Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Kyle LoJacono

The Gaither football team found itself trailing 23-7 at halftime against Durant in the Class 7A regional quarterfinals on Nov. 18 but fought back to win the program’s first playoff game since 2007.

The Cowboys (8-3) scored 31 second-half points off three touchdown passes by quarterback Alex McGough, a 19-yard run by Shug Oyegunle and a 27-yard field goal by Dalton Gilson to win 38-30.

“At halftime we told them listen ‘you’re champions, but you’re just not playing like it,’” said first-year Gaither coach Jason Stokes. “Throw everything else out the window. You just have to execute.’ We told them ‘do you want to go home and turn your gear in tonight, or do want to keep playing?’”

Stokes’ words hit home as the Cowboys were a different squad coming out of the locker room, picking up 305 yards of total offense after halftime.

Gaither’s defense sacked Cougars (7-4) quarterback Nick Fabrizio four times and picked off three of his passes. Safety Eddie Pastrana took the first interception 35 yards for his squad’s first points, while the final two found the hands of cornerback Tyler McCollum.

McCollum said he wasn’t expecting to pick off two passes against Durant’s run-heavy read-option offense, but was happy there were a few attempts to his side of the field.

“If they were going to throw my way I was going to do everything I could to pick them off and make them pay,” McCollum said.

McCollum’s first interception came on the Cougars’ drive after the Cowboys had taken a 31-30 lead, giving them the ball with 3:49 remaining in the game. Durant had one timeout left and Gaither would have been able to run out the clock with one first down, but Oyegunle decided a one-point victory was too close.

“When I saw Tyler get that pick, I knew it was show time,” Oyegunle said. “I told Alex get me the ball and I’d get in the end zone.”

McGough did find him on the fifth play of the drive, connecting on a screen pass that Oyegunle took 62 yards for the game’s final points.

“When I got the ball in my hands I was just thinking touchdown touchdown touchdown,” Oyegunle said.

The Cowboys started the game slowly. Stokes said the start was partially due to arriving late after their bus got stuck in traffic, forcing them to cut warm-ups short.

“We basically came out the bus, touched our toes and played football,” Stokes said. “We were totally out of whack.”

Gaither was also dealt an early blow on its second possession when McGough was forced out of the game after Durant defender Chris Heald put a big hit on his throwing arm. The Wesley Chapel High transfer sat out much of the first half, but came back to record 235 yards on 14-of-29 passing, including scoring strikes of 6 and 59 yards to Demarcus Sexil and Carlo Perello, respectively.

Oyegunle filled in for McGough, going 3-of-8 passing for 72 yards. He also added 107 yards on four catches, 24 yards on four carries and another 27 on a kick return.

“It was a total effort,” Stokes said. “We got some good runbacks on special teams, got some key picks and we’ve got some big-time players on offense. When it comes down to it, when the rubber meets the road, big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”

The Cowboys travel to district rival Tampa Bay Tech on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m. for the regional semifinals. The Titans defeated Gaither 17-14 on Nov. 4 on a last-minute field goal.

By Kyle LoJacono

A year ago, Wiregrass Ranch cross country runner Nikita Shah could barely finish a 5-kilometer race in less than 20 minutes, a far cry from her performance this year.

The junior ran a 17:53.96 at the Class 3A girls state meet on Nov. 19 at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City, the third straight week she has cracked the 18-minute mark and the fastest time of any girl from Pasco or Hillsborough counties at the event.

The performance was good enough for fourth place overall, the best finish of any Bulls runner in the school’s six-year history. Shah’s time would have made her the individual state champion in any of the other three class’ final race.

“I was aiming for fifth place because I was seeded sixth, but fourth is good for me too,” Shah said with a smile.

Last year Shah placed 27th at states, ten spots worse than how she ran as a freshman. The slowdown was caused by a bout of anemia that zapped her strength during the second half of her sophomore season.

After diagnosing the problem, Shah started taking iron supplements and her speed returned to the point where she brought Wiregrass Ranch its first state medal.

“It means everything to me that I can perform like this,” Shah said. “Last year it kind of upset me to be getting worse instead of better when I was training hard, but this year it worked out how I wanted. It only means everything in the world to me basically.”

The trip to claiming that medal wasn’t easy for Shah as the anemia basically took away a whole year of training at a high level.

