Cobras in a pickle

Hudson and Zephyrhills meet Monday night, each team's second game in three days. Especially for Hudson, this will be a rough week.

By JOHN COTEY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 7, 2001

HUDSON -- When the postseason football awards come out in November and December, there will be a coach of the year, a player of the year and a team of the year.

But how about athletic director of the year?

This would be a perfect year to hand out such an award, considering the way in which Zephyrhills' Craig Milburn somehow managed to convince Hudson's Linda McQuade to make up the postponed Sept. 14 football game between those schools this Monday.

Did he send flowers? Throw in a player to be named later? Offer to bench the Bulldogs' best volleyball player when they played Hudson?

Okay, so chances are it was not nearly as sinister (though it makes it easier to build Milburn's case for this new award). But whatever he said -- pretty please? -- worked, and McQuade went for it over the protests of football coach Terry Voyles.

Voyles wanted the game, postponed due to the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., played the next day. Zephyrhills wanted it played later. But they had a game that Thursday in Orlando, and couldn't, and blah blah blah. In the end, the two coaches couldn't agree on Saturday or Tuesday, so guess what?

The game is Monday.

In a stroke of genius, Milburn and coach Tom Fisher and principal Tom Davis managed to place the Hudson make-up game right in between Ridgewood and Gulf.

The Cobra administration managed to stick their football team in between Land O'Lakes and Pasco.

Bravo, Hudson.

So let us review: Zephyrhills gets the three worst teams in Pasco County in an eight-day span; Hudson gets the three teams that have combined to win every Sunshine Athletic Conference title.

"I got what I got," said Voyles, biting his tongue and squirming in his seat, no doubt.

Don't get me wrong, three games in eight days is going to be tough for both schools. These are high school kids, used to spending a week in preparation for each game, needing to spend a week in preparation for each game. Two teams that have, depending on the day, anywhere from 23-29 players on their rosters.

In the course of the next week, they will have two days of light, no-pads practices (following games), two days of no practice (Sunday and Monday), one full practice (Wednesday) and most likely a walk-through day with no pads on Thursday.

Then again, what athletes like practice anyway? Three games in eight days is probably a delight.

For the coaches, though, it's a nightmare. Fisher has already called up three junior varsity players to get him through the week; Voyles has said his team will line up against practice dummies to limit injuries.

All things being equal, however, Zephyrhills -- besides quite frankly being the better team -- has a huge advantage in that it will prepare for three teams that run nearly identical offenses. Fisher will not have to toss out his game plan for Ridgewood to prepare for Hudson, or toss the game plan for Hudson to get ready for Gulf.

One game plan, to stop the Wing-T, is the gift that will keep on giving over the next eight days for the Bulldogs, with some minor tweaks here and there.

Hudson gets the joy that comes from preparing for a team, Land O'Lakes, that actually -- gasp! -- throws the football. This plays right into the Cobras' biggest weakness, considering they just lost Kenny Eva, their best defensive back, for the next two weeks.

Then there are the Bulldogs, who throw and run the football with equal effectiveness. And then Pasco, which is missing its quarterback but, well, need I refresh everyone on the Pasco-Hudson series?

Okay, I can't resist -- Hudson is 1-22 against the Pirates.

"This is a test for us," Voyles said. "If we get spanked three games, we know we've got a long way to go. It's going to be tough.

"Any other place I've been in we've made up a game the next day. But whether we did it the next day or this way, I'm in a bind."

And your winner, for athletic director of the year...

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