TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Receivers Are Key To Cobras

ADVERTISEMENT

By CRISTINA LEDRA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2007

HUDSON - As Hudson's Zack Wynn continues to establish himself as a strong quarterback and running back Sean Scott burns up the field, their success can be at least partially traced to a group of four Cobras.

Hudson's four wide receivers - seniors Tony Germano, Patrick Solis and Dylan Jordan and junior Hunter Newton - have been Wynn's big targets and take some of the focus off Scott to allow the Cobras to average 40 points a game, including two 60-plus-point performances.

'They don't know if a run or a pass is coming,' Newton said about opposing defenses' lack of success against the Cobras.

Germano leads the quartet with 497 receiving yards, the most in Pasco County, and has five touchdowns and four two-point conversions.

His season high came against Wiregrass Ranch, when he had five receptions for 173 yards and three touchdowns with a two-point conversion.

The other three also have stepped in to give Wynn more weapons than he could ask for.

Solis has 146 receiving yards and four touchdowns, Jordan has 231 receiving yards and three touchdowns and Newton has 159 yards and a touchdown.

The receivers have become viable options on offense in addition to Scott, a senior who has 1,272 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. He also has 234 yards and one touchdown as a receiver this season.

Hudson has the second-highest scoring offense in Pasco County, about a point per game behind Ridgewood.

Against Gulf last week, each of the four receivers had more than 20 receiving yards, meaning opposing defenses won't have much luck against the Cobras if they try to stop one or even two of them.

'Hudson used to run a two-receiver set, and now we're in a three-receiver set,' Germano said. 'It allows us to open up the pass. If Sean starts running, they're going to stack the box and then we can pass.'

The receivers attribute a lot of their accomplishments to each other, because they try to help the next guy as much as they can.

'We've gotten a lot better,' Germano said. 'That's mostly because we're close and we get in each other's faces at practice.'

The fact that they have come together during the season is a nice boost considering they haven't been playing together for a long time.

Germano was at Hudson until his junior season, playing cornerback and linebacker, before his family moved to Sarasota. He played for Braden River, but the family moved back in time for his senior season.

Solis suffered a separated shoulder in Hudson's spring game his sophomore year and didn't want to return for his junior season.

'A lot of people talked me into coming back,' Solis said.

But part of why they have worked so well together is because they realize how important they are to Hudson's offense, and ultimately its success.

'It opens up our running game when we catch the ball,' Solis said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT