Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wiregrass Ranch boys basketball team had a lot of questions entering this season.

The Bulls (17-10) lost seven seniors, including four starters, from last year’s squad that went 22-8 en route to the program’s first district championship and playoff berth.

The players have changed, but the results were similar this year. Wiregrass Ranch defeated Steinbrenner 85-75 in the Class 7A-District 9 semifinals on Feb. 8, clinching a postseason spot.

“It was the best feeling,” said junior forward Rico Kerney, the Bulls only returning starter. He then added, “This shows coach (Jeremy) Calzone is a great coach. We all wanted to win for him and each other.”

Calzone, the only coach in the program’s six-year history, wasn’t nervous about being the only Pasco County team among four Hillsborough squads in 7A-9.

“We’ve been playing Hillsborough schools since we opened,” Calzone said. “What I was worried about was all the new guys being nervous, and they haven’t.”

The Bulls weren’t just moving up junior varsity players and converting guys off the bench into starters this year. They also had to work in two transfers; guards Christian Parra and Dimarco Burgess who came from Wesley Chapel and Freedom, respectively. The squad lost three of its first four games while allowing almost 92 points per contest.

“We were a little shaky at the beginning,” Burgess said. “We practice every day, we don’t take days off, and we’ve also done a lot of team bonding. We’ve been together every day since August, so we’re doing so much better.”

Wiregrass Ranch came up short of consecutive district titles, falling to tournament host Chamberlain 80-65 on Feb. 10. Parra scored 17 against the Chiefs (16-7), while Burgess added nine. Kerney posted 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the semis, Wiregrass Ranch jumped out early on Steinbrenner (11-10) with a 10-3 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Warriors stormed back to tie it at 14 entering the second thanks to three 3-pointers by Isaiah Goncalves.

Kerney heated up in the second, pouring in 14 of his game-high 32 points after being held off the scoreboard in the opening period.

“I have a (right) ankle sprain and I was thinking about it the whole first quarter,” Kerney said. “My teammates and coach Calzone told me to just block it out. … It hurt, but it was more I was thinking about it.”

The Bulls went into halftime leading 39-29, but the Warriors weren’t done. Steinbrenner scored 16 of the of the first 22 points coming out of the locker room, tying the game at 45 in less than 4 minutes.

Wiregrass Ranch trailed 63-59 minutes into the fourth when Calzone changed the defense from a 1-3-1 zone to 2-3 to get more bodies attacking the offensive glass to negate the Warriors’ height advantage.

“Their coach (Steve Williams) did some things in the second half that gave us trouble,” Calzone said. “We’re always going to be out-sized, so we just challenge our big guys to do the best they can rebounding.”

Burgess, the shortest Bulls player at 5-foot-9, scored six of his 10 points in the fourth while picking up steals on back-to-back possessions. He also pulled down a critical rebound setting up Larrentz Manora for two of his 22 points to give the Bulls a 75-71 lead they never relinquished.

“He might be the smallest guy, but he has the biggest heart,” Calzone said.

Burgess and Kerney each had seven steals. Kerney also added 14 rebounds.

Goncalves led Steinbrenner with 24 points including six 3-pointers. Joey Maloney scored 19, while Ke’Shawn Ingram and Drake Wagner added 14 and 11, respectively.

By John Morton

Laker Correspondent

The Wesley Chapel boys basketball team is playoff bound, but for the second straight year it must take to the road in the quest for the program’s first state title.

The Wildcats (24-4) suffered a 68-61 setback to Hudson (18-10) in the Cobras’ home gym on Feb. 11 in the Class 5A-District 8 championship.

“We really didn’t play very well, but I think better days lie ahead and our best basketball is still to come,” said Wesley Chapel coach Doug Greseth.

The Wildcats maintained a lead until late in the second quarter, but fell behind by as many at 16 points in the fourth. Jamal Branco poured in 36 points to put Hudson on top of the No. 1 seeded Wesley Chapel.

