Feb 8,
2001 - 10:22 PM
Gaither gets revenge when it counts
TAMPA - Gaither had revenge on its mind Thursday night while
hosting Sarasota Riverview at Pepin/Rood Stadium. The Cowboys wanted payback
for a 1-0 November loss to Riverview in the Soccer Line Tournament in Sarasota,
but this time the stakes were higher as the two clashed in the Class 4A-Region
2 quarterfinals.
``Revenge was the main
motivator, you always look forward to avenging a loss,'' Gaither coach Adrian
Bush said.
Jared Rose allowed the
Cowboys to earn payback with a 1-0 victory and send Gaither into the regional
semifinals.
Just like the matchup
between the two schools in November, Gaither dictated the tempo and dominated
play, only to have trouble finishing its chances. The Cowboys outshot Riverview
12-2 in the first half, but only Rose could find the net.
Rose found himself open
inside the box when David Jennings fed him a pass from left wing into the box,
and after one touch slipped a shot inside the post past Rams' goalkeeper Logan
Murphy in the 27th minute and the lead held up for the remaining 53 minutes of
the game.
``This has been a very
stressful week for us, having to find another place to practice and a place to
play,'' said Bush, referring to vandals that damaged Gaither's field during the
weekend. ``We would like to thank the University of Tampa, Northdale and George
Steinbrenner [who paid the rental fee for use of Pepin/Rood]. We had to
scramble around all week.``
Class A-Region 2At Tampa,
David Smith and Chris Blaze each scored second-half goals to lift Tampa
Catholic to a 2-0 victory against St. Petersburg Catholic.
The Crusaders will host
Melbourne Central Catholic on Tuesday in the regional semifinals.
An evenly played first half
kept the game scoreless with few opportunities for either team. But early on in
the second half, both teams traded missed chances. Blaze appeared to put the
Crusaders on the board first in the 42nd minute, but his free kick from 20
yards out jumped the whistle and was waved off. Smith's free kick from the same
spot was blocked behind the wall to keep the game scoreless.
St. Petersburg Catholic had
an open chance inside the box, but what looked like a sure goal into a
wide-open net just zipped over the crossbar.
Smith struck for Tampa
Catholic in the 53rd minute as the Barons had a difficult time clearing the
ball out of trouble and after a few failed attempts, Smith was able to toe-poke
the ball past Steve McEntagert. Blaze capped the scoring in the 72nd minute on
a perfectly placed free kick from 45 yards out into the far upper post as Mike
Rogers screened the goalkeeper.
- Erik Erlendsson
BOD: Class 3A-Region 3:At
Clearwater, Kevin Collins' two second-half goals - his first two of the season
- led Wharton to a 3-1 victory against CCountryside in a region quarterfinal. It
was the Wildcats' first playoff appearance in school history.
In the 34th minute, after a
misplayed high ball by the Countryside goalkeeper, Wharton's Joey Zarella
opened the scoring with an easy 10-yard shot into an empty net.
The Wildcats survived heavy
pressure from Countryside at the start of the second half before putting the
game away in the 55th minute. Zarella played a pretty through ball off a quick
restart to Jon Burklo. He shot off the crossbar and Collins finished the
rebound. In the 60th minute, Collins volleyed in a poorly cleared corner kick
from 20 yards out to put Wharton ahead 3-0.
``Our team and our program
has really matured,'' said Wharton Coach Mike Rowan. ``This was a well-deserved
win.''
- Steve Spencer
BOD: Class 3A-Region 3:Host
Clearwater scored two goals in the first two minutes to take a 4-2 victory
against Riverview.
Bill Callahan and John
Schultz scored early for the Tornadoes (18-5-4), who advance to play Wharton at
home Tuesday night at 7:30. Riverview added a goal at the five-minute mark, but
Clearwater got another goal from Schultz and one from Steve Goodrow on a
35-yard free kick with about six minutes left in the half for a 4-1 lead.
Riverview (7-5-5) closed
out the scoring on a penalty kick with five minutes left in the game.
- Tribune staff
BOD: Class 2A-Region 2:At
Hudson, Billy Boyko, Jarle Thy and Robert Pollock, three of Pasco County's top
four scorers, each scored a goal as Hudson cruised to a 3-0 victory against
Citrus.
The Cobras (21-6-1) were
playing the Hurricanes (10-11-3) for the third consecutive year in the quarterfinals,
winning two of the three. Hudson hosts the semifinal Tuesday against the
Rockledge- Daytona Seabreeze winner and can reach the school's first-ever
region final with a win.