Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Land O’ Lakes boys basketball team has a new set of expectations after the 2011-12 season.

Last year, the Gators (3-6) went 22-7, were co-Sunshine Athletic Conference champions, captured a district title and won a playoff game for the first time.

“The whole season was big,” said 24-year Land O’ Lakes coach David Puhalski. “The district championship was big because we’ve only won three, so I was really happy they could accomplish that and win a regional game. For the younger guys who are back this year, that showed them a lot about what you have to do to compete at that level.”

It is those younger players who are tasked with building on the foundation set last year, as the Gators lost four of their five starters to graduation from last year, including their leader in points (Ernest McClendon, 12.8*), assists (Justin Thomopalos, 4.3*) and steals (Jackson Cannon, 2.3*). Those four also accounted for 69 percent of Land O’ Lakes’ scoring in 2011-12.

“It was a special team,” said 6-foot-5 senior center Victor Obi, the only returning starter. “Most of the starters last year, we’ve been playing together for a long time. We built a lot of chemistry, got it going and finally made a big run last year. … I feel like we can go far this year too. Step for step we have probably more talent this year, but right now it’s just about building that chemistry and that team bond. As soon as we get that going, we’ll be all right.”

One of the young additions is Victor’s brother Mike Obi, a sophomore point guard. Mike said he learned a lot from watching Thomopalos run the offense last season.

“Biggest thing was he showed me to be more patient,” Mike said. “You have to let things develop and get open. He also showed me a lot about the plays we run.”

Mike does have the added burden of needing to score in order for the team to be successful.

“He’s a different type of point guard,” Puhalski said. “He’s a scoring point guard, and we need him to do that. We lost a lot of our scoring in those four seniors. We don’t need Mike to be a true point guard. He’s balancing both, and that’s new for him as a sophomore. It’ll take a little while to adjust, but he will.”

Mike has risen to the challenge so far, averaging 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Victor (13.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks).

Two other additions this year are junior guard Seth Galbraith (4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals), who moved from Ohio, and freshman guard Taddeus Dixon (5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds).

“Seth is a good addition,” Puhalski said. “He’s a hustler, he hawks the ball and he can shoot it a bit for us. Then Taddeus Dixon came up from the middle school, and he’s a neat story just fitting right in.”

Puhalski added that there is also enough leadership from Victor and senior power forward Justin Forchion (2.9 rebounds).

“Victor is a real quiet leader and leads by example,” Puhalski said. “Justin is more of a vocal leader. He came off the bench and played seven to eight minutes for us last year. Hopefully those two can combine to be that leader.”

Galbraith said he sees the talent needed for a deep playoff run, as long as they build team chemistry.

“It’s about on the court and off the court,” Galbraith said. “When we see each other in the halls and in class, it’s a different kind of friendship. It’s like he’s my brother, and just seeing each other helps. We also go out to eat before games, we’ve gone bowling together and just do stuff as a team.”

The season has started slowly for Land O’ Lakes, but the same was true last year when the Gators stumbled to a 2-3 start.

“We came together when we needed to. I think we can really come together as things go along,” Mike said. “We’re developing team chemistry. Last year, those guys had played together for a while on varsity. This year we’ve had a lot of (junior varsity) move-ups, so it’s just going to take some time.”

Victor said having so many new faces may allow them to sneak up on teams.

“We have so many young players; we’re still looked at as the underdog in our district,” Victor said. “We can come together just like last year and be even better. … Our goal every year is to win district and conference, but I feel like we can go a lot farther than that, maybe past regionals. Last year we made the regional semifinals. That was a good accomplishment, but I think we can go farther this year.”

Puhalski said making a deep playoff run will hinge on three things.

“We have to defend the ball tremendously well, like we did last year,” Puhalski said. “We’ve got to rebound. We’ve also got to cut down on the turnovers. Last year we had 12 to 13 turnovers per game with Thomopalos handling the ball. We couldn’t ask for anyone better at taking care of the ball. This team has to take care of the ball. We’ve made more turnovers in the first games than I want. That’s kind of our Achilles heel, and we’re working on that.”

