Sickles headed to bowl game

Posted Nov 12, 2011 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Nov 12, 2011 at 04:33 PM

The Sickles football team has been selected to play in a bowl game, according to Gryphons coach Brian Turner.

The game, presented by Gridiron Challenge Foundation, will pit Sickles (7-3) against Orlando Oak Ridge (6-4) on Wednesday at Oak Ridge. Turner said the game will have either a 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

“It’s a neat thing,” Turner said Saturday. “Being that we didn’t get a chance to play in the playoffs, it’s a great reward for our kids. We’re excited for it.”

Oak Ridge is coached by former University of Florida running back and NFL defensive back Elijah Williams. The Pioneers, winners of three of its last five games, are averaging 26.3 point on offense. Oak Ridge finished fourth in the five-team Class 7A-District 3 standings behind Orlando Edgewater, Oviedo and Lake Howell.

Turner said his program was approached earlier in the season about the possibility of playing in a postseason game. Once the chance at the playoffs ended and Turner knew his team would still have a decent record, he asked his athletic director and principal to pursue it.

Sickles played in the brutal Class 6A-District 8 grouping, finishing fourth being perennial playoff teams Armwood, Hillsborough and Jefferson.

Turner said there was one stipulation his team had to meet before the game could be approved by principal Jake Russell.

“We had to be 7-3 or he wouldn’t have let us play,” Turner said.

That made Friday night’s matchup against neighborhood rival Alonso more of playoff game and also made the Gryphons’ last second, 20-14 come-from-behind victory that much more intense.

“It’s a big reward for our underclassmen,” Turner said. “We get more film for our seniors for college, and we get the experience of riding on a bus – traveling a couple of hours to play a game. For our underclassmen, if we get to the playoffs next year and make a run, they get practice for that. … There’s more to it than playing an extra game.”