Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

Steinbrenner junior defender Miranda Gonzalez committed to play at the University of Tampa (UT) Oct. 9.

The lockdown defender said she has wanted to be a Spartan (11-3-1) since going to one of their camps at age 12.

“It’s always been on top of my list,” Miranda said. “I thought it was so cool. I visited other schools, but nothing else really compared to UT.”

Miranda will be joining her sister, Cici, who is a freshman forward at UT.

“I wanted to play at UT first of all because my sister is there, and I wanted to play with her,” Miranda said. “She’s having an awesome experience at UT, and that really helped me make my decision. … UT is a winning program, and it’s a beautiful school. The team is great, and I wanted a smaller school and I wanted to stay close to home, so I thought it was the perfect fit for me.”

Miranda helped the Warriors win the Class 4A state championship in 2011. Steinbrenner allowed 12 goals in 25 games that season and 16 tallies in 22 contests last year.

Miranda said it’s “a big weight lifted” off her shoulders knowing where she’s going for college.

“Now I can just work on my strengths and get better for college, and just keep improving my play.”

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Kyle LoJacono

Freedom senior girls basketball player Faith Woodard committed to Georgetown University Oct. 14 on her 18th birthday.

Woodard, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, made the announcement via Twitter: “Officially a Georgetown Hoya! Just verbally committed! I’m all in.”

Woodard transferred from Riverview during the summer. She averaged 21.4 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, 3.1 blocks and three assists last year. She also won the Class 4A state high jump championship as a junior by clearing 5-feet 8-inches.

Georgetown is a Division-1 program in the Big East Conference. Woodard also had major interest from the University of South Florida, another Big East team.

Patriots fourth-year coach Laurie Pacholke said Woodard is the first player in the program’s 10-year history to commit to a program in one of the so-called power six conferences, which are the same as the BCS leagues for college football. She is also the second to pick a Division-I program, following Pacholke’s daughter, Kaitlynn, who signed with Jacksonville State University following the 2009-10 season.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wharton football team wasted little time on the road Oct. 12, smashing cross-town rival Freedom 38-0.

Wildcats (4-2) junior quarterback Chase Litton completed his first four passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores were caught by senior wide receiver Keith “KJ” Hopkins, the first for 31 yards and the second for 27.

“Rivalry game,” Hopkins said. “I was so pumped up and ready. On the first touchdown, Chase scrambled, and I was just standing in the end zone waiting. On the second, I was supposed to run a hitch, but I saw the middle wide open, and he saw me break off my route and touchdown. … He always finds us when we’re open.”

Hopkins finished with 214 all-purpose yards. Litton went 15-of-23 passing for 299 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also added a 1-yard rushing score in the third quarter.

Litton said it felt good to get back on the right track after dropping their last two contests.

“It wasn’t a statement game, but it was a game where we needed to reboot,” Litton said. “When I say that, I mean we need to realize we’re not some turnover team. We started out 3-0, and then went 0-2. We got to realize that when we were 3-0 we were on top of the world. Now we were facing adversity, and when you face adversity you have to respond. We did that tonight.”

The Wildcats started to establish a bit of a run game in the second half.

Junior Jeff Keil ran for 31 yards after halftime, including a 2-yard plunge up the middle to put his team ahead 35-0. He also scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, and finished with 40 yards on the ground.

“Originally I didn’t feel too good, and we weren’t running the ball well,” Keil said. “We came out in the second half ready to run, and we came out running. … I think the scheme that we used in the second half confused them. We were putting a lot of guys in motion, and just the heart. We just found the holes and went.”

Litton added, “Keil just ran all over them. There was that one run where everyone was just clogged up the middle. He just broke two tackles shook a safety and got a 30-yard run. When we establish that it makes the passing so much easier.”

Wharton’s defense locked up the Patriots (2-5), allowing only 49 yards of total offense and two first downs, one coming on a holding penalty. The D also recorded four sacks.

“They’ve done that the whole season, really,” Litton said. “They’ve given up a total of 30 real points on defense. They balled out. These past three weeks have been defensive games, defensive games. They shut down Durant. They shut down Plant. The past two games we just didn’t respond. This game we just responded to let them know that we’re still here.”

The combination of high-powered offense and shutdown defense forced a running clock with about three minutes left in the third quarter.

“I love getting running clocks on them,” Keil said.

It is the third straight victory for the Wildcats against the Patriots. While the win over their rival is nice, Wharton coach David Mitchell said they need to be ready for what looms on the horizon.

“The timing was down, which is good because we really need to get back on the horse here,” Mitchell said. “As I always say, we’ve got to have amnesia right now, and put everything behind us because you know we’ve got Bloomingdale on a short week. Play them on Thursday, and that’s a district game. We need to win it to get in.”

Freedom hosts Class 7A-District 9 rival Gaither Oct. 18, while the Wildcats travel to 8A-6 opponent Bloomingdale. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Jeff Odom

Between pregame trash talk on social media and the back-and-forth shouting between fans throughout the contest, there was still a volleyball match to be played at Wharton Oct. 9.

The Wildcats (22-1) decided that part of the show with their defense, sweeping cross-town rival Freedom 25-9, 25-16, 25-14.

“Our defense and our serving was just on point, and we kind of just controlled the flow of the game and never really let them into it,” said Wharton coach Eric Barber.

The Patriots (12-6) were overwhelmed from the start by the roar of Wharton’s cheering section — The Blue Crew.

The vociferous students in blue prevented communication between Freedom’s players, which led to multiple errors and slowed its offense.

The Wildcats ran off 10 straight points in the first on senior outside hitter Caci Andreychuk’s (17 kills, nine digs, two aces) service rotation to go ahead 12-3 en route to dominating the opening set.

While the Wharton offense was on point, the defense stopped the Patriots from scoring. The Wildcats limited Freedom’s top scorer, senior outside hitter Jasmyn Perry, to just six kills.

While Freedom was shaken by the atmosphere, Andreychuk said she ignored the barbs thrown by the Patriots’ equally loud cheering section.

“It was definitely a big crowd,” Andreychuk said. “It was definitely motivational.”

Wharton shut the door again in the second set as senior setter and Furman University commit Ashton Stoker (five kills, 25 assists), along with freshman libero Chanelle Hargreaves (13 digs) and Andreychuk (nine digs), carried the Wildcats to another convincing victory.

Freedom was able to keep the second set close in the middle, but Wharton took nine of the final 12 points.

Both sides of the gym bleachers got testy with one another in the final set as Wharton brought out the brooms and began shouting “undefeated” to the silenced Patriots crowd. Freedom looked competitive enough to force a fourth set, but the Wildcats dashed those hopes by scoring 15 of the final 19 points.

“They were loud,” Barber said. “I thought they did a great job in that first (set). I thought we were playing at Freedom. It was so loud over here. I just told the girls, ‘One thing we can do over the season is improve our mental toughness,’ and they were able to push through that crowd noise and get a great win for us.”

Wharton rode the momentum into its contest at Bloomingdale Oct. 11. The Wildcats won the contest 25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Class 8A-District 7 tournament.

Freedom was not as fortunate in its Class 7A-District 9 finale at home against Wiregrass Ranch, falling 25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 21-25, 15-12. The loss makes the Patriots the No. 3 seed in 7A-9, while the Bulls (15-5) are the No. 2.

Wharton travels to Strawberry Crest Oct. 17, while Freedom travels to Sickles Oct. 18. Both matches start at 7 p.m.

The 8A-7 tournament is at Durant Oct. 23 to 25, with the final Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. The 7A-9 tournament is at Gaither Oct. 22 to 25, with the championship game Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Steinbrenner volleyball team completed its fourth straight perfect regular season in district play with a 25-10, 25-10, 19-25, 25-6 win at home against Gaither Oct. 10.

The win also moves the Warriors’ (14-7, 4-0) all-time record against district opponents to 30-0, but the Cowboys (6-12, 0-4) were able to take a set, which is only the second Steinbrenner has lost to a league opponent ever.

“We definitely could have played at a much high caliber,” said senior outside hitter Madison Seuzeneau. “We laid down in the third set and said we’ve got this in the bag. We can’t do that. We need to push forward until the end of the match.”

Seuzeneau said it’s a good lesson for the team as the Class 7A-District 9 tournament approaches.

“I think we kind of underestimate our district,” Seuzeneau said. “I know we’ve won our district pretty handily every year, but we can’t just lie down and pretend like we’ve already won districts. We have to keep pushing through all of the games to take the title.”

