The high school football playoffs start tonight, and, alas, the three Highlands County teams are making other plans. In the end, Sebring couldn’t win The Big Game(s), Lake Placid coalesced too late and Avon Park, playing out an athletic director’s ultimate nightmare, faced four top-10 teams in five weeks.
At issue now: Can a team still have a successful season without making the playoffs?
After examining these three case studies, most certainly.
Sebring (7-3) surely possessed all the pieces for its first foray into the postseason since 2003. With a traditional pocket passer (Matt Grubb), an explosive offensive weapon (Devin Clarke), and a defense that bore little resemblance to last year’s porous unit, the Blue Streaks began the season 3-1, their loss coming to playoff-bound Hardee.
The test, we know now, came against Lake Wales. And that game, we know now, ultimately changed the complexion of their season. Three Blue Streaks were ejected after a brief on-field skirmish. Sebring eventually lost, 28-3, a final score inflated by two late Lake Wales touchdowns.
The news got worse: The FHSSA ruled that 19 Sebring players had stepped onto the field — most acting instinctually to aid a fallen teammate — and were promptly suspended for the following game, against Winter Haven, another matchup that would go a long way in determining this year’s two district representatives.
And, perhaps not unexpectedly, Sebring lost 13-0, while playing with only 19 guys in uniform. Their playoffs hopes were dashed.
Reflecting upon the season last Friday, after his players drenched him with an ice water shower, Sebring coach Jared Hamlin said: “This is kind of the coulda, woulda, shoulda season. Things didn’t go right in a couple of instances for us but that’s the things you learn from and that’s the life lessons in this game that you preach every day.”
A sobering lesson, surely. And Sebring responded in fitting fashion, in a manner befitting a playoff team: by winning five straight games (including a victory over rival Avon Park), allowing three total touchdowns and leaving many players to wonder whether this season was destined for more.
Said Daniel Burnett, the senior tailback: “We had little missteps but if I had one more chance, I’d want to play all three of them on this field.”
In shambles after last year’s 2-8 season, his first at the helm, Avon Park coach Andy Bonjokian inspired the masses — at least temporarily — during a 3-7 season. He also stumbled upon a star quarterback-in-waiting.
Too bad it came during the most unforgiving stretch of the season.
Hardee. Fort Meade. Lake Highland Prep. Tampa Catholic. They all awaited Teddy Allen, the Red Devils’ most dynamic player, who was thrust behind center when incumbent starter Tekovan Miller went down with a cracked rib. The results were forgettable — they lost six straight to close the season — but the message was enduring.
“Teddy showed why he’s going to be playing on Saturdays next year,” Bonjokian said.
And in the most extreme case of all, Lake Placid turned back the clock — all the way back to the 1970s, no less — and recorded its first winning season since 1998. The turnaround wasn’t complete until the Green Dragons’ 41-6 demolition of Lemon Bay, an apt conclusion to a season that stunned nearly everyone — except the head coach, Jason Holden.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” he said after, “because they were able to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in a long time.”
Indeed, it was only Lake Placid’s fourth winning season since the 1972 — 37 years of futility! — and this one may have been the grandest of all.
When fall camp began, Holden needed to find leadership. He needed to find a defense that didn’t fold when faced with adversity. He needed to find a new quarterback.
It took some time — the Green Dragons didn’t win back-to-back games until Oct. 23, after Holden scheduled two polished teams to start — but the finished product left little to question.
“I’m so happy to finish my high school career with a game like this that I don’t want to take my jersey off,” fullback Navahri Holden said in the aftermath of last week’s emotional win. “When I come back for my 10-year reunion we’ll be talking about this night and the season we put together.”
Here’s thinking they’ll have put together another winning season by then.
Sickles playoff excitement was tempered a bit on Wednesday when the team learned they would be without starting quarterback John Melvin Hendrick.
Hendrick had surgery to repair a wrist injury he sustained in the Gryphons regular-season finale game against Armwood last week. Surgeons repaired a dislocated growth plate and a radial fracture in his non-throwing hand, Sickles coach Pat O’Brien said.
“He’ll be in a cast for six weeks and then he’ll have to rehab it afterwards,” O’Brien said. “They wanted to make sure the growth plate was handled properly because he is still growing.”
Starting linebacker and the Gryphons leadind tackler Scott O’Donoghue will start in Hendrick’s place.
