Without much effort, Cougars explode on
Gladiators
By Alfredo Muente
ST. PETERSBURG - Not even a brand spankin'
new field could propel the Gibbs Gladiators to any consistency Friday night as
the south siders squared off against the Countryside Cougars at
Newton-Williams Memorial Stadium to kick off Labor Day weekend around the bay.
After losing 35-0 to Lakewood last week, the Gladiators were still looking for
their first points of the 2006 campaign and would put a dent on the scoreboard
just 33 seconds into the game in one of the most lopsided starts to a game in
recent memory.
On the first play from scrimmage, Cougar
quarterback L.D. Crow threw a short screen to Maurice Threatts who darted past
the phalanx of Gladiators in styling fashion all the way to the opposing 5
yard line. Unfortunately for the Cougars, a block in the back was called, and
the play was nullified. On the ensuing snap, Crow threw the ball under
pressure and found Gibbs defensive back Larry Murphy, who took it all the way
back for a 37 yard touchdown and a 7-0 Gibbs lead. What followed was a barrage
of garnet and gold, and effortlessly the Cougars quickly got back in the game.
Countryside executed a near perfect drive on
their next possession, albeit for one small problem: Threatts rolled his ankle
in an undisclosed injury that took him out for the remainder of the game. In
came sophomore Dawrence Roberts, who capped the drive with a 4 yard touchdown
run and tied the game at 7. The home team, who still hadn't played one down on
offense late in the first quarter, fumbled the snap and the Cougars recovered
at the Gladiator 10. Roberts easily found his way into the end zone on the
next play for his second TD, and after 12 minutes of play, the Cougars led
14-7.
CHS kept coming hard and it paid off as the
team drove downfield and in a risky move, Crow bootlegged to his right and
dove past the plane, upping the lead to 20-7 after a botched snap. On
Countryside's next possession, L.D. found Ryan Messmore on a 65 yard
zip inside the Gibbs' 10. Fullback Nick Schlereth pounded the rock from the 1
and the visitors now led 27-7. Gladiator QB Lamar Hall fumbled a snap on the
ensuing drive, and the Cougars took advantage with a Josh Martinez 25 yard
field goal to send it into the locker rooms 30-7.
Brandon Lockwood stepped in to return a punt
from Sam Snoots and found daylight in the form of a 53 yard score to make it a
runaway 37-7 for the only scoring in the third quarter. As the Cougar back-ups
began to play most of the final frame, Hall found Lamar Lake wide open for an
easy 54 yard touchdown and finished it off with a two point conversion
successfully to Marcus Russ with only 25 ticks left on the clock to seal the
deal at 37-15. If not for that last score, Gibbs would have been shut out
offensively for two consecutive games. The team fell to (0-2) while the
Cougars have amassed a 67-29 differential to improve to (2-0).
Countryside continues its 3 game road
trip against the St. Pete Green Devils next Friday, September 8th before their
first Class 5A, District 9 tilt versus the Palm Harbor Hurricanes on the 15th.
Game time for both games is 7:30.
