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Hudson Coach Downplays Chances Against Gulf

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By BART O'CONNELL

Tampa Tribune correspondent

Published: October 18, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Well aware that his offense is struggling, his quarterback is limping and the coaches from Gulf were watching, Hudson coach Mark Nash wasn't exactly excited about his team's chances against the Bucs in Saturday, Oct. 25's must-win Class 3A-District 8 game at Des Little Stadium.

"They're good. I mean, they are good," Nash said of Gulf (6-0, 2-0). "We're going to give them everything we've got, but I don't know that even if we do, it'll be enough. But we're going to give it our best shot and see what happens."

Most of the uncertainty comes from the recent outings by the Hudson (2-4, 1-1) offense, which has scored just 14 points in each of the last two games, victories against Wiregrass Ranch and River Ridge, teams with a combined record of 0-12.

While it was encouraging for Nash to see his squad score touchdowns on their first two drives, instead of make mistakes early in the game and be forced to rally, he was not pleased by how the Cobras finished against the Knights.

River Ridge gained 233 yards (146 rushing) and had the ball inside the Hudson 35-yard line five times. But to Hudson's credit, they forced two turnovers and stopped the Knights on fourth down twice to keep the 14-0 shutout intact.

Though the Cobras only have allowed one touchdown in the past two weeks, Nash knows they will see a more dynamic offense from the unbeaten Bucs in their homecoming game.

To make matters worse, Hudson quarterback Zack Wynn, who was 16 of 26 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown, and carried 12 times for 33 yards, played the fourth quarter with a limp. He was hit on his surgically repaired, brace-protected left knee by the helmet of River Ridge's Edwin Melendez during a clean tackle.

Wynn did not seem concerned about the knee after the game, though he expected it to be bruised, and also did not think he would have to miss practice.

"It's fine. It's going to be tender [Friday morning] I guarantee you that," Wynn said. "But about the offense, we've had our spurts, like the first quarter, we came out dominant. Then we went flat. That hasn't happened all season. We're going to work on that in practice."

Wynn also has not benefited from the loss of receiver Steven Geidel to a leg infection for the past three games. But junior Brandon Jones, now a two-way starter, has begun to emerge in his absence.
He caught two passes for 45 yards Friday, including an acrobatic 30-yard grab where he didn't secure the ball against man coverage until he was on his back. He capped his night with an interception of River Ridge quarterback Kenny Toce in the end zone, finishing the best game of his season statistically.

Jones is becoming a strong complement to sophomore Dylan Buono, the county's leading receiver with 40 catches, 645 yards and seven TDs. Still, with the ball being well-distributed to receivers Jones, Buono and Frank Serrano, and backs Hunter Newton and Dylan Luke on Friday, Wynn isn't sure if he has a single go-to receiver to throw to yet, as he did last year with All-County receiver Anthony Germano.

"If you think about it, I mean, Dylan Buono is so young but he's got the most yards and the big plays," Wynn said of the county's leading receiver (40 catches, 645 yards, seven TDs). "I really don't have a go-to receiver this year. They're all coming through."

While the Cobras were clearly determined to work on their run game Friday, with 24 carries for 92 yards, next week they're likely to be more preoccupied with stopping the run from Gulf's Adrian Golden.

"I bet we're going to stack the box to stop that, and make [Gulf quarterback] Madison Burr throw," said Wynn, who does not play defense for Hudson. "I think that's our game plan."

Correspondent Bart O'Connell can be reached at tampasport@gmail.com.

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