Wiregrass fills the void with Palm Bay

Posted Sep 1, 2009 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Sep 1, 2009 at 05:55 PM

Earlier this summer, the Wiregrass Ranch football team lost its Week 5 opponent in Jacksonville Esprit de Corps. The first-year school, according to Wiregrass athletic director David Wilson, didn’t have enough players to field a team, so it cancelled its 2009 season.

The team has made that Oct. 2 date an open date and will instead travel to Melbourne Palm Bay Oct. 16. It is a one year deal, instead of the typical two-year, home-at-home scenario.

“Next years we open a new school in Pasco County that may have trouble getting games,” Wilson said. “We have the option of playing them next year, so there’s not much travel even if it was an away game again.”

At one point, Wilson said, he was in contact with about four different school, who wanted to play.

Making the pot sweeter against Palm Bay is the fact they helped with transportation costs.

“It’s not going to cost money to go there, basically,” Wilson said.

Last season, Palm Bay (9-2) won the Class 5A-District 13 crown, losing to Stuart South Fork in the region quarterfinals.