“It’s very satisfying as a coach to see her run like that after what she’s gone through,” said Bulls girls coach Don Howard. “Phenomenal run by her going under 18 minutes again. She had a strategy to run out with the lead pack and to make a move at the 2-mile mark. She did exactly what she set out to do.”

Shah gave credit to Howard for getting her into top shape for the year’s biggest race.

“My coach trained us to peak at exactly the right time,” Shah said. “I did a lot worse than the girls on my level at the beginning of the season, but I knew I was going to peak later. … This is the best shape I’ve ever been in my whole life. I can only thank my coach for that. Without him I couldn’t do anything.”

The Bulls’ 232 points gave them seventh place, one spot off the best state performance in program history — quite a feat considering they had to replace four of their top-seven runners from last year.

“I told our principal at the beginning of the season that this was a rebuilding year for us, but the new girls just came on so well that we exceeded what we did last year,” Howard said.

Wiregrass Ranch picked up a couple of girls from other sports. Berlin Waters was only a soccer player last school year, but decided to give cross country a try as well. The story was the same for Savannah Goode, who was focusing on cheerleading at this time last year.

The Bulls boys took sixth by scoring 200 points, matching their best place at states.

“We were pushing to be the best team in school history,” said Wiregrass Ranch boys coach Chris Loth. “We were seeded ninth and we thought between sixth and fourth was a possibility. We were less than 10 points out of fourth place, and we’re happy with that. Our top three, Ermias, Sam and David, had outstanding races. Ermias finished better than any other boy in school history. Outstanding exclamation mark to the end of a great season.”

Like the girls, the Bulls boys had to replace four of their top seven.

“The kids were out to prove they could overcome that and I think they did,” Loth said.

Wiregrass Ranch was led by Ermias Bireda’s 15th-place finish in 16:09.1, one spot and 1.64 seconds better than Land O’ Lakes’ Travis Nichols.

“Travis has beaten me most of this season, so this time I really wanted to win,” said Bireda, who placed 67th at the event last year as a sophomore. “I feel good and I’m excited for my senior year. I can’t wait to get next season going.”

Nichols, a sophomore, also improved his placing greatly from a year ago when he finished 68th.

“It gives me confidence to be somewhat near the top in my second time here,” Nichols said. “I was way near the bottom last year.”

Bulls senior Sam Hippely ran a 16:22.14 to take 26th in his final high school race.

“This course has been tough on Sam the last couple years, and he was able to redeem himself today,” Loth said. “It put a great end to a great career — a hall of fame career.”

Steinbrenner had a bit of a disappointing day. The squad finished as the 2A state runner-up last year but could muster only 12th place in 3A this year by scoring 308 points. Land O’ Lakes’ 517 points made it 21st.

The girls 4A meet included Freedom and Wharton, which took 14th and 20th, respectively. The Patriots were led by senior Ashley Smith’s 20:30.98, good enough for 67th overall. Wildcats junior Taylor Griffith took 93rd in 21:07.68.

By Kyle LoJacono

Last season, the Gaither girls soccer team snapped a five-year playoff drought and made the regional finals for just the second time in the school’s 27-year history.

The deep postseason run not only gave the returning Cowboys (3-3-1) confidence in their ability to compete at the highest level, but also a hunger to take another step forward with the program.

“I know the girls are ready for the season,” said third-year Gaither coach Trevor Scott. “We had a really good summer and had at least 20 girls at every session. They’re ready to show they can compete with anyone.”

The Cowboys won at Venice 2-1 and defeated Gulf Coast 1-0 in double overtime at home in the regional tournament before losing on the road to Seminole 3-0 just one win away from the Class 5A final four.

“It was tough to have the season end there, but it was good for the girls who are coming back because they know what it’s like,” Scott said. “They won a regional game on the road, they played really tough teams, so I think that experience will help this year.”

Senior midfielder Kaycee McGuire said being so close to states pushed everyone to work harder in the offseason.

“It was really amazing because we were the underdogs,” said McGuire, who led Gaither with 10 assists last year. “To get so far when we weren’t supposed to felt really good. We were all really sad when the season ended. … You look back and see that we were right there. It’s just like come on, couldn’t we have won just one more game? Just one more step.”

Scott, a 2004 Gaither graduate, said that attitude of expecting to win is something that was not present a year ago.

“They had a lot of doubts coming into the season because it was a long time since 2004,” Scott said. “They had a new coach each year for a couple years, so I think it helped to have the same voice pushing them. They got to work together and that consistency helped, but a lot of it came down to the seniors pushing each other and the younger players wanting to win for them.”