“He’ll be playing Superman,” O’Brien said. “We had him playing both ways against Wharton, so he has an idea of what it will be like.”
Jeff Wilton has also been taking snaps at practice this week and will be used if O’Donoghue needs to take a rest, O’Brien said. Hillsborough County’s leading rusher Cary White also could help out on the defensive side of the ball if needed.
Tampa Prep continued its undefeated start to the season on Wednesday night, but the manner of the Terrapins 4-3 victory against Jesuit left Coach Doug Smith a little concerned.
“Frankly, we got the win, but I don’t think we played as well as we could play,” Smith said. “I don’t think we controlled the ball like we are capable of doing. We were one-dimensional, going too much over the top, we needed to play more to feet, keep the ball, keep our composure.”
While Smith may have thought the Terrapins play was one-dimensional, the counter-punching style they were able to utilize paid off for them against the Tigers. Using the speed of front men Wes Sever and Jesuit transfer Burrell Aaron effectively, Sever and Twain Glaser both found the net to give the Terrapins a 2-0 halftime lead.
“We were fortunate to get a counter or two, and get a couple of goals,” Smith said. “By no means were we dominating the game when we scored our first two goals, and then I think the game opened up a bit.”
The Terrapins (3-0) added a third early in the second half, but then lost senior center back Travis Simmons after a nasty clash of heads with Jesuit’s Trevor Adams left both players dazed, and unable to continue. Simmons absence, and the loss of defensive midfielder Brandon Weisz to injury that followed it, disrupted the Terrapins at the back. All three of the Tigers goals came after Simmons left the game, an indicator of how important his quick recovery will be for the Terps.
Tampa Prep’s Anthony Baumann scored on a low shot off a free kick from the left corner of the penalty area to make the score 4-1, seemingly putting the game out of reach, but the Tigers were able to pull within a goal late, an injury time penalty giving them hope of pulling out a tie. That disappointed Smith, but he felt that the side would learn from what was their first true test this season.
“I still think as far as the flow of play, we could have done a lot better,” Smith said. “I don’t think, frankly, our guys had been used to that thus far in the season, where they had no time on the ball, and I thought Jesuit, to their credit, did a good job.”
University of South Florida junior RG Zach Hermann will miss his second consecutive game with a neck injury, and could be out significantly longer, Coach Jim Leavitt said.
“It could be, yeah,” Leavitt said. “This is the second game already. That’s not something that’s casual.”
Hermann missed last week’s game at Rutgers after starting the first eight games of the season. Junior RT Jake Sims moved inside to Hermann’s spot against the Scarlet Knights and freshman Mark Popek started at right tackle.
Wide receiver Carlton Mitchell, DT Aaron Harris, DE Jason Pierre-Paul and LB Chris Robinson are also trying to fight through various injuries.
“They’re all getting there. All of them practiced in a limited way,” Leavitt said. “They’re all going to play, but the one that might not is Mitchell. … Chris is ready to go. Pierre-Paul is ready to go. (Harris) is going to be OK. He’ll play.”
IN HINDSIGHT: RB Jamar Taylor’s sore knee is not getting better, and it looks like his contributions for the remainder of the season could be minimal. Taylor looked like he was heading for a medical redshirt after injuring his knee in preseason camp, but has played sparingly in the past three games.
“I feel bad about it because I don’t have a crystal ball,” Leavitt said. “If I would’ve known that it would’ve been re-aggravated like this, I wouldn’t have played him. So that’s on me. You have to make a decision. He was running around looking like a million bucks and he ran hard in the Pittsburgh game.”
ODDS AND ENDS: USF’s regular-season finale at Connecticut Dec. 5 will kick off at 8 p.m. and be televised by ESPN2. … Leavitt was undecided whether Faron Hornes will remain as punt return after muffing a punt against Rutgers. Leavitt said Patrick Richardson, Theo Wilson, Lindsey Lamar and Nate Allen have been getting looks there this week.
Jefferson football player Andre Davis has been invited to participate in combines for two national all-star games, Dragons coach Mike Fenton said.
Davis, a junior wide receiver, has been invited to combines for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and Under Armour All-America Game. Both nationally-televised all-star games will be played in January; the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Jan. 9, and the Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg on Jan. 2. The combines, reserved for the nation’s top underclassmen, will be held in the days leading up to the games.
