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Golden Sets Record

By ERIC HORCHY

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 15, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Move over Byronell Arline, there's a new Pasco County single-season rushing king in town.

Only a year removed from the Ridgewood bruiser's record-breaking 2,188-yard campaign, Gulf's Adrian Golden set a new standard of excellence Friday night by charging for 201 yards on 23 carries in the Buccaneers' 22-21 homecoming win against East Lake. The mark he now owns stands at 2,193.

"It was hard," Golden said of reaching the milestone. "I just had to make it for myself. It's real special and I'm only a junior, so I get another chance to break it again next year."

The victory also ties Gulf (9-1) for its best single-season win total in school history, matching the record of the 1941 Bucs team.

Neither Golden's record nor the victory came easily. East Lake's physical defensive front held the explosive back to only 49 yards in the first half and Gulf found itself mired in a 21-6 hole with less than a quarter to play.

Momentum quickly shifted to the Bucs with less than six minutes remaining when Golden broke off a game-saving 59-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-6, cutting the Eagles' lead to 21-14.

After forcing East Lake (3-7) to go three and out, Golden and quarterback Madison Burr engineered an 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive capped by Burr's 1-yard plunge across the goal line. Instead of going for the tie with the score at 21-20 East Lake, Bucs coach Jay Fulmer put the game in his star tailbacks' hands and Golden answered the call with a 2-point conversion for the game-winning points.

The situation was eerily similar to last week's 21-20 loss at Pasco when Gulf had an extra point blocked in the game's waning moments. In fitting fashion, Golden sealed the victory seconds later by picking off East Lake backup quarterback Blake Robles as time expired.

"If you give Bubba a crack, he's going to keep you in the game," Fulmer said, referring to Golden by his nickname. "That first half he just wasn't getting it. But now we've had three really tough games in a row and I think we're battle-tested going into the playoffs."

Gulf travels to Orlando St. Cloud on Friday for its Class 3A region quarterfinal game.