Erik Thomas, who led the team with 26 points, and Julian Vann, who added 10, fueled a late comeback that got the Wildcats to within five with 3:35 to play, but Branco hit two free throws to ice the game with 30 seconds remaining.

“Our kids fought back hard, which showed a lot, but give (Hudson) credit for building that lead and holding it,” Greseth said. He then added, “We got into foul trouble late in the half and guys were tired. That was probably the turning point in the game.”

An array of turnovers plagued the Wildcats all night, as did problems converting down low.

“We made some uncharacteristic mistakes and missed an awful lot of layups,” Greseth said. “That’s not like us.”

Despite scoring 26, Thomas found the going tough in the paint, as the Cobras held him to two first-half field goals.

“The one thing we have, and maybe as much as anyone in the county, is length,” said Hudson coach Jason Vetter. “Thomas is going to get his points because he’s that kind of a player, but we bottled him up and didn’t let him control the game.”

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

The Academy at the Lakes boys basketball team couldn’t overcome early offensive miscues as the Wildcats fell to Cambridge Christian, 43-34 in the Class 2A-District 8 title game on Feb. 11.

Still, Wildcats coach Tom Haslam said his team played tough in solidifying the first postseason appearance in program history.

“If you would have told me at the beginning of November that we could be a district runner-up and go play a road game for a regional game, being one of 32 teams left in the state, I’d say I’ll take it,” Tom said.

After the two teams combined for eight points in the first quarter, the Lancers (21-4) began to set the offensive pace after the academy (15-8) missed a pair of open 3-point attempts.

Cambridge’s Phillip Johnson knocked down a long 3-pointer to give his team early momentum.

The Wildcats tried to answer with outside shooting, but many were well off the mark. Tom said the game plan was to focus on perimeter shooting because of the Lancers’ size advantage and defensive awareness.

“We’re not very good at going in there and getting tight, going at those guys and going up over the top,” Tom said. He then added, “We didn’t think we could pound them inside.”

With his team down six midway through the third quarter, academy’s Ethan Haslam found a rebound off of a wide 3-point attempt from teammate Jarrett Harvey and slammed it home for two of his 13 points to get the Wildcats within four.

That’s the closest it would get, as Cambridge pulled away heading into the final period.

“Our kids will get over this real quick, we’re still real proud of what we did,” Tom said. He then added, “We got our meat and potatoes, but this would have been gravy to win the title. … We’re young, we only have two seniors, so the future looks really bright.”

By Eugenio Torrens

When Sunlake denied Land O’ Lakes its eighth straight district championship 3-2 on Jan. 27, the Gators wanted a rematch in the playoffs.

Mission accomplished.

Land O’ Lakes (21-3-2) beat the Seahawks (17-7-3) 5-1 in the Class 3A regional semifinals on Feb. 3 to advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005 — when the current Gators senior class was in fifth grade.

“The guys were very upset that they weren’t getting their eighth in a row, and I know that affected them,” said Land O’ Lakes coach Mark Pearson. “I don’t know if that was a revenge factor, but I know that they felt they could play much better than they did, and they came out tonight and proved it.”

Not only did the Gators win keep their season alive — it also gives them bragging rights over the cross-town rival Seahawks.

“It seems really to have evolved into one side of town against the other side of town I guess you could say,” Pearson said. “I think it’s a great rivalry.”

Coming into the regional semifinals, the two teams had split the season series, one game apiece and a tie, but Land O’ Lakes had the most lopsided victory with a 5-1 W on Dec. 12.

When Sunlake beat the Gators for the Class 3A-District 8 district championship six weeks later, it marked the first time the fifth-year program has gotten the better of Land O’ Lakes ever.

Losing the district served as motivation seven years in the making for the Gators.

“You don’t even understand, every single one of us players was thinking ‘Hey, come on, we obviously dominated the last game (against Sunlake, 5-1),” said Land O’ Lakes senior forward/midfielder Miguel Laliberte, who scored a goal in the semis. “There’s no way we can’t get the result the next game. … It means a lot to everybody to win a game like that to find out that we’re the better team at the end of the year.”

