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Hernando Today

Zeroing In On A Championship

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Parrott Head Coach Dwayne Mobley leads the Leopards’ quest for its sixth straight county championship Wednesday night at 6 p.m. against No. 2 seed Powell at Hernando High’s Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium. The Purple and Gold (6-0) have outscored their opponents this season, 276-0. Parrott is also seeking its 19th consecutive Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference football victory.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: November 4, 2008

Webster's defines destiny as "the inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined."
Tonight marks the final game in the Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference as its  annual county football champion will be crowned.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Hernando High's Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium.
Is it destiny that pits the league's top two seeds in a winner-take-all contest: No. 2 seed Powell (4-2) against top seeded Parrott (6-0)?
To reach the finals, Powell spanked Challenger K-8 in last Tuesday's semifinals at Tom Fisher, 23-0, to snap a three-game losing skein against the Navigators.
That same night, Parrott ousted No. 4 seed Fox Chapel at Springstead, 36-0.
The two teams tangled earlier this season with the Leopards solving Powell, 32-0.
So what's Parrott's mindset entering the playoffs?
"We're gonna have to come out and play. We've taught the boys everything they need to know," explained Parrott Head Coach Dwayne Mobley, who is 47-11 lifetime and 11-1 against Powell. "It's all about which team wants it the most.
"Even though we beat them 32-0, that was the last time," added Mobley. "This is a brand new day and it's all about the team who wants it the most and who plays the hardest will win.

Powell power

Powell, which has outscored its opponents, 133-46, is guided by eighth-grade quarterback Brandon Vastano. Vastano's backfield features Joseph Predoehl, Joey Berrios, Jacob Montalvo and Rashad Hart. Hart is a talented seventh-grader as the others are eighth-graders.
In the first meeting between the teams, the Panthers rushed for 169 yards. Hart led the advance with 20 carries for 123 yards. Berrios added 16 carries for 18 yards.
Though that represented the most amount of yards permitted by Parrott -- and the only 100-yard rusher -- the Purple and Gold defense forced Powell into a 0-for-3 passing effort and zero points.
Turnover-wise, a Berrios fumble was recovered by Kevin Hagood and O'Mar Hawkins blocked a first-half punt.
Powell is regarded as a defensive-oriented unit under fourth-year Head Coach Ron Blackwell.
Against Parrott, Vastano and Predoehl recovered second-half fumbles, but could not cash those opportunities into points.
Blackwell enters tonight's semifinal at 13-13 lifetime. Blackwell, however, is winless against the Purple and Gold, standing 0-7 lifetime.
The Panthers have not competed for the county crown since finishing 5-1 in 2000 under current Springstead High Defensive Coordinator Mike Garofano.
Powell is attempting to snap its 11-game series slide tonight against Parrott dating back to 2000.
 
Parrott: a juggernaut?
 
Since losing the county championship in 2002 to West Hernando, Parrott has reeled off five straight county crowns and 6-of-7.
Mobley, a former University of Florida standout, and his staff have captured 90 percent (35-4 overall) of its games since 2004's 3-2 slate.
During this stretch, the Purple and Gold is 26-1 against county opponents.
Parrott enters tonight's title game on an 18-game win skein. During this span, the Leopards have simply dominated. They've outscored their opponents, 450-28.
Defensively, they've etched eight straight shutouts, and 11 whitewashes in its past 12 games.
The lone score arrived on the final snap on a touchdown pass on Oct. 9, 2007 against Challenger at Nature Coast. Before that final play, Parrott was ahead, 40-0.
So far, Parrott has tallied 37 touchdowns featuring 12 different players.
The team's leading scorer is seventh-grade fullback Jeremiah Jackson (68 points). He's complemented by eighth-grade tailback Quentin Adams (54 points), eighth-grade quarterback Tyrail Hawkins (36 points) and (no relation) eighth-grade O'Mar Hawkins (26 points).
Though Parrott is averaging 262 rushing yards per game, Tyrail Hawkins also leads the county in passing with nine touchdown passes against one interception.
On special teams, Parrott has punted twice this fall and has converted a staggering 70 percent (26-of-37) of its two-point conversions.
But Parrott's title aspirations begin with its defensive unit.
The "Purple Cloud" defense has permitted 193 yards total offense this fall in 168 snaps -- or a paltry 1.15 yards per play.
How solid is the unit?
All told, Parrott has forced 31 fumbles (recovering 11 fumbles), swiped four interceptions and blocked two kicks.
The defensive unit is led by Darren Hambrick, Jackson, O'Mar Hawkins, Aujuwan Brown, Nicholas Brewer and Joseph Valentino.
But what numbers are the Leopards most proud of? The 276 points the team has scored so far, or the zero they'd allowed through six games on defense?
"I'm more proud of the zeros," insisted Mobley. "Because we preach to the kids all the time that if the (other) team don't score, they can't win. If keep them from scoring, they can't win. Our goal this year was to keep everybody at zero. And right now, we're doing a pretty good job."

By the Numbers: County Championships
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO
 
YEAR  SCHOOL   W L  .PCT HEAD COACH
2000  Powell    3 0        1.000 Mike Garofano 
2001 (tie) Parrott    2 1  .667 Dwayne Mobley
2001 (tie) Fox Chapel   2 1  .667 Troy Isles
2002  West Hernando  3 0        1.000 Benny Martinez
2003  Parrott    3 0        1.000 Dwayne Mobley
2004  Parrott    3 0        1.000 Dwayne Mobley
2005  Parrott    7 0        1.000 Dwayne Mobley
2006  Parrott    7 1          .875 Dwayne Mobley
2007  Parrott    6 0        1.000 Dwayne Mobley

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at (352) 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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