One of the greatest feelings in life is to gain self-redemption. Especially in athletics. Especially when that self-redemption comes at the expense of your rival. After suffering such a gut-wrenching loss against Countryside last week, it was imperative that the Eagles bounce back and grow a severe case of amnesia. After all, they had no time to feel sorry for themselves needing to prepare for one rival to the next, and this one was a bit more than just a rivalry, it was an entire gathering. The entire community of Tarpon Springs along with TV Cameras, Food Vendors, you name; it was there.
It appears as though the strategy of forgetting the past quickly worked. The Eagles pretty much dominated the game once they were able to dodge a few bullets from the Tarpon Offense in the 1st half. East Lake’s field proved to be for the second week in-a-row that it’s the Bermuda Triangle of High School Football. On two of the very few chances Spongers QB Louis Pappas had time to throw, it was his receivers that couldn’t catch what was literally in their hands. At that point East Lake must have felt like the karma had reversed after last week’s episode and it was in their best interests to step on the gas.
That’s exactly what they did, and this time it was on the shoulders of two seniors of the team. Tyler’s Lane and Carbonelli combined for 260 yards on 40 carries and 5 TD’s. Tyler Lane finished the night with 21 carries for 159 yards and 4TD’s. He’s also the young man pictured on the cover of the piece which was an unbelievable display of athleticism that was nearly identical to his effort against the Cougars last week. From the very outset of the game however, it seemed like East Lake was in a 180 degree change from their demeanor and execution. Something that RB Tyler Lane confirmed.
“Last week we kind of got caught looking ahead to this week,” said Lane. “We definitely weren’t executing like we obviously were tonight.” Lane’s effort last week against the Cougars was just as impressive as last week, but not as nearly as impressive as this week’s 4 TD performance. He was quick to point out that it was a part of the process of getting better and it began with seeing the mistakes on film, and then learning from them. ” Coach Hudson goes in there and points out every Saturday what we did right and what we did wrong, it’s at that point we just start moving on right then and there.”
The highlight of the night came on Lane’s second TD run of the night when he literally hurdled the defender. When asked if that was planned Lane just smiled as if he knew something we didn’t, but said “That hurdle just came to mind. I saw him in front of me and he was wearing #2 so I had to show him who the real #2 was.”
Although it was a quiet night statistically for Junior QB Pete DiNovo, it was more about quality, not quantity. He finished with 7-8 for 105 yards, but it was his ability to find his 6’5″ 230lb Tight End Stephen Buric. The pair seemed to find each other when DiNovo was forced from the pocket. Buric finished with 4 catches for 68 yards, giving him 11-for- 173 on the season. Although FB Tyler Carbonelli’s stat line only read 8 carries, 46 yards, 1TD, it was his ability to carry tacklers down the field after contact to an already worn down Tarpon Springs Defense.
“We used our weekend last week to mourn the sting of that loss, then came back Monday ready to go. We came out flat on our last two games (against CCC and Countryside) and we just made up our minds that we couldn’t keep going like this.” The Senior was proud of the fact he will have left East Lake having never lost to their crosstown rivals in four years. “All of the frustration came out this week, and I was fortunate enough to get a few more carries and I just took advantage of the opportunity. Have to give credit to the O-Line though. They got stronger as the game went on. Got to give it up to them.”
Even Though Tarpon had accumulated some gaudy numbers against Dunedin and Clearwater, it might have created a false sense of how good they actually were. East Lake had been battle tested by an inspired CCC team and was in another 4 Quarter battle last week. It doesn’t stop them from being in contention for their district 6A-7 along with Largo and Boca Ciega. Both the Spongers TD’s came as the teams traded touchdowns during the 4th Quarter, at which that point in time the Spongers were in a position to do so. East Lake lead at one point 27-0.
Tarpon started out trying to establish the run with Kenny Blanch, but once they began to drop Pappas back and set up some of the deeper throws, they quickly found out that East Lake’s D had learned from their mistakes last week and were going to change those plans. The Spongers put together multiple double-digit drives but couldn’t seem to capitalize on any of it. Dondre Daley was the lone offensive bright spot outside of Pappas with 4 catches for 128 yards and 2TD’s.
Next week, the Eagles get a visit from the reigning 2B State Champions when Ocala Trinity Catholic comes to North Pinellas. Tarpon Springs now moves on to play Dixie Hollins at home. The Spongers could realistically be staring at 7-1 record going into the final two weeks with Boca Ciega and Largo to wrap the season so all is not lost.