Devin's domain

There was a brief period Friday night, however fleeting, when Sebring trailed hapless Tenoroc - for 4 minutes, to be precise.

Devin Clarke's game-changing sprints? Well, those took a combined four seconds.

Sebring scored 21 second-quarter points - and 35 unanswered - to erase an early deficit and overwhelm Tenoroc 35-7, thanks in large part to the best game of Clarke's rapidly ascending career.

"He's had some good games," Sebring coach Jared Hamlin said, "but that one probably tops it off."

Clarke's only disappointment on this night: He didn't surpass 1,000 yards receiving on the season. He now has 997, with the regular-season finale against rival Avon Park to go.

Yeah, it's a pretty safe bet he'll reach 1,000.

Clarke finished with 319 total yards (208 receiving) and four touchdowns, including a 97-yard score late in the third quarter that left the entire Titans defense gassed.

"That was the best," Clarke said. "Just went out there and played with a lot of heart, and a lot of good things happened."

The main beneficiary of Clarke's spectacular play, of course, was quarterback Matt Grubb, who completed 11 of 25 passes for 225 yards with four touchdowns and an interception - not bad considering he threw for just 27 yards in the first quarter.

After dropping back-to-back district games in mid-October, Sebring's defense has now surrendered only two touchdowns over its last three games - both of which came on big plays.

Last week, against Auburndale, it was a 78-yard quarterback keeper that put the Blue Streaks in a precarious spot. This week, against a Tenoroc team that had won just twice this season (and whose opponents' record is 2-18), it was a screen pass from quarterback Travis Tucker to Standley Absanon that went 76 yards. The quick play cut through the heart of the Blue Streaks defense and gave the Titans a 7-0 lead with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter.

Other than surrendering that touchdown and a 36-yard gain during garbage time, Sebring allowed just 74 total yards and forced four turnovers.

"They did a really good job," Hamlin said. "That was three quarters of really good football."

Tenoroc confused Sebring (6-3, 3-2 in Class 3A-District 9) with a variety of different blitz packages, forcing the Blue Streaks to punt on their first three possessions.

That trend didn't last.

On their first series of the second quarter, Clarke snared a pass from Grubb and cut to the outside, spinning away from three defenders on his way to a 78-yard touchdown that tied the game, 7-7.

With Tenoroc driving late in the period, a host of Sebring defenders forced a fumble, and the ball was scooped up by Devonte Pough around midfield. One play later, Grubb found a streaking Clarke over the middle, as he dashed toward the sideline and then up the field for a 52-yard scoring strike with 1:54 remaining in the half.

Plenty of time. Tenoroc used just 40 seconds on its next series, again forced to punt.

During a rare opportunity to run its 2-minute offense, Sebring moved methodically down the field. And operating with just one timeout, Grubb found Clarke five times on the drive, none bigger than a 7-yard TD pass into the back corner of the end zone. Clarke out-jumped two defenders, hauling in the perfectly thrown pass and giving the Blue Streaks a 21-7 lead with 3.8 seconds left.

Two touchdowns in the final 1:51.

"We came out flat," Clarke said, "and we didn't want to do that. We can't underestimate anybody, and we stepped it up on offense."

Sebring's finishing blow came with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, when two defenders converged on Tucker while he attempted to throw. The fluttering pass was intercepted by Pough, and the hit knocked out the 6-foot-2 quarterback, essentially ending any hopes the Titans harbored of a comeback.

When the offense came back onto the field, Clarke had a premonition: He was going to score. Never mind that the Blue Streaks were backed up deep in their own territory - starting on their own 3 - or that their running game, up to that point, had largely been shut down.

"Just had a feeling I was going to break one and score," he said. "So I just rolled up my sleeves and hit the hole."

Running through a gaping hole - "that first 30 yards was all the offensive line, and the rest was Bubba," Hamlin said - Clarke scampered 97 yards, bursting through the line, heading toward the sideline, hesitating for a moment, then slashing across the field while nearly every defender made at least one grasp at him.

"He had a great game," Hamlin said, "because the other 10 guys on the field were making plays, too."

In an increasingly crowded backfield, sophomore Damion Thompson rushed for 81 yards and tailback Daniel Burnett ran for 70 yards and a late touchdown for the Blue Streaks, who host Avon Park (3-6) in the regular-season finale next Friday.

And as Hamlin told his team in the postgame meeting: "I don't think I've got to tell you what to do next week."

"Avon Park is going to be a battle," he said afterward. "It's always a battle, and you can throw everything out. It's blue against red, and we've got to get after it. It's something we look forward to every year."