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October 29, 2005
Section: sports
Edition: BRADENTON
Page: 2D
CANES FINISH SEASON STRONG
Scott Lockwood, Special to The Herald
PORT CHARLOTTE --- The Manatee Hurricanes showed why they are district
champions on Friday night with a 37-3 victory over the Port Charlotte Pirates in a
Class 5A-District 11 football matchup.
The Canes were led by senior tailback Chris McNear, who had 98 yards and two
touchdowns on 13 carries. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on the season with a
38-yard scamper in the second quarter that led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Nick
Roehl.
"We really came together as a team (Friday)," McNear said. "We had a lot of
mental mistakes that we could have overlooked, but we kept our poise and really
got it going in the second half."
The Hurricanes (6-3, 4-0) came out sloppy in the first half. They committed six
penalties for 55 yards, including two personal foul calls in the second quarter that
led to Port Charlotte's only points of the night, a 33-yard field goal by Anthony
Cetrangelo.
"We flopped around early, but we came alive in the second quarter and played
well," Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan said. "We made a lot of mistakes (Friday). If
you want to go anywhere in the playoffs, and you make these kinds of mistakes,
you won't go very far."
McNear, who also scored his 10th touchdown of the season with his 1-yard run in
the second quarter, wasn't the only star of the game for the Canes. Junior
quarterback Ryan Rubino completed 6-of-7 passes for 85 yards with no
interceptions. He also chipped in as a kicker, converting on 4-of-5 extra points and
nailing a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter.
The defense did its part, too, holding the Pirates (4-5, 0-4) to just 29 yards of total
offense. It harrassed Port Charlotte quarterback Kevin McLafferty all night, sacking
him five times and forcing a fumble that was returned for a 5-yard touchdown by
Luke Aeschliman in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
"We're just happy we won (Friday)," Kinnan said. "I'm pleased that we didn't turn
the ball over, but I still think we could do even better defensively."
With the score 21-3 at the half and the game pretty much already in hand, Kinnan
played most of his backups on both sides of the ball. The reserves kept the Pirates
shut down, much to the delight of Kinnan.
"I hated to see the running clock," Kinnan said about an FHSAA rule that keeps the
game clock running once a team opens up a 28-point lead in the second half. "We
were not going to score any more, but we were just trying to give some younger
kids a chance to play."
The Hurricanes will get a week of rest before preparing for the playoffs. They will
face Cape Coral in the first round of the playoffs Nov. 11 at Hawkins Stadium
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