High School

Hudson edges Gulf with second half defensive surge

The Cobras remain undefeated on a night where defensive end Elias Williams committed to Missouri

Andy Villamarzo

HUDSON, FLORIDA- Something the Hudson Cobras had trouble at times doing in 2022 was finishing games. 

On Friday night at Cobra Stadium, they showed no such issues in a contest that had playoff-like intensity. 

Trailing 14-6 at halftime, Hudson roared back and held Gulf scoreless in the second half en route to a 18-14 senior night victory. The Cobras improve to 2-0 on the season as Elias Williams committed to the University of Missouri at halftime of the game. 

Both teams were coming off Week 1 victories and something had to give. At first, it looked like what wouldn’t budge was any kind of redzone offense for Hudson. 

Seemingly at the right place at the right time, Gulf (1-1) found ways to stymie Hudson drives by picking off Cobras quarterback Riley Blevens (16-of-23, 213 yards) in the endzone. The Buccaneers picked off Blevens three times inside the redzone area, making stands defensively to hold onto the first half lead. 

Gulf’s offense opened up the scoring in style as they scored on its first play from scrimmage. Buccaneers’ quarterback Ethan Holewski (7-of-16, 117 yards) connected with Chris Roman on a 60-yard touchdown pass to give Gulf the early 6-0 advantage. 

The Cobras (2-0) would fire back with a long passing play of their own when Blevens hit wide receiver AJ Mcfarlane (threw catches, 141 yards) on a short pass and he took it 60 yards to pay dirt. Turnovers and penalties hindered Hudson’s offensive attack as Gulf ended up taking the lead before halftime on a 34-yard scoring pass from Holewski to Noa Paselio. 

Up 14-6 at intermission, it looked like Gulf would have a chance to take control of the game on the second half. Hudson had other ideas after Williams made his commitment to Missouri. 

That’s because the Tigers’ newest commit would show off his ability on the offensive side of the ball. With 4:44 remaining in the third quarter, Williams scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Hudson a 18-14 lead. Defense would reign supreme in the final quarter of play, with neither team able to notch any points. 

For the game, Hudson ended up out-gaining Gulf 349-289 in total offense. Cobras running back Logan Shawell led the ground game with 99 yards on 16 carries. Leading all rushers for the game was Gulf’s Anthony Muniz, who rushed 21 times for 147 yards. 

Next up for Hudson is an away game at Pasco while Gulf hits the road to face Wesley Chapel. 

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

Published
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.

Home/Florida