Johnston column: State Loss Can't Diminish Achievement

ORLANDO - The Tampa Catholic Crusaders, understandably, were crushed.

Their journey came up one victory short on Saturday night, and the wounds were still fresh from the 28-7 loss to Madison County in the Class 2A state championship game.

As officials set up tables for a postgame awards ceremony at the Florida Citrus Bowl, TC players walked around aimlessly. Some were sobbing. Some bowed their heads. Others just stared into the night.

Then, almost from nowhere, cheers showered down.

Thousands of green-clad fans, in unison, stood and roared, not stopping their display of appreciation. A few players walked over to shake some hands, to collect a few hugs. It was almost as if the Crusaders had won.

And in a way, maybe they did.

They won back TC's spot as an elite program.

They won respect.

"We came here to win a state title and came up short," Crusaders coach Bob Henriquez said. "Some people think our players are a bunch of overachievers.

"I say that's wrong. They are achievers."

Running On Empty

TC (11-3) gave it a go early on, taking a 7-0 second-quarter lead on a 7-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Christian Green to Joe Joiner. It was tipped in the air and Joiner went horizontal to get it, although replays indicated Joiner didn't have a foot down in bounds.

"You don't get to challenge on instant replay in high school," said Henriquez, managing a smile.

The Crusaders hardly had time to enjoy their advantage.

The homemade banner above Madison County's rooting section said it all:

Run ... Run ... Run.

Boom! Chris Thompson broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown.

Bam! Just before halftime, Corey Akins spun off a would-be tackler, maintained his balance, shook off another TC defender and roared into the end zone from 45 yards.

Then the knockout blow - Thompson's 56-yard run late in the third quarter.

When TC went three-and-out, Madison County promptly mounted a sadistic 17-play, 84-yard scoring drive that required nine minutes, 38 seconds and essentially ate the clock.

"Too much arm tackling," Crusaders junior nose tackle David Gamble said.

The Cowboys (13-1) rushed for 386 yards. TC gained all of 100 yards total, rushing for just 11.

"Not good enough," Henriquez said. "Not nearly good enough."

Seeing The Big Picture

But that was just one night.

Henriquez emphasized the larger picture.

"Teams last a year or two," he said. "Programs do it year in, year out. This gets us on the right path.

"When we won in the 1990s with players such as Kenny Kelly and Darrell Jackson, that was the foundation. There were down years Henriquez inherited a 1-9 team when beginning his second stint as head coach in 2005, but we challenged them to build upon the tradition, to raise the bar. They did that. Nothing can take away from this magical season."

Crusaders assistant coach Quincy Hipps played defensive end for TC in the mid-1990s before signing with Miami. It still burns him that he never won a state title.

Last week, Kelly, the former all-star quarterback, called Hipps after noticing the Crusaders had finally reached a state final.

"Kenny was like, 'Q, are they that good?'" Hipps said. "I said, 'We're good.' And Kenny's like, 'So they could probably beat our team?'

"I thought about that. 'I doubt it, but you know what? They play better than our teams did.' They don't take plays off. They work. They buy into everything we tell them. They are a pleasure."

People noticed. The TC stands were filled with faces that hadn't been seen in years.

For the first time in a decade, Crusaders basketball coach Don Dziagwa bumped into Otis Kitchen, who once hit a shot to put TC in the 1995 state final. Kitchen is now a fifth-grade teacher in South Florida. He just had to be there.

Alumni returned en masse, some from the 1960s and '70s. "The entire Tampa Catholic community is back together tonight," said longtime Crusaders athletic director Nick DiMaggio, now retired.

The result was difficult for the TC faithful to witness.

But still, from start to finish, these Crusaders were something to see. And in time, even the disappointed players will realize the special things they accomplished.