Around The Region:

Just having a little fun as we await Largo’s Class 5A-3 region final game with Cape Coral Friday:

So, is Largo High School quarterback Leonard Johnson a good storyteller or is Largo High School football coach Rick Rodriguez trying to protect his quarterback? Let’s just say the two have a vastly different opinion on what happened when the Packers nailed Dunedin with a knockout punch in Friday’s region semifinal, a game Largo won 31-0.

With the Packers leading 14-0 and the Packers driving on their first possession of the second half with the ball on the Falcons-21, Largo running back Brynn Harvey was stuffed for no gain on first down.

Immediately after the play Johnson bolted to the Packers sideline screaming for the Packers coaches’ attention.

On the next play, Johnson threw to his right for Reginald McCray for a 29-yard touchdown. Johnson said after the game that he lobbied for the play to be called which is why he ran to the Largo sidelines.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids,” Johnson said of Dunedin cornerback Avery Chisholm, who covered McCray on the play. “I knew there was no way Avery could cover Reginald. I noticed Avery was going to cover him and I told the coaches we could make that play.”

But Rodriguez was equally adamant that never happened.

“No, we had the play called,” Rodriguez said. “We had that play set up.”

After witnessing the touchdown catch by McCray, another Largo coach had a unique reaction. Packers basketball coach Phil Price was on the Largo sidelines. After McCray caught the touchdown, sensing a win, Price chuckled and said, “I guess that’s two more weeks I won’t have him.”

McCray is arguably the Packers best basketball player.

And, yes, basketball season is underway.

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CLEARWATER – Despite the loss of Clearwater Central Catholic and Keswick Christian this past weekend and no matter if Largo wins its Class 5A-3 region final against Cape Coral Friday, there will be football in December in Pinellas County.

The 13th annual Pinellas County All-Star Classic, pitting 34 of the top prep football players from north Pinellas County against 34 of the top prep football players representing schools from south Pinellas County, will be held at Clearwater High School’s Jack White Stadium Dec. 12.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.  Admission will be $6. All proceeds go to the Pinellas County Scholarship fund.

The game is just part of a variety of events that surround the game which also recognizes senior cheerleaders and an all-star band. An awards banquet will be held Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. that honors players, coaches and local game officials. Tickets for that event are $20.

Tarpon Springs coach George Kotis will coach the North squad while Lakewood coach Otis Dixon will guide the South squad. Tickets for the game or banquet can be obtained at Allen Sports Center, 6585 Seminole Blvd. in Seminole, (727) 397-0421.  For information, e-mail All-Star Classic founder and Seminole High School football coach Sam Roper at bamahawks@aol.com.

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As a result of Largo’s 31-0 win over Dunedin in the Class 5A-3 region semifinal Friday, the Packers get to host Cape Coral this coming Friday. Should Largo win that game, it would also host the Class 5A state semifinal game against the winner of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Melbourne Palm Bay Dec. 7.

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If anything jumps out at a football fan about Keswick Christian, it’s the Crusaders offense.

Seven times Keswick Christian has scored 40 or more points, three times scoring over 50 points. Keswick has a potent three-prong attack of quarterback Jared Stacy (1,282 yards passing, 20 touchdowns), running back Jared DiMaggio (1,166 yards, 16 touchdowns) and receiver Tarvan Jones (595 yards, 10 touchdowns). Jones is also a lethal return man with seven kick/punt returns for scores.

But if the Crusaders are to advance to the Class 1B state semifinal game, which will be a first for the school’s football program, the Crusaders may have to turn up the heat on the defensive side of the ball.

Defense hasn’t been much of a problem for the Crusaders. In fact, it may be a hidden gem. Only three times have opponents been able to put double-digits on the Crusaders, two of which were Pinellas County foes early in the year including 21 points by Indian Rocks Christian in the first game of the season.

But the most points scored against Keswick Christian came last week in a 46-27 win over Lakeland Victory Christian. Granted, the Crusaders offense had a comfortable lead. But if history means anything, tonight’s game against Bradenton Prep will be close.

And even the most offensive-minded coaches will tell you in a close game, the defense needs to make some big plays. The previous meeting between the two was a 21-0 Keswick Christian win. The Crusaders may need to have a similar performance by their defense again.

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If Clearwater Central Catholic is going to advance to the Class 2B state semifinals, the gameplan against Frostproof tonight can be summed up in one word:

Turnovers.

The two district foes squared off Oct. 19 and the way the game behind was either a coach’s worst nightmare or a coach’s dream, depending on the perspective of a particular coach.

After the host Bulldogs scored quickly on their first possession, the Frostproof defense quickly returned two turnovers on CCC’s first two possessions for touchdowns. Before the Marauders’ defense had broken a sweat, they trailed 20-0.

After the game, [Frostproof coach] Brad Metheny came up to me and said, ‘We may have played our best game and you may have played your worst game,’” CCC coach Mike Jalazo said.

Jalazo can only hope this is the case. But the visiting Marauders may have an ace up their sleeve: health.

CCC had been riddled with injuries this season, at one point having eight starters out, including starting quarterback Brett Henderson and two of its top tacklers, defensive lineman Kyle Rettig and defensive back Anthony Cochran.

