Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Gaither football team rode into Lakeland on Dec. 2 with an opportunity to capture the first regional championship in the program’s 27 years, but the vaunted Dreadnaughts denied the chance at history.

Lakeland (13-0) came out on top of the Class 7A regional finals 42-14, but just making it to the doorstep of the state final four already made the 2011 campaign one of the Cowboys’ (9-4) most successful seasons ever.

“I’m very proud to be a Cowboy,” said first-year Gaither coach Jason Stokes. “I love these kids and I love my staff. We just didn’t get it done today. It hurts. It hurts a lot to go through that with these kids and you hate for the seniors to have their time playing football here ended.

“I tell you what I’m happy for what we did,” Stokes continued. “No one expected us to get this far, and I’m proud of my boys and my staff, and I’m not going to hang my head.”

The Cowboys were playing in their first regional finals since 2000 and only their second ever. The squad’s nine wins are also more than the eight victories the program recorded during the previous three years combined.

“I’m so happy for us,” said Gaither wide receiver Carlo Perello. “I’m a senior and I didn’t want to go out this way, but we’re still all so happy. I bet nobody in the county expected us to get to this game on this day. I’m honored to have played with these boys.”

In contrast, Lakeland has made the postseason every year since 1993, has reached the regional finals each of the last four seasons and is fighting for the seventh state title in program history.

“We weren’t ready for the show yet,” Stokes said. “We weren’t ready for the big show. That kind of sums it up. … When I saw the big show, I don’t mean the distractions going on out here. I mean that team was just way bigger, faster and stronger than us. That’s really what it was and we got beat up in the trenches.”

Those distractions made for quite an atmosphere at Bryant Stadium, what with its 45-foot Jumbotron, cannons announcing every Dreadnaughts’ score and row after row of stands packed with fans circling the field. The Cowboys did not seem overwhelmed by the over-the-top nature of playing under the lights in Lakeland, but they just couldn’t match up with the Dreadnaughts’ speed.

Lakeland also felt like it could exact some level of vengeance against the Cowboys, as Hillsborough County schools have ended the Dreadnaughts’ season in three of the last four years.

“Tampa football has really come up strong over there the last four or five years,” said Lakeland coach Bill Castle. “(Gaither) is a good-coached football team, they show you a lot of different looks on defense, and they’ve had a great year themselves.”

The Dreadnaughts jumped out 14-0 in the first quarter and carried a 21-7 lead into halftime. Any chance of a comeback was extinguished by nine Gaither fumbles, six coming on the center-quarterback exchange.

The Cowboys gave up the ball on only one of those fumbles, but the lost downs hurt their chances to put together any consistent drives.

“You can’t move the ball with only two downs a series,” Stokes said. “It seemed that every time we got momentum, there was a bad snap.”

The first of those fumbles was the most costly for Gaither. Sophomore quarterback Alex McGough attempted a pitch, but he lost control of the ball and Lakeland pounced on the miscue on the Cowboys’ 5-yard line. The Dreadnaughts found the end zone three plays later for the game’s first points.

The turnover came one play after Gaither sophomore defensive back Amani Oruwariye picked off Lakeland quarterback Raheeme Dumas. The Cowboys forced two more turnovers in the contest, including a fumble recovered for a touchdown by junior linebacker Logan Marshall in the second quarter to make the score 14-7.

Gaither tried virtually every different defensive alignment to slow down the Dreadnaughts’ running game, but the Polk County squad managed to rack up 251 yards rushing in the contest.

On offense, the Cowboys were limited to 124 total yards thanks in part to 10 sacks. McGough appeared to suffer a lower body injury on one of the sacks on Gaither’s second possession of the third quarter.

McGough was knocked out of the game later in the same drive after taking a hit to the head on a quarterback keeper. He was diagnosed with a concussion on the field. The Wesley Chapel High transfer finished the game 5-of-10 passing for 36 yards.

Running back Shug Oyegunle moved under center and went 1-of-3 passing for 78 yards and one interception. The junior led the Cowboys to their only offensive touchdown on a seven-play drive capped by a 4-yard scoring run by Oyegunle punched in with 2:40 remaining in the game — their last possession for the season.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Freedom girls soccer team did not win a district championship until the program’s seventh season in 2010 and has known nothing but titles since then.

The Patriots (4-1-1), who were 11-2-3 in 2010-11, won consecutive Class 5A-District 9 championships the last two years and the current group is out to make it three in a row.

“When we started out we were always the underdogs,” said senior forward Jenna Stiling. “The last two years we’ve really worked together as a team. All the players on our team had the potential, but we weren’t really working together before. Maybe we didn’t have the best speed or skill, but we had heart, and I think that’s why we’re the two-time defending district champs.”

The Patriots’ seniors came close to making the playoffs as freshmen, but came up one win short after falling against Newsome in penalty kicks in the district semifinals.

“Losing like that after playing so hard was tough,” said senior goalkeeper Emily Ball. “We came back and won two district titles with a different coach my sophomore and junior years. To win districts even with a coaching change shows the strength of our team. It’s been a great building process.”

