The old adage that defense wins championships, or at least gets you into the playoffs, came true this week. With playoff berths on the line, St. Petersburg and East Lake each recorded shutout victories to earn runnerup spots in their respective districts. That's not all. The defense also provided the scoring, with teams returning interceptions or fumbles for touchdowns. The recap from Week 10.
Super Seven
1. Countryside (9-1): The Cougars closed out the regular season with huge win against county nemesis Largo.
2. St. Petersburg (8-1): The Green Devils have outscored their past three opponents 148-22.
3. Lakewood (7-2): The Spartans responded by beating Spoto in a must-win situation to make playoffs.
4. Tarpon Springs (7-2): The Spongers got to rest after wrapping up the district title last week.
5. Largo (7-2): The Packers drop nondistrict game to Countryside but still are playoff-bound.
6. Gibbs (6-3): The Gladiators keep their win streak going by beating Seminole.
7. East Lake (6-3): With district runnerup spot on the line, the Eagles come through against Dunedin.
Weekly notables
| Denzel Dillard, Boca Ciega | Broke off a 42-yard touchdown run in the Pirates' victory over Northeast and gained 109 yards with two scores on nine carries. |
| James Goodwin, Canterbury | The Crusaders running back came up big in a pivotal win against Carrollwood Day, rushing for 186 and three touchdowns, including an 8-yard run for a score. |
| Johnny Hubbard, Calvary Christian | Completed 7 of 11 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown; also carried 16 times for 61 yards and another score. |
| Edwin McKinney, Osceola | Had touchdown runs of 64, 32, 22 and 18 yards and gained 234 yards total on 25 rushes. |
| Billy Pavlock, Palm Harbor University | Pavlock was lethal on the ground from the quarterback position, rushing 19 times for 186 yards and a touchdown. He was also 6-of-7 passing and had a touchdown through the air. |
| Bernard Reedy, Lakewood | Reedy only gained 77 yards on the ground against Spoto, but his 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Lakewood its first lead and his 37-yard score in the fourth clinched a playoff berth for the Spartans. |
| Jeremy Smith, Northside Christian | Kicked an 18-yard field goal in overtime to give Northside its sixth victory of the season. Also had two touchdown runs in the win. |
| Emmanuel Stewart/Mike Kendricks, Gibbs | The Gladiators' running back duo gained 247 yards total (Stewart 127, Kendricks 120) on 19 carries with two touchdowns. |
| DeJuan Wright, Keswick Christian | Rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries to lead Keswick to its first victory of the season. |
Offensive player of the week
Hunter Tremaine, Shorecrest: He had 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns and had a two-point conversion in the Chargers' win over playoff-bound Admiral Farragut.
Defensive player of the week
Tyler Walker, Countryside: He had nine tackles, a sack and recovered a fumble for a touchdown that clinched the Cougars' victory over Largo.
News
Fifth in the county...? If the Packers don't use this to motivate them than nothing will!
Where do you expect them to be Da_Joker?