Now, the Marauders are somewhat healthy and Jalazo noted that the team is finally starting to gel as he had hoped, only it’s late-November, not mid-September.

But the key element will be taking care of the football. If CCC is sloppy in protecting the football as it was in the two teams’ previous meeting, this very well could be CCC’s last game of the season.

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Largo coach Rick Rodriguez noted a lot has changed since his undefeated Packers escaped with a double-overtime win over Dunedin Sept. 28. One of those things that changed is how Dunedin has evolved.

“Bellamy is a better back,” Rodriguez noted, raving about Bellamy’s more determined running style he displayed in last week’s 31-17 win over Gibbs when the junior running back racked up 248 yards.

“But I like how their offense runs a spread-option, they have a lot of weapons,” Rodriguez said. Rodriguez especially lauded wide receiver/defensive back Mike Towns.

But the Packers too have changed. All opponents will be worried about Packers running back Brynn Harvey, now the Pinellas County regular season rushing leader. And Dunedin did a pretty good job with him in the previous meeting, which was arguably the best game thus far in Pinellas County this season.

What burned Dunedin was the second half rushing of Largo quarterback Leonard Johnson, who dinged the Falcons defense with several keepers. It’s hard enough for teams to defend Harvey but trying to stop Johnson too is difficult and Rodriguez knows that.

“We’re trying to be a little more diverse,” Rodriguez said. 

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In a blog post earlier this week I noted a flaw in the football playoff brackets. And thanks to those who commented about the subject. Earlier this week Largo football coach Rick Rodriguez chimed in about the subject.

Although it’s the way the brackets happened to work out, but there’s something peculiar about Largo traveling to Dunedin for a Class 5A-3 region semifinal Friday. Not only are the visiting Packers undefeated, they beat Dunedin 37-31 in double overtime Sept. 28.

Despite the quirk in the schedule, Rodriguez isn’t fazed.

“I don’t care where we play,” Rodriguez said of the rematch with Dunedin. Rodriguez also noted the way the bracket lays out, it may be a disadvantage this week for the Packers, but if Largo is fortunate to advance, it would have the next two playoff games at home. He’d rather have home playoff games later than earlier.

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One of the treats to having Dunedin’s football squad continue to win is arguably the best thing about going to high school football games in Pinellas County:

The bagpipes.

While the Dunedin High School band may or may not be the best, biggest or the most flashy of bands (I’m not sure how one would gauge those elements), the bagpipes make the Falcons band the best for my money.

I’m not sure how many other high school bands have bagpipes, I can’t recall any off the top of my head, but the bagpipes really make for an entertaining evening (provided the football game isn’t). Perhaps if Largo happens to win tonight the school could somehow rent out the bagpipes to travel with the Packers the rest of the way?

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Prior to the season, Clearwater Central Catholic coach Mike Jalazo suggested that if the team remained healthy, it has “a chance to be pretty good,” Jalazo said at the time.

The last time he made such a prediction, the Marauders advanced to the Class 2B state semifinal before losing to Pahokee.

But this season almost became a nightmare for CCC as the Marauders were riddled by injuries, including starting quarterback Brett Henderson and top defensive players Kyle Rettig and Anthony Cochran. At one point, the Marauders had eight starters out with injuries. As a result, the team sputtered and needed a district win over Sarasota Cardinal Mooney to secure a playoff berth, it’s XXX consecutive trip to the postseason.

But the team is starting to get healthy now, as evidenced by CCC’s 23-0 win over previously undefeated Crescent City in the Class 2B-3 region semifinals last week.

Part of the reason for the win is that Jalazo noted, now healthy, the team is starting to get used to playing with each other again.

“It almost feels like we’re starting the season, only we’re in November,” Jalazo quipped. 

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A couple of nuggets as Keswick Christian prepares to play its biggest football game in years tonight.

Should undefeated Keswick Christian beat Bradenton Prep Friday in the Class 1B-3 region final, a team the host Crusaders shut out earlier this year 21-0 on Oct. 19, it will mark the furthest Keswick Christian has advanced in the postseason.

The last time the Crusaders got this far in the playoffs was when it lost to Fort Myers Evangelical Christian in the Class 1A playoffs in 2001. Evangelical Christian was led by Corey Lynch. If the name sounds familiar, he was the player for Appalachian State who blocked a field goal attempt on the last play of the game to secure a win over Michigan in the first week of this year’s college football season.

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Keswick Christian has a weekly Thursday tradition of having mothers of players cook a feast for the team after practice for dinner. With this week being Thanksgiving, and the team holding an 8 a.m. practice yesterday, Crusaders coach Rick Sanson left the decision of whether to have a Thursday dinner to the players and their parents.

Instead of a team Thanksgiving dinner, the mothers hosted a Thanksgiving breakfast. But Sanson suggested the players wouldn’t have Thanksgiving items on the breakfast menu.

“No, I don’t think they are going to have turkey bacon,” Sanson said earlier in the week.

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Interesting image in the immediate moments after Dunedin’s 31-17 win over Gibbs in the Class 5A-3 region quarterfinal game Friday night.

