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No match in black

Sebring pummels county rival, improves record to 7-3

Ryan Lavner, Highlands Today

Sebring's Devin Clarke, who finished with 127 total yards and three touchdowns, looks for running room behind the lead block of Zac Morris (30) during the Blue Streaks' dominating 30-6 win over rival Avon Park on Friday night at Firemen's Field. It was the Blue Streaks' fourth straight victory over the Red Devils in one of the richest rivalries in the state.

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By RYAN LAVNER

Highlands Today

Published: November 14, 2009

Updated:

SEBRING - With a few new wrinkles and the same ol' Bubba, the Sebring Blue Streaks reasserted their regional supremacy Friday night in one of the state's richest rivalries.

And those black jerseys? Yeah, they were new, too.

Devin Clarke scored three touchdowns and a revitalized Sebring defense forced two turnovers and two safeties, sending the Blue Streaks to a resounding 30-6 win over Avon Park at Firemen's Field, their fourth straight victory over their most bitter rival.

"That was a very good win for us," Sebring coach Jared Hamlin said. "We played hard, aggressive and with great character. We just played good football."

After wearing their traditional blue home jerseys during pregame warmups, the Blue Streaks returned to the locker room to find sleek black threads hanging in their lockers, a plan hatched by Hamlin as a way to "just show a little appreciation for the way the kids have been this season," he said.

Seemingly boosted by the motivational ploy - it is believed to be the first time in school history Sebring had worn black jerseys - the Blue Streaks buried their county rival early, then chewed up the clock to eschew any comeback attempt.

In a season that will ultimately be defined by one unfortunate incident - the Lake Wales skirmish, and the resulting 19 suspensions - Sebring finished with a flourish. The Blue Streaks closed with five straight victories, four of which by at least 24 points. And the defense, much-maligned a year ago, surrendered just three touchdowns over that span, setting a high-water mark in Hamlin's sixth season at the helm.

Sebring's three losses - to Hardee, Lake Wales and Winter Haven - all came against ranked opponents, leaving open the question: Could the Blue Streaks, as currently constituted, topple those teams now?

"Somebody said it best the other day," Hamlin said, "that this is kind of the coulda, woulda, shoulda season. Things didn't go right in a couple of instances for us but that's the things that you learn from and that's the life lessons in the game that you preach every day. It's not always going to go the way you want them to, and you've got to overcome those obstacles - and I think they have."

Said tailback Daniel Burnett: "We had little missteps but if I had one more chance, I'd want to play all three of them on this field."

That won't happen, of course. But an impassioned victory over Avon Park will suffice for now.

Sebring exploited an Avon Park offense that worked largely without senior quarterback Teddy Allen, who was injured late in the first quarter after doling out a bruising hit on Clarke from his safety position. He finished with only 32 total yards.

Pressed into duty was Tekovan Miller, who started the first five games under center until suffering a cracked rib. He completed just 4 of 17 passes for 91 yards with a fourth-quarter touchdown, two interceptions and four sacks, including a safety.

Sebring scored midway through the first quarter, on a 7-yard touchdown run up the middle by Clarke, and again when Avon Park punter Robert Bieber dropped the snap, tried unsuccessfully to escape the end zone and was forced out of bounds for a safety.

Sebring tacked on another safety with 6 minutes left in the second quarter, when Miller scrambled and was dropped for a 13-yard loss in the end zone, giving the Blue Streaks a 10-0 lead.

While Allen fidgeted alone on the sideline, spreading his legs shoulder-width apart and stretching his injured hamstring, Avon Park continued to self-destruct on the field.

The Red Devils defense allowed Clarke to fire a 39-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Gus Williams on third-and-16, and Miller was intercepted on the ensuing possession after an ill-advised pass over the middle was corralled by Devonte Pough.

On the very next play, Clarke hauled in a 26-yard TD on a perfectly-thrown ball by Matt Grubb, which stretched Sebring's lead to 24-0 with 1:39 left in the second quarter.

"Offensively, we did what we needed to do," Hamlin said. "We ran the ball pretty good and completed the balls we needed to."

Sebring controlled the ball for all but 38 seconds in the third quarter, after a blocked punt was recovered by the Blue Streaks. The drive resulted in no points, but it essentially eliminated any chance for Avon Park to seize the momentum.

"We ate up the clock," Hamlin said, "and coming into the game, I was worried about them doing that to us, and I think we kind of flipped it around."

Avon Park (3-7) finally scored with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, on Miller's 4-yard TD pass to Eric Jameson. But no matter: Burnett charged in from 5 yards out for another Sebring touchdown, as the senior, playing his final game, was hoisted into the air by his teammates.

"I thought it'd be better," a grinning Burnett said of his last game as a Blue Streak, during which he rushed for 109 yards on 16 carries, while showing no ill effects of the high ankle sprain that had limited his movement over the past month.

"When I was falling down and injured, they picked me back up and I'm so happy. I'm so happy to come out with this win."

So were the rest of the Blue Streaks, including Clarke, who scored three touchdowns and finished with 41 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving, pushing him over 1,000 yards for the season.

With the victory, Sebring notched its first seven-win season since 2006, completing a swift and stunning turnaround from last year's disappointing 3-7 campaign. And the Blue Streaks punctuated another year the only way Burnett has ever known: with a win over Avon Park.

"I love it," he said. "I'm gonna go look at the trophy right now. I'm probably gonna kiss it, too."

Ryan Lavner can be reached at 863-386-5841 or rlavner@highlandstoday.com

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