First-year Warriors coach Laura Stegenga elected to go with reserves in the third set to get those players some court time. She also did not take a timeout despite her team having a lead for only four plays in the third.

“I wanted them to play it out and see what they could do without me sitting in their ear,” Stegenga said. “As we progress and we get into hard competition they’re going to have to get themselves out of funks, so I wanted to give them the opportunity to see what they can do.”

Stegenga didn’t have to say much between the third and fourth sets.

“I basically just asked them if that was their best performance in the previous game,” Stegenga said. “They told me no, and they all agreed to change it. I think they saw the look on my face, and they just got to work.”

After falling behind 1-3 in the fourth, Steinbrenner ran off 24 of the last 27 points. Sophomore middle hitter Ryann Martin ended the match with her fifth kill of the contest.

“I was feeling a lot of energy in that last game,” Martin said. “When we have that kind of intensity I think we can beat anyone.”

Seuzeneau and junior outside hitter Rachel Mathison each had 11 kills. Mathison also recorded eight digs, and Seuzeneau added six.

Sophomore middle hitter Lauren Heldt added five kills and four blocks, while senior outside hitter Kayla Shaw recorded four kills and five digs.

Senior libero Natalia Campos had 12 digs and seven aces, and sophomore setter Brooke Royals had 32 assists.

Junior Casey McLean, who is generally the Warriors starting setter, played the majority of the match as defensive specialist on the backrow. She racked up seven digs and four aces.

Gaither junior outside hitter Hanna Kelley had 11 kills, 10 digs and three aces.

The Warriors travel to Bloomingdale Oct. 16 and host Durant Oct. 17 for the regular season finale. Both contests start at 7 p.m.

The 7A-9 tournament is at Gaither Oct. 22 to 25, with the championship match Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

By Jeff Odom

Despite turning the ball over twice on its first two possessions, the Gaither football team took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes in a 33-18 home win over East Bay Oct. 12.

Without their top playmaker Shug Oyegunle — out because of a leg injury — the Cowboys (5-1) couldn’t get the running game or the offense rolling until late in the first quarter.

Running back Jamari Cord fumbled on Gaither’s first play, and quarterback Alex McGough had a pass tipped for an interception in the first quarter.

The Indians (2-4) drove the ball to the Cowboys 15-yard line thanks to a 52-yard sprint from Devon Hart, but they couldn’t move it any further.

East Bay opted for a 38-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-13, which was blocked by senior D.J. King and returned to the Indians 45.

McGough found Vu Le on the next play for a 40-yard completion, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Brown with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Indians answered in the second quarter by blocking a 50-yard field goal attempt and returned it to the house to cut the Gaither lead to one.

“(We) started too slow, making too many mistakes early and digging holes for themselves,” said Cowboys coach Jason Stokes. “We’re not going to be a championship team if we continue to put ourselves in a hole like that.”

East Bay engineered an 80-yard, 12-play touchdown drive to take a 12-7 lead at the half, but Gaither came out swinging in the third quarter.

Le returned the opening kickoff of the second half 55 yards to set himself up for a 15-yard touchdown catch from McGough two plays later.

Still, the Cowboys’ defensive line struggled to stop the rushing attack as the Indians drove another 80 yards without attempting a pass to regain the lead by five.

“I don’t think we were prepared for how physical this team was,” Stokes said. “I live on the east side of the county, and I’ve played East Bay just about every year of my life since I’ve been down here. So, I know how physical they are, I know those coaches there, so I knew it was going to be a dog fight.”

Gaither finally flipped the switch in the fourth quarter, as Josh Bell and Jalen Cochran’s runs of four and five yards, respectively, set up another touchdown from McGough to Le, this time a 30-yarder to give Gaither a one-point lead.

The Cowboys scored again one minute later when Indians quarterback Chris Carpentier was intercepted by Jeshua Williams, who returned it 30 yards for a score.

Gaither used a steady diet of runs combined with a 17-yard pass from McGough to Le on its next possession to set up Bell, who put away the game with a 32-yard touchdown carry.

 “I think we thought this team wasn’t as good as they were,” said McGough, who finished 9-for-19 with 131 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 51 rushing yards, 46 of which came on the opening play of the second quarter.

“They showed up ready to play, and we just did not, and at halftime coach just told us that we’re better than that and we came out and showed it.”

