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St. Cloud takes on district favorite PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Wednesday, 22 September 2010 11:30

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
There’s no time to lament St. Cloud’s first football loss of the season, 21-13, at Key West last week.
Up next, Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Gannarelli Field, is 4A District 7 heavyweight Edgewater, the defending champion.


The Eagles bring a 1-2 record, but the win, last week, was over Class 6A power Apopka, 14-13. The losses were against Dr. Phillips and Olympia, two more 6A teams ranked in the state poll.
St. Cloud, 2-1, nearly pulled out a win at Key West when quarterback Phillip Steinmetz drove the Dogs to the Conchs’ 20-yard line before being sacked on fourth-and-1 with 17 seconds to play.
St. Cloud moved the ball effectively throughout the game, as running back Irving Huggins, the county’s rushing leader (548 yards), gained 197 yards and scored a touchdown.
But St. Cloud wasn’t able to convert several scoring opportunities after tying the game at 7 late in the first half on Steinmetz’s 8-yard TD throw to Cole Harvey.
“We needed a stop coming out of the second half, and we didn’t get one,” Bulldogs Coach Bill Buldini said. “It’s not that we played terrible. We had our chances.”
The Bulldogs rolled up 427 yards of offense. Steinmetz completed 11-of-36 passes for 166 yards, but Buldini said it could have been more had the receivers not dropped several more balls.
“It’s not the end of the world. It’s not a district game, but this game coming up Friday is for real,” the coach said.
Edgewater came from behind to edge Apopka last week when quarterback J.B. Woodman hit Alton Howard for a 25-yard TD pass and then found R.J. Altman for the winning 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Howard had more than 160 receiving yards.
“That kid (Howard) is the real deal. He’s quick. You’ve got to watch where he is. They like to  line him up in the wildcat,” Buldini said. “Our defense has its work cut out.”
The Bulldogs offense has been effective in all three of its games.
“Irving has been running great. Our line is blocking well,” Buldini said. “That’s the way it has to be. We’re gonna have to put some points on the board against these guys.”
Buldini said the Bulldogs returned from Key West early Saturday.
“We rolled off the bus at 6 a.m. and went right to work,” he said.
Buldini said he isn’t sure if St. Cloud will visit Key West next season.
“It’s something we’ll have to look at, depending on a lot of factors,” Buldini said. “It’s a tough trip, although by staying over Thursday I think we handled it a little better than last year.”
 

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