Latest win a big boost for Tigers

Palmetto's latest win may have meant nothing in the standings.
But it meant plenty to the guys inside the Tigers' locker room. Palmetto blanked Riverview 10-0 last Friday at Harllee Stadium, giving the Tigers (2-4) an extra shot of momentum heading into Friday's pivotal Class 4A-District 11 game with Port Charlotte.
The Tigers and Pirates are both 0-1 in the four-team district, which means whomever loses Friday's game is wiped out of the playoff hunt.
"Little by little," coach Raymond Woodie said, "it's good to see that it's starting to come together."
Palmetto, which lost 15 starters from last year's team that won a district championship and went to the playoffs for a second straight year, began the season with three straight losses.
Their opponents in those games? Southeast, Manatee and Wauchula Hardee, three teams entering Friday with a combined record of 15-3.
The Tigers have rebounded. They earned their first win of the season Week 4 at Bayshore, played tough against Punta Gorda Charlotte, which was ranked second in the state at the time in Class 4A, and blanked the Class 5A Rams, who averaged 33.8 points in their first five games.
"We have to take one game at a time," Woodie said.
Woodie has commended the work of the offensive and defensive lines for the resurgence, as well as the play of Marquis Green, who began the year at cornerback but is now a full time tailback.
Green ran for 178 yards and a touchdown against the Rams, and has scored five touchdowns in the Tigers' last three games.
"He's really been a spark plug," Woodie said.