Tampa Bay Tech stifles Wharton with suffocating defense, uptempo offense

TAMPA, FLORIDA- If there was a question of who the best team in Tampa is this season, the Tampa Bay Tech Titans slammed the door shut on that conversation. 

Coming into the game undefeated at 7-0, the Titans reminded everyone who has been the most consistent, dominant team this season. 

The Titans leaned on a explosive offense combined with suffocating defense and rolled to a 28-0 win over the Wharton Wildcats Friday night in a Class 3A-Metro, District 4 matchup. 

With the win, Tampa Bay Tech improves to 8-0 on the year and Wharton falls to 5-2. The Titans can lockup the district with a win over Armwood on Oct. 28. The last time the Titans have lost a regular season game was back on Oct. 9, 2020 in a 43-42 loss to Plant City. 

“Guys have been completely locked into our game plans week in and week out,” Tampa Bay Tech head coach Jayson Roberts said. “They pay attention to details and that starts on Monday.”

For Tampa Bay Tech (8-0) it was just another game on the schedule and it looked like it as the Titans notched their third straight shutout in a row. The Titans got on the board in the opening quarter after a 9-play, 75-yard drive culminated in a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown by Xavione Washington. 

Washington (8-of-17, 201 yards) made sure to keep the offense uptempo the entire night, with Tampa Bay Tech keeping the Wharton defense on its heels. Though Washington did throw one interception, a pick in the endzone by Wharton’s EJ Christmas, he otherwise was effective against the Wildcats’ secondary. 

Making his way back onto the field for the Titans on Friday was running back Rod Gainey, who ended up rushing for 193 yards on 13 attempts. Gainey, who transferred over to Tampa Bay Tech from IMG Academy, scored the game’s second touchdown on a 36-yard scamper to increase the Titans’ advantage to 14-0. 

“Definitely makes it easier when you have a stud in the backfield,” Roberts said about Gainey returning to the lineup. “A player that can go zero to 60 at anytime. He’s a threat the other team has to account for.” 

Wharton (5-2) running back Stacy Gage, who transferred to the Wildcats from IMG Academy in the off-season, ended up with 75 yards on 17 carries. For most of the night, however, Gage was bottled up by the Tampa Bay Tech defense. 

The Titans’ defense kept up with heavy pressure all night long on opposing quarterback Jackson Jensen as the Wildcats’ offensive tackles had trouble slowing down the pass rush. With Jensen being rushed on many of his throws, he ended the night completing 8-of-18 for 57 yards and was intercepted twice. 

By halftime, the Titans’ lead ballooned to 21-0 and the beginning of the third quarter didn’t provide any good omen that the game was going to change. Wharton ended up having to punt after six plays and it became a continued sign of things to come.

The Wildcats’ best scoring opportunity was squandered in the fourth quarter when on a 4th and goal from the 1-yard play by running back Arkese Parks was snuffed out by the Titans, becoming a turnover on downs. 

Tampa Bay Tech (8-0) amassed over 400 yards of total offense on the evening awhile Wharton was held to under 200 on the night. Now both teams will shift their focus to the final few games left on the schedule, with Tampa Bay Tech facing Jesuit next week and Wharton against Bloomingdale. 

“I think much of the reason we played so well tonight is because from the word go, we were under a mindset that this wasn’t a big game,” Roberts added. “It’s business as usual. We have respect for our opponent, but it’s an opponent we’ve beaten three times in a row.”

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.