Armwood 23, Hillsborough 0, Final

Armwood High football team could have gone either way.

Following last week's near-loss to Bradenton Lakewood Ranch, the Hawks went the vengeful route.

Armwood took out their frustrations on longtime rival Hillsborough with a 23-0 Class 6A-Region 2 semifinal victory. It was Armwood's 10th straight victory against the Terriers (9-3) in the series.

With the win, the Hawks (12-0) advance to their ninth-consecutive region final where they will host Gainesville, a winner over Sunlake.

"Their feelings were hurt last week and understandably so,'' Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. "I really appreciated the way they came to work on Monday, where it was almost like a funeral. They were so focused. We struggled against Lakewood Ranch, so it was great to have a fresh week and we did some good things.''

After a mere-mortal performance against Lakewood Ranch, the Hawks defense returned to super strength, limiting the Terriers to only 112 offensive yards and allowed Hillsborough to cross midfield only three times – once by a penalty.

"It was personal for us,'' senior linebacker Eric Striker said. "We definitely wanted to come out and make a statement. They really believed they could run on us, but we shut them down.''

While Hillsborough found running room tough to find, Armwood senior back Matt Jones carved a path straight down the middle most of the night. Callahan saw a "sparkle'' in Jones this week, so much so, he let Jones deliver the pregame speech.

The University of Florida-bound Jones led a ground assault with 131 of the Hawks 280 rushing yards. Senior Wade Edwards (62 yards, one touchdown) and junior Alvin Bailey (61 yards) also pounded the rock.

Bailey put the Hawks up early with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown after the Armwood defense forced its first of five three-and-outs. The Hawks went up 9-0 at the beginning of the second quarter when kicker Nick Feely capped off a 17-play scoring drive with a 47-yard field goal.

Armwood opened the second half with a 10-play scoring drive that Edwards finished off with his 26-yard touchdown run. Offensive lineman Cody Waldrop scored his first touchdown a six-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

"We showed that we still have that burst and we can come back from a bad game or a busted play,'' Jones said. "We feel like we can come back from anything. We just like to run the ball downhill and get after people.''

When Armwood did make mistakes, like the two fourth quarter fumbles recovered by Hillsborough defensive lineman Jordan Sherit, the Terriers were unable to capitalize.

"The swagger's back and that was proof right there,'' Striker said. "A shutout is a good statistic. We thank the opponent for going hard, but we got our swag back.''

A - Bailey 73 punt return (kick failed)
A - Feely 47 FG
A - Edwards 26 run (Feely kick)
A - Waldrop 6 run (Feely kick)