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Few Points, But Armwood Makes Its Point

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2008

TAMPA - There have been prettier sights.

There have been better high school football games.

But it was still Armwood-Plant, and it mattered.

Don't believe it?

Go ask Plant all-everything quarterback Aaron Murray, who wanted to begin his senior season with a statement.

It was a silent one.

Go ask the Armwood Hawks defense, which did what it does against Murray and picked up its offense, enough for a 9-2 victory.

That's right: 9-2.

It was ragged, it was sloppy, it had no flow.

That doesn't matter - if you win.

Plant, Plant, Plant?

"It was defense, defense, defense," Armwood defensive lineman Ryne Giddins said.

Not What Plant Wanted

Yes, ask Giddins, who got a hand on Murray's last pass of the night late in the game, enough to deflect it high in the air and allow teammate Angelo Hadley to pick it off and seal the deal.

Murray threw a state-record 51 touchdown passes last season as a junior.

He has now played Armwood three times.

Three losses, no TD throws.

"Aaron Murray has never thrown a touchdown pass against us," Giddins said. "And he never will."

It was all about the Armwood defense, its constant pressure on Murray, just as it was last season when the Hawks handed the Panthers their only two losses.

"It is a huge disappointment," Murray said. "This wasn't what we were looking for."

We all know how much this game was hyped. The crowd at Dad's Stadium on the Plant campus didn't exactly get what it wanted. And a crowd there was.

Somewhere in the stands was Tony Dungy, who flew from Indianapolis to watch his son Eric play for Plant. Obama and Palin couldn't make it.

Give credit to Plant's defense, which had been rolled for 62 points in the two losses to Armwood last season, including 36 points in the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

They mostly handled Armwood's offense after the Hawks scored on their opening drive of the game on a pass from Mywan Jackson to Dykerius Cross.

Armwood's D?

Same old, same old.

Last season, Murray was sacked 18 times across two losses. The other day, Murray recalled the beating he took.

"Ice bath, ice bath, ice bath," he said.

He's a great kid. He loves to have fun.

Can't say Friday was a great time.

Exactly What Armwood Wanted

He wants his senior season to be a championship one, just as Robert Marve's was in 2006.

It didn't start that way.

It began with Plant only scoring once - on a safety caused by a bad Armwood snap into its own end zone.

It began as it began and ended last season, with Murray running for his life, getting hauled down by a sea of blue helmets.

Plant, Plant, planted.

It began with Armwood defense.

Four times, Plant was deep inside Armwood territory.

Four times, Plant came away with nothing.

Plant coach Robert Weiner never went for a field goal.

Hmmm.

Armwood's defensive line was too powerful for Plant's offensive line, just as it had been last season. It was nothing new.

Eventually, they made their own safety, too. Defensive lineman Theodore Jackson (nickname: Man Man) tackled Murray in the end zone in the fourth quarter, forcing Murray to unload the ball. He was called for intentional grounding. Safety. It seemed fitting. The Armwood defense deserved some points of its own.

Near the end, Murray found his groove. He drove Plant from its 10-yard line to the Armwood 24. On third and 5, he dropped back to throw.

In came Giddins.

Defense, defense, defense.

It wasn't what Plant was looking for.

"But it doesn't cost you your season until the playoffs," Murray said. "I'm pretty sure we'll see them again in the playoffs."

Armwood will be waiting.

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