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Tampa Bay Tech Remembers Armwood Thumping

Titans Can Avenge Regular-Season Loss Tonight

Photo by KEVIN HOWE

Armwood receiver Dykerius Cross hauls in a TD pass over Tampa Bay Tech D.D. Johnson in the first meeting.

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By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2008

TAMPA - One of the best things about playoff football is that it sometimes gives teams a shot at redemption.

That's exactly the position Tampa Bay Tech finds itself in tonight with a Class 4A region semifinal matchup at Armwood.

While the Titans have put together the best season in program history, which included the program's first playoff victory last week at Auburndale, a lone blemish exists on their season; a 45-6 thumping at the hands of the Hawks in Week 6 of the regular season. And it's one that's not easily forgotten.

"They left a pretty bad taste in our mouth," senior quarterback Angel Rodriguez.

The Titans not only get a chance tonight to wash that taste away, but they also have a chance to vault the program to a place it's never been if they can manage a victory against Hillsborough County's most dominant program of the past decade — one that is ranked third in the nation by USA Today.

"This is huge for us," Coach C.C. Culpepper said. "We know how big a win in this game can carry us for the rest of this year and the year after that and so on. If we can beat the No. [3] team in the nation, we can doggone play with anybody else."

Even though the first matchup with the Hawks was clearly one-sided, the Titans enter the rematch with a ton of confidence. Tampa Bay Tech has won five in a row since the loss, including a big win against district foe Hillsborough that clinched the program's first postseason berth since 2001.

That game against the Terriers was one many didn't expect Tampa Bay Tech to win, yet the Titans found a way to prevail. A similar thought process surrounds this rematch against the Hawks, and while it certainly can be labeled an uphill climb, it's one the Titans believe they are prepared to make.

"Anything can happen," senior Antonio Wallace said. "We're going to stick to what we do. We're going to go out there and hit them in the mouth, and they're going to have to come back and hit us in the mouth.

"It's do or die, and we're not ready to go home yet."

Reporter Adam Adkins can be reached at (813) 259-7616.

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