Notes from the 'Coast: Friday Football Extravaganza

THE GAME OF THE WEEK: CENTRAL AT RIDGEWOOD, 7 P.M.

Last year, Central jumped out to a 23-0 lead, before a furious Ridgewood rally fell just short in the second half. A last-second field goal sailed wide left, and the Bears escaped with the victory. This game means a ton to both teams. We'd say there is no love lost, but that would imply there was some there to begin with. Here's our coverage from the paper, as well as some analysis:

Column: Who Wants To Be An Underdog?

Ridgewood: Redemption on Rams' mind

Central: Solid senior class looking for own identity

BREAKING DOWN RIDGEWOOD: Expect senior RB Byronell Arline to carry a heavy load. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound bruiser has been gearing up for this game all season. He carried the ball just 30 times in the Rams' first two games, and is coming off a bye week, so he should be fresh. Arline is still wearing a walking boot when he isn't playing to protect his sore right foot, but tonight should be the freshest and healthiest he's been since the start of summer practice. . .Keep your eye on WR Addidas Tolliver. If the Rams can find ways to get him the ball and take advantage of his speed, it'll add a much-needed dimension to their attack. . .Watch how Ridgewood's linebackers attack Central's blocking schemes. Ben Perry and Co. will need to be a disruptive force.

BREAKING DOWN CENTRAL: The Bears' offense has improved each week since a season-opening 21-19 win over Hernando in which Central failed to crack 150 total yards. Last year, Central rode the running of speedy RB DuJuan Harris to victory. This year, they'll throw a different style runner at Ridgewood. Duane Marks broke out last week for 180+ yards in a win over Citrus. He's a combination of Harris and Arline - he's got some speed, but he's a downhill runner in the Arline mold. . .QB Chase Walker and his brother Chad will be important parts of the offense this week. Ridgewood can presusre the passer, as it showed in a preseason win over East Lake. Walker will have to play smart game and, most importantly, avoid mistakes. . . Everything is going to start with Central's offensive and defensive fronts. They are big, but young, and are facing a tenacious Ridgewood defense.

OTHER GAMES TO WATCH:

Land O'Lakes (2-1) at Springstead (2-1)

BREAKDOWN: Both teams enter this game playing better than expected. Both are young, both feature underclassman quarterbacks, and both feature a relatively no-name roster that relies on the whole being greater than any one individual part. Land O'Lakes is coming of a last-minute win over Zephyrhills, while Springstead is coming off a throttling of Ocala Belleview. This game pits two of the best coaches in the area against each other in Springstead's Bill Vonada and Land O'Lakes' John Benedetto.

Hudson (2-1) at Pasco (1-2)

BREAKDOWN: A huge game for both teams, particularly in a district that features two first-year programs in Sunlake and Wiregrass. A win for either team is a huge step toward the playoffs. The Pirates have been inconsistent this season, following an emotional season-opening win over Land O'Lakes with two straight losses. A key for Hudson will be getting running back Sean Scott going early. The Georgia transfer is averaging more than 170 yards per game on the ground, taking some much needed heat off sophomore quarterback Zach Wynn's shoulders . . .Hudson had an extra week to prepare for Pasco, which should help the Cobras.

Hernando (1-2) at Wesley Chapel (2-1)

BREAKDOWN: On paper, this might look like an uneven match-up between one of Pasco's better teams and one of Hernando's worst. However, the Leopards rolled out a new offense in last week's win over Gulf, so it's tough to say if we've gotten a glimpse of the real Leopards yet. For the Wildcats, the key starts and ends with stopping the Leopards' multi-dimensional running attack. Leopards senior George Fribley is a threat to score every time he touches the ball (he rushed for 195 yards last week), while fellow senior Nick Sizemore provides the change-of-pace, down-hill running. Also, keep your eye on freshman Alvin Delaine. He had an interception return and a 30+ yard kickoff return last week. He hasn't gotten too involved in the offensive attack, but that could change soon.

Gulf (1-2) at Wiregrass (0-3)

BREAKDOWN: This one has been touted as a potential win for the Bulls, but it would take a perfect game for it to happen. When Gulf RB David Williams has the ball, the Bucs are tough to stop. The problem last week? He only got 13 carries. Gulf coach Jay Fulmer labelled himself "stupid" for not getting Williams more involved, so don't expect him to make the same mistake two weeks in a row. As soft as the Bucs' defense has been, they are better than they've played. Look for Gulf to make a statement tonight.