Jenna Ball took over as Freedom’s coach before last season. The former Division I player at the University of South Carolina and University of South Florida (USF) took a team that lost all but two starters to graduation and helped make it into a repeat district champion.

“We came from almost a broken team last year because we lost so many people,” Emily said. “We had so many people who had to step up to make it happen.”

Graduation will be much less of a factor this year, as the Patriots lost only Katie Cerillo.

“We basically have the same team on the field,” said senior defender Suzanna Crochet. “We have a few seniors who weren’t starting last year who can fill in, so I think we can be even better.”

The squad returns its top two scorers from last year in Jenna and Leah Stiling, who posted 13 and eight goals, respectively. The fraternal twins enjoy working together on the Patriots attack.

“We’ve always played on the same soccer field, so I know where she’s going to go,” said Leah, who is 19 minutes older than Jenna. “We’re a little competitive to see who can score more goals, but it’s mostly fun.”

Jenna has jumped out of the gate fast this season, scoring seven goals in Freedom’s first three games.

Also back is most of the Patriots’ midfielding and defensive core, along with Emily and her 76 saves, 10 shutouts and six goals against last year at goalkeeper.

Freedom won’t have to learn how to play together this year, but the returners know they cannot rely on past year’s chemistry.

“The junior class last year had to prove we deserved to be here because everyone counted us as underdogs,” said senior midfielder Alyssa Daniello. “I feel like this year we have to work just as hard and have that feeling of nobody expects us to win. We don’t want the team to be complacent because that’s what made us good last year.”

Senior midfielder Sara Hill added, “Last year we had that want to come out and prove we could win even though we lost a lot of players, so the pressure now is we have to do it again. When you’re on top at any time you can go down.”

Along with the pressure to live up to consecutive district titles, the Patriots are driven by the strange way last season ended.

As a district champion, Freedom was supposed to host its regional quarterfinal contest against Naples Gulf Coast, but the lights would not come on at the Patriots’ field.

“That was probably the strangest game of my entire life,” Daniello said. “I remember pulling up to the school and the lights were out. We had to stand around to see what was happening.”

The game was moved to USF’s field, but the lights failed there after regulation. The squads went to Wharton High for overtime and eventually penalty kicks, where Gulf Coast came out victorious 4-2.

The Patriots have been ready for the new season since that unusual end to the 2010-11 campaign.

“The entire beginning of the school year all everyone on the team has been talking about is how excited we are to play again,” Crochet said.

Freedom travels to district rival Wiregrass Ranch on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. before hosting Plant on Friday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.

–All stats as recorded to C2Cschools.com by coaches.

By Kyle LoJacono

Gaither senior wide receiver Carlo Perello remembers the first few practices during last spring.

They were the first with new coach Jason Stokes, and it didn’t take long for Perello to learn he was the right man to lead the Cowboys’ football program into the future.

“He went all out for us this year,” Perello said. “We all appreciate what he’s done for us this year and we all love him. I wish he was here three years ago and we’d have been a whole different team.”

Perello was one of 25 seniors on Gaither’s roster Stokes had to win over in order to get the squad a playoff berth for the first time since 2008.

“It’s hard to win over seniors being a first-year coach, but they deserve all the credit for buying into what we were doing,” Stokes said. “They were hungry to win. They were tired of the past and wanted something fresh. They didn’t fight me. As far as the discipline and the commitment, they gave their all for me and their teammates and themselves.”

Perello has seen Gaither at its lowest. His first year on the varsity squad was 2009, a year when the Cowboys went 1-9 and were outscored 334-66.

Gaither went 3-7 last year and lost two of its first three games this season before winning eight of its last 10 contests to finish the season.

The improvement allowed the Cowboys, who finished last in their district the previous two seasons, to play in the month of December for only the second time in the program’s 27-year history.

“We started off slow, but as we started to win we realized we were a great team,” Perello said. “We started believing in ourselves. We all bought into the new offense and the changes made and we all wanted to be here.”

Stokes was sad to see Perello and the other seniors’ high school careers ended on a 42-14 loss to Lakeland in the Class 7A regional finals, but said they helped lay the groundwork for something building in northern Hillsborough County.

“We’re going to take this momentum and just roll into the offseason,” Stokes said. “Get into the weight room and all our offseason things we have going on. I’m excited about next year’s team already.”

By Kyle LoJacono

It’s hard to miss the strong and confident voice of Emily Ball directing traffic on the field during Freedom girls soccer games.

The senior goalkeeper calls back defenders when needed, yells out when everyone should press the attack and warns her teammates of an approaching opponent.

“She definitely leads the team vocally in the back,” said Patriots second-year coach Jenna Ball. “It’s hard to find a keeper who is vocally so dominating on the field. Usually they’re shy in high school, but she automatically leads the team like that.”

And when it’s time to make a key save, Emily stops almost every routine shot and makes challenging saves look easy.

“Her athleticism just helps us out if we do make a mistake,” Jenna said. “We try not to, but if we do she is usually there to make the save.”

