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Allen's Ugly Kick Gives Pirates Pretty Win

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: December 6, 2008

DADE CITY - Pasco, kicker Brennan Allen admitted it wasn't the way he was taught to kick field goals. But it was good enough to put the Pirates in the Class 3A state semifinals for the first time since 1992.

Allen's 26-yard field goal with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter looked more like a blimp floating too low over W.F. Edwards Stadium. Somehow, ever, the ball went over the crossbar and Pasco held on to defeat Citra North Marion 13-12 in the Region 2 finals.

The Pirates (12-1) will host Tallahassee Godby, who won its region final game with a 23-yard field goal with 1.5 seconds remaining.

"It was scary," Allen said of his knuckleball kick. "The snap was good. The hold was good. They were extremely fast on the outside. They came in and as I was going toward the ball, somebody was about 5-feet away and I kind of looked up a little too quick to see where he was. When I did that, I pulled up and hit the middle of the ball and hit a line-drive.

"My heart dropped but when I saw it go in, my heart lifted right back up."

North Marion knows how important a kicker is. The Colts' Braden Camire had an extra point blocked and missed another one. Those two missed points turned out to be the difference in the game.

"I've been saying this for two years. I think Brennan Allen is the best kicker in this area … bar none," said Pasco coach Tom McHugh. "I know the kid from Land O' Lakes [Alex Spock] is going to Duke but I think that's potential-wise."

McHugh said Allen's work ethic is as good as anyone's.

"He works real hard," McHugh said. "He's an athlete, just not a kicker. We don't let him play the other positions … and he gets angry at that. He could play safety. He probably has the second or third best hands on the team. He could probably play quarterback if I wanted him to because that's the kind of athlete he is. We keep him kicking because we know how valuable he is."

Although Allen didn't see his 45-yard field goal in the third quarter because he was flat on his back from a roughing-the-kicker call, the kick probably had enough height and distance to equal his season-long 53-yarder he kicked against Nature Coast. Allen has converted 10 of 16 field goal attempts this season.

Probably Allen's biggest kick came on a punt with 1:49 remaining in the game. The Pirates were facing a fourth-and-11 from their own 5 which meant Allen would have to punt from deep in his own end zone. He managed to get a 30-yard punt off but it went out of bounds so there was no chance for the Colts to return it.

"Don't forget he was deep in the end zone," McHugh said. "We told him, 'Don't take the safety, whatever you have to do.' "

On the next play, Jarred Carmody recovered a North Marion fumble to seal the Pirates victory.

Correspondent Rick Harmon can be reached at tampabaystringer@gmail.com

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