High School

5 takeaways from Armwood's thrilling win over rival Tampa Bay Tech

The Hawks needed every minute to edge out the Titans on Friday night

Andy Villamarzo

Flex Sports Report

Officials at Armwood High School posted out via its social media networks on Friday that Friday's rivalry game with Tampa Bay Tech was sold out.

That's because Hillsborough County's best rivalry ongoing is between the Hawks and Titans, with both programs featuring numerous Power 4 level players across the board.

The Hawks bested the Titans 31-27 in an absolute thriller that came down to the final minutes.

We give you 5 takeaways from he exciting contest between two of the Tampa Bay region's top high school football programs:

Nothing like Armwood-Tampa Bay Tech

This game was standing-room only and for plenty of good reasons. Whenever Armwood and Tampa Bay Tech get together, it's an all out war between the Hillsborough County powers and bringing out the best of everyone. The stars were out like Armwood's Girard Pringle (Miami commitment) and Tech's Dallas Wilson (Oregon commitment), who was seen wearing Miami Hurricanes gloves in pregame. Intensity on both sides were at a premium and by the final snap in victory formation, you could tell what a win/loss means to either end.

Defenses stayed making plays

Armwood and Tampa Bay Tech's defenses came to play, but it would be the former making a few more plays that ended up being the difference. Five Titans' turnovers was too much to overcome at the end of the game, with the Hawks cashing in on the miscues. Tampa Bay Tech trailed 17-6, but the defense tightened up in the second half, able to eventually take the lead at 27-24. Leading late in the game and leaving it in your defense's hands is a double-edge sword as the unit helped the Titans remain within striking distance. Either way, both units showed out.

Miscues doomed any chance for the Titans

We give plenty of props to the Titans' defense, but the offense didn't do them a whole bunch of favors with some of the situations the put them in. Tampa Bay Tech nearly committed half a dozen turnovers, which is something you absolutely can't do against a very good Armwood offense. A week after pouring on 74 points against Wharton, Tech was kept in check on the evening. Impressive that Tech was able to stay in the game despite the bevy of errors.

The Hawks have a chance to run the table

Next three games against Durant, Hillsborough and Plant are Armwood's toughest remaining tests ahead. Besides that, the Hawks should be able to roll in every other contest this fall. Looking to compete for the Class 6A state championship, a 10-0 season is definitely within sight after arguably Armwood's toughest test of the season.

Bragging rights remain in Seffner

The boys from Seffner will be able to retake bragging rights in the rivalry as they ended up falling to the Titans 27-22 in the Class 3M playoffs last season. What it means to win this game and claiming not only bragging rights in the rivalry, but also being dubbed the top team in Hillsborough County. Though the Hawks have tough games up ahead, they'll look to continue their reign of supremacy over the 813.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

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Andy Villamarzo

ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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