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TAMPA Two of the top Class 1A teams in the state met Saturday at the second annual Bayshore Christian School Invitational championship, and it was St. Francis Catholic of Gainesville that upset the defending 1A state champion and host Faith Warriors in three games to take the title.
St. Francis won in scores of 19-25, 25-21 and 15-9.
Bayshore Christian sophomore Gabby Fernandez, the team MVP, led Faith Warriors (10-6) with 15 kills. Bayshore won the first game, but errors on defense led to its demise.
“They pulled our (middle) blocker a couple of times and we need our block,” Bayshore Christian coach Melanie Humenansky said. “It made our back row defense have to work that much harder, which is hard to do when you have 30 feet to cover by yourself.”
Amanda Mirabella added 23 assists.
Tampa Catholic finished fifth while Durant took sixth and Bloomingdale seventh.
NIKE CHALLENGE: Nationally ranked Plant (15-3) went 4-1 to finish fifth at the 24-team, Nike Challenge national tournament in Chicago over the weekend. The Panthers won its pool to reach the Gold Bracket quarterfinals, but lost to nationally ranked Louisville Sacred Heart (20-25, 26-24, 15-25). In the consolation bracket, Plant defeated nationally ranked St. Francis (25-19, 20-25, 25-21) and Dowers Grove South (29-27, 25-20).
Senior outside hitter Danielle Erb was one of six players to make the all-tournament team.
“It was an amazing tournament,” Plant coach Leanna Taylor said.
To read PrepVolleyball.com’s notebook from the tournament, Click Here. To view the entire Nike Challenge Bracket, go here
Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.
Sickles senior Derek Wehunt is on a roll. For the second week in a row, he has taken on his competition on a state-wide stage and emerged victorious.
Last week, it was the FSU Invitational in Tallahassee. This time, it was Saturday morning’s Race of Champions at the flrunners.com Invitational in Titusville. And just like the FSU meet, Wehunt led from start to finish to post a winning 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 25 seconds.
Although weather conditions were near-ideal and the course flat and fast, there might be some debate on the accuracy of the course, That’s because the top 10 of Wehunt’s race all broke 16 minutes and the first 20 were all sub-16:15. That’s a bit too fast and other races Saturday there had similar results. But it doesn’t matter. In cross country, it’s place that matters and Wehunt was No. 1—again.
“Right now, it’s that confidence thing for me,” Wehunt said. “Just going out there and knowing I can take the lead and keep it. Years before, I’d say ‘Oh, I’ll just go with the pack so I don’t go out and kill myself.’ Now I’m actually challenging myself and not like babying myself. I’m taking it hard the whole race and that last part I know I’ll have something left.”
Chamberlain junior Mark Parrish and Durant senior John Mitchell also had a great races, taking third (15:38) and seventh (15:52), respectively. Parrish actually hung with Wehunt for nearly half the race, with the two runners splitting the first mile in 4:40. Wehunt continued to push the pace, hitting the second mile in 9:55 and finally dropping eventual runner-up Armando Del Valle (15:33) of Miami Columbus with little more than 800 meters to go.
The only disappointment for Wehunt was the absence of Class 4A rival Brian Atkinson of Melbourne. Even though the meet was in his own county and the school’s JV squad attended, Atkinson did not race flrunners.com.
Wharton’s boys and girls also made a good showing, with senior John Grellner winning the Invitational division in 16:08 and senior Alyssa Franks taking 37th in the girls Race of Champions. As teams, the Wildcats’ girls were eighth in the Race of Champions and the boys seventh in the Invitational race.
Plant bounced back from its two losses at the Berkeley Premier last week with two wins at the national 24-team Nike Challenge tournament in Chicago on Friday.
The Panthers (11-2) won Pool 3 after defeating Joilet Catholic Academy, 25-22 and 25-19, and Hononegah, 25-13 and 25-13, to advance to quarterfinal play on Saturday of the Gold Bracket. Plant is two wins away from the bracket championship match.