Davis, who has emerged as one of the top offensive playmakers in Hillsborough County, has 56 receptions for 1,017 yards and a county-best 17 touchdown receptions this season.
The past few days have been pretty good for Cambridge Christian baseball player Peter Miller.
Miller, a senior, has picked up a pair of offers from Division II programs Tampa and Saint Leo, according to Lancers coach Rick Shears.
Miller was one of the Cambridge Christian’s top offensive forces last season. He hit .387 with six doubles, five triples, two home runs and 29 RBIs as a junior, helping the Lancers make a second consecutive trip to the Class 1A state title game. It’s been Miller’s work on the mound, however, that has garnered all the attention.
While Miller threw just four innings last season, Shears said Miller has done well pitching during the fall season and has been clocked in the upper-80/low-90 range.
Durant senior baseball player Cameron Ellis has verbally committed to Southeastern University.
Ellis, a left-handed pitcher, also considered Marshall, Palm Beach Atlantic, Maryville and Belleview. He said he chose the Fire, an NAIA program located in Lakeland, because of the rapport he built with Southeastern players during a campus visit.
“The guys there were great,” Ellis said. “They were more interested in me as a player and as a person. They welcomed me with open arms.”
Trapped behind a plethora of senior pitchers last season, Ellis logged just 26 2/3 innings on the mound as a junior. He went 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA, striking out 27.
Ellis said he had a good summer playing for the Bullets Baseball 18-under squad, and he expects to be a heavy contributor on the mound for the Cougars this season.
The Big East Conference announced today that USF’s final regular-season game at Connectcut on Dec. 5 will start at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
While the Bulls finish the season at UConn, the ACC Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium will kick off opposite the USF-Connecticut game at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Meanwhile, this week’s USF-Louisville game kicks off at noon at RJS. To watch the game live, you’ll have to tune in to Bright House Sports Network in the Tampa Bay market.
The local ABC affiliate, WFTS Ch. 28, is showing the Michigan-Ohio State game live in the noon slot. However, at the request of USF’s administration, the station is showing a replay of the USF-Louisville game late Saturday night following the late local news.
As for USF’s only other regular-season game remaining—Oct. 28 at home against Miami—that game will be shown live on ABC starting at 3:30.
There you go Bulls fans—you can now plan out your next three Saturdays.
In preparation for Friday night’s Class 3A region semifinal football game between Lakewood and Pasco, a pep rally will be held for the Pasco Pirates football team Thursday night at 6 at the downtown Dade City Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. Pasco’s cheerleaders and band will perform, celebrating Pasco’s third consecutive district title and back-to-back Sunshine Athletic Conference title.
By FRED EVERSON
Weather and water clarity have improved, but local inshore fishing has been slow. I got out Monday morning with my fishing buddy Keli Emery. The winds were light and the tide was slack so we decided to try some deep-water spots around the channel for grouper and snapper.
Netting bait was pretty easy by November standards. We found plenty of pinfish off the Cockroach Bay entrance channel, then Keli threw the net on a school of good-sized sardines. Sadly, that was the end of our catching. We tried bottom fishing for grouper for a couple of hours with only one hook-up, and that fish broke off. Then we headed into Simmons Park to look for snook or redfish. We didn’t find either. It was a bright, sunny day with a slight breeze — a great day to fish, but the catching wasn’t so hot.
Later that afternoon I went upriver with some of the leftover bait. I hooked a snook at the railroad trestle on the Little Manatee River, but it jumped off after a series of leaps. I tossed a few baits out as chum, and I finally saw a good fish pop one of the baits 20 yards from the boat. I cast a big white bait where I saw the boil and it disappeared a few seconds later. A few minutes later I landed a keeper snook, right at 28 inches with the tail pinched.
Captain Rick Bollinger had better luck trolling the shipping channel. He caught grouper, big Spanish mackerel and a kingfish.
I got out for a couple of hours Tuesday afternoon looking for redfish with some cut bait, but I never had the first hit. Redfish have done the disappearing act on this side of the bay for the entire month.
I’ve been skipping a few pompano off Mangrove Point, just north of the mouth of the Little Manatee River, but have yet to hook up. Every time I’ve stopped and made a few casts, I’ve hooked some big ladyfish, but no pompano.
