Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By Times staff writers and correspondents
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 25, 2000
Gaither 34, Delray Beach Atlantic 25
TAMPA -- It was the beginning of the fourth quarter and it was one of those moments when you get the feeling if you don't do something good now, nothing good might happen the rest of the night.
His team was leading by one point but Gaither wide receiver James Streeter knew the third-and-six play the Cowboys were about to run was a must-convert situation. He also knew the person at the top of quarterback Phillip Beauchamp's list was him.
That's why when the ball was snapped and Beauchamp lobbed the ball his way, Streeter did everything he could to catch it. That included tipping it up over Delray Beach Atlantic cornerback Johnny McMahon's head and walking 10 yards into the end zone for the score that would spark Gaither's 34-25 victory in its Class 6A region semifinal.
"I just saw the ball up there and I knew I had to make a big play," Streeter said. "I knew Beauchamp was looking at me because I knew we needed a big play right there. (McMahon) just put his hand across my face. I missed the ball at first but I just focused and caught it.
"When I turned around there was nobody there but one pretty face in the end zone and that was my mother. So I walked in and gave praise to her because I know she's watching on that big screen TV in the sky."
Streeter's mother, Margaret, died Oct. 18 of a heart attack.
The Cowboys (11-1) will now travel to Melbourne Palm Bay, which beat Santaluces, Friday night for the Region 2 final game and the chance to go to the final four. The game is a rematch of last year's region semifinal, which saw Palm Bay score 42 consecutive points in defeating the Cowboys 42-7.
Friday night turned out to be an excellent tune-up for Palm Bay as the Cowboys came out flat and unfocused and found themselves trailing 12-6 at the half.
"We had no focus today at all," Gaither coach Howie DeCristofaro said. "It was a fiasco all day today. But I always tell them that if we're close at the half we have a great chance to win."
That proved true against Atlantic, which finished the season at 8-4.
Gaither scored three times in the fourth quarter, including two of running back Lydell Ross' four touchdowns, easily outlasting the injury-riddled Eagles. Ross finished the night with 32 carries for 281 yards, giving him 5,052 yards for his career.
The two deciding scores came courtesy of a pair of poor Atlantic punts, which gave the Cowboys excellent field position.
With 1:12 to go in the third Tres Moses, filling in for injured punter Clarence Ellington, shanked a punt 14 yards to his own 22. Ross scrambled in two plays later for a 13-12 Gaither lead.
Atlantic went three-and-out on the next possession, culminating with a 15-yard Ellington punt to the Eagles 32. Three plays later Beauchamp hooked up with Streeter for a 20-12 lead. -- MIKE READLING
TAMPA -- The trouble with Bradenton Manatee wasn't that it had a bunch of big guys, but that those big guys also were strong and fast.
"They certainly didn't look that quick on film," Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said. "Definitely not that quick."
The end result was a 28-20 Manatee victory in a game that wasn't that close. Manatee outgained the Terriers 376 to 240 and had 19 first downs to Hillsborough's eight.
The Terriers (11-1) gained 70 of their yards with 2:31 left in the fourth quarter on a desperation pass as two Manatee defenders slipped and Dennard Span sprinted for a touchdown. The score cut the gap to 28-20, but it was too little too late.
Manatee took its next possession and drove 54 yards to run out the clock.
"I told our kids that Hillsborough has up to four guys playing a lot both ways, and we could probably take advantage of that because we basically don't have any going both ways," said Joe Kinnan, who has won four state titles since 1983. "We just kept pounding and pounding it in there, and I think it took a toll."
Kinnan said he believes this Manatee team "is way better than its 10-2 record" and should be considered a contender for the state title. He'll get no argument from Hillsborough.
Manatee made a resounding statement on the game's opening drive, an 80-yarder that featured nine rushes for 44 yards, 3-for-3 passing for 36 yards, five first downs and a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brett Royal.
On its first two drives, Hillsborough ran six plays for 9 yards. And in between those, it fumbled away a punt return on its own 16-yard line. By the end of the first quarter, the Hurricanes led 14-0 and had outgained the Terriers 95-9. "When you get down like that in the playoffs," Garcia said, "it's always hard to come back."
But Hillsborough did. With less than 4 minutes left in the first half, Sidney Moore picked up a Manatee fumble and raced 45 yards for a touchdown. Manatee then fumbled a punt return on its own 12-yard line early in the third quarter, and Hillsborough punched it in for the tie.
Then it was back to business for the Hurricanes, pounding away with an 80-yard drive that ended with bruising 200-pound fullback Jordan Biggers bulling in for a 21-yard touchdown.
Manatee added a 75-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to make it 28-14. "We played 11 games this season and won every one of those games up front," Garcia said. "This was the first time we got beat up front. Hey, they were tough." -- SCOTT PURKS
BRADENTON -- Arms pumping, legs churning, Chad Kaa powered his way through the Bradenton Southeast defensive line.
After a 4-yard gain, the Riverview fullback crashed down at the Southeast 3-yard line. Spent, he stayed on the ground for a few moments before slowly rising to his feet.
By the time he regained his footing, the players who surrounded him just moments earlier had reconvened at midfield to shake hands.