“Strong competition,” coach Leanna Taylor said via text message. “Its going to be fun!”
On a side note, Taylor is excited about the team’s plans to see Blue Man Group in concert Saturday.
The East Tennessee State men’s basketball program might have one heck of a recruiting class next year, and it could be comprised of Bay Area prospects.
The Buccaneers have offered King senior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and Plant senior guard Sheldon Cooley and are very interested Ridgewood senior forward Lucas Poderis. Last year, Armwood senior and Hillsborough County Player of the Year Adam Sollazzo signed with the Atlantic Sun Conference program. Years prior, another Armwood standout, forward James Anthony, inked with E. Tennessee State.
On Thursday, Plant boys basketball coach Mike Phillips said Cooley and Poderis, whom he coaches during the summer with Florida Elite, visited the school last weekend. Sollazzo was their host. He said assistant coaches are in town this week to meet with them, and possibly Fitzpatrick.
Phillips said East Tennessee State coaches have already conducted an in-home visit with Cooley.
We’re four weeks into the season and the picks contest between the staff remains a tight race. Following a 16-1 week from both the Tribune’s Katherine Smith and Bill Ward, they lead the way with a 50-15 overall total. Adam Adkins and Nick Williams also were 16-1 last week and are tied with a 46-19 overall total.
WFLA’s Shannon Liston is 39-11 and Dan Lucas is 40-10 after they each finished 15-2 last week. Neither Liston nor Lucas picked in Week 1.
Remember, you can join in on the fun by picking at the TBO.com Pick’em Challenge. All you have to do is register and pick the winners of 10 selected games for a chance each week to win two tickets to the Super Bowl XLIII NFL Experience.
Here are the staff picks for Week 5:
Brandon at Durant – All take Durant.
Riverview at Hillsborough – All take Hillsborough.
Jesuit at Gaither – Adam, Bill, Dan and Katherine take Gaither. Nick and Shannon take Jesuit.
Alonso at Freedom – Adam and Katherine take Alonso. Bill, Dan, Nick and Shannon take Freedom.
Chamberlain at East Bay – All take Chamberlain.
Bloomingdale at Sickles – Adam, Bill, Nick and Shannon take Bloomingdale. Dan and Katherine take Sickles.
Newsome at Robinson – Bill takes Newsome. Adam, Dan, Katherine, Nick and Shannon take Robinson.
Middleton vs. Blake – All take Middleton.
Jefferson at Armwood – All take Armwood.
Lennard at Leto – Adam and Shannon take Lennard. Bill, Dan, Katherine and Nick take Leto.
Spoto at Tampa Bay Tech – All take Tampa Bay Tech.
Berkeley Prep at Orlando Lake Highland Prep – Dan, Katherine and Nick take Berkeley Prep. Adam, Bill and Shannon take Lake Highland Prep.
Mount Dora Bible at Carrollwood Day – Adam, Dan and Nick take Carrollwood Day. Bill, Katherine and Shannon take Mount Dora.
Keswick Christian at Cambridge Christian – All take Keswick Christian.
Berkeley Prep (15-1) rose to No. 15 in the Century Club National Top 100, up 23 spots from its position last week. Plant (9-2) fell from No. 4 to No. 17 in the same poll.
In the ESPN Fab 50 poll, Plant dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 while Berkeley rose to No. 27.
First-year Bloomingdale football coach Jason Stokes on Thursday was named the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Coach of the Week.
Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden presented Stokes with a certificate and a personalized football following Thursday morning’s practice at One Buccaneer Place. Prior to practice, Stokes and guests toured the team’s state-of-the-art training facility. In addition to the recognition, Stokes will receive $1,000 for his high school football program.
Stokes’ Bulls are off to a 3-1 start this season, that record aided by a forfeit win they picked up from Spoto. Bloomingdale defeated Plant City 7-0 last week, and the Bulls travel to face winless Sickles on Friday.
