THE GAME STORY
Largo was ranked more than 100 spots ahead of Palm Harbor’s football team in the MaxPreps overall state rankings — but as the saying goes, you still have to play ’em.
PHU (3-3, 1-0 in 6A-10) picked up arguably its biggest win in years in Monday’s storm-postponed game, rallying in the final minute of the game to post a 15-13 road win at Largo (4-2, 0-1) in a critical 6A-District 10 matchup. Senior Brady Messick and his offensive line helped grind minutes off the clock all night long, and he scored the game-winning TD on a 1-yard run with just seconds remaining.
In the only game pitting the other two district teams, Steinbrenner (3-2, 1-0) won 36-30 at East Lake (1-5, 0-1). PHU won its first-ever district title last year involving Steinbrenner, East Lake, and Sickles. Largo replaced Sickles in 2024.
It was PHU’s first win over Largo in school history, dating back to its school opening in 1997. They’d met nine times prior to Monday night (most recent in 2018), with Largo winning all nine. Largo is 22-8 from 2022-24.
“In a game like that I don’t like to single anyone out because that was a total team effort,” PHU coach Mike Mullaney told PalmHarborSports after the game. “Brady ran hard, the offensive line played hard, and the defense limited their big plays and came out with critical stops all game long.”
Stingy defense and old-school clock chewing offense are the Hurricanes’ forte — and it worked well once again in this one. The other touchdown came when Owen Kollar caught a 42-yard touchdown from QB Will Seibert in the third quarter. The other points came on a fourth-quarter safety, and one PAT was blocked in the game to give the ‘Canes their 15 points.
PALM HARBOR FOOTBALL SCHOOL HISTORY: Year by Year
PHU was able to control the tempo offensively and converted several 4th down plays late in the game to keep drives alive and strangle the clock — including a 10-minute drive that began late in the 3rd quarter and ended late in the 4th. The defense made critical stops and had big plays like Chris Estep’s key INT in the first half.
“This is a huge win for PHU because it shows that we’re a legit contender for the playoffs,” Messick told PalmHarborSports after the game. “Offensively, the line dominated all game and allowed the backfield to make big plays. Defensively everyone did their jobs and made minimal mistakes, which allowed us to stop Largo’s offense from making big plays.”
“This win shows how we are firing on all cylinders now and it gives us a lot of confidence going into the East Lake game next week.”
Starting offensive lineman Asher Heflin agreed. He and his O-line teammates — Hadyn Turley, Zach Horner, Jacob “Jumbo” Pham, and Braden Dam — helped set the tone.
“I think our offensive line just knew that no one (outside the team) thought that there was a chance for a win tonight,” Heflin told PalmHarborSports after the game. “We we all came in with a chip on our shoulder. We came in knowing that we were going to win this game because of us.
“Brady ran with purpose tonight. He knew he was bigger and stronger than anyone on the opposite side of that ball, so he ran like it.”
PHU has a bye this Friday and time to rest and heal and plan before playing host to its biggest age old rival East Lake (Oct. 11).
| TM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| PH | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| LA | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