Galbraith sees the progression and the potential.

“We’re going to have a great season, and this is just the beginning,” Galbraith said. “We still have a long ways to go.”

Land O’ Lakes travels to cross-town and district rival Sunlake Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

*Stats from last year

By Don Trello

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Gaither boys soccer team captains Jonathan Lopez, Ricky Rivera and Tyler Helm are confident the Cowboys will regain the winning form that resulted in final four appearances the last two years, despite a slow start this season.

Gaither was 39-9-4 during its trips to the state semifinals the last two years and won a district championship in 2011-12, but the Cowboys started with four straight losses before going 5-1-2 in their next five games to improve to 5-5-2 this season.

“At first our chemistry wasn’t that good, but now we are progressing,” said Rivera, a senior midfielder/forward. “I definitely see improvement. We are becoming better and better.”

Sophomore forward Jhonatan Da Silva and freshman midfielder Nicholas Ortiz are playing important roles in the Cowboys resurgence, according to Rivera.

“Da Silva knows the game more than other people his age and knows how to hold on to the ball,” Rivera said. “Ortiz has lots of skills and knows how to play with older people; he’s not scared of any senior.”

Da Silva has five goals and one assists this year after recording just four goals and four assists in 25 games last season.

“Last year I wasn’t as tough as I am this year,” said Da Silva, who is from Rio de Janeiro. “I’m stronger, and I made my mind up to be as tough as the rest of the guys. I’ll do anything to help my team.”

Da Silva, 16, moved to Hillsborough County from Brazil with his family when he was 13 years old. He has made a positive adjustment to life in the United States.

“I miss Brazil, but I like it here,” Da Silva said. “The weather and the language were the biggest things. It’s really cold here during December and January, and I spoke no English. It took me about one year to learn the language, but it wasn’t hard making friends. I’m not shy.”

Da Silva’s friends nicknamed him Taco because he grew a mustache his freshman year. The mustache is gone, but not the nickname.

“Everybody just started calling me Taco,” Da Silva said. “My mom made me cut off my mustache. She said it was ugly.”

Ugliness is no stranger to Lopez when it comes to injuries. The talented senior midfielder played with a dislocated shoulder much of his freshman year, missed his sophomore season with a broken arm and missed the postseason as a junior with a hyperextended knee.

“I did three months of physical therapy rehabbing my knee, and I’m feeling really good this year,” Lopez said. “There is a lot of responsibility as a captain. The younger guys get nervous going up against bigger, older kids, but they listen to all the captains and we help them. We have better talent than I thought we would have because of our young players.”

Gaither coach Eric Sims agrees with Lopez about the youthful talent on his team when it comes to Da Silva and Ortiz.

“Da Silva got a lot of experience as a freshman and has a very good left foot,” Sims said. “Ortiz is a freshman playing in 90 percent of the games. He strikes a very good ball and is not scared to shoot from anywhere.”

Ortiz, 14, moved from Columbia when he was 8 years old, and is happy with the change in environment.

“America is the country everybody wants to come to, and I like it here,” Ortiz said. “Soccer is way different here. There are more long balls. Players here are bigger and more physical. There are more skilled players in Columbia. I have a strong shot, and I like shooting the best.”

Sims had high praise for Helm, a senior midfielder, who might be the poster person for what it takes to be a successful soccer player.

“Tyler is basically the prototypical Gaither soccer player,” Sims said. “He is as fit and works harder than any player I’ve ever had. Tyler is the kind of player we are built on.”

Helm made his respect for Sims clear and offered his thoughts about where the team has been and where it is going.

“I play soccer year round and I never get tired of it, especially with coach Sims,” Helm said. “It depends on how motivated we are to win. That dictates how we play. It’s definitely depressing losing to teams we might be better than. We’ve improved some, but we have to continue to make improvements to make a big point about Gaither soccer.”

