Game of the Week: TC at Berkeley Prep

Posted Sep 7, 2010 by Bill Ward

Updated Sep 7, 2010 at 10:03 PM

Friday’s Tampa Tribune/TBO.com Game of the Week features two of Hillsborough County’s top private school football programs, Tampa Catholic and Berkeley Prep.

The game, which will be played at Berkeley Prep’s Newman Stadium, should be an interesting one. Not only is it a Class 1A team (Berkeley) against a 2B school (TC), it will showcase two of the best running backs in the area. For the Crusaders, it’s senior fullback Hunter Joyer, who has already made a verbal commitment to the University of Florida.

For the Buccaneers, it’s junior Nelson Agholor, who last year as a sophomore rushed for 970 yards and 19 touchdowns. Both players rarely come off the field, with Joyer lining up on defense at linebacker and blocking on kick returns, and Agholor playing defensive back and running back kicks.

This is a matchup also featuring two of the county’s most successful coaches, TC’s Bob Henriquez, who has guided the Crusaders to the state finals two of the last three years and four straight district titles, and the Bucs’ Dominick Ciao, the former Jesuit icon who has compiled an impressive career record of 251-72 as he starts his 21st season of coaching.

Both squads need a win here. For TC, it will be important to bounce back from last week’s 24-7 loss to Class 6A Groveland South Lake, a game that saw the Crusaders commit multiple turnovers against a team they beat last season. For Berkeley, the game will be a measuring stick to see just how good it is following a 48-7 rout over a struggling St. Petersburg Catholic program.

Check out the preparations going on in both TC and Berkeley’s training camps in this gallery: http://www2.tbo.com/photoalbum/2010/sep/07/game-of-the-week-for-sept-10_-t/

And come to TBO on game night for our popular “Friday Night Live” blog hosted by Tampa Tribune preps and college sports guru Joey Johnston. We’ll have live updates from the TC-Berkeley game, as well as those from other games in the Tampa Bay area, and fans can join into the live discussion.