HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY THE BOX

Wharton 28 Freedom 7: Patriots Left With Cat Scratch Fever By Rivals

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Derrick Roberts
BCP

In the battle for New Tampa, Wharton thoroughly dominated their local rivals Friday Night.  Neither team started with a bang to say the least. In the 1st quarter Freedom went three-and-out on their first drive and on Wharton’s first offensive series they turned the ball over. Running Back Darius Paige fumbled on the ensuing possession as he was tackled by a host of Patriots, and Freedom recovered the ball with 8:44 left in the 1st quarter. They were not able to capitalize however as the Wharton Defense forced them to turn the ball over on downs when DB Vernon Hargreaves sacked Freedom’s Taylor King on a 4th&1 with 6:44 left in the quarter.

Both teams continued to battle for control but at the end if the 1st quarter the game was still scoreless at zeros. In the 2nd quarter, Freedom was putting a nice drive together, but shot themselves in the foot with 6:23 left in the quarter when Patriots RB Nate Goodwin fumbled on Wharton’s15 yard line. The Wildcats got the spark they needed at the end of the quarter as QB Chase Litton connected with Hargreaves on a 50 yard pass. After a holding penalty and a bad snap by Wharton with :37 left in the half, Litton scrambled to the endzone for a 10 yard TD run with the Paige 2pt conversion giving the Wildcats an 8-0 lead at Halftime.

Freedom started positively in the 3rd when they made Wharton’s Offense go three and out on their first drive.  They even got the ball in Wharton’s territory as a result. As Freedom was driving with 8:52 left in the 3rd at the Wharton 30 yard line, Patriots QB Taylor King tried to make a throw across the middle of the field, but was intercepted by Wharton’s DB Hargreaves who returned it all the way down to the Patriots 25 yard line. Two Plays later, RB Darius Paige scored on a 19 yard TD run to give Wharton a controlling lead of 15-0 after 3 Quarters.

On the very first play from scrimmage in the 4th, Wharton extended it’s lead to 21-0 with an 11 yard TD pass from Litton to Hargreaves. Freedom finally got on the scoreboard with 4:54 left in the game as RB Tyrel Gunn broke loose for a nifty 58 yard TD run to cut the Wildcats lead to 21-7.  There were still signs of life late in the game, but with 2:31 left in the 4th as Freedom was getting the ball back, they muffed the punt and Wharton recovered the fumble effectively putting the game on ice at that point. A 3 yd TD run by Deon Samson with 1:11 remaining officially put it to bed and secured the 28-7 victory.

 

Vernon Hargreaves TD reception

One of the biggest impact players from tonight’s game for Wharton was DB/WR Vernon Hargreaves who showed his playmaking skills the entire night. He also made key contributions in 3 of the Wildcats 4 TD’s.  Hargreaves is a Junior who has recieved offers from the main colleges in Florida and just recieved an offer from Notre Dame finished the game with a sack, an INT, and 2 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Wharton’s workhorse RB Darius Paige lead the Wildcats with 26 carries for a 153 yards a TD. He also had 2 catches for 11 yards. Wharton’s QB Chase Litton was 7/17 for 111 yards and 2 TD’s (1 rushing). For Freedom, it was RB Tyrel Nunn who stood out with 17 carries for 130 yards and a TD.