The Cowboys will host the Class 4A-District 8 tournament Jan. 23 to 26, with the final Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Gaither plays at Wharton Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

Pressure comes with playing for the Wharton boys soccer team.

The Wildcats (2-5-3) have made the playoffs six of the last seven years, and are just five seasons removed from winning the Class 5A state championship.

The burden of maintaining the program’s winning ways falls on a different cast this season.

The Wildcats graduated nine seniors from last year’s squad that went 18-5-1 and reached the regional semifinals, including their top-three scorers in Felipe DeSousa (28 goals, 14 assists), Ize Cadet (11 goals, seven assists) and Alex Noble (seven goals, eight assists).

Wharton also lost Jordan Lue, who was a starting defensive midfielder as a freshman and sophomore, but made an academy squad in Clearwater. New rules prevent student-athletes from competing with such elite-level clubs and in high school.

In total, 12 players are gone from last season, the most turnover ever for seventh-year Wildcats coach Scott Ware. Only nine players on the current roster return from 2011-12.

“We’ve only got 19 on the roster, and that’s the smallest since I’ve been here,” Ware said. “Three of those are goalkeepers, so we’ve only got 16 field players.”

Junior midfielder Philippe Patino, who has been on the squad since his freshman year, said it was strange playing with so many new people the first few weeks.

“If you have a team where you lose a lot of seniors, it’s hard to just come right back and fill those spots,” Patino said. “I think we’ve done pretty well considering what we’ve lost. We’ve still got some spots to work on, but we’ve got a lot of potential on the team.”

Ware wouldn’t come near calling the season a rebuilding year, despite the massive turnover.

“We don’t put that tag on it because if you do it seems like you’re comfortable with just an average season; I’m not,” Ware said. “We’re Wharton, and we’ve got a tradition to uphold in the county. If you talk to coaches or writers who talk about the top five, we want to always be in that top five.

“From the beginning of the season when we have that first tryout meeting, I talk about what Wharton soccer means,” Ware continued. “We tell all the players when you put Wharton across your chest it means something because of the legacy past teams have left behind. I’ve talked to the captains who have been here for awhile, and I ask them what are they going to leave behind. It’s a class team, a class program, and when they realize it, they buy into it.”

Still, replacing 12 players is not an easy task, even for the Wildcats.

“We’re just trying to get some type of style and get to know each other out there,” Ware said. “Who can do what and in different situations who can we count on. They’re all in different age groups in club. They have to learn to read each other and off-the-ball movement. The question is, can we find some style and shape that works well?”

The process is made even more difficult by the fact that Hillsborough County squads do not have junior varsity (JV) programs.

“Not having the JV programs in Hillsborough County, we’re feeling it now,” Ware said. “Pasco County has it, other counties have JV, and some private schools have it. Some of the kids I count on now, they didn’t make it last year or two years ago. I’ve got three freshmen, a couple who came from out of state, so most of these kids I don’t know, and it’s tough when you don’t have a JV team to pull from and teach the kids and learn about them while they’re younger.”

Senior goalkeeper Keenan Kushner (31 saves) said he’s tried to take on more of a leadership role with fellow team captains Lamont DeLorey and Patino, to help the new players transition.

“Everybody is new, and everyone is nervous when they first come out,” Kushner said. “I know I was. The only thing is the intensity isn’t as high as last year, when we had all those seniors. Me, Lamont and Patino are trying to bring that passion to practice and the drive to do well. That’s what Wharton has been known for.”

Wharton was most hit on offense, which is why Ware has focused on developing the defense.

“We’re trying to keep it to one- and two-goal games, which we’ve done,” Ware said. “The defense has really been stellar.”

DeLorey is the only returning player on the backline.

“I’ve tried to take control and get the rest of the defense to press,” DeLorey said. “Last year it was different. The older guys had a mindset of what to do, and they were there before me, so they didn’t really need me to help them. I just played, so it’s a little different. … We’re starting to gel all over the field. We’re getting there slowly but surely.”

