When the game is on the line, give the ball to Girard Pringle Jr.
That’s just what Armwood (3-0) did, and it helped the Hawks to a 31-27 win over Tampa Bay Tech (1-2) on Friday night.
Pringle showed just why he’s the top-ranked running back in the USA Today Florida Top 100 in the win. The four-star Miami commit punched in three touchdowns and tallied around 120 rushing yards on 23 touches. His last two scores gave Armwood the lead back, including a 2-yard touchdown carry with 43 seconds left in the game.
“It’s very fun,” Pringle said. “The competition level, the intensity, the adrenaline level, it’s just awesome.”
While Pringle shined on offense, the Hawk defense kept one of the most talented offenses in the area extremely limited.
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Ten Armwood players registered either a sack, tackle for loss, pass breakup or interception. Greg Lott and Jordan Bellamy led the war up front with two sacks each, while Dmontae Timms, Zamari Hall and Olante Dean all reeled in one interception each.
There were few plays as big as UCF commit Cameron White’s forced fumble that Dean recovered while the Hawks trailed with around two minutes left to play.
“[The defense] played their butts off,” said Armwood head coach Evan Davis. “That scoreboard says 27, but that offense over there is special. They’ve got a really good staff, and our kids just played their butts off. At the end of the day they made enough plays… we have a great staff, our kids just played hard and physical.”
The Titans struggled early, and the hole they dug was just too much to crawl out of despite a turnaround effort in the second half. Quarterback Darryon Jones went almost the entire first half without throwing a completion but threw three interceptions in the process.
Here are takeaways from Armwood’s stout win at home over Tampa Bay Tech:
Girard Pringle Jr. is ACC-ready.
While he may not be as big as some backs getting reps in the ACC, he’s just as hard to stop. Rarely, if ever, was brought down on first contact, and he hit the gaps force all night long. He even got reps at cornerback in crunch time, and he never looked fatigued down the stretch of the game-winning drive.
“[These games] are very valuable,” he said. “This is a state championship team. We work like one.”
Titan miscues kept a loaded offense at bay in the first half.
Dallas Wilson, an Oregon commit and consensus top-five receiver in the nation, was held to just two catches as the offense sputtered.
There was laundry over the field all night, and often against Tampa Bay Tech. While the game was chippy on both sides early, the Titans were regularly the ones penalized for engaging. Add this with plenty of false starts and offsides, and Tampa Bay Tech never really got into a rhythm, save for the end of the fourth quarter. UCF commit Santonyo Isaac being out with an injury at wide receiver didn’t help.
After scoring a touchdown in the third quarter, the Titans forced an Armwood three-and-out. But a personal foul penalty after the play moved the sticks, and Armwood scored in response.
Armwood looks ready for another deep playoff run.
If you know Florida high school football, you know Armwood is historically in the mix for a state title year-over-year. Friday showed this year is no different. This game was a measuring stick for Armwood, who already had big wins over Gaither and Sumner, and the Hawks went the distance.
“This is going to be extremely valuable,” Davis said. “This is a learning lesson. We’re a group that’s still learning how to play together and everything, but we’re going to be really good. I’m excited for where we’re going to go and what’s going to happen for us.”
Don’t give up on Tampa Bay Tech just yet.
Despite a worst-case scenario in the first half, it still took some late-game heroics from Pringle to get the Hawks the lead.
While Jones went just 1-of-10 in the first half, he went 6-for-11 in the second half with no interceptions and a touchdown pass. Four-star running back Javari Barnett tallied over 100 rushing yards, with a 72-yard touchdown run from the Titans’ first play from scrimmage, despite not playing much of the second half, and the second- and third-string running backs got the job done in his absence.
The defense held strong when they limited penalties, and can only improve from a learning experience like this one. Oftentimes, teams that make deep playoff runs have a frustrating loss or two early in the year from which they grow. This could be that game for the Titans, despite standing at 1-2 on the year, as both of their losses are against top-10 teams in the USA Today Florida Super 25.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida High School Football: Armwood downs Tampa Bay Tech at home
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Publish date : 2024-09-06 17:33:00
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