TAMPA — Alonso entered Friday night’s game against Newsome with no shortage of motivation. All of it showed.
Before a near-capacity homecoming crowd, the Ravens dominated from the opening possession and routed the Wolves 49-14, snapping an 11-year losing streak in the series.
Newsome (4-2) had won the previous six meetings by an average of 20 points. Junior quarterback Michael Pyne, a fast, physical defense and an opportunistic special teams unit made sure that run ended.
“We’ve been planning for this game since last season, all offseason,” said Pyne, who felt he didn’t play his best in last year’s 35-14 loss. “We just really worked hard in practice last week, executed the game plan, started fast and played fast.”
The first six minutes set the tone. Behind a perfect start from Pyne and bruising running from senior Jaikim Haggans, who finished with 92 yards on 15 carries, the unbeaten Ravens overcame a penalty-filled opening drive to score on a 24-yard pass to A.J. Drake, the first of his two touchdown catches.
Then came the spark. On the ensuing kickoff, senior Leonardo Moreda lofted a pooch kick into no man’s land, and junior Benjamin Rose pounced on the muffed ball at the Newsome 28. A 20-yard Pyne-to-Drake completion set up Pyne’s 1-yard quarterback sneak for a 14-0 lead. Newsome got no closer.
“It was very important to start quick, and the special teams played great, giving us that onside kick recovery,” Pyne said. “We just went from there. We had momentum all over us.”
Pyne completed his first eight passes, including a 49-yard touchdown strike to Drake in the second quarter. He finished 13 of 17 for 266 yards and four touchdowns, adding scoring throws of 19 yards to senior Amare Daniels in the second quarter and 13 yards to sophomore Kamar Findlay in the fourth. He also hit Findlay for a 2-point conversion.
Drake caught nine passes for 185 yards.
“I got him to transfer over here (from Wiregrass Ranch), and we’ve been working ever since, both mentally and physically,” Pyne said. “I take him home every day, and that really helped us become brothers both on and off the field and just bond.”
Alonso coach Hayden Cantrell said the chemistry began in summer passing leagues.
“We were going out and throwing 7-on-7s over the summer, and they kind of started to form that connection there,” Cantrell said. “Week 2 or Week 3, they really started to tighten up that connection, and it’s something special.”
The defense also came together in the preseason, and it showed. Alonso (6-0) forced three straight punts, and with help from its special teams, surged to a 28-0 lead.
“I think the key is how well we condition and hustle to the ball every single play, just being relentless to the ball,” said senior linebacker John Carothers, who harassed Newsome quarterback Lukas Guenther all night and finished with 1½ sacks. “I think it’s a whole team-wide effort, man. We have multiple people setting the tone.”
Alonso held Newsome to 109 yards of total offense. Alex Sandlin added a half-sack, junior Jackson Langston had six tackles, and Rose had five tackles and a pass breakup for a defense that has allowed 34 points all season.
Newsome’s only openings came on the rare occasions it found good field position. Starting a second-quarter drive at the Wolves’ 41, Guenther, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 99 yards, put Newsome on the board with a gutsy 5-yard rollout pass to Gianni Flore on fourth down.
Late in the third quarter, a short Alonso punt gave Newsome the ball in Ravens territory. Guenther ran and passed the Wolves into the red zone, then connected with senior Max Urbanek on a 19-yard jump ball for Newsome’s final points.
“(Newsome) is very well coached, and we knew when the schedule was released that it was going to be one that was a dogfight,” Cantrell said. “I’ve been challenging the boys all offseason into the season to circle that game and let’s get after it. They came out and performed.”
Pyne called it a statement win.
“We went into this game knowing it was going to be a statement game, and we went out and dominated as a team,” he said.
Alonso opens Class 6A-11 play Friday, Oct. 9, against Strawberry Crest. Newsome begins a run of three straight Class 6A-10 games Friday, Oct. 9, at home against Plant City.