Adaris Bellamy, Dunedin’s junior running back had essentially ended Gibbs season single-handedly with four touchdowns, three in the second half, while rushing for 248, Once the game ended, Bellamy quickly began yelling, “Where’s Jacquez Green? I want his autograph. I want to go to Florida.”

Green, a former All-American wide receiver for the Gators who later played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions, is the offensive coordinator at Gibbs. Bellamy finally found Green in the crowd of players and coaches at midfield. Bellamy then asked a reporter for a few sheets of paper so Green could sign an autograph for him.

Green obliged and seemed to enjoy the attention. While Green signed, he had to interrupt Bellamy twice asking how to spell his name. This because Bellamy repeatedly kept telling Green how much he wanted to play for Florida, as if Green somehow has Florida coach Urban Meyer’s ear.

Memo to Meyer: it may be beneficial to give Bellamy a quick phone call sometime. It appears Bellamy won’t be a hard sell.

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OK, if anyone knows how this works (paging Nick Grasso or Bob Cotter), feel free to post.

Nothing against Dunedin at all but how exactly does it work that Dunedin is hosting Largo in the Class 5A-3 region semifinal? Largo is undefeated and the Packers beat Dunedin in their meeting earlier this year.

Yet Dunedin is the home team?

If anyone has a logical explanation for this, feel free to post.

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First-year Northeast legacy coach Jay Austin is one of the friendliest, jovial coaches in the county. He almost always seems to be smiling or joking. The man truly loves his job.

But one thing has been getting under his skin since his Vikings won the Class 4A-9 district runner-up tiebreaker. With playoff berth secured, Northeast learned it would play the defending Class 4A state champ Plant.

Soon thereafter, Austin received so many condolences; he thought he might have been at a wake.

“I’d rather go [play Plant in the playoffs] than not go [into postseason play],” Austin said. “I mean, what are we supposed to do, not play? Is it going to be tough? Of course. But we’re talking about 16- and 17-year old kids here. You don’t know what will happen, nobody does. Anything can happen.

The Vikings would have a better shot if Jeff Brinson lines up at running back with his 1,764 rushing yards in 6 ½ games.

Brinson initially was thought to have broken his ribs playing safety in the Vikings 24-21 overtime loss Lakewood Oct. 26. But tests later showed the ribs to be fractured.

Initially, Austin didn’t want to see Brinson play for the Vikings again. The three-star running back has offers from a virtual Who’s Who of top college football programs.

“There’s not a playoff game worthy of jeopardizing the future he may have,” Austin said.

But Austin also added that the only way he would consider using Brinson is if a doctor gave the senior full clearance to play. And Brinson has received that.

But Brinson’s appearance in tonight’s game is not certain. If he does play, fans offering their condolences might have been a bit premature.

Plant, by the way, is on a nine-game winning streak.

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Aside from one game, a 34-31 nailbiter of a win over playoff-bound Gibbs, Boca Ciega’s defense game in and game out answered the ball, often against teams with highly talented offensive stars such as Dunedin’s Adarius Bellamy or Northeast’s Jeff Brinson.

But to pull off another defensive game tonight, the host Pirates will have to contain a star quarterback. Jefferson’s Zack Grossi, who has thrown for 1,876 yards and 19 touchdowns.

But then again it’s not as if the Boca Ciega has never faced a good quarterback. The defense sees one each week in practice, which may give the Pirates an edge.

Orhian Johnson, Boca Ciega’s quarterback, is one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation. Johnson, 6-2, 175, is rated as a three-star player by Rivals.com, Johnson has many suitors for his services the next four seasons in college, among them Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee.

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Indian Rocks Christian coach Mark Buchanan was known as a high-flying, pass-happy coach when he was hired three years ago at the Largo school. But this year, the Golden Eagles have used a strong ground game to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Has Buchanan lost touch with his inner quarterback?

“It’s not my nature,” Buchanan laughed Wednesday. “But you have to go with what you have.”

And what Buchanan has is a pair of pretty solid runners with a fairly decent quarterback, if for no other reason than to keep defenses honest and maybe keep peace with his soul.

Jimmy Sitton and Ethan Englebert have combined for over 1,600 yards of rushing offense. Toss in quarterback Matt Oliphant (657 passiing yards) and the Golden Eagles have a dangerous offense.

But now Indian Rocks Christian will be facing a dangerous team, defending Class 1A defending champions Belle Glades Glades Day. And while the private school may not be as well off as some of its football neighbors, it is still located in possibly Florida’s football hotbed and the team gets its share of players.

“I coached in Palm Beach County for eight years and I am familiar with that area and it is impressive how they do it year after year after year,” Buchanan said. “Kids there dream of playing football from a very young age and they know their ticket out is football. And when so many of the NFL players come back and give back to the community—which they do so well—that only motivates the kids more.”

As far as the game goes, it’s simple for Buchanan.

“They have one or two big time players at receiver and running back and we have to make sure we force someone else to step up for them,” Buchanan said. “I think we can run the ball on them. We have to control the ball and keep it out of their hands.

“We have to go with what got us here.”

Even if that means passing on the passing game for a pass-oriented coach. 

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