Football: Pinellas Park 29, Mitchell 19

PINELLAS PARK — Despite having never played against each other, Mitchell and Pinellas Park still knew what to expect in Friday night’s Class 7A, District 9 game. Both teams like to wear out defenses with a strong running attack, so a late defensive stop likely would clinch the win.

And that’s what Pinellas Park got.

Leading by three points with five minutes left, the Patriots needed to find a way to slow down a Mustangs offense that had just completed an 80-yard drive on its previous possession. On second and 9, Nicholas Syms broke through the line and sacked Ezra Brennan.

On the next play, Cam Kier pressured Brennan into an incompletion. The fourth-down play was an incomplete pass. From there, the Patriots scored a touchdown with under a minute left to secure a 29-19 win.

“We just had to stop them,” Syms said. “I saw all the O-linemen go left and the running back went right. When that happens there’s some misdirection going on. I shed the center and all I see is the quarterback. Like a bull, I just saw red and tried to get it.”

For most of the game, it was both offenses that impressed. Mitchell running back Tyler Williams had 129 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns. Brennan threw for 212 yards and a 27-yard touchdown.

Pinellas Park back Lawrance Toafili gained 173 yards on 24 carries and scored twice before leaving in the fourth quarter with a groin injury. Fellow back Columbus Holston had 68 yards and Ulysees Hampton and Alvontae Vance each scored second-half touchdowns. The Patriots had 308 total rushing yards.

“We were in a groove the whole time but we fumbled twice,” Pinellas Park coach Kenny Crawford said. “We could’ve easily had another one. But it turned out to be running back by committee. Just like the old days.”

Not much went right for the Patriots in the first half. After stopping Mitchell on downs to start the game, they got the ball on their own 47-yard line. After seven plays, Pinellas Park had fourth and 10 from the 23. An offsides penalty on the defense moved the ball up 5 yards and the Patriots decided to go for it. They then lost a fumble.

Mitchell (3-1, 0-1) eventually made that hurt when it put together an 81-yard, 11-play drive. On fourth and 9 from the 27, Brennan hit Jonathan Fairbank in the end zone for a 6-0 lead. The extra point failed.

On the Patriots’ next possession they moved the ball to the Mustangs’ 8. But another fumble ended the drive. Mitchell then went 87 yards to score after Williams broke a 39-yard run up the middle to make it 12-0.

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Pinellas Park got things together on its third drive. Behind long runs by Toafili, the Patriots were able to move the ball down to the 15. On fourth and 1, Toafili found a hole and ran 15 yards to make it 12-7 with 53 seconds left.

In the second half, both running games took over. Pinellas Park (2-2, 1-0) went 60 yards on six plays and got in the end zone on a 4-yard Toafili run. He also ran in the two-point conversion.

Mitchell came right back with its 80-yard drive that ended when Williams scored from 6 yards out. Then came a long 15-play, 79-yard drive by the Patriots that took up half the third and some of the fourth quarter for a 22-19 lead.

After the defensive stop, Pinellas Park continued to pound on the ground and scored again when Vance rumbled in from 16 yards for a 10-point lead.

“The offensive line was fantastic in the second half,” Crawford said. “Them boys got nasty. We used six different guys and two different tight ends and they got down in the second half.”