard touchdown run by Jesuit's Aaron Fryer solidified the win in the third quarter, despite a 28-point comeback attempt by Westwood in the second half.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Minutes into the second quarter, Westwood, pinned deep in its own territory, was forced to punt. After a bad snap, a panicked Westwood punter dumped a pass into the arms of charging Tiger Casey Camero. Camero returned the ball two yards for the second score of the game.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Shane Robinson scored Jesuit's first touchdown on a 47-yard punt return on the Tigers' second possession of the game. On the other side of the field, Westwood's Tommy Bradley caught six passes for 173 yards and scored three touchdowns.
KEY STATISTIC: This is the fifth time this season Jesuit has scored more than 30 points in a game. Jesuit has outscored opponents 195-92.
THEY SAID IT: "This is a game of 48 minutes and it came down to just two scores there at the end. We let them get back in the game." -- Jesuit coach Dominick Ciao.
-- JARRETT GUTHRIE
TAMPA -- Turnovers and mistakes by Tampa Catholic led to Frostproof's first 28 points as the Bulldogs dumped the Crusaders.
Tampa Catholic, which trailed 39-7 at halftime, has been outscored 181-7 in its past three games.
"The last few weeks, we've played against kids who are bigger and have more athletic ability," Tampa Catholic coach Jim Guderian said. "It's hard to compete. It's just as simple as that."
Denard Span returned a kickoff 97 yards in the second quarter for the Crusaders' only score.
-- Times staff
TAMPA -- Durant (4-2) got four touchdowns of 70 yards or longer, rolled up 413 yards of total offense and decimated a team without leading rusher Kwane Doster, who missed the game with a high ankle sprain.
Robinson (2-4) lost four of its five fumbles and allowed 42 consecutive points after leading 13-10.
PLAY OF THE GAME: A play after Willie Newton III ended a 57-yard rush with a fumble at the Cougar 20, Trae Williams took a double handoff and blazed 80 yards for his second touchdown and a 24-13 lead.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Durant tailback Ean Randolph rushed 18 times for 213 yards and touchdowns of 73 and 27 yards, and returned a punt 90 yards for a score. Robinson tailback Rashard Hicks rushed 24 times for 141 yards and a 6-yard touchdown.
KEY STATISTIC: Williams rushed three times for 118 yards including touchdowns of 38 and 80 yards.
THEY SAID IT: "They ran up and down the field on us and our special teams collapsed. It was their ballgame all the way. They played well and we played absolutely as miserable as we could play. Every once in a while you're going to get beat up and that what happened to us tonight. We got beat up, beat up some more, kicked and stomped on." -- Robinson coach Bud Hodgens.
-- BRANT JAMES
BRANDON -- The defense rested Friday night at McLane Stadium, as visiting Riverview (5-1) held off a late rally to top Brandon (2-4) in a non-district shootout.
The matchup featured Riverview's jet-propelled running back, Avious Steadman, against Brandon's slick-passing Adam Garrison and neither disappointed. Steadman rushed for 153 yards on 26 carries with a touchdown, and Garrison completed 12 of 23 passes for 258 yards and four scores.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Never known for passing, Riverview surprised Brandon late in the first quarter when quarterback Matt Mazur hit Steadman in the flat and he sprinted to Brandon's 1-yard line, setting up the Sharks' second touchdown and a 16-8 lead.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Steadman and Garrison shared top billing, but the Sharks couldn't have won without the hard charges of Richard Woodbury (12 rushes for 117 yards, including a 19-yard score), and Paulus Johnathans (9 rushes for 67 yards, including TDs of 1, 20 and 11 yards).
For Brandon, Kris Derr rushed for 58 and caught three passes for 111 yards, including a 72-yard score from Garrison on a toss in the flat. S.J. Green hauled in five passes for 95 yards, including a 41-yard score.
KEY STATISTIC: Riverview controlled enough of the clock to keep Garrison off the field by rushing for 350 yards on 56 carries.
THEY SAID IT: "I've got three running backs that can start for anybody in the county. It would be foolish to throw with runners like that." -- Riverview coach Alex Albert, speaking about Steadman, Woodbury and Johnathans.
-- JOEL POILEY
PLANT CITY -- Behind a stubborn defense and steady attack, Plant City recorded its second win of the season.
Although the Bulls controlled the ball most of the game, mistakes and the Bloomingdale defense held them to 130 yards rushing and just 11 passing.
Bloomingdale quarterback Jaz Lewis completed only 1 of 13 attempts for 11 yards, but his receivers dropped six passes.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Joslin Shaw intercepted a pass on the Raiders' 30-yard line, broke four tackles and returned it for a touchdown. PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Plant City's Robert Hallback had 5 receptions for 84 yards. Bloomingdale's Mike Lugo had 5 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.
KEY STATISTIC: Bloomingdale fumbled twice and was intercepted twice.
THEY SAID IT: "We are a very young team, and we seem to use each week to get ready for the next. Our defense has been the most consistent for us. The offense has been coming around. Hopefully, next week we will get it all together at the same time in Lakeland." -- Plant City coach Cornelius Bobo.
-- TERRY JONES
TAMPA -- Chamberlain came out of the gates quickly, going on a 10-play, 62-yard scoring drive on its first possession. Chamberlain then scored on three of its next four possessions, building a 28-0 halftime advantage.
The Chamberlain defense was stellar, causing two turnovers and blocking a punt while giving up 168 yards of offense.
PLAY OF THE GAME: With 3:13 left in the second quarter, Chamberlain quarterback Sidney Bryant launched a deep pass to receiver Sam Culberth. Culberth made a tough catch over a Leto defender and raced down the sideline, completing a 49-yard scoring play.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Bryant was 9 of 12 for 180 yards, including touchdowns of 9 and 49 yards. Chamberlain running back Eddie Ivery rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and caught two passes for 31 yards. Chamberlain running back Michael Ross ran for 67 yards on seven carries, including a 24-yard touchdown. In addition passing for 69 yards, Leto quarterback/defensive back Joey Bailey intercepted Bryant in the end zone.
KEY STATISTIC: Chamberlain amassed 244 yards of offense in 30 plays in the first half while holding Leto to 65 yards in 18 plays.
THEY SAID IT: "(It was) about as good as we can play, I think, on both sides of the ball." -- Chamberlain coach Billy Turner.
-- ROB BRANNON