Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Gators beat Mitchell 21-17

By Steve Lee

Sports Editor

TRINITY — The Land O’ Lakes-Mitchell game on Nov. 6 at Mustang Stadium lived up to the hype with the Class 3A, District 7 rivals fighting for their playoff lives.

For three quarters, the matchup resembled a ho-hum chess match with the Gators clinging to a slim 7-3 lead. Then came the offensive explosion — four touchdowns in the final quarter.

When the dust settled, Land O’ Lakes kept its county-record streak intact with a 21-17 comeback thriller. Mitchell took the lead twice on long drives in the final frame, only to be countered by Land O’ Lakes’ two quick-strike touchdowns.

The Gators are headed to their 13^th straight postseason while the Mustangs are left to wonder how they missed the playoffs following a school-record 8-0 start.

Pasco, which halted Mitchell’s season-long streak two weeks ago, won the 3A-7 title and Land O’ Lakes is the district runner-up. Pasco went 7-0 in the district, Land O’ Lakes was 6-1 and Mitchell 5-2.

Repeated chants of “We’re going to the playoffs,” were shouted louder and louder from the Land O’ Lakes sidelines as the game clock expired.

In his first season as the replacement for John Benedetto, who coached Land O’ Lakes to 196 wins in 32 seasons, Matt Kitchie took a moment to reflect as he sat on the visitors’ bench after all the postgame interviews were done and the stadium emptied.

“It means everything,” Kitchie said of extending the streak. “The pride that runs through Land O’ Lakes is unbelievable.

“When you follow a legend like John Benedetto … I have to be honest, it’s just special to be a part of that tradition. Land O’ Lakes has opened up their hearts to me. It really is special.”

Special for the fans on both sides was how the fourth quarter played out. Mitchell went ahead on the longest play of the game with Ricky Trinidad bursting up the middle into the end zone from three yards out. That score capped a 21-play, 94-yard drive and gave the Mustangs a 10-7 lead.

It didn’t take long for the Gators to retake the lead, just three plays to be exact.

Stephen Weatherford, the last of three siblings to play quarterback at Land O’ Lakes, connected with Will Irwin on a 78-yard touchdown pass and the Gators went ahead 14-10.

“When I caught that ball and started running, I was like, ‘Don’t fumble,’” said Irwin, surprised at how open he was behind the Mitchell defense.

Once again, Mitchell chewed up valuable time on the clock with a methodical 14-play, 80-yard drive. And just like the Mustangs’ previous possession, Trinidad finished it off with a 5-yard touchdown run.

That time, however, it was a bit more exciting for the home fans since that play came on fourth down. It marked the second time on that Trinidad converted a fourth down with a short run on that sustained drive.

“That Ricky Trinidad is one heck of a running back,” Kitchie said of Trinidad, who after missing the Pasco game a week earlier due to a back injury came back to gain 178 yards and score twice against the Gators.

Weatherford and the Gators weren’t done, even though about two minutes remained in the game. Similar to the previous drive, Land O’ Lakes needed just three plays to score.

Weatherford’s 45-yard pass to Alex Robinson set up the final touchdown, a 24-yard pass over the middle from Weatherford to Irwin. Weatherford was nearly sacked on the pass to Robinson, but he rolled to his left and found the senior all alone near the left sideline.

“Stephen is a leader, No. 1,” Kitchie said.

Weahterford made it look so easy late in the game, leaving some to wonder why Kitchie didn’t unleash his quarterback and play long ball much sooner.

“We got down and I decided, ‘That’s enough. We’re going to throw it,’” Kitchie said.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

By Steve Lee

Sports Editor

LAND O’ LAKES — The traditional Land O’ Lakes Flapjack Festival has been discontinued, just one year after an ill-fated relocation to the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City.

There is a new fall festival in central Pasco, however, and it just might become a tradition.

Swamp Fest, a three-day event that concluded Nov. 8 at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, took place at the longtime site of the former festival.

The Robinsons were among numerous families and visitors from the area to attend Swamp Fest. The name change, along with several different events, did not matter to them as much as upholding a local tradition.

“It’s the same thing,” said Theresa Robinson, a 1986 Land O’ Lakes graduate. “The only thing that’s missing is the parade and the flapjacks.”

Actually, pancakes were served on Saturday and Sunday mornings, much like the former festival.

“It’s all good. I didn’t realize it was going to be this big, this many people,” Robinson continued, as her children, 15-year-old Christopher and 9-year-old Nicole lined up for carnival rides.

William Robinson, Theresa’s husband, said he is glad a festival returned to Land O’ Lakes.

“It was no good in Dade City,” he said. “It’s our festival.”

Like the Flapjack Festival, Wade Shows provided the midway and carnival rides for Swamp Fest, which was highlighted by a wrestling championship, antique car show and musicians.

“This is a much better atmosphere, more fan participation,” said Donnie Simonds, a self-described fourth-generation cracker from Hudson whose band also played at last year sparsely attended festival in Dade City.

Swamp Fest is the brainchild of Mike Connor, president of the Land O’ Lakes Athletics Booster Club. Connor, the public address announcer at Gator football games, also organized a Swamp Fest last February on a smaller scale at Land O’ Lakes High.

With the Land O’ Lakes Chamber of Commerce deciding not to continue hosting the Flapjack Festival, Connor and booster club members took matters into their own hands so as not to lose the primary fund-raiser for the school’s athletic teams.

“At least there’s a fall festival in Land O’ Lakes,” Connor said.

Connor did not have final figures readily available the morning after the event. Nonetheless, he was encouraged by the turnout and said prospects are bright for the future of Swamp Fest.

“We had a tremendous outpouring of support,” he said. “There’s a few things we have to work on, but I think we have a viable platform.”

