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The Chamberlain-Hillsborough matchup figures to pack the stands. There are plenty of good reasons.
By SCOTT PURKS
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2001
TAMPA -- A football will be kicked in the air at 7:30 tonight at Chamberlain Field, where an anticipated 5,000 fans will watch Hillsborough and Chamberlain knock each other silly for 48 minutes.
Shoot, there might be more than 5,000 fans, because at stake is the Class 5A, District 6 title and key playoff positioning.
If Chamberlain wins it takes the district outright with a 6-0 record, and King will finish second with a 5-1 mark (barring an upset by first-year Alonso tonight).
If Hillsborough wins, Chamberlain, Hillsborough and King will finish 5-1 and will meet in a three-way tiebreaker at Hillsborough on Monday at 7. Hillsborough would get to host by virtue of its superior 8-1 overall record.
"Big?" Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said. "You betcha it's big, about as big as it gets around here."
And there's always this: A Chamberlain victory would snap that eight-game Hillsborough winning streak that Garcia seems to enjoy talking about.
"(Chamberlain's) never beat me since I've been at Hillsborough," Garcia said. "But I guess we'll see."
Truth is, Chamberlain (6-2 overall and winner of six in a row) appears to have its best chance in eight years to beat the Terriers.
The Chiefs start with diversity on offense.
They can pass (sophomore QB Sidney Bryant has completed 55 of 88 passes for 925 yards, 10 TDs and two interceptions), and they can run (backs Eddie Ivery and Donnie Davis have combined for 1,171 yards).
Their offensive line is massive, averaging more than 270 pounds with two enormous tackles, Tobias Platts (6-4, 340) and Ryan Newell (6-8, 300).
The trick will be stopping Hillsborough's quick defensive linemen and linebackers, including George Shivers and Elijah Dukes, two of the county's most dominant defenders.
On the reverse side, Hillsborough features a bruising running attack (Ronnie McCullough, Arteis Brown and Dukes have combined for 1,578 rushing yards) and a solid passing game.
Chamberlain counters with a bruising defense, particularly on the line with Broderick Bunkley (6-4, 260), Al Mack (6-3, 235) and Mike Torres (5-11, 230).
"I think defensively we're as good as anybody in the county," Chamberlain coach Billy Turner said. "Our inside linebackers are tough and our secondary can run.
"We just need to keep our mistakes to a minimum."
Which was about the same thing Garcia said.