Four 200-yard rushing performances
Chris Schwarz, River Ridge: The bulldozing back rushed for a career-high 299 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Wiregrass Ranch. His rushing total in Week 3 was more than in his first two games combined (293).
Stephon Williams, Calvary Christian: The senior transfer from St. Petersburg Catholic rushed for a career-best 270 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Northside Christian to help the Warriors improve to 2-1.
Jeff Smith, Clearwater Central Catholic: The senior, one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the area, rushed for a career-best 217 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-27 win over Jesuit.
Malik Davis, Jesuit: The sophomore had his breakout performance against Class 3A, No. 1 ranked CCC, rushing for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
Four game-turning defensive moments
Last minute interceptions: Clearwater’s Lucas McWhorter, Wharton’s Auden Tate, Pinellas Park’s Rod Robinson and Largo’s Brandon Drayton all recorded picks in the fourth quarter that sealed wins for their teams.
Fourth down stands: Dixie Hollins’ much maligned defense held Seminole on downs in the fourth quarter, allowing the Rebels to go on a winning drive. Keswick Christian’s defense came through with a goal-line stand that preserved a win against Bishop McLaughlin.
Big-time sack: Brandon’s defense did not allow Riverview to gain a first down in the second half, which helped send the game into overtime. The Eagles’ Trevor Raymond came through with a sack in overtime to seal a 14-7 win.
Safeties: Pasco’s Andrew Ivie and Berkeley Prep’s Bo Peek each had one to help put their games out of reach by the third quarter.
Four memorable quotes
“That was heart stopping. I need some Ibuprofen.” — Dixie Hollins coach Shannon Brooks after escaping with a 33-27 win over Seminole.
“He’s like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl.” — Tarpon Springs coach Ron Hawn describing his biggest playmaker, Daniel Davis, who had 51 yards rushing, 122 receiving and three touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Tampa Catholic.
“I carried it that many times?” — Springstead running back Daniel Wright who was surprised when he found out that he rushed 40 times for 147 yards in a 23-20 win over Nature Coast.
“That was all my teammates. I’m the slowest on the team. My teammates helped me on that touchdown. I needed oxygen when I got back to the sideline.” — Zephyrhills’ Frank Everett, who recovered two fumbles and returned one 74 yards for a score in a 45-14 win over Mitchell.
Four fun facts
1. For the first time, Clearwater Central Catholic has knocked off rivals Tampa Catholic and Jesuit in the same season.
2. Counting preseason games, Tarpon Springs has beaten teams in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas County.
3. Armwood has won its last two games against Hillsborough by a combined score of 63-2.
4. Lennard is 3-0 for the first time since 2010 and has already won as many games this year as in the previous three seasons combined.
SMQ Teams of the Week
Central and Clearwater: Both teams atoned for years of gridiron futility Friday. Central beat Poinciana 20-13, marking the first time the Bears have won a game on the field since 2012. Cody Brooks, who came back from a head injury, threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns, the last coming on a 20-yard pass to Ryan McCrane in the fourth quarter for the winning score. Clearwater, meanwhile, snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 30-23 win over Palm Harbor University. Tornadoes linebacker Lucas McWhorter recorded two interceptions in the final two minutes of regulation.
SMQ Player of the Week
Tyrie Adams, Dixie Hollins
Adams has racked up plenty of yards the past few seasons. Friday night was no different. The senior threw for 448 yards and four touchdowns against Seminole. What made this performance stand out from the others was what Adams did in crunch time. After the Rebels made a crucial stop in the fourth quarter, Adams directed a winning drive, which ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Davontae Harrington in a 33-27 victory. In the past two games, Adams has thrown for a combined 953 yards and nine touchdowns.
SMQ Coach of the Week
Joe Fabrizio, St. Petersburg: With an exodus of transfers (three starters, four overall) before the start of the season, including two to rival Lakewood, many thought the Green Devils lost too much to be contenders. But Fabrizio has helped guide his team to a 3-0 start after Friday’s 39-22 win over Lakewood. It was the fifth time in the past seven seasons St. Petersburg has knocked off the Spartans. “This is a close-knit group that has real football savvy,” Fabrizio said. “Beating Lakewood was big confidence-wise. These kids now believe they can contend for a district title.”
Record watch
Sickles running back Ray Ray McCloud III unofficially ran for 174 yards in Friday’s 27-14 win over Newsome. That gives the senior 4,248 yards for his career, enough to supplant Robinson’s Zain Gilmore (4,158) as seventh best rusher in Hillsborough County history. McCloud’s target is all-time leader Robert Smith of Carrollwood Day, who finished his career with 5,576 yards.
Next up: No. 6. Earl Reeves of Tampa Catholic, 4,591
Record watch II
Lakewood quarterback Ryan Davis is chasing former East Lake quarterback Pete DiNovo’s Pinellas County record of 6,733 career passing yards. Davis, who has 321 yards after three games, increased his career total to 5,205 yards. Over the next seven games, he’ll need to average 218 yards to break DiNovo’s mark.
Next up: at Gibbs