The two teams scored a goal each less than two minutes apart in the first half. The Gators got on the board first in the 12th minute on a header from Josh Davis, but the Seahawks responded when Calvin Restrepo booted in a firecracker from 25 yards out.

Despite an evenly contested first half, Land O’ Lakes stepped up the offense with constant pressure on Sunlake goalkeeper Brandon Jungbauer in the second, pouring on four goals while shutting the Seahawks out.

The Gators second-half offensive onslaught was almost stopped in its tracks early when a ball got through Jungbauer’s legs, but a defender was able to stifle the scoring attempt. Seconds later, Land O’ Lakes went ahead when Sean Young got a loose ball off a corner kick and fed Jake Frahm to make it 2-1.

Frahm assisted Laliberte in the 54th minute to put the game out of reach.

“Obviously we wanted to win the district championship and that loss just made us want to beat them that much more,” Frahm said. “Coming into districts, I think since we beat them 5-1 before, we could just beat them, walk onto the field and beat them and that wasn’t the case.”

The Gators didn’t stop attacking with the 3-1 lead. Their last two goals came with less than 10 minutes to play, in the 72nd and 73rd minutes, by Davis and Andy Garcia, respectively.

Land O’ Lakes won 4-0 at Fivay in the regional quarterfinals on Jan. 31. Garcia got the Gators on the board first off a pass from Nathan Dalton, who scored the game’s next three goals.

Sunlake bested Gulf 4-1 in its quarterfinals contest, the first home playoff game in program history. The Seahawks got goals from Jared Landry and Conner Gilboy, along with a pair of tallies from Connor Spencer.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Gaither boys soccer team won its first two regional tournament games this year, but only had to take the field once.

The Cowboys (19-4-1) defeated Eagle Lake Lake Region (17-7-3) 3-1 at home on Jan. 31 in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals. They were scheduled to play at Lakeland George Jenkins (21-4-2) in the semis on Feb. 3, but the Eagles had to forfeit the contest after using an ineligible player in their quarterfinals game against Freedom.

Gaither coach Eric Sims said he got official word from the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) around 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 3. FHSAA spokesman Corey Sobers said Freedom will be credited with another win this year, moving its record to 12-5-1, but the Patriots won’t get the chance to move on as per the association’s bylaws.

The forfeit gives Sims 200 wins during his 11 years coaching high school, all with the Cowboys.

Gaither started the quarterfinals contest slowly, but got on the board first in the 20th minute when Jonas Bukh buried home a pass from Cody Hodgens, who subbed in less than a minute before the tally.

The Thunder answered in the 29th minute. Jacob Kalogridis hit a through ball to Brent Moore, who capitalized.

The home squad allowed seven shots on goal while taking four. Lake Region also controlled possession for most of the half after the water break.

“My message to them at halftime was we played about as bad as we can play and we’re not losing,” Sims said. “That’s a good thing. Somebody has to find a way to step up and light a fire under us.”

Bukh worked with Paul Barrett, who was moved from midfield to forward after halftime, to light that fire. Bukh sent a through ball to Barrett that he fired past goalkeeper Fernando Aguirre in the 52nd minute.

“It was unbelievable,” Barrett said. “I started off kind of slow, but I was able to bounce back with Jonas helping me out. He just hit it up to me, and all I had to do was chase it down and get a shot. I missed two early, but Jonas kept passing it to me.”

The two combined on an almost identical goal in the 74th minute.

“Paul makes good runs, so why not get him the ball,” Bukh said. “I know he can finish.”

Sims said of Barrett, “He’s so big and so strong and so fast. Once he gets going he’s hard to stop.”

Bukh’s goal was his fifth in three games, giving him 21 this season. Just having Bukh was a gift for the Cowboys, as the senior forward lived in his native Denmark last year after spending his freshman and sophomore years at Gaither.

“The season he’s put in is up there with some of the top performances we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Sims said. “Early in the season he would have a good game, then a not so good game, so he wasn’t consistent. Now it seems like he’s more consistent because he’s fit.”