It was that kind of night for Riverview. The Sharks churned out yard after yard on the ground only to watch as Southeast's air attack continually left them behind.
All-American candidate Adrian McPherson passed for five touchdowns, and Fred Span and James Shelley scored twice as Southeast whipped Riverview 46-14 in a Class 4A, Region 3 semifinal Friday at John Kiker Memorial Stadium.
"Their offense is really a league above everybody else's in high school football," Riverview coach Alex Albert said. "I don't know how you stop them."
For Riverview (8-4), the loss ended a season in which it qualified for the playoffs and won a post-season game (last week over Tampa Bay Tech) for the first time in school history.
"That's just a tremendous accomplishment for a third-year school," Albert said.
Not everyone was satisfied with the season.
"We didn't look at it as (being) a third-year team," senior fullback Charlie Ross said. "We looked at it as no matter how old or how young a school is, you come out to win."
Ross did his part.
With 1,700-yard rusher Avious Steadman slowed by a separated shoulder, Ross was asked to carry more of the offensive load. He shook off hand and back injuries to rush for a game-high 112 yards.
Ross, who is being courted by Iowa, Central Florida, South Florida, North Carolina and Clemson, gave Riverview a 14-13 lead on a 6-yard run with 2:40 left in the second quarter.
But McPherson, whose 81 touchdowns are most in state history, connected with Fred Span on a 31-yard touchdown pass just 41 seconds later to give Southeast a 19-14 lead it did not relinquish. -- FRANK PASTOR
SEMINOLE -- King spent most of the season relying on its running game, especially freshman tailback Robert Neal.
Friday night in a Class 4A, Region 3 playoff game against Seminole, the Lions relied on Neal as a receiver, and it almost worked.
Despite touchdown receptions of 75 and 53 yards by Neal and 243 yards passing by freshman quarterback Marquis McCullough, King came up short against the Warhawks 21-14. King, which was making its first playoff appearance since 1981, ends its season 8-4.
"Not bad for a running team," King coach Joe Severino said.
Until next season begins, the Lions might be haunted by a few plays.
The first came late in the first quarter with the game tied 7-7. King's Andrew Akinpelu intercepted a D'Qwell Jackson pass and returned it to the Seminole 44. Seven plays later, the Lions were at the Warhawks' 2-yard line and ready to break the tie.
But on second-and-2, fullback Oscar Folks fumbled and Seminole recovered at the 1. Then in the third quarter, just after Seminole tied the game at 14, McCullough hit Jevonta Lawson on a 70-yard bomb that put the ball at the Seminole 9. But a sack and a loss on third down moved the ball back to the 21. Richard Chang then missed a 37-yard field goal, and on Seminole's next play, Dequrez Gulley raced 80 yards to make it 21-14. King never recovered.
"We had our opportunities," Severino said. "We fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line, which I still don't know how that happened. And then we lost Raymond (Neal) for the third quarter with some kind of turf toe. It was one of those games that could've gone either way. That's the way it goes sometimes."
Neal sat out the entire third quarter but did return late in the fourth. Seminole ate up time in the second half with its ground game. King had the ball only three times in the second half, a missed field goal, an intercepted pass and a failed pass on fourth-and-15.
"Our offense played a pretty good game, but their defense came up with the big plays when they needed them," McCullough said. "If we could've gotten the ball back one more time, I think we could've tied it."
Seminole, which gained 240 rushing yards, started quickly when it mounted a five-play drive that ended with a 26-yard run by Eric Hunter. Hunter, who had 70 yard on 14 carries, and Gulley, who had 99 yards on seven carries, led the Warhawks.
King calmed down and quieted the overflow crowd with the 75-yard touchdown pass to Neal on its second possession of the game. Late in the second quarter, McCullough again hit Neal on a 53-yard bomb to make it 14-7 at halftime. That was the last time King held the lead. -- RODNEY PAGE
TAMPA -- Mike Gibson waved his arms frantically on the game's final play. He was open in the left corner of the end zone, all alone as Jefferson threatened to score on fourth down in overtime.
Gibson seemed to wait forever, but he never got a chance to be the hero.
Quarterback Matt Glavich was pressured and his pass fell far short as Titusville Astronaut defeated Jefferson 16-10 Friday night in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Astronaut (10-2), which also eliminated Jefferson 21-0 last year, will entertain Jesuit on Friday. The Dragons finish at 10-2.
"It was a great high school football game," Jefferson coach Mike Simmonds said. Astronaut quarterback Rashad Williams' 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime gave the War Eagles a 16-10 lead. The suspense developed as Jefferson blocked Jeremy Williams' point-after kick.
Then the Dragons had their chance. A first-down pass was incomplete, then Glavich was sacked for a 17-yard loss by Demiah Freeman. A 17-yard pass from Glavich to C.J. Janis-Smith moved the ball to the Astronaut 10, setting up a fourth-and-goal.
Jefferson called a timeout to set up the final play, which led to Gibson breaking free in the end zone. But Astronaut coach Randy Hallock also had made a decision that proved to be the difference.
