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Wolves Extend Streak

By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: October 25, 2008

PLANT CITY - Newsome's shutout streak came to an end Friday night, but the Wolves' most important streak continued - their winning streak.

Newsome's 27-14 victory at Raider Stadium was the fourth consecutive for the Wolves, and the latest was a big one. The win moved Newsome to 2-0 in Class 5A-District 7 play, meaning the Wolves will control their own postseason fate the rest of the way as the program looks to secure its first trip to the state playoffs.

"It was very important for us, and we knew what was at stake when we stepped on the field tonight," Newsome coach Kenneth Hiscock said. "The kids, they knew. They knew what they had to do, and they came out and did it."

Sophomore fullback Conner Powers rushed for a game-high 128 yards and freshman wingback Keller Powers added 83 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Do-everything man Kyle Copack was efficient on both sides of the ball, completing seven of nine passes for 154 yards as the quarterback while adding a pair of interceptions for the Wolves' defense.

"It feels good," Conner Powers said. "I just think things are clicking for us right now. We're just getting after it."

Newsome (6-2) dominated the entire first half. While the Wolves' offense missed out on a few early scoring opportunities - kicker Tony Zaccario converted just one of his first three field-goal attempts - the unit cashed it on its final drive of the half, with Keller Powers taking a sweep 24 yards for a touchdown to give Newsome a 10-0 lead with 46 seconds remaining before the break.

At that point, 10 points looked like it would be enough the way the Wolves' defense was playing. Newsome, which had posted three consecutive shutouts entering Friday's game, forced as many turnovers - two - as it allowed first downs in the first two quarters.

It was much of the same early in the second half, too. Keller Powers capped Newsome's first drive with a 13-yard touchdown run, and Trent Cornwell punched it in from 2 yards out on the Wolves' second drive to put Newsome ahead 24-0. But the Raiders' offense finally woke up.

Plant City quarterback Clint Stearns scored on a 2-yard run with 1:36 left in the third, snapping the Newsome defense's scoreless streak at 15 quarters, and Stearns provided another score with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Cortez Hargrett with 3:12 left in the game, cutting the Raiders' deficit to 27-14. However, the late outburst wasn't enough, as Newsome recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt and ran out the remaining time on the clock.

"Too little, too late," said Plant City coach Jason Strunk, whose team fell to 3-5. "That's the story of the season."