Cowboys goalkeeper Carlos de Oliveira, a converted midfielder, made nine saves, six in the first half.

“The thing with Carlos is he isn’t your typical keeper,” Sims said. “The way that he plays is different, and I think that’s played to our advantage. He’s made some saves that regular goalkeepers wouldn’t make.”

Reaching the regional finals is nothing new to Gaither as the program has done so seven times in its 27-year history, but just making the postseason was a bit of a surprise for a squad that lost 10 seniors including its top-two goal scorers and its starting goalkeeper from a year ago.

“We were expecting to get back to regionals even though we lost a lot of players,” Barrett said. “We had a bad first half (against Lake Region), but overall we’re playing our best soccer.”

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wharton boys soccer team had outscored opponents 71-24 entering the playoffs, but the Wildcats’ offense dropped off in the regional tournament.

Wharton (18-5-1) was unable to score any goals in its last three contests this year, including the Class 5A-District 7 finals and its two playoff games.

The Wildcats survived the regional quarterfinals Jan. 31 at Countryside in penalty kicks but were upended 2-0 at Palm Harbor University (16-1-4) in the semis Feb. 3

“We had an excellent season and the boys played very well,” said Wharton coach Scott Ware. “It’s probably the best bunch of boys I’ve had since I’ve been at Wharton. The family atmosphere we’ve created out here; I’m happy with the way this whole season went. It’s just unfortunate tonight we came up a bit short.”

The Hurricanes struck in the second minute and added an insurance goal 13 minutes after halftime.

The Wildcats had plenty of possession against Palm Harbor, but the ‘Canes defense stifled Wharton in the final third of the field to prevent quality scoring chances. The Hurricanes had 11 shots on goal while allowing only two.

“They’re very organized,” Ware said. “They don’t lose shape very often. We didn’t get enough boys up into the attack to generate more chances around the 18 and crack that defense.”

The Wildcats were in the game thanks to nine saves from 5-foot-10 junior goalkeeper Keenan Kushner.

“He’s what gives us confidence in front of him,” Ware said. “If we didn’t have him it could have been a different story all season long. He kept us in the match tonight. … He gave us hope and he’s been just a wall. I’m glad we’ll have him back next year.”

Wharton will have to find replacements for nine graduating seniors, including its top three scores. Felipe Desousa set a Wildcats record with 28 goals this season while adding 14 assists.

“I’ve had some good senior classes and this one is up near the top,” Ware said. “They’ve done things for each other and not for themselves all season. Felipe had 28 goals, but he also gets everyone involved and picks them up. They’ll be tough to replace.”

Wharton reached the showdown at Palm Harbor after needing extra penalty kicks to defeat Countryside. Joseph Ferrin buried home his penalty kick on the Wildcats’ 10th attempt to send his squad to the semis.

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Steinbrenner girls basketball player Bailey Hooker watched teammate Taylor Thigpen dribble the final seconds off of the clock, allowing the junior guard’s dream three years in the making to come true.

In a mob of white jerseys huddled around coach J.R. Allen, Hooker along with her teammates turned to the line of banners hung on the gymnasium wall and shouted “forever.”

Hooker, the Warriors’ leading scorer this year with 19.8 points per game, scored 16 to help Steinbrenner put away Freedom for the program’s first district championship on Feb. 3.

“We worked so hard,” Hooker said. “To finally put something up on that banner that we’ve been waiting for, for three years, is like fire. I’m so happy.”

For Hooker, it was her second time hoisting a district trophy this year. She did the same in October as a middle hitter on the volleyball team against, whom else but the Patriots.

Like with basketball, Hooker has been on Steinbrenner’s volleyball team since her freshman year, helping the Warriors to a 26-0 district record and three championships.

Basketball had less of a winning tradition, posting a 24-17 record, 12-8 in district, during the last two years and zero playoff appearances. That changed this season.

“It’s the best experience, because we didn’t have to really work that hard for the volleyball one, but to be in the middle of it and in the midst of it in the basketball championship, it’s ridiculous how much fire goes through your veins when you’re on the court,” Hooker said.

