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Hawks Make Quick Work Of TBT

By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: October 11, 2008

Updated: 10/11/2008 02:36 am

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SEFFNER - Tampa Bay Tech entered Friday night's matchup with Armwood hoping to make a statement and prove it was a team ready to climb into the next level of elite Hillsborough County teams. The Titans found out they still have a little ways to go.

The nationally ranked Hawks got off to a blazing start and rolled to a 45-6 victory over the previously unbeaten Titans in a Class 4A-District 11 game.

While the outcome was not what he'd hoped, Tampa Bay Tech coach C.C. Culpepper said there were still some positives his team could take away from its first loss, specifically the fact his team didn't roll over after Armwood built a sizeable lead early in the game.

"That's the biggest thing. We didn't pack it in, and we went blow for blow with them," Culpepper said. "Just to finish this game and for our kids to still have their heads up, this program has come a long way from when I walked in the door and there was nothing there. My hat goes off to these kids and this staff that has stepped it up."

Armwood quarterback Mywan Jackson led scoring drives on the offense's first four possessions, and the Hawks (6-0) defense chipped in another score when safety Angelo Hadley returned an interception 22 yards for a score, putting the Titans (5-1) in a 29-0 hole just 12 minutes and five seconds into the game.

"We told ourselves that we wanted to come out fast and make sure they couldn't come back after that," said Jackson, who scored on touchdown runs of 55 and 8 yards and added a 12-yard scoring pass to Dykerius Cross in the Hawks' first four possessions. "We wanted to bury them in the first half."

It looked as though the Hawks were well on their way to doing that, but the Titans started to buckle down. Fullback Maurice Hagens (17 carries, 45 yards) scored on a 1-yard plunge with 39 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 29-6, and Tampa Bay Tech produced a goal line stand on the final play of the half to carry a little momentum into the break.

However, the Hawks showed why they're a consensus Top 10 team in the nation by not letting the Titans back in the game. Armwood's defense forced two turnovers and recorded a safety in the second half, and the offense produced two more touchdowns, with fullback Matt Eastman's 5-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter being the one to start the running clock.

"Sometimes some of the biggest learning that takes place is from mistakes and losses. You learn," Culpepper said. "It's not about beating the Bloomingdale's by 60. It's about learning from these games here. ... This hurts, but we'll build. We definitely will build. They're a good team, but we'll see them again."