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Tear-Stained Victory Puts Title Within Reach

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 6, 2008

DADE CITY - For a moment, Pasco linebacker Tim Saylor struggled to find the words.

His first offering was "indescribable." Soon after, the full emotion of what took place caused a well of tears to open.

First the left eye, then the right.

"Emotional," he said.

Pasco (12-1) etched its name into a rare, yet rich football history, taking its spot in the Class 3A state semifinals after knocking off Citra North Marion, 13-12, Friday night inside W.F. Edwards Stadium.

The Pirates (12-1) will host Tallahassee Godby (11-2) on Friday. This is the first time Pasco has been to this point since the team's 1992 3A state title.

Friday night's triumph came in part from what Saylor accomplished with 53 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Pasco opened the game with an interception by defensive back Josh Johnson on North Marion's first offensive play. Five plays later, Pirates running back Jamaal Sampson scored from 10 yards out with 9:54 to go in the first quarter.

It took the Colts eight possessions before it could finally answer that score. On a third-and-3 from the Pasco 36, North Marion (9-4) quarterback Chuckie Looney split two Pasco defenders, hitting Jordan Fulford for a score.

On the extra-point attempt, Saylor plunged through the middle of the Colts line, blocking the extra point.

"We just had to play our game," Saylor said before the tears came. "We've kept [opponents] under 20 all year. We've been a strong team on defense. We keep our morale up as a team, I feel, when the defense has a good game.

"That was a heck of a team. They were good. Their defense was good. We knew it would be a defensive game. We knew it."

Here's how defensive this game proved: North Marion lost three of its five fumbles and threw three interceptions. Pasco lost two of its four fumbles and threw one interception.

Saylor's block allowed Pasco to keep its advantage, 7-6.

That lead grew to 10-6 when Pirates kicker Brennan Allen boomed a 46-yard kick a little more than three minutes into the third quarter. When North Marion finally went ahead, 12-10, it was nowhere near a daunting advantage.

Five minutes after the Colts went ahead, Allen knocked through a 27-yard kick, reclaiming the lead, 13-12.

To some, the defensive nature of the ballgame came as the first quarter developed, but Pasco coach Tom McHugh understood from the outset, his defensive unit had to play their hearts out.

"I think I knew it all week," McHugh said. "And I think all of our coaches knew it. The strong point on their team was their defense. I'm not going to say that the strong point on our team was our defense, but I think we do pretty good.

"Our offense does a great job. That's a very, very tough defense we played. They just kept banging it, banging it and banging it."

That "pretty good" description of his defense may be tad of an understatement of that unit.

The group has collected three shutouts — including last week's 50-0 win against offensive juggernaut Gulf. The most any team has scored is 20 points and the unit has collected 12 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries.

North Marion's final turnover came at the 1:49 mark of the fourth quarter, with its best field position all night.

Following a short punt by Allen, the Colts took over at the Pirates 35. Poised for a possible go-ahead score, North Marion running back Eddie Rocker was stripped by outside linebacker Jarrod Carmody on the first play of the series. Carmody then pounced on the ball, giving his offense the ball back with 1:40 remaining in the game.

Pirates running back Jamal Haynes had issues practically the entire night.

He ended the evening with 33 yards on 18 carries, and of those runs, seven were for minus yards.

But it was his final jaunt of the night, which neither he nor his teammates will forget.

On that third-and-8 play, Haynes took the ball off the left side of the formation, racing for 9 yards with 58 seconds remaining. It was his second-longest run of the night. That conversion iced the game, sending McHugh into a bouncing frenzy along the sideline.

Making that run even more dramatic was the fact Haynes had to leave the game on Pasco's previous offensive possession after injuring his left knee.

"After I got hurt, I went to the sideline and started working my knee out because I knew my team needed me," Haynes said. "When I got the ball, I thought I saw the end zone, but after the safety stepped back, I couldn't cut because of my knee. If my knee wasn't messed up, I would have took it to the barnyard."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at edaniels@tampatrib.com or (813) 948-4214.

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