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WEEK 3 PREVIEW: The Battle of Tarpon

East Lake (1-1) @ Tarpon Springs (1-0)

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: September 16, 2008

TARPON SPRINGS - If high school football is your thing, then Thursday night's annual East Lake-Tarpon Springs, cross town rivalry is the place to be.

Always passionate and competitive, Version 2008 at Tarpon appears it will not disappoint.

The yearly slugfest between kids that have grown up playing with or against one another their entire football lives has an intriguing storyline to boot: Will it be the again staunch East Lake defense or potent Tarpon offense that stands tallest by game's end?

Game coverage, stats and photos will be available here, at www.suncoastnews.com, following the match up.

LAST YEAR:

The Spongers rolled to victory in 2007 at a packed, East Lake stadium, 23-6.

EAST LAKE (Class 5A, District 9):

Currently standing at 1-1 overall, this year's Eagles look strikingly similar to the 7-4 playoff team they fielded a season ago. The defense is going to come with it game in and game out, but what happens on offense is typically a crapshoot.

East Lake has been outscored 11-22 so far during this young season and most recently eked out a win over visiting St. Petersburg, 11-10. The Eagles are certainly a run-dominated offense, but they do not shy away from letting QB Sam Schaffer drop back. Much like 2007, the success rate through the air has failed to coalesce into a consistent attack, though. Schaffer seems to have the tools it takes to be a serviceable quarterback, but his offensive line will need to do a better job giving him time to look downfield before bailing out of the pocket. Senior receiver Nick Franz has been the favorite target thus far.

The Eagles have relied on a two-pronged backfield manned by seniors Billy Byrne and Derek Hunter. They led the charge last week by gaining a combined 138 yards on 32 carries. East Lake rushed for 201 yards as a team.

Defensively, the Eagles are solid all around and led by an experienced core of seniors. Linebackers Byrne and Jon Freeman have a nose for the ball and running on this unit is no easy task – especially between the tackles. Senior T.J. Herman has hit double digits in tackles from the secondary in East Lake's first two games and also snatched an interception last Friday.

TARPON SPRINGS (Class 4A, District 8):

Coming off a Week 2 bye, the 1-0 Spongers are hoping they can start this game the way they finished their last. After working out a few first-half kinks during the season opener at Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs hit their stride and rolled to a convincing 36-31 victory. The Spongers' chances of putting on a wire-to-wire performance are predicated upon one thing, head coach George Kotis said: Aggression.

"I've been telling them that I don't want them to match (East Lake's) intensity, I want them to overrun it," he said.

Though it took about a quarter and a half to get in gear, when QB Danny Reyes has his offense clicking, the Spongers are a fun team to watch. The three-year starting senior went 18-for-27 passing against the Hurricanes for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Seniors Bobby Vavlas and Drew Kier lead one of – if not the – best receiving corps in Pinellas County and beyond and the duo are a defensive coordinating nightmare to game plan against.

Kotis has a few options when going to the ground game. Marcelle Lewis and Marcus Nemeth are the usual suspects, with Lewis getting outside more often and the fullback Nemeth working through the line.

The defensive game plan of Tarpon typically centers on forcing the opposing offense into passing situations to utilize its impressive rush and secondary. Guys like Josiah Fisk and Kyle Ahern in the defensive backfield can lock down with the best of them. In the box, the Sponger depth chart took a hit when end Alonzo Williams went down against PHU with a sprained MCL that will sideline him for a few more weeks. Productivity at the position has stayed high despite Williams' absence, though. Line backer Drew Danapas has switched positions and delivered two sacks against the Hurricanes.

OUTLOOK:

First and foremost, this is a rivalry game. That means the probability for the unexpected to go down Thursday night is raised exponentially. X-factors that most have no clue about are the things that can drive these games at times, but there are a couple points that stick out as being key.

The battle in the trenches should be huge on both sides of the ball. Kotis wants to see Reyes be allowed time to stand in the pocket and spot his rangy receivers downfield. Constant, heavy pressure on Schaffer could lead to some big plays for the opportunistic Sponger secondary, so blocking up front combined with establishing early success on the ground seem to be vital for East Lake.

In a nutshell, Thursday should be the stingy Eagle defense trying to shut down the high-flying Sponger offense.

Check out www.suncoastnews.com after the game to see the results.

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com

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