 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Victory after so long is sweetest
By JOHN C. COTEY
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- When it comes to playing his friends and neighbors at River Ridge, Gulf senior Mike Emmons can't give you every score going all the way back to middle school, but he sure could give you his team's results: Loss, loss, loss, ad nauseum. So this, his final year, has been devoted to one thing. "Revenge," he said. "That's what it's all about this year." When Gulf shocked River Ridge 15-12 Friday night, there were few happier than Emmons. Teammate Preston Mings, who stood next to him during a postgame interview, did not understand -- he is a transfer from Texas in his first year at Gulf. To feel Emmons' pain, and finally his joy, consider the numbers: River Ridge had won seven straight against Gulf, and 18 straight against west side competition. In Emmons' three years as a Buc, he has seen his team beaten by an average score of 54-15. Last year, the Bucs were humiliated 69-26. "They just killed us. They ran all over us -- toss sweep, toss sweep, toss sweep," Emmons said. "Man, beating them is so great. "Beating everyone else is like down here," Emmons said, holding his palm inches from the ground. "Beating River Ridge is like up here," he added, raising the same hand well over his head. Last year's embarrassment served as the ideal motivation for the Bucs victory. "We brought it up all week," said Gulf coach Keith Newton. "This was a little payback. We owed them." Gulf, utterly hapless last year on defense, has been tough the past two weeks. Pasco got just 14 points a week ago, and River Ridge was coming off its best game all season and managed just one touchdown. Though they gained more than twice as many yards, River Ridge could not score. One touchdown, a 74-yard pass, was called back because of a penalty. On another drive, Jesse Hoolihan was untouched on a first down reception but fumbled anyways. And driving in the waning moments of the first half, quarterback Tim Dare was sacked twice by Butch Payne and Scott Burke. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Adam Eberle fumbled on third and goal from the one, and Dare was stuffed on fourth-and-1 with a minute left and River Ridge on the Gulf 23. "The defense came up with some huge, huge stops," Newton said. "They bent, but they didn't break." Not unless you count breaking the spirit of once-mighty River Ridge.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times |
