Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sports

TBO > Sports

Mitchell Edges Z'hills

By BART O'CONNELL

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 13, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - In the last three meetings against Zephyrhills, Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz watched as his electrifying offense was grounded by penalties and mistakes and his team lost by agonizingly close margins.

This season, it was the Mustangs' turn to take advantage of miscues while peppering in a little of the aerial magic that was missing in their opener.

Mitchell (1-1) got 117 passing yards from junior quarterback Cody Van De Boe, including a 39-yard touchdown to Rickey Trinidad, and scored all of its points in the final 55 seconds of the first half to beat the Bulldogs (0-2) 11-9 at Mustang Stadium.

"We really needed this one," Schmitz said. "Van De Boe stayed with it and made some great throws. Sometimes the mark of a good football team is different kids stepping up."

Van De Boe failed to complete a pass in last week's 27-point loss to Gulf, and he was being heckled by his teammates and coaches during practice this week. Some on the team even joked that the first pass completion was most likely to come if Mitchell called for a halfback pass.

"I was telling my coaches I would be like Joe Namath after Super Bowl III when I got a completion, and just run off the field," Van De Boe said.

But that first completion, to James Hamilton for 11 yards, wasn't the only guarantee Van De Boe would back up. He instead heated up, going 5-of-6 in one stretch. On Mitchell's five-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, he connected with Cory Smith for a 29-yard gain before hitting Trinidad.

Then, after Zephyrhills quarterback Tyler Guy was intercepted by Hunter McIntosh less than 20 seconds before halftime, Van De Boe found Smith again down the right sideline for another 24 yards. That set up a 27-yard field goal by David Vasquez as time expired in the half.

The Bulldogs had three turnovers and 13 penalties for 95 yards. Though they scored first, on a 1-yard sneak by Guy to cap an 80-yard drive, they had two promising drives stall in the second half.

The first took them 60 yards, all the way to the Mitchell 5-yard line, before penalties pushed them back to the 9 for fourth-and-goal. Coach Tom Fisher bypassed a field goal to go for the touchdown. Guy (10 of 19 passing, 190 yards) rolled right and threw across his body to Gage Hayes in the end zone, but Markus Tominus broke up the pass.

Then, with three minutes left in the game, Guy found Alex Sampson (four catches, 87 yards) and Hayes (four catches, 75 yards) for big gains, but was intercepted by Tominus while being hit.