Jesuit’s Chacon commits to North Carolina

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Adam Adkins

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 03:34 PM

Jesuit junior baseball player Adrian Chacon has verbally committed to the University of North Carolina, Tigers coach Richie Warren said Friday.

Chacon, who plays third base, catcher and pitcher for the Tigers, also was being recruited by Florida, Central Florida and Vanderbilt, among others. He is the second Jesuit junior to give a verbal pledge to the Tar Heels, joining pitcher Spencer Trayner.

Chacon hit .292 with 19 runs scored last season for Jesuit’s Class 4A state runner-up squad. He also posted a 0.78 ERA over 18 innings on the mound, with 19 strikeouts and just two walks.

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Freedom’s Schaller signs with Stetson

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 03:00 PM

Freedom offensive lineman Kurt Schaller, a three year starter for the Patriots and a team captain last fall, has signed a letter of intent with Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.

The 5-foot-10, 285-pound Schaller is one of several area players who will be part of a Stetson football program that is returning to action in 2013 after a 57-year hiatus.

The Hatters’ football program will be competing in the Pioneer Football League, where most of the schools are private. The league, however, will be played at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) as a non-scholarship program.

The Pioneer Football League consists of teams in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. Member schools range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The league includes Butler, Campbell, Davidson, Dayton, Jacksonville, Drake, Marist, Morehead State, the University of San Diego and Valparaiso University. Stetson and Mercer join in 2013. All incoming players at Stetson and Mercer will earn redshirt status this fall.

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Update: FHSAA hits Strawberry Crest, Freedom boys hoops teams with suspensions and fines

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 03:19 PM

Just days before the start of their district tournaments, boys basketball teams from Freedom and Strawberry Crest have been hit with player suspensions and fines as a result of an altercation that occurred in a recent game between the two squads, Florida High School Athletics Association spokesperson Corey Sobers told the Tampa Tribune on Friday.

According to reports filed to the FHSAA by the two schools’ administrators, game referees and Hillsborough County athletics director Lanness Robinson, the game was played Jan. 27 at Strawberry Crest and the incident occurred late in the third quarter. As a Freedom and Strawberry Crest player were contesting a rebound, the ball went out of bounds, the report says, and one player tackled the other. That resulted in punches being thrown, players from both teams leaving the bench and even some fans coming out of the stands and on to the floor.

Player names were not released in the report given by the FHSAA, but a video tape review of the incident revealed a player from each squad threw a punch and three players from each school left the bench.

As a result of the review, the FHSAA handed Freedom suspensions for three athletes on its basketball team. One player received a “Level 2” suspension (six weeks) for throwing a punch, which is effectively for the remainder of the season. Three other players were given Level 1 suspensions, or two games.

Freedom itself was fined $250 for having two Level 2 or higher suspensions during the current school year (the other came in football) and $100 for its fourth suspension in boys basketball. Additionally, Freedom’s boys basketball program is placed on administrative probation for the remainder of the current school year, as well as the 2012-13 school year, Sobers said.

Two basketball players from Strawberry Crest received six-week suspensions, one of whom earned the ban because it was his second Level 1 this school year. Two Level 1 suspensions in the same year result is an automatic Level 2. Two other Chargers players received two-game bans.

Sobers said Strawberry Crest was fined $250 for having two Level 2 or higher suspensions during the current school year and $100 for its fourth suspension in boys basketball. The Chargers’ boys basketball program was also placed on administrative probation for remainder of 2011-12 school year and 2012-13 school year.

District tournaments start next week. Since the suspensions date back to the games following the incident, the three players given two-contest suspensions will have served their second game after the regular season schedule concludes with tonight’s games. The players with six-contests bans are not only done for the basketball season, but could also miss the start of the season for any spring sport they compete in.

Strawberry Crest is the No. 2 seed n the Class 6A-11 tourney at Sickles, where first-round action begins Monday. Freedom is in the 7A-9 tourney at Chamberlain, where play starts Tuesday.

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Armwood’s Callahan—Kirk Callahan—lands UCF post

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 12:08 PM

At the end of the day, all Armwood football coach Sean Callahan says he really wants is to see his kids get an education, a good job and, of course, be happy.

So far, so good.

Callahan got some good news on that front late this week when his oldest son, 27-year-old Kirk, landed a job as a defensive backs coach at his alma mater, the University of Central Florida.

“There was no question he was going to get hired somewhere eventually,” Sean Callahan said. He’s very knowledgeable, he’s learned a lot from some outstanding coaches and is a good recruiter.

“I’m just very, very proud of him.”

After finishing his playing career at UCF, Kirk worked one season as an intern there under head coach George O’Leary. He then spent two years as an intern at the University of North Carolina, then landed a job as a graduate assistant at Florida. He coached one year under Urban Meyer and one under current coach Will Muschamp.

Sean Callahan said Kirk got a call from O’Leary late this week, drove to Orlando for an interview and was offered the job. Kirk then had to drive back to his home in Gainesville, gather his basic necessities to start the job today. Besides working with the defensive secondary, Kirk will likely be the recruiting coordinator for UCF in the Tampa Bay area.

“It’s a great opportunity for Kirk and a good-paying job,” Sean Callahan said. “He’s going to do well there and I think he’s going to be able to pull a lot of kids from this area.”

Meanwhile, Callahan’s daughter, Kristin, recently landed a good-paying job in the business sector of the Southwest Florida area and his youngest son, Casey, is playing linebacker at Stony Brook (N.Y.) University.