In Hillsborough County:
Plant City at Wharton. THE WIZARD OF OZ BOWL. This game was supposed to be played at Plant City on Friday. Instead, it was moved to Wharton and played on Thursday because of Plant City’s field condition. Reporter Adam Adkins reported this Thursday morning. The team may not play on its home turf until the regular season finale. You can read more Here.
The Raiders, who haven’t played a home game this season, must feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, far away from home with no clue as to when they will get back. Should they try closing their eyes and clicking their cleats together three times?
Middleton vs. Blake at Raymond James Stadium. THE MUSIC BOWL. People may actually be more interested with who wins the halftime show rather than what transpires on the field.
Jefferson at Armwood. MIRACLE ON TURF BOWL. Here’s what Jefferson coach Mike Fenton had to say about facing Armwood after his team’s win over Gaither last week. “We’re playing an all-universe team and we’re going to get an opportunity to do something maybe no one has done in a long, long time. Great things have happened in sports throughout the years, you know, the United States beating the Russians. We’re going to have that opportunity.” With that said, we might have our own version of the 1980 Winter Olympic Miracle On Ice moment here in Hillsborough County!
In Pasco County:
Nature Coast (4-0) at Pasco (3-0). CHUM CLASSIC. Only one of these teams can leave W.F. Edwards Stadium with their undefeated record intact. Have the Sharks of Nature Coast gotten a whiff of blood in the water? Pasco will be without two-way lineman and D-I recruit Mylon Brown for another four weeks. He’s already missed two. Last week Pasco had to come from behind in the final seconds of the game against Hudson to earn a win. The other question is will the Pirates cut the Sharks up, bouncing back from last week’s struggles.
Sunlake (1-2) at Land O’ Lakes (2-2). BUTTER BOWL. No, this isn’t the Land O’ Lakes that produces the butter, but who cares. Land O’ Lakes is home to two public schools and they both will face off Friday night. Land O’ Lakes, the granddaddy of the two, leads the fledgling series, 1-0.
Gulf (4-0) at Ridgewood (2-1). TRUTH SERUM SHOWDOWN. These two squad have experienced a hefty level of success the last couple seasons. Gulf’s four victories come against teams that are a combined 4-11, while Ridgewood is a level higher than Gulf’s previous competition. This will be the first major test for the Bucs.
Wesley Chapel (2-2) at Zephyrhills (1-3). BUCKLE YOUR HELMET BOWL. When these two teams get after it, you can ensure there will be some hard hitting and a decent defensive showing. Wesley Chapel lost last season’s matchup against the Bulldogs and they’re looking for a shot of revenge.
In Pinellas County:
Largo vs. Dunedin. STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH BOWL. Not often do two teams with solid matchup happen like this one. On one side of the ball is Dunedin running back Adarius Bellamy. The Rivals.com four star running back, who has verbally committed to South Florida, can toy with opponents. A game earlier this year against Osceola was a perfect example when he scored six touchdowns over the span of eight rushing attempts.
Facing Bellamy from Largo’s side of the line is one of the state’s top linebackers, three star Rivals.com linebacker Mike Marry. Both teams are built to run the ball and stop the run, respectively. The winner of this matchup will likely lead his team to a win and possibly the much bigger things to come.
Players to watch in Pinellas:
Hunter Trumaine, QB, Shorecrest Prep: Trumaine has 427 yards rushing averaging 11 yards a carry.
Lou Mason, RB, Indian Rocks Christian: Mason has 285 yards rushing averaging 12 yards a carry.
Compiled by Lee Diekemper, Adam Adkins, Katherine Smith, Eddie Daniels and Nick Williams
Durant coach Mike Gottman said two key Cougars players have suffered serious knee injuries in the past week.
One player injured was senior quarterback Daniel Coan, who suffered a torn ACL during practice last week and will miss the rest of the season. The worst part about the injury was Gottman had named Coan his new starting quarterback just a day before the injury occurred. Sophomore Je’Twan Smith returned to the starting role following the injury.
