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Parrott: Same Tune, Same Results

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Parrott's Kevin Hagood could not reel in the ball but an interference call against Challenger's Luke McLeod resulted in a first down Tuesday at Springstead's Booster Stadium.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: October 21, 2008

SPRING HILL - Parrott began methodically but built momentum as the game progressed Tuesday night at Springstead High's Booster Stadium against Challenger K-8.
The Navigators were hoping to snap the Leopards' 16-game win skein to force a tie for first place in the final game of the regular season.
Instead, Parrott's O-line again dominated the trenches piling up 282 yards on 32 plays, including 24 rushing attempts (over 9 yards per play) to chain the Navigators (3-2 overall), 36-0.
Parrott right guard Charles Hostetter thought his O-line teammates were pivotal Tuesday night.
"We came out a little flat, but we picked up the pace as the game went on," expressed the 13-year-old Hostetter. "Give credit to the rest of the line including Jake (Johnson) and Canaan (Swarkard) and the rest. There were no solo efforts up front; we all had jobs to do."
What about the win?
"There's always room for improvement," shrugged Hostetter. "We'll look at film and try to correct some things and play the playoff games one at a time."
From the home sideline, Challenger Head Coach Brett Teitelman was not discouraged.
"I thought the effort was there, especially early on," he recalled. "There are 4-5 plays that determine a winner or a loser. We put the ball on the ground a few times and turnovers hurt."
What about Parrott?
"They've got one of the best middle school throwing quarterbacks I've ever seen (Tyrail Hawkins)," he remarked. "Hopefully, we'll have everybody healthy by the time we play those guys again. We're gonna play hard, we just don't have as many healthy athletes as they have."
Parrott Head Coach Dwayne Mobley blamed his team's slow start on himself.
"We arrived late and barely had time to stretch," recalled Mobley. "That's on me. I thought that's why we started so flat. But I gotta give it to the guys they sucked it up, came to play, especially in the second half.
"I will promise you this, we will be ready no matter who we play next week from the opening whistle."
With the win, Parrott (4-0) faces the No. 4 seed next Tuesday in the opening round of the Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference football playoffs. The site has yet to be determined.
With three teams tied for second place (Powell, Challenger, Fox Chapel), they'll draw from a hat Thursday in the weekly athletic directors' meeting to see who'll face Parrott (4-0) next Tuesday.
The other two teams will square off against each other as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
The two Oct. 28 winners will tangle on Nov. 4 for the county grid championship.
Leading the way for Parrott's 17th straight win and fifth consecutive shutout was a stingy defense anchored by O'Mar Hawkins, Darren Hambrick, Nicholas Brewer and Jeremiah Jackson.
"I thought we struggled early," commented the 13-year-old O'Mar Hawkins. "We came back and played harder in the second half (after leading 14-0 at the intermission)."

Leopard leaders

The Purple and Gold restricted the Navigators to 40 yards total offense on 34 snaps featuring seven sacks of Challenger quarterback Joel Singer (8 carries for minus-41 yards).
Even when Challenger found some success it had trouble holding on to the ball fumbling five times. Though Ricky Toth rushed 16 times for 72 yards, he lost two fumbles to Kevin Hagood and Quentin Adams.
Through the air, Singer and Toth combined to go 0-for-2 with an interception by Hagood.
Challenger did a terrific job of bottling up the dangerous Adams (8 carries, 6 yards and one score) but fullback Jackson punished the Navigators for a game-high 116 yards on seven carries and two scores (57, 6 yards).
"They (Challenger) played hard," said the 12-year-old Jackson. "Coach told us we just needed to work a little harder in the second half. That's when we picked things up."
What's the mindset for the playoffs?
"I told the guys to be like champions, you have to walk like champions, talk like champions and hit like champions," insisted Jackson. "That's what we're trying to do."
Rounding out the scoring, Adams added a 6-yard score with four seconds left while quarterback Tyrail Hawkins connected with Hagood on a 59-yard touchdown pass.

Parrott 36, Challenger K-8 0
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Parrott 6 8 6 16 -- 36
Challenger 0 0 0 0 -- 0

Individual Scoring:
PAR – Jackson 33 run (Adams run fails)
PAR – Hagood 59 pass from Tyrail Hawkins (T. Hawkins run)
PAR – O'Mar Hawkins 5 run (O'Mar Hawkins run fails)
PAR – Jackson 6 run (T. Hawkins run)
PAR – Adams 6 run (Adams run)

PAR CHAL
First Downs 7 6
Atts./Rushing Yds. 24-223 32-40
Comp./Pass Atts./Int. 1-8-1 0-2-1
Passing Yds. 59 0
Total Offense 32-282 34-40
Fumbles/Lost 2-0 5-2
Return Yards 2-28 6-65
Punts/Avg. 0 4-28.0
Penalties 9-86 5-50

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

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