Gaither will have to find players to fill in for four graduating seniors, including Lauren Moore and Carly Cepelak who are playing at the University of Tampa and Lincoln Memorial University, respectively, on soccer scholarships.

Moore led the Cowboys with 13 goals while adding five assists. Cepelak added one score, but was a big member of the Gaither defense.

The Cowboys also lose Caity Chandler, who played almost every position on the field last season while adding 10 goals and two assists.

“We also lost Jessica Carter at goalkeeper, who didn’t play in goal as much, but she was always ready for practice and pushed Amanda High as our starter,” Scott said. “You need to have players like that to keep everyone else working to get better. … You can’t ever replace everything a player does, but I can see new girls stepping up. They’re doing things I didn’t see them do last year on the field and in leadership roles.”

High, a sophomore, returns as the Gaither starting goalkeeper. She had 77 saves and eight shutouts while allowing just seven goals last season.

“I was only a freshman, so I had no idea what to expect for all of the year,” High said. “It was really cool to set some high standards to live up to.”

Gaither’s defense was a strength last year, as the team allowed only nine goals on the season. Scott said he will lean on defenders Angela Anderson, a junior, and senior Lexy Bubley, who transferred from Steinbrenner.

Forward Taylor Meek’s 12 goals last season are the most of any returning player. The sophomore said she feels she needs to “step up” her game as a sophomore. She also added playing alongside Moore helped her become a better player.

“She worked really hard and she tried to make sure we worked well together,” Meek said. “She’d get me the ball to score and I’d do the same back. She was always so nice and tried to work well with everyone.”

Gaither plays at Chamberlain on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.

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

By Kyle LoJacono

If national signing day was a game, Wharton High would have been named the area champion this year.

Four Wildcats student-athletes inked their names to letters of intent to compete in college during the first day of early signing on Nov. 9. Monica Santos will play softball at the University of South Florida (USF), tennis player Steven Sepulveda will attend Reinhardt University, Tyler Liberatore will wrestle at Arizona State University and Stephany Brown is headed to Palm Beach Atlantic University to play volleyball.

Monica Santos

Monica Santos cannot remember a time when she wasn’t playing softball.

“It’s all I know and I’ve been doing it all my life,” Santos said. “I started playing baseball when I was 3, and I’ve had a bat and a ball in my hand since I was 2.”

The third baseman has been a fan of USF for almost as long.

“I watched the softball games there when I was 6 and just fell in love with the program,” said Santos, who is interested in sociology. “I can’t see myself going anywhere else. It’s been my dream to go to USF, so I’m just living my dream right now.”

Santos posted a .368 batting average with 18 runs scored and nine RBI in 2011. She also showed plate discipline by striking out only four times in 71 plate appearances while drawing 12 walks.

The senior’s play drew attention from USF as well as from the Puerto Rican national team. She plays on the commonwealth’s women’s squad, most recently competing at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico.

“It was an amazing experience,” Santos said. “I even played against team USA. Their coach is Ken Eriksen, who will be my coach at USF, so that was strange and fun at the same time.”

Steven Sepulveda

Steven Sepulveda is a relative newcomer to tennis, picking up the sport about five years ago.

“I played soccer for a long time and I was definitely a lot better at tennis,” Sepulveda said.

Despite his natural talent for the game, he was unable to make Wharton’s team his freshman year. He used the disappointment to fuel his desire to get better.

“I definitely practiced a lot more after that happened,” Sepulveda said. “It told me I have to go back and figure something out if I want to play in high school.”

Whatever he found in those practice sessions helped him make the Wildcats team in 2010, the year the squad brought home the Class 4A state championship. Wharton made it back to the state tournament the following season.

“This year I want to have a good season and I’m training four days a week right now to be ready when we start,” Sepulveda said. “We want to try and get back to states.”

Sepulveda plans to study business at Reinhardt. He added the school is a good fit for him because it has a low number of students per class, which is an environment that helps him learn.

Tyler Liberatore

Tyler Liberatore has been a constant at the wrestling finals since his freshman season, finishing as the state champion the last three years.

He transferred to Wharton for his senior year after spending the previous three at Brandon High, but he has no plans to slow down as a Wildcat.

“I’m out to pin everybody all season,” said Liberatore, who was 15-0 last year. “Nothing less than that.”