An All-Laker/All-Lutz News first team selection for volleyball, Hooker once again put the team on her back after a rough district semifinals contest against No. 4 seeded Chamberlain, which the Warriors squeaked through 56-48.

In practice the following day, Hooker made sure that her teammates were on the right page and led a players-only meeting to discuss what had occurred.

“We had a lot of emotional stuff going on, so we basically brought it all together,” Hooker said. She then added, “We let everything out because we’re a family. We’re a team and we knew we had one goal coming out into this season, and we weren’t going to let one bad game ruin our chances of winning the district title. We came together and pushed through, and we mentally got tough and ready for Freedom.”

In practice all week, Hooker said she worked specifically on shooting, which wasn’t where it needed to be in her eyes.

“This was going to be my game,” Hooker said of the district finals. “I spent time in practice just working on my shots and all of us contributed. Every single person stepped it up and did something they don’t normally do.

“I have so many words that I could say,” Hooker continued. “I’m so pumped about this, and so happy. We’re a part of forever, and our team is up on that wall forever.”

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

When the final buzzer sounded, Steinbrenner girls basketball coach J.R. Allen raised his arms into the air as his team ran to celebrate at half court.

“I’ve been telling these girls back since September, I want to be part of something that’s called forever,” Allen said. “At the end of that game, I told those girls to celebrate and to point up to that banner and say ‘forever’.”

The No. 1 seeded Warriors overcame a lackluster third quarter, but came through late to defeat the No. 2 Patriots 51-39 on Feb. 3 for the Class 7A-District 9 championship, the program’s first.

Allen said the resilience and effort his team brought was some of the best he has seen all season, and it started with the mentality of playing as a team.

“It’s special because of the way we did it,” Allen said. He then added, “The special thing about this team is the word team itself. Every win lately has been a team win. It just feels so special. … This championship was won by 14 girls who practice their tails off every day.”

The Warriors (22-2) opened the game with a 12-0 run; stopping all of Freedom’s scoring opportunities.

“You can’t start out like that,” said Patriots coach Laurie Pacholke. “In a district championship game you got to come to play, especially on their court. … We got outplayed, we got out hustled, we got out rebounded and you’re not going to win a game like that.”

Guard Bailey Hooker led Steinbrenner’s early charge, scoring 13 of her squad’s points to lead 14-3 after the first quarter. She hit three shots from 3-point land in the opening half.

“It was awesome,” said Hooker, who had a team-high 16 points and five blocks. “Coming off of the past couple of games I’ve been off a little bit on my shooting, so to come out and make that three, I knew that tonight was my night.”

Patriots (18-9) guard Taylor Emery, who had a game-high 20 points, kept her team in it, working through the Warriors’ defense to start the momentum swing headed into halftime but still trailed 31-14.

Freedom chipped away at Steinbrenner’s lead in the third quarter, which got as small as eight before Allen told his team to keep its focus.

“I was really concerned, because it could have been a bad thing based off of what we did in that last game (against Chamberlain),” Allen said. He then added, “We turned around and made the most of it.”

In the fourth quarter with Steinbrenner leading by 11, Hooker delivered the final blow with her fourth 3-pointer of the game with just more than a minute left.

“She just stroked that three and I think that was an emotional lift that helped us carry to the end of the game,” Allen said.

The Warriors found themselves in a tight semifinals battle on Feb. 1 with Chamberlain, which beat Gaither the night before. The Chiefs (8-12) outscored Steinbrenner 31-24 in the second half and got as close as 52-48 before the tournament host pulled away to win 56-48.

Hooker had 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Rebecca Cohen and Gabby Sebastian recorded nine rebounds apiece and Rachel Briere blocked five shots.

Freedom defeated Wiregrass Ranch 54-46 in the other semifinals. Guard Shadé Williams led the Patriots with 17 points, while Emery added 11

Bulls (20-8) senior guard Kelly McCaffrey had a team-high 23 points to finish with 1,575 for her career.