TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

County Still Has A Long Way To Go

ADVERTISEMENT

By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

Published: November 18, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - For all the positive steps Land O' Lakes football has taken over its stretch of 11 consecutive playoff appearances, recent years have seemed to reveal the same old problems Pasco County football teams experience when they reach the postseason.

Friday's 31-7 loss to Rockledge, which saw the Gators out-gained 404 yards to 88 in total offense, was the third consecutive first-round playoff exit by the school widely considered to have the county's most successful football program over the past decade.

That led Land O' Lakes coach John Benedetto to make some candid comments about the state of football in the county, which has not seen any teams win a playoff game since 2005.

"You know, Pasco County football has got a long way to go. I mean, we haven't, over the years, haven't been real successful in the playoffs," Benedetto said. "And that's not just Land O' Lakes, that's most Pasco County teams.

"People can say we're right in there with everyone else, but we're really not. We have a long way to go."

Friday's game exposed major weaknesses that were thought to be strengths for the Gators (9-2), namely speed and strength. Rockledge's option running attack utilized several backs, and they all possessed the kind of speed the Land O' Lakes admittedly hadn't seen all year.

And although the Gators have been inconsistent on offense this season, it was still a shock to see them lose 27 yards on 19 running attempts, including six sacks by the Raiders.
Chris Singleton led Land O' Lakes with 18 yards rushing and a touchdown, but the rest of the Gators were tackled for a loss 13 times.

"We just thought we'd be able to catch them off-guard, but that didn't work out," Singleton said. "We had a lot of dumb, mental mistakes, and that turned into us panicking, trying to throw the ball a lot."

Quarterbacks Ely Payne and Stephen Weatherford were under constant pressure from Rockledge's defensive line, but still managed to give Land O' Lakes its biggest plays through the air, combining for 99 yards on 8-of-21 passing. Nick Castellano made a number of tough catches, and finished with 53 yards receiving. A double-reverse pass from Jerome Harrison to Payne produced 16 more yards for 115 passing overall.

Up until Friday, Land O' Lakes' season had been a surprising success, defined by overcoming the season-ending injury of running back John Weatherford and a Week 1 loss to Pasco to enter the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak.

The Gators went undefeated in Class 4A, District 8, including a victory over previously undefeated Ridgewood which clinched their second consecutive district title.

"I just feel good about our team and the way we fought off adversity and ended up having a good year after that season-opening loss," Benedetto said. "And so, you've got to take your hat off to the kids. They stuck together and had a successful season."

But that seemed to mean nothing following Friday's game, as Land O' Lakes players struggled to handle such a lopsided loss.

"We had a good season," Payne said, "but we can't be satisfied, man. We can't be satisfied."

Bart O'Connell can be reached at

boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT