Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Bulls girls look for spot on state medal stand

By Kyle LoJacono

At this time last year, the Wiregrass Ranch girls cross country team was searching to find replacements for four of its top seven from a team that won conference, district and regional titles.

The Bulls responded with their fourth straight Sunshine Athletic Conference and district crown while placing seventh overall at the Class 3A state meet, the second-best finish in the program’s six-year history.

“Last year was a good surprise for us because we had lost four girls who we built the program around,” said Don Howard, the only coach in program history. “This season will be completely different because we’ve got everybody back, but what it did do was establish what we’re doing will create runners.”

The 2012 squad returns its entire top seven, creating anticipation and greater expectations.

“It’s exciting, but it’s like a different kind of pressure,” Howard said. “Our team goal is to win the fifth straight conference and district title. We want to, as a team, reclaim the regional title, which we finished regional runner-up after winning it the two previous years. We have a goal of top three in the state, and only the top two get to stand on the podium and get a trophy.”

Nikita Shah and Elsie Cedre, Wiregrass Ranch’s top two runners, are among those with more than one year experience with the program. Shah, a senior, finished fourth overall at the 3A state meet last year, while Cedre, a junior, took 64th.

Shah, the two-time reigning The Laker/Lutz News Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, said being a part of the Bulls’ program has been one of the best experiences of her life.

“Coach Howard is definitely a great coach, and I’m really thankful I have him as a coach,” Shah said. “It’s nice to be a part of a team that’s one of the best in the state. We definitely have a chance to medal at states this year.”

Cedre added, “I think it’s a real blessing. We’ve got a really great team. We all work really hard for everything that we do, and our coach is great. We’re really blessed to have a good concoction of people.”

Cedre said having the top runners back also means they won’t have to adjust to meeting new people.

“We all have our ups and downs,” Cedre said. “Sometimes we have little tiffs, but a lot of the time during our runs we talk about pushing each other. Someone pushes the pace and we all push to keep up. If we think someone is going to fall behind we’ll lean back with them, but if we can we’ll push it together, and I think that benefits us.”

One of the 2011 additions who stuck in the top seven is junior Savannah Goode.

“Last year we showed we’re really competitive in the state, so this year we have to show that we do have what it takes to be on the podium at states,” Goode said. “We have to train a lot harder than last year because we’re stepping up to a new level.”

Goode, whose personal record (PR) in a 5-kilometer race is 20 minutes 45 seconds, started cross country to get in shape for cheerleading.

“I ended up liking it a lot more than cheerleading, so I gave up cheerleading last October,” Goode said. “When I first came out I didn’t even think I’d make the team, but I ended up finding out I was really good at it. That made it really fun and everyone was really supportive.”

Wiregrass Ranch does add another talented runner in freshman Madison Conway. She ran track at John Long Middle just down Mansfield Boulevard from Wiregrass Ranch, giving her ample opportunity to learn about the Bulls’ program.

“This is an unbelievable team,” Conway said. “Training this summer was great, and I got to meet everyone. It’s definitely better than what my expectations were, and I knew they were really good. … They let me join in right away even though I was coming from eighth grade.”

Madison has yet to set a PR because she’s never done a 5K race but has run farther in practice. The freshman has been clocked at 5 minutes 36 seconds in the 1,600-meters (1-mile).

“I’m looking forward to see where she ends up because she comes in with the same kind of talent that Nikita did as a freshman, or that Arial Grey had as a freshman,” Howard said. “Those are girls who have won conference titles and competed to be the best in the state.”

Shah’s PR of 17:52 is better than any other returning runner in Pasco County, and the senior wants to cut that as close to 17 as possible. Cedre’s PR sits at 19:30 with the goal of trimming it to 19.

“We have a goal of putting seven girls under 20 minutes, which we’ve never come close to before,” Howard said. “I think realistically we have a shot at that, along with the top five under 19:30. Those are the kinds of things we’re going to have to do to finish where we want in the state meet. So far so good.”

The Bulls compete Sept. 15 at the Jim Ryan Invitational at Lakeland Christian.

—Results as record by the Florida High School Athletic Association

By Jeff Odom

In only his second season, Freedom girls cross country coach Dwight Smith made strides not many see in a coaching career.

His Patriots advanced to the state meet for the first time in program history, placing 14th at the Class 4A final. Freedom also finished runner-up to Plant at the Class 4A-District 6 meet and took third at regionals.

If the squad can repeat its success, it will have to do so without leadership of two graduated seniors, including Smith’s daughter, Ashley, who became the first girls runner in Patriots history to sign with a college when she inked with Augusta State University.

Despite the departures, Smith believes his “young team” from 2011 has developed its own duo that can take the team even higher this season.

“Everybody is pretty much back from the varsity squad last season,” said Smith, who also coaches girls track and field and is the wide receivers coach on the Patriots’ football team. “Annie Tedesco and Alex Mitchell, they’re my leaders. That’s who I look up to and relay messages to. Everything I do, I feed it through them and they relay it to the team. … It’s nice to have that kind of leadership.”

Mitchell, a senior, is entering her second cross country season after running only track as a freshman and sophomore. The team captain said she is comfortable in her leadership position and added the experience of making it to states last season will make the squad strive for more this time around.

“I don’t feel any pressure, but I do feel the responsibility to lead them and encourage them and get them excited,” Mitchell said. “Last year, I didn’t really know what to expect, but this year I feel a lot more confident in myself and I know how to run a 5-(kilometer). I know what meets are like, so I feel like it brings a little more confidence into myself and that helps them achieve what we need to as a team.”

Tedesco said she has worked hard training physically and mentally the offseason to get better results at the end of meets.

“I just really want to have a better PR (personal record) this year and drop a lot more time, because last year wasn’t my best season,” Tedesco said. “I’ve had a lot better attitude in my head. I’m more excited. I’m more positive about workouts and running and it’s helped.”

Mitchell and Tedesco agree the team has bonded during the last couple of seasons. Mitchell said she owes Smith all of the credit.

“He’s definitely a great coach and he’s definitely influenced me throughout high school completely,” Mitchell said. “He’s really brought us to success, and he wants us to really stay focused on our goals and our running and training. His biggest thing is that we’re a family and we support each other.”

While finishing as district runner-up last season was big, Smith wants to be on top.

To do that, the Patriots will have to dethrone Plant, who finished with a perfect 15 points at districts last year. Smith said his squad “isn’t there yet” as far as knocking off the Panthers, but he said his team will turn heads.

“People in the school, they know, even coaches around the county, they know Freedom is on the map now as far as cross country,” Smith said. “All last year we were ranked No. 2 in the county and No. 13 in the state. So, people know exactly who Freedom is and they know who my girls are, how good they are coming back.”

By Kyle LoJacono

University of Tampa (UT) woman’s soccer player and Steinbrenner High graduate Cici Gonzalez recorded her first career college goal on Aug. 31 in a 3-1 win against Anderson University.

The freshman forward was told about an hour before the game that she’d be in the starting lineup.

“It’s like a whole new level, and it’s just overwhelming to know that all my hard work paid off, that I get to play here at such a great school,” Gonzalez said. “I was excited really. I wasn’t nervous. … I just wanted to be able to keep up and make an impact. I just wanted to prove that I deserved to be on the field and keep the starting spot I was given.”

Gonzalez did just that, scoring in the 26th minute of the Spartans’ (4-1) season opener. Gonzalez headed home a loose ball sent into the box off a cross from Jess Frank.

“I saw the goalie going for it, and the defender was there,” Gonzalez said. “I just jumped as high as I could and got there first. It went in the top (left) corner. … I was just kind of like ‘Wow, I just scored.’ It was overwhelming and at the same time exciting. It was nice because it was the first goal of the game, so it put us ahead, and it was the first goal of the season.”

Gonzalez scored again in the second half, this time heading in a corner kick taken by Courtney Peffley on the right side of the net.

Gonzalez scored a pair of goals and recorded two assists in UT’s 13-0 win at home on Sept. 4 against Florida Memorial University, the most goals in a game in program history.

Teammate Lauren Moore, a Gaither High graduate, scored a program record five goals in the lopsided victory, all coming in the first half.

“It was unreal,” said Moore, a sophomore forward. “For a few of them I think I was just in the right place at the right time. They just kept adding up.”

Moore’s previous high was two goals in a college game. She said she once scored three times while at Gaither but has never recorded five tallies in a contest at any level.

“After the first two I was thinking two goals is pretty good,” Moore said. “Then the third came and the fourth. I started looking over to the scoreboard to see how much time was left. In my mind I was just literally shocked because that doesn’t happen.”

The Spartans broke their newly set record on Sept. 7 with a 14-1 home win against Warner University. Moore and Gonzalez each recorded a pair of goals and an assist in the victory.

Moore is leading UT with 19 points (nine goals, one assist), while Gonzalez is second with 16 (six goals, four assists). Moore also has a team-high 30 shots this season, while Gonzalez has 26.

The Spartans play at Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Tech Sept. 12 at 1 p.m.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Steinbrenner volleyball team swept Sickles out of the Warriors’ gym Sept. 6, defeating their rival 25-16, 26-24, 25-21.

The season opening win was not only No. 1 for the 2012 season, it was also the first varsity victory of first-year Steinbrenner coach Laura Stegenga.

“They’ve been working really hard; they deserved it,” said Stegenga, who led the junior varsity program at Gaither last year. “They applied everything we did in practice, and that’s how they came out. Their energy is so strong right now, and if they keep playing like that they’ll be fantastic.”

The match also marked a first for Natalia Campos.

The senior made her first start at libero, taking over for three-year starter and 2011 The Laker/Lutz News Volleyball Player of the Year Cary Anne Bame.

“I was freaking out because I’m a senior, and this is my last first game,” Campos said. “It was the first time I put on the Steinbrenner libero jersey for varsity. I was a nervous wreck, but once I got the first couple balls out of the way I was good.”

Campos ended the match with a career-high 35 digs.

Gryphons (1-1) stepped up after quickly dropping the first set. The Warriors (1-0) faced set point at 24-23 but roared back to take the next three points, the final two coming on back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Rachel Mathison off assists from Brooke Royals.

“I was really happy,” Mathison said. “I finally got good contact on the ball, and it went down. We lost our momentum, but we picked it back up in the third set.”

Mathison ended with seven digs, four aces and a team-high 10 kills, including the match winner.

“We showed we’re the real SHS,” Campos said. “It was really cool because I made the pass to Casey (McLean) who set it to Rachel, so it’s like wow, I got to contribute to this win.”

Steinbrenner’s normally potent offense was a bit slow in the contest, with the Warriors recording only 25 kills.

“Serve receive has been our focus since tryouts, so I’m going to have high expectation of that,” Stegenga said. “After seeing tonight’s game I think I’m going more into the offensive end because they were making a lot more offensive errors, but really holding it defensively.

“Offensively it was slower, but the hitters are so strong that they’re going to be able to pull it out,” Stegenga continued. “They’re also very smart hitters. Every time I was talking to them I said, ‘Don’t try to overpower them because they have a strong block. Be smarter than the block.’ They started doing tips, and those changeups changed the pace of the game.”

Campos said being able to win without their best offensive performance shows Stegenga’s coaching is sinking in.

“Steinbrenner is known for having powerhouse hitters, so it’s nice to know that, not just me, but everyone can contribute to the defense,” Campos said. “We’ve been working a lot on serve receive, so we’re really using that as one of our weapons.”

Steinbrenner played at Class 7A-District 9 rival Wiregrass Ranch Sept. 10, but results were not available by press time. The Warriors host Leto Sept. 12 and Robinson Sept. 13, respectively. Both matches start at 7:30 p.m.

By Jeff Odom

Through 41 minutes, the Wharton football team appeared set to cruise to victory against Sickles Sept. 7.

The last seven minutes were a different story.

After leading by 15 midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (2-0) watched their advantage slip to two with 3:54 left. The Gryphons (1-1) drove down to the 1-yard line with 17 seconds remaining and looked poised to snatch away victory, but Wharton’s defense had other plans.

Linebacker Jacob Maier forced a fumble at the goal line, which was recovered by the Gryphons as time expired to preserve the Wildcats’ 29-27 win.

“Pressure,” Wharton linebacker Rocky Enos said of the last few seconds. “I believe our defense stepped up, definitely. We basically just kind of did whatever we had to do. … They made a mistake, and we came above.”

The game, originally scheduled at Wharton, was moved to Sickles because of poor field conditions stemming from heavy rain.

The Wildcats ran the ball well in the first half, a surprise after Sickles held Steinbrenner to –31 yards rushing in Week 1.

Between quarterback Chase Litton and running back Jeffrey Keil, Wharton totaled 64 yards in the first two quarters alone and finished with 91 on the night.

Wharton’s defense punished Sickles on its opening possession to give the Wildcats’ offense momentum, but their drive was brought to a halt when Litton threw an interception on the fourth play near midfield.

It would be the junior signal caller’s only error on the night. He finished 13-for-18 with 229 yards and four total touchdowns.

On their next drive, the Wildcats marched from their own 47 and scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Auden Tate to get on the board first.

The Gryphons tied the game in the second quarter, but Litton didn’t let it stay that way for long. The 6-foot-5 quarterback showed off his arm strength and accuracy with a 62-yard bullet to Deon Sampson. Vernon Hargreaves called his own number in the wildcat formation for the two-point conversion just before halftime.

Litton was able to find receivers in the most strenuous situations, which he credited to putting in time studying the opposition.

“I knew (Sickles) would blitz,” Litton said. “We watched film on them all week. We knew they would get us broke down, try to stand with us, throw different (patterns) at us, and it worked for the first half. The first couple drives I was a little rattled, and didn’t know what to do.”

Everything was clicking for Litton after halftime.

Wharton’s offense ate up yardage and the clock during a 10-play, 71-yard drive on its second possession out of the locker room.

Litton tore through the Gryphons’ secondary, completing passes of 15 and 10 yards before hitting Keith Hopkins on a 40 yarder on third-and-eight from the 47 to set up his own 5-yard rushing touchdown to go up 21-6.

Sickles quarterback Nate Mills, who was pulled in the first quarter, returned to action and immediately made himself known with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Bilal Salat to cut into the Wildcats’ lead. But, offensive mistakes and penalties killed the Gryphons’ momentum and their shot at the win.

Litton would add another touchdown on a 20-yard throw to Sampson with 9:27 left in the game.

“We’ll take the W, but the one thing, and most important, is you got to finish,” said Wharton coach David Mitchell. “It was great. I’m proud of the guys, but still you want to work on the little things. … Right now, we got two wins; we want more.”

Wharton travels to Chamberlain Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

By Cameron Valdez

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

The Wiregrass Ranch football team went to Sunlake Sept. 7 with upset on its minds.

The Bulls (0-2) were looking to score their first win in 14 contests stretching back to Nov. 5, 2010. Meanwhile, the Seahawks (2-0) have gone 13-3 during that same stretch, but needed everything they had to survive 17-12 against Wiregrass Ranch.

Despite forcing three first half turnovers, the Bulls (0-2) were unable to gain a single first down in eight possessions before halftime. Sunlake shook off its mistakes thanks to Eddie Burgos.

The senior scored both Seahawks touchdowns in the contest, the first on a 29-yard run and the other off a 24-yard pass from quarterback Josh Zifer.

“Being a senior, I knew that I really needed to step up and be a leader,” said Burgos said, who finished with 137 yards on 18 carries.

Connor Gilboy added a 33-yard field goal to take a 17-0 lead before the break.

Wiregrass Ranch was a different team in the second half.

On Sunlake’s second drive, the Bulls defense forced a fumble that was returned to the 1-yard line by Joe Irizarry. The Bulls scored on the next play with a quarterback sneak by Shane Bucenell to make the score 17-6 at the end of three.

“I have to give it up to my coaches,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Jeremy Shobe. “They all made the adjustments we needed to make.”

The Bulls got their first possession of the fourth quarter with 7:28 left but were without Bucenell, who was hurt earlier in the contest.

In stepped Jake Day, who started under center last year before moving to wide receiver/defensive back this season. The senior hooked up with Ryan Shea for a 76-yard touchdown pass with 6:26 left to close the gap 17-12.

“Our quarterback went down and I needed to step up,” Day said.

Wiregrass Ranch forced another Sunlake fumble, one of the Seahawks’ eight in the contest, and took over 16 yards from the goal line with five minutes remaining.

Sunlake’s defense rose to the challenge, sacking Day for a 12-yard loss to force a fourth-and-20. Day’s next pass was picked off by Joe Jean-Baptiste in the end zone to halt the comeback.

“We’ve been in that position before,” said Seahawks coach Bill Browning. “Our defense really came through. Wiregrass came to play tonight.”

The Bulls host Pasco Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Sunlake has a bye this week.

By Andy Warrener

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Carrollwood Day School (CDS) running back Robert Davis remains on pace to become Hillsborough County’s all-time leading rusher after racking up 246 yards on 13 carries and four touchdowns Sept. 7.

The senior’s efforts helped the Patriots (2-0) roll past Class 2A-District 5 rival Keswick Christian 48-0 at home.

Davis, who only got two carries after halftime, said CDS’ talent out wide gives him space to run.

“Our wide receivers help a lot because other teams can’t stack the box like they did last year,” Davis said, who stands 1,568 yards from breaking the county rushing record with eight games remaining in the regular season.

Quarterback Vidal Woodruff only completed four passes, but three were touchdowns, two of which went to Andy Embody and the other to Nate Lewis. Max Frankel ran for 32 yards on three carries and recovered two Crusaders (0-2) fumbles.

The Patriots defense recorded a shutout thanks to stopping a Keswick drive on the 6-yard line, and Dominiq Sicardo blocking a field goal in the second half. The Crusaders managed 123 yards of total offense, while CDS racked up 371.

“When we get out to a fast start like that, it takes the heart out of the other team,” said Patriots coach Lane McLaughlin as he addressed the team. “But today we played 48 minutes.”

CDS travels to district rival Northside Christian Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.