Playoffs on the Horizon

Most of country will be pinned down in front of their television sets on Nov. 4 when we elect our 44th President of the United States.

On that same evening, the Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference will crown its annual county football champion.

Six county schools, including Challenger K-8, Explorer K-8, Fox Chapel, Parrott, Powell and West Hernando, will vie for this year's top team crown. J.D. Floyd is a member of the league, but does not field a football team.

To get to Nov. 4, the six teams were seeded Thursday morning at the weekly athletic directors' meeting in Brooksville. The teams were seeded by their current won-lost records through five regular-season games.

The bottom two seeds were not included in the title chase. Fifth-seeded West Hernando (1-4) will host winless and sixth-seeded Explorer K-8 (0-5) at Central High's Bears' Den on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The top four seeds will compete for the mythical county title.

Parrott, seeking its unprecedented sixth straight county championship, completed the regular season 5-0, outscoring its opponents, 240-0.

The Leopards are easily the top seed.

Choosing the second, third and fourth seeds were a little more difficult.

Because Fox Chapel, Powell and Challenger K-8 all finished with identical 3-2 slates, each had to draw out of a hat for second, third and fourth.

Powell drew the No. 2 seed and will host No. 3 seed Challenger K-8 at Hernando High's Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium. The game was originally penciled in for Nature Coast Technical's Shark Tank Stadium, but the field is being seeded and is not available.

In the other semifinal, fourth seed Fox Chapel will travel to Spring Hill to face Parrott at Springstead's Booster Stadium beginning at 6 p.m.

The two semifinal winners tangle Nov. 4 for the title at Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium beginning at 6 p.m.

SEMIFINAL OUTLOOK

The Challenger/Powell semifinal looms as an interesting rematch.

In week one, Powell controlled the ball between the 20-yard lines, but fell 8-6 to the Navigators.

The loss was the third straight for the Panthers against the Navigators.

Powell, which has outscored its opponents, 110-46, is guided by eighth-grade quarterback Brandon Vastano. Vastano's arsenal includes Joseph Predoehl, Joey Berrios, Jacob Montalvo and Rashad Hart. Hart is a seventh-grader as the others are eighth-graders.

Powell has become a defensive-oriented unit under fourth-year Head Coach Ron Blackwell.

Blackwell enters Tuesday's semifinal at 12-13 lifetime.

The Panthers have not competed for the county crown since finishing 5-1 in 2000 under current Springstead High defensive Coordinator Mike Garofano.

Should Powell snap its current jinx against Challenger, it'll have to also halt its 11-game slide dating back to 2000 against Parrott on Nov. 4.

NAVIGATORS' OUTLOOK

Challenger, which dropped its initial 15 games in the HCMSAC from 2005-06, stands 8-10 lifetime under third-year skipper Brett Teitelman.

The Navigators dropped their first four series clashes against Powell, before capturing the past three.

Challenger has outscored its opponents this season, 87-68. Its two losses came at the hands of Parrott (36-0) and Fox Chapel (20-18).

The Navigators finished as county runners-up last fall behind a school-best 5-1 slate.

Teitelman's team is led by quarterback Joel Singer and running backs Ricky Toth, Joshua Benyola and Luke McLeod.

FOX CHAPEL: NEW-LOOK TIGERS

Since 2001 when Fox Chapel defeated Parrott, 8-6, it has not had a winning season - posting six consecutive losing seasons.

That streak will end regardless of what happens Tuesday against Parrott.

Since that 2001 season under Head Coach Troy Isles, the Tigers entered 2008 with a 3-35 mark. All three victories came at the expense of the fledgling Challenger K-8 program.

Interestingly, since its 2001 win over Parrott, the Spring Hill squad has dropped nine in a row to Parrott.

But the mood at Fox Chapel has changed with the arrival of first-year Head Coach Kelly Stacy.

Sure, the Tigers were beaten by Parrott (56-0) and Powell (22-0) this fall, but they upset Challenger (20-18), edged West Hernando (14-8 in overtime) and thumped Explorer K-8 (36-8).

Fox Chapel is led by quarterback Josh Almeida and the backfield of Domenic Luci, Larry Chavez and John Schofield.

PARROTT: THE TEAM TO BEAT

Since losing the county championship in 2002 to West Hernando, Parrott has reeled off five straight county crowns and 6-of-7.

Ex-University of Florida standout Dwayne Mobley and his staff have captured 89 percent (34-4 overall) of their games since 2004's 3-2 slate.

During that run, the Purple and Gold are 25-1 against county opponents.

Parrott enters Tuesday night's semifinal on a 17-game win skein. During this stretch, the Leopards have simply dominated. They've outscored their opponents, 414-6.

Defensively, they've etched seven straight shutouts, and 10 whitewashes in their past 11 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 32 touchdowns featuring 12 different players.

The team's leading scorer is seventh-grade fullback Jeremiah Jackson (54 points). He's complemented by tailback Quentin Adams (44 points), quarterback Tyrail Hawkins (30 points) and (no relation) O'Mar Hawkins (26 points).

Though Parrott is averaging 250 rushing yards per game, Tyrail Hawkins leads the county in passing with eight touchdown passes against one interception.

On special teams, Parrott has punted once this fall and converted 23-of-32 two-point conversions.

But Parrott's bread and butter is its defensive unit.

The "Purple Cloud" defense has permitted 157 yards total offense this fall in 130 snaps - or a paltry 1.29 yards per play.

How solid is the unit?

All told, Parrott has recovered 11 fumbles, swiped two interceptions and blocked two kicks.

The defensive is led by Darren Hambrick, Jackson, O'Mar Hawkins, Aujuwan Brown, Nicholas Brewer and Joseph Valentino.

So what's Parrott's mindset entering 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."

Hernando County Middle School Athletic Conference Football Playoffs:

Tuesday, Oct. 28:
No. 6 seed Explorer K-8 vs. No. 5 seed West Hernando at Central, 6 p.m.
No. 4 Fox Chapel vs. No. 1 seed Parrott at Springstead, 6 p.m.
No. 3 Challenger K-8 vs. No. 2 seed Powell at Hernando High , 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 4:
Championship Game at Hernando High, 6 p.m.