Photo: A 2002 photo of Armwood football coach Sean Callahan and his son, Kirk, who was a senior that year for the Hawks. Friday, Kirk began his job as an assistant at UCF.

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Lakeland Jenkins forfeit earns Gaither region final spot

Posted Feb 3, 2012 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated Feb 3, 2012 at 10:32 AM

Gaither boys soccer coach Eric Sims said Friday morning his athletic director infromed him that his team’s opponent - Lakeland Jenkins - has forfeited Friday’s Class 4A, Region 2 semifinal after using an ineligible player in the team’s 3-1 win against Freedom on Tuesday.

The forfeit means Gaither (19-4-1) will automatically advance to next Tuesday’s region final facing the winner of tonight’s Winter Springs-Kissimmee Osceola match.

Gaither reached the state final four last season in Class 5A after defeating East Lake 3-1 in the region final.

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Nation’s fastest high schooler: Bracy

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 11:32 PM

With the indoor track season already underway and the outdoor season set to begin in just 10 days for Class 1A and 2A schools and the larger divisions starting Feb. 20, it’s time to ask, who’s the fastest?

Well, when it comes to local sprinters, the guys to beat are Alonso’s Brandon Holloway and Hillsborough’s Anthony Brown. Both are state medalists, with Holloway owning 100/200 PRs of clocking 10.54/21.28 and Brown clocking 10.58/21.60.

That’s fast, but Orlando Boone senior and Florida State signee Marvin Bracy threw down the challenge to all comers at last week’s indoor meet in Gainesville when he smashed the national record for 55 meters with his time of 6.08. Watch this video of his race and see his reaction time to the gun, his drive phase, finish and margin of victory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv51o6DJmuQ

And these are not slugs he is racing. He isn’t even technically perfect yet, but he is already posting times close to current University of Florida star Jeff Demps and eclipsing prep records held by Olympian Justin Gatlin (2004 gold medalist, Athens).

If the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Bracy can stay healthy, he could wind up in this summer’s Olympic track trials in Eugene, Ore. Bracy is already the winner of a USA Track and Field Junior Championships title after winning the 100 last summer in the second-fastest time in Florida high school history, 10.05. Only Demps, co-holder of the junior world record (10.01), has run faster. Demps did that the summer after graduating high school at the 2008 Olympic trials.

So how fast is 55 meters indoors compared to the 100 outdoors? Well, there’s so many factors that make the two races totally different—like wind and endurance over the final 40 meters of a 100—that it’s almost useless to make comparisons. But according to the splits from the past world records, it would take a 60 meter split of approximately 6.47 to 6.53 to run the entire 100 meters distance under 10 flat. Bracy’s 55 meter time equates to about a 6.62 for the 60, so he’s probably close to running 10.10.

One thing is for sure: Bracy is the fastest prep sprinter in Florida right now. And probably in the nation, too.

Photo: Orlando Boone’s Marvin Bracy wears one of the two gold medals he won at last year’s Class 4A state track championships. Photo by Bill Ward.

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Hillsborough’s Sherit picks up offers from Arizona, Illinois

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 10:15 PM

Hillsborough defensive end Jordan Sherit, a first team, all-Hillsborough County selection last fall by the Tampa Tribune, has landed two more scholarship offers, including his first from west of the Mississippi.

Thursday, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Sherit picked up Arizona and Illinois. He now has a 13 offers. Along with his latest two, Sherit also has Georgia Tech, Purdue, Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Purdue, Duke, Miami, Vanderbilt and the University of South Florida who have made Sherit offers.

Last season, Sherit, an honors student enrolled in Hillsborough’s International Baccalaureate program, recorded team-highs in tackles (110) and sacks (9), both of which were among the top numbers in the county.

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Jon Gruden: always good for a sound bite

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 03:48 PM

Even at the crack of dawn, Jon Gruden is good for a quote or sound bite.

It was no different Wednesday at 6:30 in the morning, when his son, Deuce Gruden of Carrollwood Day School, signed his National Letter of Intent to play football for Lafayette College. As Deuce posed for the cameras and the small group of family and school administrators gathered for the event, his famous dad, ex-Bucs coach coach and Monday Night Football color analyst couldn’t help but toss in a funny line.

To hear what Jon Gruden said, please follow this video link: http://www2.tbo.com/sports/prep-sports/2012/feb/02/signing-day-gruden-style-05737-vi-25891/

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FHSAA to live stream state cheer

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by TBO.com

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 12:22 PM

The FHSAA Network will live video stream the FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Finals beginning at 1 p.m. today (Thursday) on www.fhsaasports.com.

A general overview of the schedule of events along with information on the FHSAA Network is available at the following link: http://www.fhsaa.org/news/2012/0202 and the school-by-school times for tumbling, warm-up and performing can be found under “Schedule of Events” on the FHSAA’s Competitive Cheerleading page which can be found at: http://www.fhsaa.org/sports/competitive-cheerleading.

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Tampa Catholic-Jesuit hoops game sold out; time changed

Posted Feb 2, 2012 by Rick Harmon

Updated Feb 2, 2012 at 04:18 PM

Jesuit’s Director of Athletics Terry Rupp announced this morning that all tickets for the basketball game between Jesuit and Tampa Catholic on Friday night at Jesuit have been sold and there will be no ticket sales at the door.

The junior varsity game, originally scheduled for 6 p.m. will now start at 5:15 p.m. The varsity game will tip off at 7 p.m. instead of its original game time of 7:30 p.m.

Jesuit enters the game 22-1 while Tampa Catholic is 16-7. On Jan. 13, Jesuit defeated Tampa Catholic 57-56 at TC.

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