The other player injured was senior defensive back Hezekiah Lumpkin. Lumpkin’s knee injury occurred during the Cougars’ win Friday over King, and while it’s not expected to cost him the rest of the season, Gottman said Lumpkin will be sidelined 4-6 weeks.
As for this week, Gottman is hoping the Cougars (2-2) do a much better job on offense. Turnovers have plagued the team in its two losses this season, and Gottman knows the Cougars can’t afford mistakes Friday against Brandon.
“We need to play well. We need to eliminate the turnovers,” Gottman said. “The first game against Plant City, we had no turnovers [and won 25-6]. It’s the reason we won. We got lucky to win last Friday [against King], because we had three turnovers. We were lucky our defense played so well, or we would have got beat.”
Tampa Bay Tech football coach C.C. Culpepper says he has received threatening text messages and calls to his personal cell phone. Culpepper said the caller only identified himself as “The Spoto Boys,” but he does the phone number of the caller and has turned it and the messages over to Spoto High’s athletic director, Cornelius Bobo.
The Titans play host to Spoto on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Last season, the TBT suffered a 21-18 loss to the Spartans
Culpepper said he first started receiving text messages around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. He said the messages threatened him and his players, including Titans quarterback Angel Rodriguez, the offensive line, running back Maurice Hagens and defensive back Khayri McCray, who last season played for Spoto. Culpepper continued receiving texts throughout the evening and, later, got a phone call from someone who did not identify themselves. From the style of the messages and sound of the voice of the caller, Culpepper believes it was a student.
The calls continued until nearly 12:45 a.m. Thursday morning, Culpepper said. During a brief conversation with the caller, Culpepper said he told them “Do you know you’re talking to the head coach?” The caller, Culpeppper says, replied “I don’t give a ---- who you are. You let your boys know the Spoto boys are coming for their ---, including that switch-out, McCray.”
“They said things like ‘We’re coming for you’ and ‘You better be on point’ and that we better pray that Hagens is able to play,” said Culpepper, who expects Hagens to be able to play following a knee sprain last week. “It was the tone that bothered me. It was threatening. They weren’t joking around. I’m a father of three and I don’t want this carrying over into my family and personal life and to me, that’s what this did.”
As a result of the calls and texts, Culpepper said he was forced to change cell phone numbers Thursday.
Hillsborough senior baseball player Jay Laurienzo has verbally committed to Florida Gulf Coast, a Division I program.
Laurienzo, an outfielder, was the Terriers’ top hitter as a junior, batting .441 with seven doubles, three triples, four home runs, 23 RBI and 24 runs scored. He was a Tribune All-Hillsborough County second team selection and a Class 5A all-state honorable mention selection last season. He also was named to the Saladino Tournament all-tournament team and was the Saladino Tournament Home Run Derby champion last season.
One of the things Laurienzo said played a factor in his decision was the rapport he was able to build with the Florida Gulf Coast coaching staff.
“First of all, talking to coaches, we hit it off. I really liked how coaches described what the plans were for me and the program in the future,” Laurienzo said.
Another factor was the proximity of the Fort Myers-based campus. Laurienzo spent this past summer playing with a summer travel team based in Midland, Ohio, and while he enjoyed his time with the team, he came to the realization he would like to play close to home.
“The campus is beautiful, and it’s only two hours away, depending on who you have driving – my mom or my dad,” Laurienzo said. “I could be close enough to where my parents could drive down for home stands, but not too close to where I can’t gain my independence.”
Florida Gulf Coast is a relatively new program, having been around only six years. However, the Eagles have enjoyed some pretty good success during that short period. Last season, their first at the Division I level, the Eagles went 35-18, including 25-8 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, which was tops in the league.
The Eagles weren’t eligible for postseason play last season because of the NCAA probabtionary period for transitioning programs, and won’t be until the first season Laurienzo plays with the team. The Terriers senior said he feels fortunate to be entering a program just as it seems to be taking off.
“I feel very fortunate,” Laurienzo said. “Just to come along at this point in time and what the school has to offer, it’s great.”