Crystal River (1-2) at Nature Coast (2-0)

BREAKDOWN: If you believe in the transitive property of scoring, here's one for you: Nature Coast shutout Springstead 20-0. Springstead, meanwhile, beat Crystal River 21-14. Also, Nature Coast blew out a Dunnellon squad that beat Crystal River by one point. What does that mean? Not much as far as we're concerned. The Sharks are the definite favorite. Their bye week came at a perfect time, allowing sophomore running back Tevin Drake to nurse his sore hamstring back to health. The only thing that can stop the Sharks is themselves. The fumble-itis that plagued them two years ago returned in their win over Springstead. If Nature Coast holds on to the ball, it shouldn't have too much of a problem tonight.

--DAVID MURPHY, Times Staff Writer

dmurphy@sptimes.com

Comments

[fin_fan_07]

omg these ppl are really immature and jealous of nature coast they need to stop complaining and get some better coaches and win some stuff occasionally

But Dunedin nor Central Compare to Ridgewood hard to compare apples and oranges . Ridgewood Kicked Centrals Butt and would prolly do the same to Dunedin.

What happened to all the Central Fans that said Central was Great and They would beat Dunedin in a Full game. Look at what Central has done and what Dunedin has done. Like I said no comparison.

But no other school in the county is allowed to have players pick their school because of the sports program (and technically, Nature Coast isn't either). So you guys use a loophole to pick and chose athletes, which really isn't fair. That's why people resent it.

And I am not the one who writes mean posts. I can't speak for everyone.

Anyway, the football coach at your school does sound like a great guy from quotes in the paper. Most coaches in the other sports at NCT have moved on to different states.

[Shark Pride]

Does the term "Student Athlete" mean anything to you? I believe a person can get a good education at any school if they apply themselves. Therefore you are absolutely right that we chose NCT for it's Football program, there is nothing wrong with that. We believe that it is the best in the county so, if given a choice, why wouldn’t we go there? And I have never EVER seen anyone from NCT post a blog attacking any other school. Only after some immature, obsessive lunatic posts ignorant comments do we become defensive. And your recruiting claim is really, really getting old, “news flash” NO ONE CARES anymore, so why don’t you grow up and spend your energy on “your” team. They could probably use some good support. I’m only trying to help you out here because your posts oozes jealousy and makes you look silly.

Also--parents and fans at NCT seem to be much more obnoxious towards other teams than others. So its fun to see it turned around the other way.

Shark Pride--

I can't speak for the other ones, but this is why some of us dislike NCT. Hernando County is small, only 3 high schools. Nature Coast was built to be a Vocational Center, pulling in students who were not college-bound from the entire county. BUT the principal and coaches used that as an excuse to recruit good athletes from throughout the county. TOday, ask a kid why they pick Nature Coast--they won't tell you its because of the vocational program, its always because of a sport.

[Shark Pride]

You people make me laugh, still upset about things that happend so long ago...hahahaha! Hey, whatever gets you through the day, maybe you should think about seeing someone about your obsession with NCT, I mean, shoot It's gotta be hard walking through your sad life with this all consuming hatered for NCT. Tell me, is it all you can think about? Don't you have a life? Anyway, keep your heads up Sharks, go to work Monday and work out those kinks. We Love You!!

[da stampede]

we cant stop the run [we as in wrhs] its so frustrating. we are getting in the back field, but we cant rap any one up!!
im just looking forward to sunlake right now

Springstead and Central played two really tough teams, NCT played Crystal River.

Yeah, more afraid of the cheerleaders than the team.

Well Hernando County fans, you all have room to talk.. Whoever you are a fan of, Springstead got shut out, again.. Central got destroyed as I knew they would.. And Hernando got whooped too.. So go ahead lets hear all your bs. The boys may have overlooked Crystal River and continued having trouble holding on to the ball and plain just came out flat but Crystal River is still a good team that capitalized on our mistakes. So please make yourselves feel better by belittling the team that you all are afraid of most.

Were the cheerleaders from NCT attacking anyone up this time? Or just crying......

Nature Coasts sucks! Their arrogant recruiting ways just didn't work this time.

[TE player]

Well Looks like the BACK UP came to the Central game with a 42 to 21 Butt Whoopin ..... Gulf will finally get a test to see if david will Run ,get hurt or QUIT like he has done in the past Or all of the above

[da stampede]

LETS GO BULLS!!!!! LETS GO BULLS!!!!!
we have some players hurt. and a flu bug going around. but that wont hurt the hart on this team