A “messed up” night for Middleton

Posted Oct 22, 2011 by Bill Ward

Updated Oct 22, 2011 at 08:14 PM

Last week’s loss to rival Blake hurt, but Middleton coach Alonzo Ashwood said Friday night’s 20-17 loss to Gibbs in St. Petersburg stung even more.

The Tigers (0-7) were just two minutes away from their first victory of the season when, on third-and-3 on their own 44-yard line, they fumbled the ball away to the Gladiators. Two plays later, Gibbs quarterback Gary Simon hit receiver Maurice Hall for a game-winning 44-yard touchdown pass with 1:24 remaining.

The play culminated a trying night for Ashwood and the Tigers. He said misinformation about where the game was being held resulted in the referees failing to turn up to Gibbs until about 8:45 p.m.—even though it was slated for a 7:30 kickoff. And before the game even started, the stadium lights went out, forcing another delay.

Because Hillsborough County public schools have a rule about no contest being allowed to continue if the fourth quarter begins after 11 p.m., officials from both schools agreed to use a running clock was used in the entire third quarter.

Middleton, led by Amp Carswell (four receptions for 124 yards, including a 58-yard TD reception from Antonio Brown) and Richard Benjamin (116 yards on 17 carries), build a 14-0 lead and held a 17-8 advantage with two minutes to play. Back to a normal clock in the final quarter, Ashwood said his young squad, now 0-8, committed too many mistakes too late.

“I’m not going to blame it on the refs but the entire situation—the late start because they got there so late, the lights going on, the running clock—was messed up,” Ashwood said. “That atmosphere, that situation, is not the way to play a high school football game. It’s not fair to the kids.”

Middleton’s next chance to register a win comes Friday when they host Dunedin. It’s final two games are home against Robinson and away to Steinbrenner.