 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Crystal River's win avoids dreaded 3-way tiebreakerBy CAREY FREEMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published November 5, 2000 CRYSTAL RIVER -- The mere concept of a three-way playoff to determine a champion in Class 3A, District 5 was one Crystal River coach Jere DeFoor wasn't willing to accept. Or, at least that's the way the Pirates coaches were spinning the topic entering Friday's game against Central. Nope. Mum was the word when it came to the subject. The Pirates coaches wouldn't talk about it. Former head coach Earl Bramlett refused to even consider the possibility. And the players? Well, let's just say the players were kept in the dark. "I haven't told anyone that the possibility even existed," DeFoor confessed. "I think most of (the players) thought it would come after our last ball game, but it would have been Monday. "Now they don't have to worry about it." Ah, yes. The spoils of victory. Thanks to its 33-7 win over Central -- and an untarnished record in Class 3A, District 5, Crystal River (8-1, 5-0) avoided the nightmarish scenario that would have played out had the Bears come up with the win. As it is, Crystal River locked up its fifth consecutive district title -- the first ever for first-year coach DeFoor -- and will host its first playoff game Nov. 17, a week after its regular-season finale at Lake Weir. However, not all is lost for Central, which wrapped up one of two at-large berths awarded in Region 2 by virtue of its 7-3 overall record which was tops among those teams (champions and runners-up) in Districts 4, 5 and 6 that did not receive automatic playoff bids. Nonetheless, Bears coach Steve Crognale was not taking the loss, or the future for his team, lightly. "We've got to pick it up," he said. "That's what I just told the team. We've got a bye next week. We'll take Monday off and practice for three days ... And we're going to practice solid. We're not going to quit, that's for sure." The other team that avoided a potential nightmare was Hernando, which needed a 91-yard halfback pass from Dee Brown to Art Starks in the final minute to secure a 21-16 win over Citrus and second place in 3A-5. Had the Leopards (5-4, 4-1) lost, it would have all but erased an earlier win over Central and forced a three-way tie for second between Hernando, Central and Citrus that would have been settled in -- you guessed it -- a Monday tiebreaker. "It would have been hard to bring them back and play on Monday," Hernando coach Bill Browning said. "The Tavares game (next Friday) doesn't have anything to do with the playoff standings, so they would want to do it right away. "I don't know where it would have been. I think they would have had a coin-flip. Citrus would have had the momentum going into that thing. That's something you want to avoid if you can."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Citrus Times |
