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Suncoast News Game of the Week: Countryside at East Lake

Class 5A-8 Crown Likely On The Line

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: October 29, 2009

EAST LAKE -

THE SQUADS:

Countryside High - Class 5A, District 8; Record – 7-1 (3-0); Points For/Against – 309-127.

East Lake High - Class 5A, District 8; Record – 5-2 (2-0); Points For/Against – 163-69.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING: Countryside def. East Lake – 38-3.

GAME TIME: Kickoff Thursday at 7:30 – East Lake High School.

Log onto www.suncoastnews.tbo.com to view game coverage, stats and photos from the night's action.

Beyond being The Suncoast News Game of the Week, Friday night's contest between Class 5A District 8 rivals East Lake and Countryside is indubitably one of the Tampa area's marquee matchups.

For all intents and purposes, the game is for the district crown. In fact, a Countryside win does cinch up the championship and perfect 4-0 league record.

Between the lines, Friday's key storyline will be how Countryside's explosive offense matches up with East Lake's stingy, aggressive defense.

The Cougars have topped the 50-point threshold three times this season – including last week's 57-21 undressing of Palm Harbor University – and average 38.6 points per game.

East Lake has held opponents to under 10 points four times and is giving up a measly 9.9 points per game.

Something's gotta give.

The Eagles are big in the box and head coach Bob Hudson's defensive staff has its guys playing typical, smash-mouth East Lake football. Against the run, the Eagles have been second to none. That trend will likely have to continue if East Lake wants to remain unbeaten at home.

Countryside is led by Alton Taylor, Pinellas County's current rushing leader with 1,149 yards and an amazing 24 touchdowns. The senior can beat defenses around the corner with his speed and also between the tackles with a mixture of agility and his determined running style.

Assuming Taylor gets through the front four or five his fair share of times, the real game within the game will be the success of East Lake's athletic corps of linebackers containing No. 5 from breaking through the second level. Guys like Kyle Griffin, Cody Thurber, Jake Fakes and Chad Hill have the ability to cover ample amounts of ground and seal off quality backs. [see: Tarpon Springs RBs Adrian Golden and Darius Daniels.] Execution will have to be pristine once more against a runner like Taylor.

The game plans remain similar when the ball switches hands. East Lake tailback Jamaal Wilburn is the county's fifth-ranked rusher and has racked up 801 yards and 10 trips to the end zone. The senior is coming off his best game of the season two weeks ago against Northeast. East Lake was off last Friday. Wilburn rushed 24 times for 201 yards and 2 TD's.

While both squads certainly operate with a run-first mentality, neither defense can sleep on either's passing game.

East Lake's Sam Schaffer has steadily improved this season and is averaging nearly 100 yards a game through the air. Perhaps more importantly, he has only thrown to the opposite colored jersey twice during the Eagles' current five-game winning streak.

Countryside's Jimbo Chmelik is even more effective. The senior has a completion percentage of nearly 57 percent and 879 yards passing. Numbers like those are more than suitable for softening up defensive fronts for Taylor runs.

EDGE:

Tarpon Springs may be East Lake's arch nemesis, but Countryside to the south is just about as close to it as those Spongers to the west. Many players from both teams are extremely familiar with one another and neither coaching staff should have to do much to pump guys up pregame.

Entering the 2009 season, the perceived outlooks for both programs could not have contrasted more.

Countryside is doing what most expected and was planned to be the clear district champ.

East Lake on the other hand was supposedly awash in question marks, therefore, not predicted to contend. After an 0-2 start looked to be confirming such theories, the Eagles have not stopped responding. Consider the aforementioned questions to be answered.

As the old cliché goes, defense wins championships. And the one East Lake possesses looks like the nastiest unit the program has had in years.

If the Eagles' offense protects the football, provides Wilburn with running lanes and can find the end zone even just a couple times, East Lake may likely protect that perfect home-field record.

Log onto www.suncoastnews.tbo.com to view game coverage, stats and photos from the night's action.

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

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