Plant’s Mirabella picks Holy Cross

Posted Jan 26, 2010 by Katherine Smith

Updated Jan 27, 2010 at 12:13 AM

Plant’s leading tackler the last two seasons will pound on the Patriot League next year.

Middle linebacker Mike Mirabella committed to Holy Cross, the second linebacker from the Bay area to do so this week. Sickles’ Scott O’Donoghue committed after a visit to the campus this past weekend.

“Mike’s one of the most amazing defensive players we’ve ever witnessed,” Plant head coach Robert Weiner said. “He really had a tremendous year for us. He’s a guy that’s not only consistent, he’s consistently spectacular. You could chose any game and it’s going to be good game film. He never had a bad game.

“Mike is very quick, but what makes him a fast player is his great instincts. He’ll go down as one of the best defensive players in the history of Hillsborough County.”

Mirabella, a two-time All-Hillsborough County Football first team selection, chose Holy Cross over Princeton, one of the other schools he visited.

One of the key contributors to the Panthers state titles the past two seasons, Mirabella led Plant with 149 tackles. He had a team-high 19 tackles and also had one sack in Plant’s 21-14 victory over Manatee in the Class 5A state championship game last month.