The Blake Yellow Jackets haven’t won a game this season, but a victory Friday night against rival Middleton would make their season.
“That would make us feel like we’re state champions,” Blake defensive end/kicker Montrey Pride said. “And it would kind of set the tone for the rest of the season.”
The two teams will again meet at Raymond James Stadium in a game that has become more of event than anything else.
“It is huge playing in that stadium,” Pride said. “It makes you feel good, like you’re top material. There’s nothing like getting taped up in the Bucs locker room. Not everybody can say they can do that.”
The Plant City football team won’t be on its home field until at least Oct. 24, and even that looks like a remote possibility.
Hillsborough County director of athletics Lanness Robinson confirmed Thursday that the Raiders’ scheduled home game Oct. 10 (next Friday) against East Bay will be moved to Durant High. Durant football coach Mike Gottman also confirmed the East Bay-Plant City game would be played at the Ron Frost Athletic Complex, home of the Cougars.
Robinson added that Plant City’s scheduled home game Oct. 24 against Newsome also likely will be moved to Durant. On Thursday, the updated schedule from the Hillsborough County athletic department lists both games as being scheduled to be played at Durant.
“The one next week is set in stone,” Robinson said of the field change. “The one on the 24th is a question mark, but a very weak question mark.”
There have been problems with Plant City’s field since new sod was laid just before the season began. The Raiders have already lost three home games this season, including this week’s scheduled game against Wharton, which has been moved to tonight at Wharton.
“It’s not ready. As soon as that field is ready, they can play on it,” Robinson said. “It’s all about the safety for the kids, and right now it’s not safe.”
If Plant City’s game Oct. 24 is moved to Durant, it would leave the Raiders with just one home game this season - the regular-season finale against Freedom on Nov. 14. As of Thursday, the updated county schedule still had the game being played at Plant City.
Friday’s scheduled football game between Wharton and Plant City has been moved to tonight, and the location has been moved to Wharton, a school official at Plant City confirmed this morning. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
The change was made because Plant City’s field, which was resodded before the season, still is not ready. This is the third home game Plant City has lost because of the field’s condition. The Raiders also lost their Kickoff Classic against Tampa Bay Tech on Aug. 29 and a Sept. 19 game against Riverview. Both games were played on their opponents’ field.
Plant City is scheduled to host East Bay next week, but it is unclear where that game will be played.
Jesuit senior baseball player Joe Hudson has verbally committed to Notre Dame.
Hudson, an infielder, hit team-best .397 last season. He finished second on the team with 31 hits, had a team-best nine doubles, with one triple, one home run, 21 RBI and 22 runs scored.
As a sophomore, Hudson hit .500 in 12 games.
“I wanted the best combination of baseball and academic excellence. For me, grades were a big thing. I’ve been studying my butt off the last four years. I wanted to go to best academic institution and play for a good team, and I think Notre Dame was the best fit in that aspect.”
Hudson was also considering LSU, New Mexico State and USF. He has yet to visit Notre Dame’s campus in South Bend, Ind., but plans to do so within the next month.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the campus,” Hudson said. “That’s not something I’m really worried about [impacting my decision].”
Hudson is the fourth Jesuit senior baseball player to verbally commit to a Division I baseball program, joining infielders Greg Dupell (Navy) and Nick Lockwood (USF) and outfielder Jimmy Falla.
“It’s a great individual achievement for all four of those guys. We’re focused on team goals and those four guys understand those team goals,” Jesuit coach Richie Warren said. “I’m happy those individual ahcievements are recognized, but in the end these four guys are more for the team than anything else.”
Hudson echoed those sentiments.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time. I’m glad I’ve gotten it out of the way,” Hudson said of his commitment. “This is really going to give me a chance to focus with my teammates on a state championship. We now have four guys going Division I, and that’s great, but we all know what we really want. It’s [a state title] a big deal around our school, you know.”
All four Jesuit baseball players are expected to sign with their respective programs during the early signing period in November, Warren said.
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