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FRIDAY'S PASCO FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2007

Lakeland Santa Fe (1-0) at Bishop McLaughlin (1-0)
WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m./13651 Hays Road, Spring Hill
COACHES: Mike Jones (Santa Fe), Marty Williams (Bishop McLaughlin)
LAST WEEK: Santa Fe 41, All Saints' Academy 6; Bishop McLaughlin (cancelled)
LAST MEETING: Santa Fe 20, Bishop McLaughlin 14 (2006)
NEED TO KNOW: The anticipated home opener for the Hurricanes will be played under the lights, a first in school history and something Williams and athletic director/assistant coach Mike Zelenka have been looking forward to for some time. Bishop McLaughlin went 3-3 at home in 2006, but has played its two previous meetings against Santa Fe on the road, losing both by a combined 54-14. … Williams, who has stressed the importance of getting his squad experienced in game speed, missed out last week when the game against Hernando Christian Academy was called off. … Santa Fe is in Class 1B-District 5 after spending the previous two seasons in Bishop's district (1B-6).

River Ridge (1-0) at Gulf (0-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./Des Little Stadium, 5355 School Road,New Port Richey
COACHES: Tim Stevens (River Ridge), Jay Fulmer (Gulf)
LAST WEEK: River Ridge 50, Sunlake 0; Gulf 13, Mitchell 41
LAST MEETING: Gulf 40, River Ridge 0 (2006)
NEED TO KNOW: The Buccaneers know they couldn't capitalize on Mitchell when they had the opportunity, and that has to change against a River Ridge team that is pumped about finally breaking its losing streak. Gulf RB David Williams had 205 yards rushing, leading the Bucs offense. Gulf's offensive line continues to make Williams' life easy on the run, and don't expect that to change. Stevens is most concerned with defending Williams. … River Ridge will try to get the ball in the hands of WR Markel Bell (148 yards, three TDs in Week 1). … RB Shawn Ford (hip flexor) will be limited for the second consecutive game, though he scored two TDs on five touches against Sunlake. Justin Ayers should get most of the carries.

Hudson (0-1) at Hernando (0-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./ 700 Bell Avenue, Brooksville
COACHES: Mark Nash (Hudson), Rodney Byrd (Hernando)
LAST WEEK: Hudson 7, Ridgewood 26; Hernando 19, Central 21
LAST MEETING: Hernando 14, Hudson 13 (2002)
NEED TO KNOW: Nash left last week's game encouraged by how the Cobras played much-hyped Ridgewood, citing a couple of turnovers and slips on a soggy field as the main reasons Hudson lost. This week, he is most concerned with Hernando's speed out of its spread offense. … Cobras QB Zack Wynn (4-for-15 passing against the Rams) should get more chances to throw if the weather holds up. … RB Sean Scott will play less on defense, Nash said, so he can concentrate on following up his 25-carry, 192-yard effort in Week 1. … WR/DB Josh Muncy is back after suffering a collarbone injury in training camp.

Wesley Chapel (1-0) at Land O' Lakes (0-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./ Gator Stadium, 20325 Gator Lane, Land O' Lakes
COACHES: John Castelamare (Wesley Chapel), John Benedetto (Land O' Lakes)
LAST WEEK: Wesley Chapel 28, Wiregrass Ranch 12; Land O' Lakes 10, Pasco 15
LAST MEETING: Land O' Lakes 23, Wesley Chapel 20 (2006)
NEED TO KNOW: Land O' Lakes drove the ball inside the Pasco red zone three times and came away with three points. … The Wildcats made a few errors against a hard-charging Wiregrass Ranch squad. Castelamare doesn't want that kind of play tonight, especially with its group of young players. He will have freshmen starting at fullback (Hunter Joyer) and will be without tailback Kennan Reynolds (hip). … The key tonight for each squad is quarterback play. Land O' Lakes has inexperienced Ely Payne, while Wesley Chapel has battled-tested Greg Jenkins.

Mitchell (1-0) at Zephyrhills (0-0)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./Bulldog Stadium, 6335 12th St., Zephyrhills
COACHES: Scott Schmitz (Mitchell), Tom Fisher (Zephyrhills)
LAST WEEK: Mitchell 41, Gulf 13; Zephyrhills (bye)
LAST MEETING: Zephyrhills 20, Mitchell 19 (2006)
NEED TO KNOW: After clobbering Gulf last week, Schmitz remains fixated on the fact his team collected three wins last season and must continue to win to distance itself from that. …The Mustangs had to make defensive tweaks in practice to better defend the run game, while Tate Humphrey needs to continue making plays. The senior QB accumulated 273 yards of offense last week, passing for three scores and running for two. …Although Zephyrhills lost a lot from last season's team, Schmitz believes Fisher is one of the best in the county at preparing his teams for competition. … With two weeks to prepare for this game, Zephyrhills has emphasized pass defense in practice. Fisher said the extra time has benefited DBs Lance Hayes and Jordan Smith, who will try to fare better than last year's Bulldogs did against Humphrey. He threw for more than 250 yards in 2006.

Pasco (1-0) at Sebring (0-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./3514 Kenilworth Blvd., Sebring
COACHES: Tom McHugh (Pasco), Jared Hamlin (Sebring)
LAST WEEK: Pasco 15, Land O' Lakes 10; Sebring 0, Martin County 35
LAST MEETING: Sebring 35, Pasco 28 (2006)
NEED TO KNOW: Sebring made a ton of mistakes in last week's shutout loss to Martin County. The largely inexperienced Blue Streaks had 21 penalties and three turnovers. Sebring is led by junior TB Daniel Burnett, who had 20 carries for 130 yards. The Blue Streaks also had 31 yards rushing each from Brannen Dorman and Jarmarlie Fletcher. … Pasco is confident following its win against Land O' Lakes. The Pirates had a few big plays, namely the 77-yard game-winning TD pass from D.J. Clower to Demetrious Larry, but that play accounted for almost a third of their total offense. Pasco will be without senior lineman Cody Ross for three weeks (eye).

Ridgewood (1-0) at Wiregrass Ranch (0-1)
WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m./2029 Mansfield Blvd., Wesley Chapel
COACHES: Chris Taylor (Ridgewood), Ricky Thomas (Wiregrass Ranch)
LAST WEEK: Ridgewood 26, Hudson 7; Wesley Chapel 28, Wiregrass Ranch 12
LAST MEETING: First meeting
NEED TO KNOW: Ridgewood liked what it saw from its offense with 112 yards rushing from Byronell Arline, 45 yards rushing from Barry Johnsonbaugh and 113 yards passing from T.J. Haab, but Taylor was not pleased with the Rams defense. Hudson tallied 227 yards rushing including 192 yards from Sean Scott. Taylor said the defense was soft, and he expects them to be "flying around hitting people" against Wiregrass. … The Bulls have a number of goals to achieve tonight, mainly slowing down Arline.

Cristina Ledra, Eddie Daniels, Bart O'Connell

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