NOTE: A full midseason update/report will be published on PalmHarborSports during the open week (Oct. 2-6).
So far so good, and it hasn’t even had to be perfect. But it must be as the second half of 2023 football continues.
PHU upped its record to 4-1 on Friday, knocking off a Countryside team that it had lost to a year ago during the Hurricanes’ 6-4 season. It was the first 4-1 start for the Hurricanes since 2015, and only the third one ever in 27 years of PHU football.
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It’s also only the fourth time in 18 all-time matchups with Countryside that PHU has come out with a win. The score? PHU 24, Cougars 6.
It was a relief after the pain of last week’s last-second loss to rival Tarpon Springs. But the players may have played a little tight with the memory of last week on their minds.
“We were afraid all night of making mistakes instead of just attacking and playing football,” PHU head coach Mike Mullaney told PalmHarborSports.com. “We let one play from the previous week impact our performance.”
There were some bright spots, and there were some clear things to improve on.
On offense, leading rusher Mykhel Boebert rushed for 100-plus yards for the second consecutive week and picked up senior homecoming king honors at halftime. Sophomore do-everything expert Alex Malyszko punched in two touchdowns, and junior quarterback Will Seibert scored on a 40-yard jaunt in the first half to put the initial points on the board.
In general, the offensive backfield has added punch without having to over-extend star linebacker Gunner Fodor — leaving the senior captain to play on just one side of the ball. The offensive line and fullbacks got a push up front much of the game, too.
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Defensively, there were some problems in the secondary for the first time in 2023, as Countryside was forced to go to the air by PHU’s run defense — but found success, completing 14-of-21 passes for 194 yards. This is one thing PHU head coach Mike Mullaney said will need to be worked on.
Zavion Roberts (2 TFLs, 3 tackles) was very strong on defense, and Fodor (9 tackles) again led the team in tackles. Logan Givens has come a long way, also, Mullaney said. And Patrick Iaconis, the transfer from Ponte Vedra HS outside of St. Augustine, Fla., has turned into a real machine on defense in 2023 (7 tackles, 1 TFL Friday).
At the half, it was 10-6 thanks to Seibert’s long run and Mitch Stricker’s third field goal of the year (37-yarder). Malyszko’s two touchdown plunges were in the second half on long drives, including one that went 12 plays, and 63 yards and chewed up more than seven minutes of the clock to open the half.
There were no completed passes on this critical drive — it was a mixture of rushing led by Seibert (25 yards), Boebert (14 yards), and power contributions from Malyszko and Brady Messick. In fact, Malyszko’s score was aided greatly by a push by the O-line and the rest of the team in general.
“We’re happy to be 4-1,” Mullaney said. “Obviously we could be 5-0 but you can also say that the St. Pete game (2 OT win on the road in week two) was a coin-flip game where we were fortunate to win. We have done a lot of good things so far this season, but we just haven’t put everything together for a full game like we are capable of.”
Next week, PHU travels to Tampa Sickles (2-3) in its first league game of four (Steinbrenner and East Lake follow, both at home). After Sickles, PHU will have its open week to prepare for the Steinbrenner (1-3) game. Then it will be Seminole (4-0) on the road, East Lake (2-3) at home, and Dunedin (1-4) on the road.
