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PINELLAS: Week 4 Football Preview

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By LEE DIEKEMPER. Tribune correspondent

Published: September 19, 2007

THURSDAY
Bradenton Bayshore (1-2) at Osceola (1-2)
The riddle for this matchup: Which Osceola team will show up? With the Warriors squad that thumped a dangerous Dixie Hollins squad to open the season take the field or will it be the team that gave up 47 and 42 points in its last two games?
Bradenton Bayshore has posted similar results. It has given up 35 points to both Manatee and Palmetto before posting its first win last week over Braden River.

Boca Ciega (2-0) at Lakewood (2-1)
This should be a fun contest to watch between two longtime rivals. Boca Ciega, loaded with talent, looked strong to open the season with a win over Dunedin. But then the Pirates had an off week and couldn't carry the momentum over to a game against Dixie Hollins, a contest in which Boca Ciega had to rally to put the game in overtime before pulling out a win.
Lakewood meanwhile had a similar result last week. Trailing Clearwater by two touchdowns the Spartans rallied in the second half to win 21-14.

Clearwater (2-1) at East Lake (1-2)
Talk about contrast in styles. One team (Clearwater) has turned into a high school version of Air Coryell. And for good reason. Clearwater quarterback Luke Loucks has two 400-yard games so far this season and was on his way to a third last week with 200-yards passing in the first half before hurting his knee. But Clearwater coach Tom Bostic insists Loucks is fine and will start Thursday.
East Lake meanwhile has long been a strong running game. With running back Micah Powell, who has verbally committed to Vanderbilt, there's no reason why the Eagles wouldn't run the ball. Look for East Lake to try to grind out a win by keeping the ball out of Loucks' hands with steady doses of Powell.

Countryside (2-1) at Dunedin (2-1)
Can the host Falcons keep up the strong offense? After losing to Boca Ciega to start the season Dunedin has racked up 49 and 42 points respectively. Mike Towns, a lockdown defensive back, has turned into Jerry Rice all of a sudden on offense. It seems as if teams are so concerned with running back Darius Bellamy, defenses might be overlooking Towns on offense and as a result, are getting burned.
Countryside isn't its normal dominant self as in recent years but the Cougars are still a strong and dangerous team. Against a bruising defense last week in a win over St. Petersburg the Cougars still scored three touchdowns. This game has the potential of turning into a shootout.

Dixie Hollins (0-3) at Gibbs (2-1)
This could be a trap game for Gibbs. But Dixie Hollins is meeting the Gladiators at the wrong time, right after a loss to Northeast last week. Dixie Hollins is the best winless team in the county and nearly pulled off an upset last week by taking Boca Ciega to overtime.
An interesting aspect will be how Gibbs reacts to losing to such a strong team like Northeast. Dixie Hollins, meanwhile, has to recover as well. Will the Rebels be able to forget their three losses, including a heartbreaker last week?

Pinellas Park (0-2) at Seminole (0-3)
It's already a long season for two quality football men in Seminole coach Sam Roper and Pinellas Park coach Matt Lance. It's almost a shame one of these teams has to lose. It's also possible this may be the lone win this season for the victorious team.

St. Petersburg (0-3) at Largo (2-0)
Want to watch a short game? This will be it. Don't be surprised if this game is over by 9:30 p.m. the way both teams like to run the ball.
While St. Petersburg is no pushover, it would be unrealistic to expect an upset unless Largo completely is out of sorts from having an early bye week last Friday. Hey, anything is possible. Boca Ciega nearly lost last week after coming out of its bye week to a winless Dixie Hollins.

FRIDAY
Northeast (3-0) at Bradenton Southeast (0-3)
First the good news for Northeast: because of a quirk in the schedule, the Vikings will start district play on the road Friday while most Pinellas County schools will play Thursday due to schools being closed Friday.
Now the bad news for Northeast: Bradenton Southeast is undefeated and the law of averages may be on Southeast's side. After all, this is Southeast, one of the state's traditional powers.
The three losses are very misleading. Southeast lost to two undefeated teams in close games (Palmetto and Manatee). Vikings coach Jay Austin speaks of Southeast like they are the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers. One thing is for sure, beating Southeast, despite the record, at Bradenton is a tall task. A win over Southeast cements Northeast as one of the area's top teams. The winner will likely be the district champion.

Tarpon Springs (2-0) at River Ridge (1-2)
The visiting Spongers looked strong last week in shutting down rival East Lake. This game shouldn't be a problem for Tarpon Springs but then again this is high school football. River Ridge gave up 42 points earlier in the season to Gulf, a team which Tarpon Springs throttled in the kickoff classic.
But if the Spongers get caught looking past this game towards Countryside …

St. Cloud Harmony (2-1) at Clearwater Central Catholic (3-0)
The Marauders are on a roll. After beating Tampa Catholic, CCC found itself beat up and out eight starters, including starting quarterback Brent Henderson.
So what did CCC do last week? Pounded then-undefeated Orlando Lake Highland Prep, holding its opponent to a lone score: an interception return on the first play of the game. If the Marauders can do this with eight starters out, what happens when the team gets healthy?

Fort Meade (2-1) at Northside Christian (3-0)
Simply put, the winner should be the district champ. Fort Meade is the 500-pound gorilla of Class A football in Florida. Since last year, Northside Christian has had this game circled. The key will be the host Mustangs' defense. In its two wins, Fort Meade has averaged 57 points and pitched two shutouts. In its lone loss Fort Meade scored just 13.
If Northside Christian does pull off a win, the Mustangs will be a legitimate state title contender.

Admiral Farragut (2-1) at Shorecrest Prep (1-2)
Shorecrest coach Phil Heyford is having a rare down year so far. But, as usual, the Chargers get better as the season progresses. This should be true with such a young team. Has the team become seasoned enough to beat its crosstown rival which is on a two-game win streak?

Bishop McLaughlin (0-2) at Calvary Christian (0-2)
Someone has to win this game. Just looking at the numbers, it may be Calvary Christian. Bishop McLaughlin's offense, to be polite, is struggling, having yet to score a point this season.
Calvary Christian isn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard either having been shut out last week while scoring a total of two touchdowns in
Its opening season loss to Northside Christian. Just the fact Calvary Christian gave Northside Christian a game suggests the home team should prevail.

Jacksonville Mandarin Christian (1-2) at Canterbury (0-3)
Could this be the week quarterback Brandon Hamilton and wide receiver Johnny Lancaster finally return to their 2006 form? The duo proved to be absolute studs last year and were going to pass on the 2007 season to concentrate on baseball.
But Hamilton and Lancaster rejoined the team Labor Day Weekend. Now with virtually a month of football practice under their belts, the two should have their timing down.

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