Aldous Huxley once said, “Those who believe that they are exclusively in the right are generally those who achieve something.” Well, John Davis and his Clearwater Central Catholic team believed it, and achieved it. The Marauders waltzed into Hillsborough County and danced right back out with a huge District 5-3A victory against their rivals Tampa Catholic on Friday Night. In a game that fittingly ended in a monsoon, it was CCC that made just a few extra plays on offense and watched TC make 2 huge mistakes that essentially cost the Crusaders a chance to make it 5 out of the last 7 against their neighbors across the Courtney Campbell Causeway.
By many, if not all accounts Tampa Catholic was “supposed” to win this game going away. CCC was “supposed” to be a year away from making a deep run to Orlando waiting for graduation to take hold at the traditional powers TC and Berkeley Prep and for John Davis to completely impose his influence on the program. I guess they didn’t get the memo with the timeline attachment.
Within 1:32 of the game CCC was leading 9-0 off a blocked punt, and then a 40-yard strike from Jr. Quarterback Jake Shade to another Jr. Trey Larry on the second play from scrimmage following the change of possession. Shade finished the game an unbelievably effective 7-of-8 for 111 yards and a TD. Tampa Catholic looked a bit woozy from the punch at the beginning, but managed to stay on their feet, avoiding the standing count and methodically fought their way back into a 10-9 lead going into the intermission.
The Marauders then went back ahead when FB Blair Vaughn scored the 1st of his 2TD’s from 1yd out to make the score 16-10 with 2:57 remaining in the 3rd Quarter. Tampa Catholic at the time was starting to wear down the Marauders OL getting to Shade and delivering some teeth-rattling hits, but the QB kept getting back up and was either converting critical 3rd Downs with his feet or with his arm. CCC only managed 149 yards on the ground which is a major departure from their 258 ypg. average.
TC opened the 4th Quarter with a 5:22 drive and took the lead back with a Chivarsky Corbett to Zach Benjamin jump ball to make it 17-16. That’s when the fun (or nightmare) started depending on how you look at it. CCC ran a total of 8 plays in the 4th Quarter but made every last one of them count. With just under 4 minutes to play in the game and with the rain moving in, Sophomore RB Diquan Walker broke a tackle off the left side and scooted down to the Crusaders 17 yard-line. Two plays later it was Blair Vaughn from 17 yards out and with the Shade sneak for 2, it was 24-17.
The only wind in the TC sails at that point were the gusts from the impending rain squall that greeted the fans as soon as TC took the field for one last attempt at a tying drive with just over 2 minutes left. QB Chivarsky Corbett fumbled the ball while attempting to make a play, the rain fell, and so did Tampa Catholic from the ranks of the unbeaten. The CCC Faithful appeared to not even notice the rain. They could have walked back across the causeway and never once complained. In the end, it was CCC who had made just a few more plays than TC.
CCC converted 3rd Downs, and stuck to their guns with their offensive strategy. They never seemed to get rattled when TC made their comeback and their was a significant amount of confidence even after the TD pass to Benjamin. It looked like they expected to be in that position, and were cool as cucumbers when their offense stepped on the field for the 1st time with only minutes left and a long way to go down the field. The Marauders also stiffed up immensely when their backs were pushed to the wall on the defensive side of things.
This now sets up a monumental game in 2 weeks when Coach Dom Ciao brings Nelson Agholor and crew across the bridge to Clearwater. The Marauders will be looking to avenge the 37-7 drubbing they took at the hands of the Buccaneers last year. CCC will now enjoy a bye week to prepare for Berkeley with just one remaining District game following that with St. Pete Catholic. TC now must regroup and head to Orlando to face Trinity Prep. The schedule does them very few favors as they finish the season with Alonso, Berkeley Prep, and arch rival Jesuit. MORE PLUS VIDEO HERE