Pinellas Park High School - Occurrences Yearbook (Largo, FL)

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A moment of glory; a moment of grief The St. Petersburg Times ' headline read No contest: Pinellas Park erupts 38-7. An- drew Piszczynski, junior, com- mented, It was the best game of the season! The amount of emo- tion that was poured into that game was immeasurable and the energy between the players and the tans was electric. There wasn ' t much action in the first quarter until Stephens broke for a 48-yard run wnich set up the first Patriot touchdown. That play gave the team the psyche to get into the game. Buck noted that the defense did an outstanding job, highlighting that they were responsible for two touchdowns, a superior accomplishment for any defense. Beating Clearwater, a tradi- tional rival of the Patriots, was cause for celebration as the students poured over the field, mingling with the players and hugging, grins slapped on every face. However, this moment of glory was fleeting. Everyone ' s minds turned quickly to the game of the season. For the Patriots, Plant stood between them and the state championship. That Friday, the players were tense and heavy at neart. Although everyone tried to give them votes of confidence and ease their anticipation, the players were businesslike and no less so on the sidelines as they contemplated hard what they had to do. The Patriots captured a 14-0 lead during the first half. As it seemed the players would head to the locker room with the half ending that way, the Panthers, on their last possession, drilled down the field to narrow the Patriot lead to 14-7. Shortly into the third quarter. Plant made another touchdown. The Patriots held their head above water, but Plant surged on relentlessly. The Pinellas Park stands kept Patriot Pride stir- ring and cheered the team on through the final seconds. The score, 14-20 hit the Patriots hard. Masses waited in silence, their hearts inside the locker room with the players. When they finally emerged, their cheeks were stained and eyes puffy and red. Some sought comfort from family and friends while others sauntered away to work things out in their heads. Buck told them to remain proud — grieve over the weekend, but be ready to regroup on Monday. Stephens said, If you could have been in the locker room after the game, you could have seen how much love is on our team. We just stood in the middle of the locker room hugging for the longest time, added Booker. Buck reported of that following Monday, Practice went well. The guys were still a little down, however, they did pull together. A new goal was set to finish the season with a 9-1 record and then to defeat Sarasota River- view in the Ram Bowl. The Patriots made some recovery with a victory at Robinson. Booker scored four touch- downs to lead the Patriots in a 46-22 win. In the last game of the season, the Patriots in- flicted a 40-12 loss on Dixie Hollins. The Ram Bowl was cause for grief as it was the Plant game all over again, expressed Piszczynski. We should have beat them. The players were disappointed with the outcome of the season. Ron Harris, senior, explained, After the state championship was lost last year, it was left up to the returning team to win the next year. Everyone had high expecta- tions, but life is full of bad breaks. We know we had the capability. Buck stated, When you have a dream and it ' s taken away, you can ' t say T could have . . . ' It teaches you life. You form new goals. Harris continued, There was disappointment, but there weren ' t any regrets. Stephens, nodding his head in agreement added, We had a lot of love and we had our glory in winning. The bumps and bruises were all worth it! !2 VARSITY FOOTBALL

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Patriots enter season with high hopes Corner Tony Butler, senior, jumps for joy after an Anderson interception for a Patriot touchdown in the 38-7 romp- ing of the Clearwater Tornadoes. The I atriol football season ondod in a 9-1 record with a 4-1 district record. After last yejar ' s shut-out for the state champion- ship in th(! game against Lakeland, the players were fired up to play some ball. Senior Derek Cooper stated, We had all the elements for victory — a strong defensive line and good offensive unit, the coaches, the cheerleaders and the fans. Inten- sity w as up and it stayed up as long as these elements were there. The season kicked off with the jamboree against Lakewood where they played one half. The Patriots won 7-0, scoring on a 99- yard drive by senior Kieth Stephens on their last possession. Coach Bruce Buck looked at the narrow margin win favorably in that it should wake them up. Seminole was the first game of the season with the Patriots securing a 13-0 victory. Buck was particular- ly pleased with the defense as they stood before the Warhawks, not allowing more than inches of advancement. Next came the alarming Largo game. There was an unintentional whistle (luring play while the ball was still behind the line of scrim- mage. The whistle called back a blocked field goal attempt by the Patriots and set them up for a first down. On the next play, the Patriots faked a field goal try and senior Brendan Hosack caught a pass from junior Browning Nagle deep in the end zone. The Patriots began to wake up as they had to hold their breath at the end of the Largo game. The Countryside game, which followed, was a decisive 27-10 victory for the Patriots. After Countryside, the Patriots set out to beat Tampa Bay Tech. Because of bad weather condi- tions, there were more fumbles, but the Patriots held their own and won 22-7. The Patriots were then ready to move onto Tampa Jefferson. The final score was 22-6 as the Patriots dominated the second half. Buck highlighted the second half of this game as the turning point of the season. The guys knew they had to come together and they knew it had to be a team effort. East Bay came next and the Patriots bellowed forth to ignite a 50-6 win. Buck was proud of the offense ' s masterful performance. He was also pleased with their concentration. Everyone was an- ticipating the next opponent — Clearwater. No. 1 fan, Michael Caldwell kneels beside his no. 1 sup- porter, senior Deon Booker, fullback. VARSITY FOOTBALL 181

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In his home jersey, senior Kevin Hykin, guard, satisHes his thirst, anticipating going back in the game. VARSITY FOOTBALL SCORES Lakewood Seminole Largo Countryside Tampa Bay Tecli Tampa Jefferson East Bay Clearwater Plant Robinson Dixie Hollins Sarasota I 7 rasota «. — 14- Absorbed in the game, seniors Ed Noble, end, Jerry Johnson, corner, and Matt Sugdinis, end, watch as their team fights hard against the Plant Panthers. r VARSITY FOOTBALL 183