The Cowboys travels to Class 7A-District 9 rival Freedom Oct. 18 7:30 p.m.

—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker

By Kyle LoJacono

There were few pretty moments during Gaither’s 22-6 victory at Class 7A-District 7 rival Steinbrenner Oct. 8.

Heavy rain and poor drainage rendered a field more like a bog than a football gridiron, preventing either team from sustaining any offense. The Cowboys (4-1, 2-0) also committed 13 penalties for 125 yards and gave up two turnovers.

“It was ugly, extremely ugly, but the effort was there on all three phases,” said Gaither coach Jason Stokes. “I’m proud of my kids finding a way to get it done.”

Stokes tried almost every option to get his offense going, including running several plays with running back Josh Bell under center replacing starting quarterback Alex McGough.

“We couldn’t run, so we tried to do some short passes,” Stokes said. “Couldn’t do that, and then we had a turnover. It was ugly. We’re not even going to watch the film.”

It was the Cowboys defense that carried the day.

Gaither forced five turnovers and sacked Warriors (1-4, 0-2) junior quarterback Curtis Fitch five times. The Cowboys allowed only 119 yards of total offense in the contest.

“The defense played at a whole ‘nother level tonight,” Stokes said. “They’re the same way in practice. They practice with intensity. They fly around to the ball. They call themselves the wolf pack. They’re howling in practice all the time and in pregame, and they lived up to it.”

The defense set the tone early, forcing three-and-outs on Steinbrenner’s first four drives.

Senior linebacker Jamari Cord started Gaither’s turnover parade, scooping up a Jake Carroll fumble with 2:40 remaining in the first half. Cord recovered another in the fourth quarter.

Junior defensive back Javon Hammond took the ball away from the Warriors three times, all on interceptions in the second half. He caught one more pass than Fitch completed to his team.

“I knew it was starting to get late, so I knew they’d be throwing it deep,” Hammond said. “I just played deep and reacted to it in the air. … It’s so exciting getting a multiple pick game. We have a strong defense. We play together. When one makes a tackle, we all rally to the ball. It’s fun playing in this defense.”

The Cowboys have forced 14 Warriors’ turnovers the last two years and improve their record against the Lutz program to 3-0.

The contest started Oct. 5, but lightning and heavy rain pushed it to the following Monday. Gaither got on the board before the weather delay when Bell ran 43 yards on his squad’s second offensive play.

“It was a jet play, and one of their linebackers was overshooting, I guess to try and stop our speed,” said Bell, a senior. “I just cut up the field, and just ran as hard as I could.”

Bell found wide receiver Marcus Brown for the two-point conversion.

The Cowboys offense had trouble moving the ball on a soaked and sloppy field three days later.

“This field was horrible,” Bell said. “It’s so muddy, and you can’t really do anything.”

Gaither had to punt after three plays on Oct. 8 and looked like it would have to do the same on its second drive after the delay.

Shug Oyegunle had other plans.

The senior ran a post route, snagged McGough’s pass over the middle and took the ball 76 yards for a touchdown to put the Cowboys ahead 15-0 going into halftime.

Steinbrenner got some life after Bryce Jones blocked a punt just after the start of the second half. Daniel Villar fell on the ball in the end zone to close the score to 15-6.

The home team’s crowd started to get back into the contest as Gaither went three-and-out on its next two drives. It would take another big play by one of its defenders to seal the win.

Junior defensive back Amani Oruwariye blocked a punt with 2:52 left in the third quarter to set the Cowboys up 14 yards from the goal line.

“I just edged off their No. 32 (Villar) and just fought through it,” Oruwariye said. “When I felt it hit my hand I just thought we need to put up some more points.”

McGough hit Bell on a 7-yard touchdown pass three plays later to go ahead 22-8.

“That definitely put the game out of reach,” Stokes said. “It was kind of touch and go for awhile, and with conditions like this you really never know what’s going to happen. I think that kind of iced it.”

It was the first multiple touchdown game for Bell since transferring from Blake this season.

“I was just feeling that I had to go all out for my team,” Bell said. “We need all these district games so we get to the playoffs and get some home games so we don’t have to go on the road all the way to states.”

Gaither hosts East Bay Oct. 12 while Steinbrenner hosts Riverview. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.