The Wildcats also return a huge part of its goal prevention in Kushner, a four-year varsity starter.

“Keenan, he’s a big deal for us,” DeLorey said. “Having him is the most help ever. He’s a really good goalkeeper; one of the best. He can stop anything.”

Wharton’s offense has been led by Patino and his team-high nine points (three goals, three assists). He said he learned a lot from watching guys like DeSousa, Cadet and Noble.

“The way they practice, and I also took the way they played every day,” Patino said. “I try and do the same thing and treat every day like it’s important. It’s tough expectations to meet. There’s this bar that’s way up high that we have to reach every year.”

Wharton will compete in the Class 5A-District 7 tournament at Riverview Jan. 21 to 26.

The Wildcats hosts district rival Alonso Dec. 18 before playing at home against Gaither Dec. 20. Both contests start at 8 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

Mike Lawrence has been named the third football coach in Wiregrass Ranch’s seven-year history.

Bulls athletic director Dave Wilson announced the move Dec. 11.

“The plan that he has in place for the direction of our football program separated him,” Wilson said. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm with him, and just the overall experience that he brings with him over the other candidates. Just overall we thought he was the right person.”

Lawrence joined Wiregrass Ranch’s program last season as the offensive coordinator.

“I’m very excited, very excited,” Lawrence said. “I’m blessed to have the opportunity.”

Wilson said they didn’t plan to promote from within when they started the coaching search.

“Originally we said we need to make some changes in the program overall, so that probably wasn’t our first thought,” Wilson said. “With the list of candidates, which included some very good candidates in the group, coach Lawrence with his experience coming from Kansas State University, playing professionally and with the other programs he’s been with stood out. He has knowledge of both sides of the ball, and his overall plan put him to the top of the list.”

Lawrence was a running back at Kansas State University, where he ranks fourth all-time with 2,265 rushing yards. He was also a defensive back during his redshirt freshman year.

Lawrence played professionally from 1999 to 2008 with the Tennessee Thundercats of the Indoor Professional Football League, the Rheinmain Razorbacks of the German Football League and the River City Rage of the National Indoor Football League. He followed his playing days with assistant coaching stops at several high schools, including Dunedin.

Lawrence replaces Jeremy Shobe, who led the program the last four seasons.

Shobe guided the squad to its first and only winning season and district championship in 2010. He resigned Nov. 12 following consecutive 0-10 seasons and 22 straight losses.

“Coach Shobe did a great job,” Lawrence said. “I think we just lacked a belief in ourselves.”

Lawrence pointed out that the Bulls were close in several games this year, including having a fourth-quarter lead in the season finale at Zephyrhills before falling 23-17.

“The lack of discipline in games made it go the other way,” Lawrence said. “We had a lot of mistakes that cost us ball games, not a lack of talent. It’s things we did on offense, defense and special teams. We’ve got to change that around and be fundamentally sound in order to be successful in football games.

“That’s how I played the game,” Lawrence continued. “If I didn’t know my assignment or what I was doing I didn’t play. That’s my biggest thing, and that’s what my players will end up doing. They have to be fundamentally sound. That’s how the best football teams are.”

Lawrence was chosen from 28 candidates, including Bishop McLaughlin offensive coordinator Michael Burns, Steinbrenner offensive line coach Gregg Puskas and Wiregrass Ranch defensive coordinator Adamm Oliver.

By Jeff Odom

The Freedom girls basketball team passed its first major test of the season by knocking off Class 7A-District 9 rival Steinbrenner 44-37 Dec. 13 in its packed gymnasium.

It was the Patriots (10-0, 4-0) first win against the Warriors (11-1, 3-1) since 2009, Steinbrenner’s inaugural season, including three losses in as many meetings last year.

“They came ready to play,” said Freedom coach Laurie Pacholke. “We came in and weathered the storm and finished at the end.”

Behind Georgetown signee Faith Woodard’s 24 points, the Patriots fought off a feisty Steinbrenner squad that gave their defense headaches after rallying from an early deficit.

