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Bulldogs Bite Red Devils

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Virgil Cooper escapes a Frostproof defender on Friday during the Red Devils' 34-6 loss to the Bulldogs.

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By BRIAN GJURGEVICH

Highlands Today

Published: October 4, 2008

Updated:

AVON PARK - On the night Avon Park High School honored its state title football squads of 1987 and 1988, the current Red Devil football team showed it has a ways to go on the path back to championship contention.

Frostproof sophomore DJ Barnes threw three touchdown passes and junior Nickell Robey had five carries for 93 yards and a rushing score on Friday night to lead the Bulldogs to a 34-6 victory over winless Avon Park at Joe Franza Stadium.

The Red Devil defense held strong in the first half, as Frostproof led just 6-0 in the waning moments of the second quarter. But a 16-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to a diving Robey put the Bulldogs (3-1) up 13-0 and gave them all the momentum they'd need for the second half.

"The defense played a hell of a game," said first-year AP coach Andy Bonjokian. "But when you give the ball back every other series, eventually something's going to break.

"And when you have fast dudes like Frostproof, you have to be able to control the ball."

The Red Devil offense sputtered from the start, gaining just 74 yards of offense in the first half with two interceptions. The picks took AP out of any offensive rhythm, something Bonjokian put squarely on his own shoulders.

"When we were able to (control the ball), I made some stupid calls," he said. "I should've kept it on the ground a little more and done the things that were successful for us."

Junior running back Teddy Allen had 97 yards on 16 carries and senior Virgil Cooper had 32 yards on eight carries, but the Bulldogs scored on three of its first four possessions to open the second half to put the game out of reach.

Frostproof coach Brad Metheny said the Red Devils (0-4) put plenty of defenders up front, which disrupted what the Bulldogs were trying to accomplish in the first half. But eventually, he said, his three-pronged running attack and accurate quarterback took their toll.

"We tried to stay patient and get them into certain situations where we thought we had mismatches," Metheny said. "They stuffed our running game, and DJ went to the air and did some good things for us."

The Devils had eight penalties for 75 yards, none more costly than two separate pass interference penalties that led to Bulldog touchdowns, one on a 3rd-and-11 and another on a 4th-and-5.

"You hate to see things set up scores when they're not the kids' fault," Bonjokian said about the controversial penalties. "But those things are going to happen, and we have to learn to rebound from that."

Frostproof scored on its first drive of the game after an Avon Park interception gave the Bulldogs the ball on the AP 27-yard line. Six plays later, Barnes found junior Eddie Smith on a screen pass to the right and Smith did the rest, barreling toward the pylon for the score and a 6-0 lead.

The Red Devil defense clamped down after that, holding the Bulldogs without a score until late in the second, when Barnes threw for his second score of the half to an outstretched Robey for a 13-0 edge heading into halftime.

"Going into the half 13-0 instead of 6-0 was big," Metheny said. "It was demoralizing for them and big for us."

Frostproof opened up scoring in the second half with 3:35 remaining in the third when Marcus Chaney went right and bounced off four tackles on his way to the end zone and a 20-0 Bulldog lead. One possession later, Robey put a dagger in the Devils' comeback hopes with a 79-yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-28 to put the Bulldogs up 27-0, while a 40-yard hookup from Barnes to Smith made it 34-0 with 8:16 remaining in the fourth.

"They were real fast and sometimes we just weren't in the right positions," said AP senior linebacker James Bland. "Everybody kept with it, but we had some calls go against us."

The Red Devils scored their lone touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the game on a 1-yard run by Tekovan Miller set up by runs of 16, 18 and seven yards from Cooper.

"I hate it for my kids because they really busted their tails tonight," Bonjokian said. "The effort was there on offense, but I think we had information overload, and that won't happen again."

The Devils now hit the road for two games, beginning with a trip to Braden River next week.

Bland said despite playing the Bulldogs tough, his defense is not resting on its laurels.

"Nothing's a victory unless we win the game," he said. "We need to keep working and everyone needs to keep giving their best effort."

Frostproof 34, Avon Park 6

Friday at Avon Park

Frostproof 6 7 14 7 - 34

Avon Park 0 0 0 6 - 6

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

Frost - Barnes 8 pass to Smith (Hurst kick failed)

Second quarter

Frost - Barnes 16 pass to Robey (Hurst kick)

Third quarter

Frost - Chaney 13 run (Hurst kick)

Frost - Robey 79 run (Hurst kick)

Fourth quarter

Frost - Barnes 40 pass to Smith (Hurst kick)

AP - Miller 1 run (Calero kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING Frostproof; Barnes 9-46, Brown 1-1, Chaney 9-49, Robey 5-93, Smith 1-(-3), Hamilton 2-3, Loydd 1-0, Andre 1-(-1). Avon Park; Allen 16-97, Moses 4-18, Miller 8-22, Cooper 8-32

PASSING Frostproof; Barnes 7-10-103-0, Smith 0-1-0-0, Hurst 0-1-0-0. Avon Park; Moses 1-6-(-5).

RECEIVING Frostproof; Smith 4-71, Robey 1-16, Brown 2-16. Avon Park; Allen 1-(-5).

Brian Gjurgevich can be reached at 863-386-5841 or bgjurgevich@highlandstoday.com.

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