Palmetto defeats North Port 37-0, looks ahead to showdown with Venice
Championship teams don’t hurt themselves, Palmetto High head coach Dave Marino told his team Friday night. The Tigers want to be a championship team.
Marino made that statement after Palmetto overcame a penalty-filled first half to defeat North Port 37-0 in a Class 7A-District 11 game at The Preserve.
“I love our kids’ effort,” Marino told reporters. “We’ve just got to play more disciplined football. When you get up against the teams we are going to play, they’re championship programs. These kids have got to understand what it takes to be a champion and that’s being more disciplined and not shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Palmetto had six penalties for 55 yards in the first half. But the Tigers’ next opportunity to reduce their mistakes won’t be easy. Palmetto (5-2, 3-1) will play at Venice at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a key district showdown.
“We’ve just got to go back (to film) and look and see where we are making those mistakes and do a better job preparing throughout the week to not make them,” Marino said. “It’s as simple as that.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Elijah Davis rushed for one touchdown and Johnny Jones caught a pass for another in the second as Palmetto went up 14-0.
Davis’ run of 39 yards came with 8:15 remaining. Rafael Gonzalez’s kick made it 7-0. Jones’ 16-yard scoring pass from Derek Marino and Gonzalez’s second kick made it 14-0 with 39 seconds remaining in the first half.
Davis rushed six times for 73 yards in the first half. Jones rushed 10 times for 66 yards. Marino completed 4 of 8 passes for 43 yards in the half. Meanwhile, the Palmetto defense held North Port to minus-22 yards on 15 rushing plays.
Palmetto went up 21-0 on a 13-yard run by Davis with 9:58 remaining in the third quarter. Marino connected with Kobe Mays on a 22-yard TD pass. Gonzalez put the Tigers up 28-0 with his fourth PAT. The Tigers then triggered the running clock with a 67-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by L’Tonee Martinez with 6:32 remaining in the quarter.
That defensive gem followed a long kickoff return by North Port’s C.K. Poulos, a quarterback/wide receiver who had given the Bobcats a first down on the Palmetto 33. On its next possession North Port gave up a safety when a snap went out of the back of the end zone for a 37-0 Palmetto lead at the end of the third quarter.
North Port (3-5, 0-4) will play at Braden River next Friday at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Palmetto defeats North Port 37-0, looks ahead to showdown with Venice."