Visit captain Fred Everson’s Web site at http://www.tampabayfishingguide.com for charter info or call (813) 830-8890.
Follow us live for the Class 5A state volleyball semifinals between Newsome and Martin County at 8 p.m.
Robinson’s boys soccer team has opened the season well, a 2-2 draw with Jesuit on Monday night opening some eyes around the bay area, and the Knights will get another stern test when they host a Sickles side that has been dominant in its first three games on Thursday night.
Robinson (2-0-1) has been an athletic and somewhat physical team in previous seasons, but is now seeing young players with greater playing ability join the program. Thomas thinks the discipline his young players have shown is the principle reason why his side has been able to have the success it has so far.
“We definitely lost six or seven seniors last year that were primarily athletes more than soccer players,” Thomas said. “In the process, we’ve picked up about four or five soccer players to replace the athletes with. I think because of the youth, the younger players coming in are more receptive and more open-minded, which makes them more disciplined, which is really the key to our success so far.”
At the center of the team the Knights have Kody Thomas, who will be a pivotal player in Thursday night’s game. The Knights took a 2-0 lead in the first half against Jesuit before Thomas was ejected for a second yellow card. With Boris Simeunovic (five goals) leading the Gryphons (3-0-0), and Ben Wiley providing an able accomplice, Thomas will have to play a disciplined game if the Knights are to compete with the Gryphons.
“(Kody) is going to be absolutely huge in tomorrow’s game plan, because it’s no secret (Simeunovic) is an absolute scoring machine for them, you can tell they like the play the ball through him, and (Wiley) likes to get his assists through (Simeunovic),” Ken Thomas said. “Tomorrow night is going to be a true test of Kody’s composure, maybe more than of his soccer skill.”
From the other sideline, Sickles coach Tony Calvo said he is looking forward to the challenge Robinson should pose his side.
“This is a very interesting game for us,” Calvo said. “They tied Jesuit a couple of nights ago, which really shows that Robinson is finally becoming a team. I know they’ve had a lot of young players in the past when we’ve played them. I know his goalkeeper (Tony Seleznick) is phenomenal, I had the privilege of coaching him a few years back, so it’s going to be an interesting game.”
Calvo credits the strong start his side has made to the season to the rigorous training sessions they have been through. The work that the side has put in on the training field certainly paid off competitively, with five Gryphons having multiple goals already this season.
“They’re training every day hard, and they’re taking one game at a time,” Calvo said. “They’re treating every opponent as a strong opponent.”
Wharton senior swimmer Sarah Menendez committed to Wagner College in New York. She signed her letter of intent during a ceremony at the school on Wednesday.
Menendez is coming off a season where she was the four-time district champion in the 50 free, 100 fly, 200 free relay and 200 medley relay and also won a regional title in the 200 free relay.
Last weekend at the FHSAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Orlando, Menendez earned a fifth-place medal in the 200 free relay and finished 10th in the 200 medley relay, 12th in the 50 free and 23rd in the 100 fly.
Follow the state volleyball Class 3A semifinals between Berkeley Prep and Jacksonville Bolles live below.
Robinson’s football team is gearing up for its first home state playoff game in more than three decades, and the Knights certainly will have their hands full.
The Knights welcome in Arcadia DeSoto County, which has one of the state’s top running backs in senior Marcus Shaw.
Shaw has put together consecutive 2,000-yard rushing seasons and enters Friday’s playoff game at Jack Peters Field – the first there since 1977 – with 2,361 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns this year.
Knights coach Mike DePue is well aware of Shaw, who could be a familiar name to some Hillsborough County football fans. After all, Shaw was a catalyst in ending Spoto’s season last year, rushing for 196 and three touchdowns in an opening-round playoff win against the Spartans.
Perhaps the most worrisome aspect for the Knights is the method in which DeSoto County’s offense moves the ball – out of the Wing-T. Robinson had trouble with another Wing-T team (Newsome) and its standout runner (fullback Conner Powers) earlier this season. The Knights suffered their only home loss of the season to the Wolves, 41-20, as Powers rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think the difference is we matchup up front with them (DeSoto County) a little better,” DePue said last wee. “I think that might give us a little bit of help there.”
If not, Robinson could be forced into a shootout with the Bulldogs. The good news is the Knights have averaged 39.8 points per game this season.
“It could end up being a barn-burner,” DePue said.
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