By Brian McLaughlin (follow on Twitter @BrianMacWriter)
Palm Harbor Sports
Palm Harbor’s football team was supposed to be too young, too inexperienced and maybe even a bit intimidated coming into its season opener on Friday.
The problem is, the message above apparently went straight to voicemail, or the spam folder — because PHU didn’t get the news, nor did it seem to care that anyone may have doubted it.
The truth is, the team is young, it is inexperienced, and one might expect it to be intimidated — yet it scrapped to the point that Osceola HS out of Seminole — a team that went 8-2 last year — needed to kneel out the clock to escape the Hurricanes’ homefield to the tune of 23-20.
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It wasn’t even a perfect night for PHU — as key mistakes were made — yet with four minutes left in the game, the Hurricanes were still in a position to post a comeback win. If one of three Osceola fumbles had gone PHU’s way, or the two rushed punts hadn’t been so rushed, or if one or two more breaks had gone its way, the outcome easily could have been different.
At one point late in the third quarter, the Warriors (1-0) were up 23-8. And their nearly 60-man roster looked like it would pull away from Palm Harbor, who played many of its starters both ways. But the game was hardly over.
“I was very proud of how we responded in the second half after we got down 23-8,” said Palm Harbor coach Mike Mullaney. “We have struggled in the past in the second half when we got down. Tonight we found that grit we need.”
Junior Mykehl Boebert — who had five previous carries in his varsity career coming into Friday night’s 2022 opener — scored the first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns on 3rd-and-long plays. Boebert, who was held in check most of the game, cracked open a hole and darted 35 yards early in the final quarter to score his first varsity touchdown.
Boebert’s big play had good timing and changed the momentum sharply after the Warriors had gone ahead by 15 points late in the 3rd quarter. Then an onsides kick by Alex Schmid was recovered by Isaac Jeffre on the next play — and the game went from what looked to be a foregone conclusion to very interesting.
Later in the final period, sophomore quarterback Will Seibert converted on his most effective play all evening — scoring on a 17-yard keeper to the left side on third down. Osceola then wound down the clock and finally kneeled out the final moments — chewing the remaining four minutes up to end things.
In 16 all-time tries against Osceola, PHU has won only three of the games. But last year’s game (PHU ahead at halftime) and this year’s close game make it seem that PHU’s next win against the Warriors could come sooner rather than later in the 25-year-long series dating back to 1997.
Again, the Hurricanes were hardly flawless, but they were hardly lifeless, either. They had some blips, but intestinal fortitude wasn’t a problem at all.
“We still made too many mistakes,” Mullaney told Palm Harbor Sports. “But this is something we can build off of.”
PALM HARBOR SPORTS PLAYERS OF NOTE
(Stats are unofficial until the coaches break down film over the weekend)
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gunner Fodor, Jr., LB/RB/KR — Fodor opened PHU’s scoring with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after Mason Kryk pitched it to him. Fodor was also PHU’s leading rusher (60 yards) and led the team in tackles with 10.
OTHER STANDOUTS: Walker Danneman, Jr., OL/DL — Mullaney wasn’t lying in the preseason when he said Danneman may play the most snaps of anybody. He was a big key to the run game on an offensive line with only two returning starters, and he forced a key fumble — among other things — on defense.
Alex Malyszko, Fr., LB — The freshman played well in his first-ever varsity game, collecting six tackles and being active — especially in the first half when it was basically a stalemate.
John McGlinchey, Sr., DL — Extremely active defensive lineman really came up big late in the second half, and finished with six tackles.
Zavion Roberts, Jr., DL — Very active, especially in the first half. Finished with four tackles.
