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COMPLETE STORY:Big Plays Lift Cowboys Past Avon Park

Perkins, Staff Respond To Critics After 28-12 Loss To Cowboys

Jesse Osbourne/Highlands Today

Avon Park junior quarterback Virgil Cooper executes the option against the LaBelle defense Friday night in Avon Park's 28-12 loss at home.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: October 12, 2007

AVON PARK - AVON PARK - It was a perfect night for football, but it was the cold chill of criticism that lingered after the lights went dim at Joe Franza Stadium on Friday night.

Gabriel Puente proved to be the workhorse for the LaBelle Cowboys, rushing for 144 yards on 26 carries and scoring a pair of touchdowns in a 28-12 victory over the Avon Park Red Devils.

Avon Park was able to shake the offensive curse that had been hanging over its head for the better part of the season, scoring two touchdowns, including a 50-yard touchdown by Alvin Hinson on a blocked punt for the first score of the game.

A much-improved Red Devil team erupted in jubilation after taking an early 6-0 lead. On the next series, LaBelle grappled the lead from Avon Park when quarterback Caleb Jordan connected with junior Dorian Deas for a 24-yard touchdown, followed by an extra point to give the Cowboys a 7-6 lead.

After the Red Devils next possession stalled near midfield, Jordan struck again with a 64-yard bomb to receiver Lucas Pratt and LaBelle increased its lead to 14-6 with six minutes left in the half.

Heads were not hung low, but the leaders in red energized their teammates and confidence is the key ingredient to success.

Junior Virgil Cooper had the most confidence of anyone on the field and he let his play speak for itself, as he timed a Jordan pass perfectly for the interception and raced 68 yards down to the 2-yard line. Moments later, receiver Albert Moses broke through the Cowboy defense for the second offensive touchdown of the season for the Red Devils and Avon Park trailed by just two points heading into halftime.

Field position became key in the second half, with the Cowboys getting the better end of the yardage stick, and that was all that Puente needed.

The 5-foot-9, 171 pound tailback broke runs of 34 and 20 to set up his pair of touchdowns — a 2-yard burst and 14-yard scamper down the right sideline — and give him his fifth 100-yard rushing game in six games this season.

Those touchdowns and a pair of interceptions by the Red Devils sent Avon Park to another loss, but significant improvement was made on the part of the young team. The coaches praised their kids for the hard work showed on the field.

"We didn't schedule any creampuffs this year," said Red Devil assistant coach Dwayne Council. "Everyone [of our non-district games] is against teams without a losing record.
"The only way this team can get better is to play the good teams. The fans have to realize that we are still in this. We have to remember that if we beat DeSoto and or Sebring, that puts us in a good position as far as the playoffs."

Grumbling among members of the community and rumors of dissension in the Red Devil locker room have not broken the spirit of this tight-knit group.

"All that people want to talk about right now is wins and losses," Council said. "Nobody wants to talk about how much this team has improved. The kids have been playing hard and they deserve some support."

Many of the Avon Park players came to Perkins' defense when asked about their coach.
"I take it very personal when people attack my coach," offensive lineman Chris Bowers said. "Those kind of people don't respect him and they haven't been there or in our locker room and see what he [Perkins] has done for us.

"For me personally, Coach Perkins is going to send me somewhere in life. He respects everybody and most of the kids will tell you, that most of us were not thinking about college before he came here."
Bowers was "proud of the way this team has come together this season", but knows that there is more to life than what happens on a Friday night.

"I moved here from Kansas and I had some good coaches up there," Bowers said. "But all they would talk about was football. Wins and losses and that pretty much was it, but with Coach Perkins, he is genuinely interested in us succeeding in life first."

Since Perkins' arrival, an immediate improvement in his player's performance in the classroom could be seen. As a group, the Red Devil football squad carries a 3.1 GPA and many have college in their future — a trend missing in past seasons.

"He's [Perkins] one of the greatest coaches I have ever had," Red Devil linebacker Fred Mixon said. "It isn't the coaches' fault that we have lost this season. They can't come out onto the field with us. They have put us in the right position and prepared us to play, but it is we as players that have to win or lose the games.

"If you ask my opinion, he's been a blessing at Avon Park."
The second-year coach has seen pretty much everything in his 30-plus years on the sidelines and brushes aside all the things he hears people saying about his coaching style and lack of success this season.

"I don't really listen to what other people say," Perkins said. "It's all about the kids here. I not only have a job to prepare these kids for games each week, but get these kids ready for life after high school.

"There are too many people sitting in front of convenience stores around this town that have nothing but memories of high school and what it was like to be a football player at Avon Park. Why is it wrong to want to give these kids more than that?"

The Red Devils are on the road next week at Bartow. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Avon Park High School Football Photo Gallery

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