Tigers Eveld ready to roar

Posted Oct 1, 2009 by Katherine Smith

Updated Oct 1, 2009 at 01:26 PM

Bobby Eveld was having his Chris Simms moment.

Trying to lead his Jesuit team to victory in the regular-season opener, something about the senior quarterback just didn’t look right. Tigers head coach Joe Ross sat Eveld in the second half, even though the Tigers had a chance to win.

“We thought he had a ruptured spleen,” Jesuit head coach Joe Ross said. “He is a tough kid and I could just tell by his body posture. He got hit in the stomach and we had the trainer look at him and right away he thought it was his spleen. Luckily it wasn’t the spleen and he’s fine now.”

Eveld’s more than fine. He’s helped the Tigers recover from that opening loss to Kathleen and produced three-consecutive victories. He’s Hillsborough County’s third-leading passer with 658 yards and six touchdowns.

“He’s a weapon,” Ross said. ““We thought we had some weapons and the weapons misfired in Game 1, but now, in the past three games, we’ve done what we thought we were capable of. Tight end T.J. Martinez has made key plays for us. We have a freshman Travis Johnson who is a boy in a man’s body and a sensational player. But the kid who is really stepping up is Ben Gutowski.”

The Tigers will need everyone on board Friday night as they travel to Robinson for a game that likely will determine the Class 2A-District 5 champion.