Single-Wing Terriers Look Terrific

BY MARK DeCOTIS
FLORIDA TODAY

The second series for each team in Friday night's spring football game between Eau Gallie High and Titusville High made all the difference.

Host Eau Gallie lost the ball on a fumble at the Titusville 42-yard line and lost quarterback Jimbo Wilson to a right shoulder injury.

Titusville scored on the subsequent play as Willie Haulstead hauled 58 yards on a right-side end around for the only points the visitors needed in their eventual 40-0 victory.

Titusville led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and 40-0 at halftime. Wipe the first half off the board and a rebuilding Eau Gallie High team, which lost 23 seniors from its 2007 squad, played junior-dominated Titusville, which gave a lot of junior varsity players some action, even.

But that's not how football's played even though things were modified Friday night as kickoffs, punts and extra points were not contested.

Not that it mattered.

Titusville rolled up 328 yards of offense in the first half to 74 for Eau Gallie as Haulstead tallied three scores, adding 55- and 6-yard scoring passes from quarterback Coner Szczerba. Alex Hamilton scored three times as well on 6-, 35- and 9-yard runs from the no-huddle, shotgun offense.

Eau Gallie also operated from the no-huddle, shotgun offense but backup quarterback Bobby Holsombach and the offense could never get untracked.

"The turnovers just killed us," Eau Galllie coach Todd Oas said of two first-half fumbles that led to Titusville touchdowns. "We can't do that. We talked about that all spring. Losing Jimbo there early was just a huge setback. The kids did the best they can. We've just got to continue to work and get better."

Titusville coach Bobby Guthrie knows the feeling, telling his team that five years ago, it was struggling like Eau Gallie but now had the chance to be something special.

That being said, Guthrie also cautioned that a lot of work remains.

"We still need to improve in a lot of areas," he said. "I'm pleased with them. They've been busting their tails. This is a special group. We haven't had something like this in the five years I've been here."

He acknowledged the efforts of Haulstead and Szczerba who was 5-for-9 for 161 yards passing in the first half, but he maintains the offense needs to diversify.

"We've got to be able to run the ball," Guthrie said. "We know that he's (Haulstead, who verbally committed to Florida State) a player, we know Coner can throw the ball, but our focus is running the ball because we couldn't do it last year."

Titusville ran the ball for 164 yards in the first half, thanks to the scampers of Haulstead, Hamilton who had 54 yards and Szczerba who had 31. Quinton Murray added a 15-yarder.

Contact DeCotis at 242-3786 or e-mail mdecotis@floridatoday.com.

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