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It's all for pride

St. Petersburg Catholic can't go to the playoffs, but refuses to let any team walk over it. Certainly not CCC.

By JOHN C. COTEY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 12, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- St. Petersburg Catholic linebacker Mike Ross knows his team won't be going to the postseason, but he wants to make darned sure the teams that do go to the playoffs from Class 2A, District 7 understand who the class of the district really is.

"It's us," Ross said. "We want to make sure everyone knows that whoever comes out of the district, the right team won't be going for the state title."

The right team, as far as Ross and his teammates are concerned, is the Barons. But the Florida High School Activities Association declared the team ineligible due to recruiting violations, leaving the Barons to play for pride tonight when they take on archrival Clearwater Central Catholic.

Though both coaches compared tonight's game to the Florida-Florida State rivalry, the stakes have been significantly lowered. With the Barons ineligible and the Marauders assured of a playoff berth, the outcome won't affect either team's postseason fortunes.

Being a rivalry game, however, makes it a big one, and so does the fact that this is CCC's Homecoming, a scheduling quirk Marauders coach John Davis seems less than pleased with.

"Yeah, I'm real thrilled about that," he said. "It's just another thing to get them fired up. I'm sure they're telling their guys, "Hey, they didn't think we would be any good so they scheduled us for Homecoming.' And I don't blame them. That's what I would do."

As for the Barons losing any edge with no playoff spot on the line, Davis dismisses that notion altogether. He thinks the Barons are a hungrier team as a result of their postseason ban, and with no other big games remaining on their schedule, this is St. Petersburg Catholic's playoff game.

"I think it may even be a bigger game," John Davis said. "This is their bowl game, their playoffs, this is everything for them. It may help (us) or may hurt in that sense. They're going to come over fired up whether it's for the district or not, but at the same time ... this may make their season."

The Barons think the same could be said of CCC, which won last year's meeting 60-28. If the Marauders lose to the Barons but go on to win the district and advance in the playoffs, it will do so knowing it's not the best team from 2A-6.

"We're going out for a win. If we can't go to the playoffs then we definitely want to get them a loss on their record," Barons quarterback Chris Davis said. "We're here to let them know that we are good enough to be in the playoffs. But this is just another game for us."

The Barons (4-1, 1-0) also want to leave their mark as St. Petersburg Catholic's greatest team ever. The goal is to win every remaining game and finish 8-1.

"Two losses? Nah," Ross said. "We can't lose another game."

Though the Marauders (4-2, 1-0) could get running back Mike Scanlon (500 yards, 7 touchdowns) back for the game, Ross thinks the Barons defense -- overlooked, in his opinion -- will shut down the Marauders.

Offensively, both coaches agree Chris Davis will figure prominently in tonight's outcome. Last week in a win against Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, he had 24 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and was also 10-for-18 for 174 yards passing with four touchdowns.

"We've got a couple little kinks in we hope will help (stop Davis)," John Davis said. "He's probably a better athlete than the guys trying to tackle him. There's all kinds of X's and O's and schemes you can try, but the bottom line: You have to catch him and bring him down, and no one has done that."

CCC will have to do it with a bruised and dented lineup. John Davis said 18 players have missed at least one game this season from a roster of just 33 to 35 players.

Barons coach Dan Mancuso has a list of his own injuries, including the loss of top running back Deondrea Lindsey and starting safety Matt McKenna, who are out for the year.

And like CCC, there are a handful of other players that will be game time decisions. With pride at stake, Mancuso expects several of his questionable players to take the field.

"This is a great game," Mancuso said. "We are lucky that we have a great rivalry as big as this one is. A lot of high schools don't have that. It's almost like a college atmosphere.

"Our kids have great heart. After all the adversity, we had a team meeting and said we're just going to play every game like it's our last and kick butt, whoever it is, and let them know who St. Pete Catholic is."

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