Freedom opened with an 18-6 lead, as Woodard and Lauren Repp shut down the outside lanes for Warriors forward/guard Bailey Hooker, who was held to just four points, a career low.

“I thought we did a great job shutting down Bailey, frustrated her all night,” said Pacholke. “I knew that’s what they wanted their offense to go through, and Lauren did a fantastic job just frustrating the living day lights out of her.”

Steinbrenner adjusted and made a run of its own in the second quarter after Freedom guard Taylor Emery was forced to the bench with three fouls early. Sophomore center/forward Rachel Briere (16 points, seven rebounds) did much of the damage for the Warriors.

Steinbrenner outscored the Patriots 12-8 to close the second quarter, but trailed at the half for the first time all season.

With their leading scorer covered, the Warriors still stood tall to open the second half, keeping the ball in and cutting the Patriots’ lead to just four. But an 8-2 run quickly ended the comeback.

Woodard, who scored eight of her team’s 10 third-quarter points, said they knew they had to keep up the pressure coming out of halftime.

“We definitely came out early and tried to come out strong,” Woodard said. “The game is a game full of runs, and we did get challenged with Taylor with foul trouble and some of our shots didn’t fall, but I think we did a good job in recovering.”

Steinbrenner made one final push in the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run, but a late basket by center Bianca Igwe and success at the free throw line secured the Freedom victory.

“That team right there is probably used to scoring 60 or 70 points, but I told my girls I don’t believe it’s going to happen tonight,” said Warriors coach JR Allen. “I firmly believe this is going to be the first of four times we play each other this year, and my team hung in there and almost gave us a chance to do something special.”

On the boys side, the Patriots defeated Steinbrenner 51-39 behind 18 points from senior Stephen Odunna.

The Patriots (7-1, 3-1) never trailed after the first quarter and took advantage of multiple missed shots by the Warriors (5-4, 1-3).

“I thought both teams were tired coming in; we both played two overtime games (the night before) and our guys just muscled up some more energy than they did,” said Freedom coach Cedric Smith. “I’m happy we pulled it out. I didn’t know what to expect going into the game. … We held together as a team.”

Antwan Bradley added 10 points for the Patriots. Steinbrenner was paced by Keshawn Ingram’s 10 points, while Bryce Nickels had eight.

Freedom played at Plant Nov. 17, but results were not available by press time.

The Patriots host Chamberlain Dec. 18 and Steinbrenner hosts Sickles Dec. 19. The girls tip off at 6:30 p.m. and the boys start at 8 p.m.

By Jeff Odom

Land O’ Lakes girls soccer coach Vicky King said her team needed a push to get by cross-town and district rival Sunlake Dec. 11.

The two squads had played to a draw in their previous three meetings, and for 40 minutes it looked as if that streak would continue. But the Gators (12-4-2) capitalized on two quick scoring opportunities to open the second half for a decisive 2-0 victory against the Seahawks (7-6-4).

The win clinched the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A-District 7 tournament for Land O’ Lakes, where it will look to defend the league championship.

“We just started slow,” King said. “It’s strange. I thought we would have had more energy to start with. … We know they wanted to beat us really bad, but we want to keep them from beating us too.”

The game had to be pushed back a day because of thunderstorms that made playing conditions unsafe. And although the weather was much nicer one day later, something else played a major factor all night — bugs.

Thousands of them swarmed the field causing distractions for players and coaches.

“I had them all over me,” said Gators freshman Savanna Ronk. “It was pretty distracting, but it started to calm down later. That’s probably part of why we played better in the second half.”

Both teams struggled to create scoring chances in the first half, but Sunlake did its best to break the stalemate.

Sarah Sprague, who left midway through the second half with an apparent concussion, gave her team its best chance with a shot in the 10th minute, but the ball sailed over the crossbar.

Just 90 seconds into the second half, Land O’ Lakes made its opponent pay as Raquel Villareal tipped in a shot from Catherine Gray off senior goalkeeper Maya Kamat’s hands to give her team a 1-0 lead.