Emily made 76 saves and posted 10 shutouts while allowing only six goals last season, making her teammates confident she will stop virtually everything.

“It’s really reassuring knowing that we have somebody who we completely trust behind us,” said senior midfielder Alyssa Daniello. “It’s great to have such a strong captain and player who will have our backs just in case.”

Emily looks and acts like she has been between the pipes for her entire life, but she has only played the position for about 7 years.

“I became a goalkeeper when I was about 11,” Emily said. “That’s not where I started, but I’m glad it’s where I’m at.

“The thing I usually get is you’re crazy because all goalkeepers are crazy,” Emily continued. “Maybe that’s true, but I like the look on a strikers face with the disappointment and frustration when they can’t score.”

Emily got some playing time as a freshman, but took over as Freedom’s starter the following year. See has posted 16 shutouts while allowing only 14 goals during her first three seasons in high school.

Emily has committed to the University of South Carolina and plans to study engineering.

“It has a very great family atmosphere, and they have a great goalkeeping program,” Emily said. “It feels like family.”

After college, Emily said she would like to try a career as a professional soccer player but won’t be crushed if it does not happen.

“I love soccer,” Emily said. “My favorite memories are on a soccer field. If it becomes a career that’s great, but if not I’ll always have those great memories.”

By Kyle LoJacono

Despite his stoic demeanor, Wesley Chapel boys basketball coach Doug Greseth can hardly contain his excitement when talking about what is possible for his team this year.

“At this point I just feel like we’re so much better than this time last year,” Greseth said. “We have a lot of really good basketball players who are getting better every day.”

The 9-year Wildcats coach has that feeling not only because of the talent, but also because of how young most of his players are. Wesley Chapel (5-0) made regionals last year, the first time since 2007, with only one senior.

The Wildcats, who finished with a 13-16 record, entered the district tournament last year as the No. 6 seed, but reached the finals to earn a postseason spot. Wesley Chapel was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by cross-town rival Wiregrass Ranch, but earned experience that will serve the players this year.

“I thought making regionals was invaluable for the team,” Greseth said. “We had times last year when we started two sophomores and two freshmen or three sophomores and a freshman. We were very young, but we did what I thought we would do. We struggled early but improved as the season went on.

“The good thing is this year we have about eight players with at least a year on varsity,” Greseth continued. “I can already see the difference. We’re just so much better just from experience standpoint and the players getting more mature with their bodies and minds.”

Being in the postseason is nothing new to the Wildcats. The program made the final four in 2002, just three years after the school opened. Wesley Chapel returned to states the next year, a season that saw the squad lead Florida in scoring with 83.7 points per game.

The Wildcats made the playoffs every year from 2002-07, but it has been a process to get the squad back to that level.

“When Wiregrass opened up a few years ago that took some of our players,” Greseth said. “The year they opened up I had seven players that went over there. So we’ve been hovering around .500 the last few years, but I really think we have a good group here. For the next three or four years I have a good feeling about the guys we’ve got now.”

The players are confident they can get Wesley Chapel back to making deep postseason runs.

“I think winning districts and regionals is possible,” said sophomore guard Carson Emery. “I think we have the talent to get to the final four.”

Junior forward Erik Thomas, who posted 15.2 points per game last year while adding 220 rebounds and 75 assists, is also excited about what is possible this season.

“We’re all ready to go out and have an even better season,” said Thomas. “We want to have a better record, get back to regionals and from there just see what we can do.”

Most of the Wildcats are back from last year’s team, but they will have to replace the points put up by 2010-11 leading scorer Christian Parra, who transferred to Wiregrass Ranch. The junior point guard led Wesley Chapel with 15.4 points per game while adding 91 assists, 83 rebounds and 59 steals last season.

Moving into Parra’s spot at point guard is junior Stefan Bayne, who scored 4.5 points per game while adding 76 assists, 41 rebounds and 40 steals.

“I think it’s more of a team effort,” Bayne said. “I’m not trying to make up for the points he scored all by myself. I’ll just do what I’m capable of and if we all do that we’ll be fine.”

Emery will also play point, but his accuracy makes him lethal as a shooting guard.

“I try and practice shooting every day,” Emery said. “Usually I take about 500 shots every other day. The confidence comes from that and not some natural mindset.”

Greseth said his three seniors, Julian Vann, Sasha Mentor and Xavier Leatherbury, will be leaned on for their experience and leadership this year as well.

“I’m going to go all out and leave everything on the court,” Vann said. “I’d like to get us back to states like Wesley Chapel used to.”

The Wildcats have already secured a small victory this year by winning the River Ridge Thanksgiving Tournament. Wesley Chapel defeated Land O’ Lakes 62-38 before taking down Tarpon Springs 54-31 to claim the title.

Thomas, who was named tournament MVP, had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the championship game. Sophomore center Marcus Hayne added 13 assists and nine rebounds in the victory against Tarpon Springs.

The Wildcats host Hudson on Tuesday, Dec. 6 and Pasco on Friday, Dec. 9. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.