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Hudson's Combs Set To Step Into Spotlight For Playoffs

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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

Published: January 13, 2008

HUDSON - Somewhere beneath all the accolades Land O' Lakes is receiving, and all the records Joe Montelongo is setting, stands the most prolific goal-scorer many people in Pasco County might not have heard of.

Hudson junior Scotty Combs, overshadowed throughout his prep career, might just be in position for the limelight the rest of this month. Since Hudson will be seeded high in the Class 4A-District 8 tournament, Combs' 27 goals (not counting Friday's late game at Nature Coast), second only to Montelongo in the county, may start concerning opposing coaches in the playoffs.

"Of course, you look in the paper and see Montelongo and what he's doing and all the attention he gets," Combs said. "But he's a senior and a real good player."

Combs quit focusing on trying to catch Montelongo for the scoring lead a few weeks back, Hudson coach Paul Vescio said. But that hasn't stopped him from leading the Cobras (11-5-2, 9-4-2 in 4A-8) to one of their best seasons in years, despite some setbacks along the way.

Before the season began, the Cobras lost D Zack Wynn to a torn ACL and GK Todd Rushing was declared ineligible. Both have been named assistant coaches by Vescio and attend most of the games.

Midfielder Taylor Lamphier has missed games for a variety of reasons, mainly a chipped bone in his left ankle, but had three assists against Sunlake on Monday in his second game back. Combs believes the Cobras are more dominant in the middle of the field now because he's back. Freshman Wayne Ewing has scored six goals this year despite playing through a hip pointer.

But with so much parity after Pasco in 4A-8, Combs and the Cobras are taking nothing for granted.

"Some of the underdogs can take you," he said of the district competition. "You don't want to get ahead of yourself and lose focus. But we feel we have the ability to win the tournament."

PLAYOFF PICTURES: Land O' Lakes (Class 5A-District 7), Pasco (Class 4A-District 8) and Bishop McLaughlin (Class 2A-District 9) will be the No. 1 seeds in their respective tournaments. But after that, there is plenty of jockeying for position, especially in 4A-8, which begins Jan. 21 at Wiregrass Ranch. All other tournaments involving county teams begin on Jan. 22.

Because Gulf defeated Springstead 6-5 this week, Hudson was able to play for the No. 2 seed Friday against Nature Coast. Gulf and Wiregrass Ranch were tied at 20 points entering Friday and the Bulls own a tiebreaker, but they are locked into the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds and will play each other in the tournament regardless of the outcome of their remaining matches.
Sunlake and Zephyrhills played each other for the No. 6 seed Friday, with Sunlake needing at least a tie to hold on to the spot. Hernando and Nature Coast are the bottom two teams and will play each other in the first round for the right to take on Pasco in the quarterfinals.

In 5A-7, Ridgewood and Wesley Chapel will play each other, with the winner facing the top-seeded and nationally ranked Gators (20-1-1) for a spot in the finals. Host River Ridge will face Brooksville Central on the other side of the bracket, and that winner also advances to the finals and clinches a state playoff berth.

In 6A-7, Mitchell is the No. 5 seed and likely would have to defeat No. 1 seed Alonso to get into the finals.

And in 2A-9, host Bishop McLaughlin will face Carrollwood Day, while Academy at the Lakes is seeded third and faces Hernando Christian.

Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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