Culpepper strikes up the band

Posted Sep 2, 2009 by Bill Ward

Updated Sep 2, 2009 at 09:43 PM

Tampa Bay Tech football coach C.C. Culpepper says his squad is preparing for “everything and anything” when it travels to Dad’s Stadium for Friday night’s season opener against Plant High. And that means getting ready for the Panthers’ band, which at Dad’s Stadium has a funny habit of getting noticeably louder as the visiting team’s quarterback gets under center.

To get his squad accustomed to the hostile environment, Culpepper said he had the Titans band come out to practice Wednesday and play as loudly as it could for the final four periods of practice.

“It was so loud, the coaches couldn’t hear each other and the kids couldn’t hear the play being called,” Culpepper said. “It was a good experience for us. We had better get used to it. We have to be ready for everything and anything when we go there Friday.”

That includes being prepared for any of the Panthers’ top three quarterbacks, Phillip Ely, James Few or Deandre Queen. Ely, a junior who is the No. 1 quarterback, is suffering from a back injury and may not be able to play Friday. Few, a sophomore, was his replacement in Plant’s kickoff classic loss to Bradenton Manatee last week. Queen is a versatile player able to line up at multiple positions, including quarterback, receiver and running back.