The junior said she didn’t know how the ball managed to go in.

“I have no idea how I scored,” Villareal said. “It went in pretty slowly, and I wanted it to go in for the goal, but I didn’t think it would go in.”

The Gators weren’t finished.

Five minutes later, Kameryn Kailimai redirected a 40-yard free kick by Maci Galan with her left foot into the back of the net to secure the 2-0 win.

“I guess we were just tired (in the first half) and we needed a little pep talk to get us going,” Kailimai said. “We had to get in the game because they’re our rival. It’s great and now we’re first in the district.”

Seahawks coach Jami Finan said despite securing the No. 2 seed, she was not pleased with her squad’s performance after the first half. Sunlake failed to convert three shots, including one by Saint Leo University commit Cassidy Place, with less than two minutes to go in the opening 40 minutes.

“I don’t know what happened to be perfectly honest,” Finan said. “The girls were in it the first half, and we decided to make some changes, and it just didn’t work for us. … I hate ties, and I didn’t want to tie them. I mean, 0-0 would have probably been a better outcome for our situation, but whatever. We’ll see them again.”

The 3A-7 tournament is at Wesley Chapel Jan 15 to 18, with the final Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. The two Central Pasco County squads would play for the district title if both win their semifinals contest on Jan. 16.

The Seahawks hosted Anclote Dec. 17, but results were not available at press time. Sunlake plays at Mitchell Jan. 8 before closing the regular season by hosting Weeki Wachee Jan. 9. Land O’ Lakes hosts Ridgewood Dec. 20. All games start at 7:30 p.m.

By Jeff Odom

The Academy at the Lakes boys basketball team is used to early deficits this season.

The Wildcats (4-4) have trailed in at least the first or second quarter in two of their first three wins to open this year, and their victory over Sunlake Dec. 14 was no different.

After trailing by 12 going into the half, the academy outscored the Seahawks (1-8) by double digits to escape with a 76-50 win.

The Wildcats led just once in the first half with the game’s opening bucket. Sunlake used an array of 3-point shots to keep its opponent out of sync and jumped out to a 23-11 lead.

“We knew their two guards (Jonuel) Martinez and (Brenden) Huynh were really good, but a couple other guys stepped up and made shots,” said academy coach Tom Haslam. “That surprised us, and those two guys got open, and we got caught up on some screens and got caught reaching.”

The Wildcats kept the gap narrow as junior guard and Wiregrass Ranch transfer Malik Hall hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut into Sunlake’s lead going into the half.

“We realized that they were just not better than us,” said Hall, who finished with 11 points. “We needed to start playing like it, and we got on a run and started making shots.”

The academy’s late momentum carried over into the second half as leading scorer Ethan Haslam (24 points) would finally jump into the mix.

The sophomore helped his team open up a game-changing 30-9 run in which Ethan put up four of his six 3-pointers to spark the Wildcats back into the game. The academy ended up leading by 14 going into the fourth.

“Probably the best first half we’ve played all season, and I don’t know if we got complacent or over confident, but we should have known academy would shoot a lot better,” said Seahawks coach Mark Hall. “(It’s) kind of a tale of two halves. We played a great first and completely stink it up in the second.”

The Wildcats continued pouring it on, ending the contest on an 11-0 run to put their opponent away for good.

On the girls’ side, Sunlake was nothing more than a speed bump for the academy, as the Wildcats (8-0) rolled 64-15.

While his team never trailed in the game and led by 25 after the first quarter, academy coach Karim Nohra called numerous timeouts throughout the contest to go over mistakes he saw his team making.

“I’m not worried about scoring at this time in the season,” Nohra said. “Win, lose, doesn’t matter to me. I’m trying to get this team prepared for the playoff run. Every chance we get to correct things … I try to correct them right there on the spot, so it’s still fresh in their minds.”

Freshman Luz Santiago scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers, senior Andrea Mauger had 17 and senior Tatiana Manuel scored 14 for the Wildcats.