Making Swamp Fest an annual event sets just fine with Land O’ Lakes wrestling coach Jason Carpenter, who as a former Gator was an all-state wrestler and all-conference football player.

“Instead of doing car washes, I can do this once a year and I’m done,” Carpenter said of the athletic department’s fund-raiser.

Gryphons have come a long way in one year

By Kyle LoJacono

Staff Writer

CITRUS PARK — Most who watched Sickles last season would be surprised to see how far the team has come in one year — including the coaches.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure how fast we would be able to turn things around,” Sickles offensive coordinator Jeff Bloom said. “It just depended on how much time and effort that the kids put in.

“Coaches can coach the best system ever, but it takes good kids buying into the system and working hard for it to work. These kids have really done both, so the credit goes to them.”

Bloom and three other offensive coaches brought the triple-option offense to Sickles from Chamberlain this season. That change helped turn the Gryphons, who were 3-7 in 2008, into a playoff team with a 7-2 record.

Bloom coached at Sickles for three years and spent the 2008 season with Chamberlain before returning to the Gryphons. With the Chiefs, Bloom learned the triple-option from current Sickles quarterback coach Brian Turner, son of retired Chamberlain coach Billy Turner.

“Bringing in several guys who were running the system successfully was a big help for us, because they were able to keep a lot of the terms and scheme together,” Sickles coach Pat O’Brien said. “The players bought right into the system, because they’ve seen how well Chamberlain was running it.”

Chamberlain went 34-16 with six playoff wins between 2005 and 2008. That included four consecutive wins over Sickles by a combined scoring margin of 162-19.

“It helped that we had three new starters on the offensive line this year who we didn’t have to un-teach things to, but in reality the scheme change wasn’t that radical for us,” O’Brien continued. “We’ve done a lot of both zone and gap-down blocking in the past, but mostly zone. Now it is more gap-down blocking, with still some zone.”

The triple-option is an offense that emphasizes running the ball first and taking strategic shots down the field in the passing game. The running back gets the ball from the quarterback, but only after forcing defenders to commit to tackling the quarterback.

Through nine games, the Gryphons have gained 2,537 yards on 359 carries and scored 26 times. That already tops the 936 yards on 254 carries and six rushing scores for all of 2008.

One of the keys to the triple-option is having a running back that can stand the pounding of having so many carries, and for the Gryphons that is junior Cary White. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound White has 1,425 yards, best in the North Suncoast, on 192 carries and 12 rushing scores this year.

That’s not only the best in Hillsborough County, but those number are the best on the North Suncoast, which includes, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.

“It wasn’t that big of a change for me,” said White, who played at Gaither as a freshman and sophomore. “I just go with the flow and run what is called. I wouldn’t have those kinds of numbers if (John Melvin Hendrick) doesn’t do a great job getting me the ball, or if the O-line doesn’t block everyone like they do. It starts with good coaching and ends with everyone around me doing their job.”

As the quarterback, Hendrick, a junior, has added 386 rushing yards and four touchdowns to the Gryphons offense. He also has thrown for 801 yards and eight scores.

White’s brother, Trey, is a 256-pound freshman nose tackle who knows how hard it is to stop the triple-option.

“We mostly go against the scout team in practice that runs whatever offense the team we are playing that week runs, but we also get to go against our offense a little,” Trey, 14, said. “It’s real frustrating to go against.”

The Gryphons clinched a playoff spot by beating Class 4A, District 10 rival Leto 38-0 on Oct. 23. That avenged a 30-6 loss to the Falcons in last year’s season opener.

“Beating Leto was a big win for us, because they handled us pretty good last year,” O’Brien said. “We can’t let clinching a playoff spot make us stop trying hard, and I don’t think it will be a problem. Our last game is against Wharton, which is a game we always play for a trophy. Wharton has the trophy now and we want it back.”

The trophy has been around for 13 years, and Wharton won it last year by defeating Sickles 28-6. The Gryphons won the trophy in 2007 and this year the game will be at Wharton on Nov. 13.

Then come the playoffs, which will have much more at stake than a trophy between schools.

Courses prepared for snowbirds

By Derek Highley

Golf Columnist

WESLEY CHAPEL — The outdoor thermometer at my house reads in the 80s on most days, but fall is here and for most northern states cooler temperatures have long since arrived.

As golf courses up north close for the winter, around here superintendents are prepping courses to attract northerners in search of warmer weather — hopefully with clubs in tow.

What you are going to notice over the next few weeks is winter overseeding. The process involves the transition from warm-climate Bermuda grass to perennial rye for the cooler season.

There are conflicting opinions for overseeding, but for the most part it is purely cosmetic. As Bermuda grass goes dormant, courses turn brown. This look is not exactly ideal for attracting northerners in search of green.

It will be interesting to see if the current economy sways some golf course operators into forgoing the expense associated with overseeding. It is almost a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario.

Skipping out on overseeding could save golf courses upward of $1000 an acre on grass seed, not to mention the costs of extra water, labor and fertilizer. The gamble is: Will a brown course lose winter golfers to greener pastures?

As a golfer living here year-round I actually welcome the change in playing conditions that the dormant Bermuda grass brings. I don’t need to play on green grass year-round and I can fully appreciate why a course would forgo the process.

With that said, as a former course operator I understand the pressure to provide golfers with the best turf conditions throughout the winter, as well as the necessity to overseed.

The best solution is to meet aesthetics and economics somewhere in the middle. Overseed the greens, fairways and tees, and let the rough go dormant. I actually find the look aesthetically pleasing.

So if you notice extra maintenance going on at your local golf course over the next few weeks, you now know what they are doing. Be prepared for verti-cutting, scalping and aeration of current turf, followed by extra watering and cart path only rules.

The bright side is, it should only last a few weeks. In the end, the course should be better for it, or at the very least look prettier.