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Hawks hold on at very end to tip TBT, 9-6

Staff photo by BILL WARD

Armwood sophomore running back Matt Jones turns the corner for a gain in the fourth quarter.

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By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: September 18, 2009

SEFFNER - Tampa Bay Tech came through with some late-game heroics to stun Plant in its regular-season opener. The Titans tried to find the same magic Thursday night, but came up a bit short.

Tampa Bay Tech had the ball with a chance to win the game after scoring its lone touchdown and recovering the ensuing onside kick with less than two minutes to play, but a fourth-down conversion attempt with 30 seconds left in the game came up a yard short and Armwood held on for a 9-6 victory at Lyle Flagg Field.

"I told you it was going to go right down to the end, and it really did," Hawks coach Sean Callahan said. "I think we made it a little too exciting right there at the end. … I'm really happy the way our kids battled through it."

Tampa Bay Tech (1-1) hadn't had much success against Armwood (2-0) in the last few meetings between the teams. But the Titans defense did all it could to keep the team in the game this time, and the unit set the tone for its play from the outset.

Armwood marched down the field on its opening possession, but a 16-play drive stalled inside the Titans 10 and the Hawks had to settle for a 24-yard Ash Dudney field goal. That proved to be the only score of the first half, as the Titans defense continued to find a way to keep Armwood's offense in check.

The trend continued in the second half as well. Tampa Bay Tech's defense stuffed Armwood on a fourth-and-1 attempt at the Titans 5 to end the Hawks' opening possession of the half, and the Titans intercepted a pass in the end zone on the next to thwart another scoring chance. But Armwood finally broke through.

A bad snap on a punt attempt gave Armwood the ball at the Titans 9 late in the third quarter, and the Hawks capitalized on the next play when quarterback Josh Grady hit receiver A.J. King for a touchdown and a 9-0 lead.

"I saw the coverage they were in. (The defender) wasn't playing me very strong. I made a move, and I was wide open," said King, who finished with seven receptions for 86 yards.

But the Titans didn't give up. After a bad snap on a punt by Armwood gave Tampa Bay Tech the ball at the Hawks 37, Titans quarterback Johnathan Williams found his touch and capped a four-play drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Cludner LeCount, which made it 9-6 with 1:19 left in the game. The Titans then recovered the onside kick, setting them up at the Hawks 46 with one final chance.

Consecutive penalties backed the Titans up to their own 31, and two incompletions and a sack by Armwood linebacker Jermaine McKinney followed, leaving the Titans staring at a fourth-and-37 from their own 27. Williams dropped back and lofted a desperation pass down the Titans sideline that receiver C.J. Jackson went up and grabbed over a Hawks defender, but Jackson fell to the turf one yard short of the first-down marker. Armwood took a knee on the next play to finish off the win.

"We battled to the end. We just couldn't get going offensively," Titans coach C.C. Culpepper said. "These kids have got a lot of fight in them. Being around me, I'm an emotional guy when it comes to what I do. I'm passionate. They're going to keep fighting, because I'm going to keep fighting, too."

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