Liberatore started wrestling around age 8. He said he always wanted to be a part of a Division I program, and decided Arizona State was the right place quickly.

“I’ve gone to some of the wrestling camps and after meeting their coaches I found their style goes well with mine,” said Liberatore, who is undecided on his major. “Plus I’m a Florida boy, so I love warm weather. It’s one of the few good wrestling programs that is in warm weather, plus it’s a good academic school.”

Now that the first part of his dream has come true, Liberator can put the second phase into action.

“It feels great, but I’m definitely not content with just wrestling there,” Liberatore said. “I’m definitely playing to win some national titles while I’m there. It was always the goal to get to a Division I school and then win national titles.”

Stephany Brown

One look at Stephany Brown would not lead many to think she is one of the most imposing middle hitters in Florida.

The 6-foot-2 Brown always has a smile on her face and said she is friendly to everyone — off the court that is.

“When I get in front of the net my mentality changes,” Brown said. “I want to block everything that comes my way.”

Brown’s 1.3 blocks per set is tied for 10th most in the state this season. She also had 157 kills and 29 aces.

Brown, who will study sports medicine, started playing volleyball in eighth-grade.

“I played basically every sport you can think of and volleyball is the one I have the most passion for,” Brown said. “I also run track, but volleyball just called my name more.”

Brown’s play helped Wharton go 19-4 this season, the first time the program has won double digit matches in five years.

The Wildcats came up one match short of earning a berth in the playoffs, but Brown said the memories of her senior campaign are nothing but positive.

“It was a really exciting season,” Brown said. “Our outcome obviously wasn’t what we were hoping for, but we became so close and the relationship I have with each of my teammates is something I won’t forget.”

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

By Jeff Odom

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

Nearly four years ago, Steinbrenner seniors Chris Williams and Gerald Bautista began their high school baseball careers at Sickles. On Nov. 9, the two signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the college level.

While it may seem like just a pair of signings on a day where a slew of schools hosted such ceremonies, these Warriors’ story goes back to when they were sophomores.

“It’s a blessing, because two years ago we made a pact that we would sign with the same school or a different school on the same day,” said Bautista, a third baseman who signed with the University of Florida.

Williams, a pitcher who signed with St. Leo University, says their friendship extends way back to childhood.

“Me and Gerald have been best friends probably since we were 7,” Williams said. “We just grew up together and always played hard together.”

When Bautista put on his blue-and-orange Florida cap, a large grin appeared on his face and he nodded at his father, Danny Bautista, a 15-year MLB player.

“I’m ready to go,” said an emotional Bautista. “I’m just blessed and I just thank God and my family, especially my dad. He’s been there through the good and bad situations.”

Warriors coach John Crumbley has seen the two grow since they came to the school in 2009.

“They’re both serious about the game of baseball,” Crumbley said. “They both work hard, they’re good leaders on the field and hopefully we’ll ride that to the next level this year.”

By Eugenio Torrens

Jess Johnson knows exactly what she wants for graduation.

Winter clothes. A lot of winter clothes.

Johnson signed her letter of intent on Nov. 9 to play volleyball for Norfolk State University, a Division I school in Virginia. Bishop McLaughlin’s outside hitter had other colleges in mind, but her official visit in September sealed the deal.

“I just fell in love with the school completely, so I knew that that’s where I wanted to go,” said Johnson, who plans to study chemistry.

Johnson said she is excited and ready for the next chapter of her life, both on and off the court.

“I think I could really help them, and their coach seems to think that I could help them, so I’m really excited to go,” Johnson said.

Johnson was an integral part of the Hurricanes’ record-setting season, piling up 403 kills this season — an average of 5.1 per game — and putting her at more than 1,000 kills for her high school career. Bishop McLaughlin set program record 16 wins this year, capped off with the first playoff appearance.

Hurricanes coach Doug Chinchar has known Johnson since she was 9 years old, and coached her for two years at Bishop McLaughlin. He said the match between Johnson and the Spartans made sense.

“I think she’s going to be a perfect fit just because of the way their school runs,” Chinchar said. “It’s not the Ohio State where you’re going 100 billion miles an hour and they hold that scholarship over your head and say ‘Hey if you don’t do this, you’re done.’”

He added the signing makes Johnson the first girl to sign a Division I scholarship in Hurricanes history.

“I hope that people in the Land O’ Lakes area notice this,” Chinchar said. “They have a young lady going to college for free to play volleyball. Beautiful.”