Tough week for Hillsborough County Football off the field with some unfortunate events reminding us why this is just a game and that life is more precious than we’ll ever conceive. Looks like some teams are starting to hit their stride, while others are sprinting towards misery. No time to feel sorry though, plenty of lessons to be learned from failure. More so than success in my own opinion, but I digress. Thanks to games on Thursday and Friday, it was a pigskin version of Happy Hour 2-for-1’s which is never a bad thing on many levels. As long as you’re enjoying your prep football responsibly, it’s all gravy. Proceed with caution. Let’s get on with it.
*Was at the Armwood game on Thursday and take away 3:38 on the clock, Sickles has a ton of positives to take from their performance. You may ask, “What could have gone wrong in just under four minutes Pugh?” Well aside from a million things (trust me), those precious 218 seconds produced 21 Armwood points on their way to a running clock. As predicted the Hawks would put Sickles in positions they weren’t used to and would run away with the game if the Gryphons didn’t respond accordingly. Pretty obvious to me now that Armwood’s main weapon isn’t exactly how many points they can score, but their ability to choke out opponents with timely execution. Amazing that a 55-0 aggregate over the last 2 weeks against Jefferson and Sickles would still produce some questions, but this is what comes with the territory when you have the largest bullseye in the county on your backs. Bet they don’t care what we think though. They’ve got Hillsborough and Plant the last two weeks of the month. Their “real” season begins November 18th.
*Speaking of questions, I’ve found some answers. Or at least THE answer. Teams that spend time preparing for Darryl Richardson need to delegate their time wisely and get ready for another QB. It has nothing to do with Richardson’s performance either. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I give you Alvin Bailey. Dude is killing it. The last two weeks? 419 yards and 4TD’s against Jefferson and Sickles respectively whether at receiver or QB. Right now he’s the most exciting player in Hillsborough for my money. Knees can be tricky things and time is needed to reestablish a rhythm, but while that happens the Hawks are still relying on a defense that’s given up 30 points in six games. They can also choose between the Ferrari (Bailey) or the Escalade (Jones) when the Tahoe is in the shop. Next you’ll see Jay-Z rappin’ the Hawks Fight Song.
*Sooooo, about that halftime score between Jesuit and Lennard. That would be 71-0 in case you were wondering. I can barely count that high, so imagine my surprise when I saw that was only after 2 quarters. By all accounts, I see absolutely nothing wrong with what Jesuit did. I wasn’t there, but everything points to a comedy of errors on behalf of the Longhorns and that Jesuit couldn’t have done anything more to prevent what happened. However, if I was a conspiracy theorist, (and who doesn’t like a good conspiracy) I’d say there was a bit of intrinsic motivation beyond just wanting to win. Warning. I also believe in gunmen on grassy knolls. It’s over though. They’ve got Dunedin this week, then the massive showdown at Lakewood on the 21st and in all likelihood a district championship with a win.
*It’s that special time where I talk about my favorite districts. Tough week for 2 of my favorite sleepers out east in Newsome and Durant. The Wolves were taken to the woodshed by Brandon and Durant was waiting in line to get in at the Beatemdown Cafe after losing to arch rival Plant City. The Raiders have pillaged and plundered through their schedule and are gaining some respect around the state. Jefferson has dug themselves the deepest of holes and is far from the playoffs at this point. It’s going to feel really weird not seeing them beyond the 2nd week of November. This is only temporary in my opinion though. It’s when, not if for the Dragons still. Sickles and Hillsborough will all but decide the runners-up spot this Friday. Unless King would like to throw a HUGE monkey wrench into the fray then we’ve got a good old-fashioned train-wreck on our hands folks. Me like!
*Speaking of Sickles and Hillsborough, it could be a historic night for ‘The Big Red’ and their Head Coach Earl Garcia. One of the deans of the county picked up his 199th win vs. Jefferson on Thursday and will ironically have to beat another coach with a high-profile last name to do so to get 200. Even though it’s Brian Turner and not Billy Turner, it’s still a Turner and out of respect for the history of football in this county it seems fitting to me these would be the two names involved in a game that contains so many implications. Winner is complete control of its destiny towards the playoffs. Interested to see how the young guys at Sickles deal with the loss and how the Terriers maintain the momentum gained from the big win in Carver City.
*In what may be one of the longest trips you could possibly make without leaving the county (38 miles) gives us this week’s most intriguing matchup. Alonso and Plant City are undefeated and their geographical locations symbolize the methods in which they’ve achieved their status. Plant City has more buzz due to their nationally recognized QB Bennie Coney. Alonso has their own stud in Mississippi State Commit Brandon Holloway and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder. Some in their camp feel they’re not getting their props. I say beat PC and you’ll get access behind the velvet rope at Club Respect. They should pose the biggest threat to Plant City’s perfection thus far as long as their QB is ready to go. Perhaps the Ravens can send PC’s undefeated season to “nothing more.” I would like to extend some advice to the Alonso crowd if I may. Let me suggest leaving for the game at like, I don’t know…2:00? Seriously, I’m not kidding. There’s no need to elaborate either. We’ve all heard the jokes. It’s a pretty “big county.” *wink*
GAME(S) OF THE WEEK: So nice, let’s call it thrice. I like Robinson at Gibbs, Jefferson at King, and of course the Sickles at Hillsborough confrontation. They should name the 1st game “The Future Is Bright” Classic with the amount of future talent on the field in South St. Pete when the Knights and Gladiators hookup. The Dragons and Lions are not going to let their current status ruin their pride, and the Gryphons and Terriers should be self-explainable unless you’re living under a rock. Buckle up. Have a good week and see you on Friday.