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Two playoff teams from last year faced off on Sept. 4, and the game lived up to the hype. In the end, the Sunlake Seahawks edged past the Zephyrhills Bulldogs, 44-41. While Zephyrhills might be disappointed to come up short in a high-scoring affair, both teams have reasons to feel good about their season and their future. The Bulldogs’ junior running back, Antwione Sims, scored four touchdowns in the contest with around 300 yards on the ground, while junior Justin Hall paced the Seahawks with nearly 250 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

Sunlake not only got the best of the Bulldogs to earn the win this year, they avenged a 22-7 loss to Zephyrhills last season.

Since that game, Zephyrhills had a bye last weekend and currently sits at 1-1. Sunlake went on to defeat Wiregrass Ranch 31-7 on Sept. 11 to moves to 3-0.

As Pasco-Hernando State College goes through another volleyball season, two of their better players are still recording kills on the court. They’re just doing it for a different team.

Logan Miller and Melina Staengle have both graduated from PHSC and are now suiting up for Chicago State University in Illinois, a Division I NCAA program.

Miller, a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American, was team captain and led the Conquistadors with more than 500 kills last season. Staengle had more than 300 kills of her own and earned NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week honors last season.

 

The boys’ cross-country team at Wharton High School took the top spot at the Central Hillsborough Invitational, on Aug. 26 at Wharton. The team scored 20 points, a mark significantly lower than its competition (low scores are preferable in cross country). The next closest team, Freedom High School, scored 62. King High School placed third with 79.

7 Tool Baseball, a baseball instruction organization for individuals ages 10-21 years old, has moved from Tennessee to Pasco County. They provide classroom and field instruction, as well as weight room training. The organization’s goals are to start a 10U travel ball program this year, with an additional program each successive year. They currently have training sessions by appointment at Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road, and the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway. For information, call 813-693-1830 or visit 7ToolBaseball.com.

The Wesley Chapel Soccer Club offers free soccer training throughout the summer for girls ages 5 through 7. The sessions are every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m., at Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road. There is no cost or obligation for the session. Participants are encouraged to bring soccer gear, a ball (if they have one) and water. For information, visit WesleyChapelSC.com.

At Keiko Shin Karate Academy’s most recent competition, the AAU National Karate Championship in North Carolina last month, there was a slight imbalance in the numbers.

The academy left with more medals than it had competitors.

The academy, located at 3753 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, sent 20 athletes to the event, and brought home 34 medals, including 22 gold. That success gave them the top spot in the tournament in terms of titles, a dominant finish in each of their categories, and an additional haul that added to their existing collection of more than 150 medals. Their athletes ranged in ages from 6 to 40 and faced competition from all over the world, including Canada, Israel and Romania.

For more information about Keiko Shin Karate Academy, call (813) 994-9253, or visit KeikoShin.com.

The Land O’ Lakes High School Unified Special Olympics Soccer Team is a little heavier this week after attending the World Games in Los Angeles.

They didn’t gain any weight. It’s from the medals around their necks.

Representing the United States, the team took home the bronze medal after competing against the best of other nations around the world. They tied China 0-0 in a hard-fought defensive battle. They defeated Luxembourg, 4-2. And they fell to Liechtenstein in a high-scoring affair, 5-4, and to the Czech Republic in a tight contest, 2-1.

That left a rematch with China to determine who would claim the bronze medal for their country. This time, the United States came out on top, and the team left the field with a medal around their necks and a lifetime of memories.

For information and more photos, follow the team on their Facebook page by searching “World Games USA Unified Special Olympics Soccer.”

It’s almost here.

The players can work out and the coaches can do a little planning over the summer. But soon high school football teams will be able to take the field as a unit and really get ready for the upcoming season.

The first official day teams can practice together is Aug. 3. But that’s for noncontact practices only. Contact practices can begin Aug. 8, leaving just a few weeks to get ready for the start of the season. Some schools will take part in a preseason contest a couple weeks later, but the first regular season games begin Aug. 26 through Aug. 29, with many teams kicking things off on Aug. 28.

Before the games count, and before the final depth charts are set, the teams have to huddle together and practice. And after a long off-season for schools that want to build on last year — and those that want a fresh start — practice is just a few days away.

The Land O’ Lakes High School Unified Special Olympics Soccer Team will compete in the World Games later this month. And they’ll look good doing it.

The team received their new uniforms on July 6, and they’ll use them on the field when they travel to Los Angeles for the Special Olympics World Games that begin on July 25.

The team leaves for the games on July 20, with a special send-off scheduled for noon at Land O’ Lakes High School, 20325 Gator Lane.

The team consists of seven Special Olympics athletes and five partners. Their progress can be followed on the team’s Facebook page, at Facebook.com/LolhsTeamUSA.

The team’s journey and progress will be updated via social media throughout the games, which end Aug. 2.

For updates, photos and video, follow the team on Facebook at Facebook.com/LolhsTeamUSA, on Instagram at Instagram.com/usaunifiedsoccer and on Twitter at Twitter.com/pascophotos.

PCL Civil Constructors is a construction company that focuses on building bridges. Back in April, they also built a pretty big check for the United Way.

The company has had a golf tournament for United Way Suncoast about every 18 months since 2010. The regular outing brings in people from the construction industry from around the country.

It also brings in a lot of money.

The most recent tournament on April 24 at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club, brought in more than $70,000. Combined, their tournaments have raised more than $250,000 for the charity.

“A big part of our culture at PCL, and our corporate vision, is giving back to the communities that we work in, and lending our time, talent and treasure to those in need,” said Mark Eveld, a senior estimator with the company and tournament chair.

The record-setting total raised this year was helped by a strong turnout (144 golfers) and more than 60 corporate sponsors, Eveld said.