CLEARWATER — Tampa Catholic and Clearwater Central Catholic had two very different weeks leading up to Friday’s game.
The Crusaders found out they would be without three wide receivers, including highly regarded junior Nate Craig, for a prolonged period. The Marauders found out they were moved to the top spot in the Class 3A Associated Press poll, and they got brand-new yellow jerseys just before the game.
The result was predictable.
After a slow start, CCC rolled over Tampa Catholic 38-0 in a game that required a running clock midway through the third quarter. The Marauders outgained the Crusaders 407 to 148.
“Okay, we can wear the yellow jerseys again,” CCC coach John Davis told his team. “Even if you do look like a bunch of bananas.”
Tampa Catholic was without Craig, Bentlee Sanders and Darius Corbett due to injury. But very early on, it looked like that might not matter.
CCC botched a snap on its second play of the game, giving TC the ball on the Marauders’ 6-yard line. But Crusaders freshman quarterback Kevin Knox fumbled on the second play and CCC took over on its own 7.
The Marauders (2-0) settled down and started moving. C.J. Cotman ended a nine-play, 93-yard drive when he scored from 6 yards out. The drive was highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Jeff Smith to Jacobi Adderly.
On their next possession, Smith ran a quarterback keeper up the middle for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 13-0.
In the second quarter, CCC scored two more touchdowns. The first came on a 19-yard run by Smith and the second on a 16-yard run by Cotman. The Crusaders had trouble getting anything going in the half, with 16 yards passing and 62 yards rushing. CCC had 290 total yards.
Smith did almost all of his damage in the first half. By the time he was yanked in the third quarter, he had 99 yards rushing and 154 passing.
“(Smith’s) pretty good,” Davis said. “I think he’s the best quarterback in the area. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”
Tampa Catholic (0-2) had a punt and two fumbles on their second-half possessions, and five total turnovers.
CCC ended its scoring with a 35-yard third-quarter run by Scott DePergola and a 36-yard field goal by Yanni Ramos.
“This is a rivalry game and they’ve been talking about how they beat us for a year,” DePergola said. “We’ve been waiting for this game all year.”