"We put some quick kids in the game who were pretty fresh," Hallock said. "Our intention was to rush the quarterback and put as much pressure on him as we could. We sent six (players on the blitz)."
Jefferson had taken a 7-3 lead on Glavich's 1-yard run with one minute remaining in the first half. A costly Jefferson roughing-the-passer penalty on a War Eagle third-down incomplete pass attempt gave Astronaut a key first down at its 30 with six minutes remaining in the game. On the next play, C.J. Lewis ran 55 yards on an end-around to set up a 1-yard TD run by Jurrel Elmore (174 yards on 22 carries) for a 10-7 lead.
But Jefferson forced overtime on Juan Matta's 24-yard field goal with 12.5 seconds remaining as Glavich drove the Dragons 79 yards in 10 plays. -- DON JENSEN
CRYSTAL RIVER -- Citrus football coach Larry Bishop was asked this week if he thought Crystal River could beat Jesuit. "Yes," he said. "But only if it plays perfect and doesn't make any mistakes."
As it turns out, he was exactly right.
Crystal River went toe-to-toe with Jesuit for the better part of four quarters, but a handful of costly mistakes led to a 14-0 Jesuit win in the Class 3A, Region 2 semifinal game. The teams were, for the most part, evenly matched, but three Crystal River turnovers helped Jesuit advance to the regional final for the second time in three years.
"Any time you get a win in the playoffs it's great," Jesuit coach Dominick Ciao said.
Jesuit (11-1) plays at Titusville Astronaut (10-2) next week in the regional final. Astronaut beat the Tigers 33-14 last season in the regional semifinals. Friday, Astronaut defeated Jefferson in overtime to advance.
Crystal River (10-2) outgained Jesuit 250-190, had more first downs (14-7) and ran more plays (55-47). But it also had two more turnovers than the Tigers and each came in Jesuit territory.
"Whenever we were driving, something would happen," Crystal River coach Jere DeFoor said.
Something bad.
Crystal River held Jesuit to 66 yards and four first downs in the first half, but trailed 7-0 at the break thanks to a 14-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Severino to Derek Carter with 1:17 left in the first quarter. Carter's score came 11 plays and 58 yards after the first serious Pirates miscue, a fumble by Ryan McNally.
"They beat us up front and they ran to the football," Ciao said.
In the third quarter, it was more of the same.
Crystal River moved the ball well at times, but kept coming up empty. Jesuit's offense, meanwhile, kept doing very little. Jesuit had two third-quarter possessions, both three-and-out series. Crystal River got a major break with 8:16 left in the game when Jesuit tailback Aaron Fryer fumbled and the ball was recovered by Pirates cornerback William Bunch, who returned it to the Tigers 36. After a 5-yard run on first down by McNally, Eric Conway intercepted Crystal River quarterback Clayton Trenary at the Jesuit 11.
The Pirates forced a Jesuit punt with 4:19 left, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty kept the Tigers' drive alive. On second-and-9 from the Crystal River 44, Fryer, who finished with 112 yards on 20 carries, broke loose for a 41-yard run to the Crystal River 3. Two plays later, A.J. Schneider scored on a 1-yard run to seal Crystal River's fate.
"They're a good team," Fryer said. "Obviously they watched a lot of film on us because they knew what to do. But we knew what we had to do." -- KEITH NIEBUHR
HAINES CITY -- Armwood overcame several big plays by Haines City and avenged an earlier loss to the Hornets with a 28-21 Class 3A state playoff win Friday night.
The Hawks (10-2) advance to their first regional final.
"We knew they were capable of big plays," Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. "We just tried to keep them down, keep working the middle, and try to wear them down in the second half."
After an early Armwood fumble, the Hornets (9-3) wasted no time converting the turnover into points. Quarterback Eugene West slung a 33-yard pass to Larry Kendrick for a touchdown on their second play.
Armwood countered, however, with an 80-yard drive on nine plays. Keyed by the running of Carl Jones, who had nearly 100 yards in the first half and finished with 168, the Hawks drove down the field and scored on a 1-yard plunge by Carl Robinson.
Then things got really interesting. After a big return by Jaron Fountain to the Armwood 42, the Hawks stuffed the Hornets on three straight plays.
On fourth and 19, however, Armwood had a personal foul, which gave the Hornets fourth and 4. Fountain took a pitch and rolled out, finding Willie Hughley on a halfback option 34-yards to the 2.
On first and goal, Ricky Johnson fumbled, and Armwood's Antwan Allen recovered.
In the second quarter, the teams exchanged big defensive plays. Armwood lineman Barry Davis sacked West twice, but Hornets safety Chris Blaine intercepted quarterback Ron Buskey.
Powered by more tough running from Jones and a 37-yard catch from Buskey to Chris Murray, the Hawks set up a 2-yard dive by Jones with a minute remaining before halftime.
In the third quarter, Armwood continued to grind out long drives. Haines City used the quick strike.
Armwood receiver Leonard Anderson, in only his second game back after suffering a broken jaw in the earlier Haines City game, caught a 33-yard pass from Buskey and reached the 4. One play later, Buskey took it in.
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Fountain returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. -- JEREMY RASMUSSEN