By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
Steinbrenner High is entering its second school year and the football team is looking to create some rivalries with its closest competitors in north Hillsborough County.
“The kids are all excited about the upcoming season and even more ready for it because our kickoff classic is against Sickles (High) and then our first game is against Gaither (High) after that,” said Steinbrenner coach Floyd Graham. “Those are our nearest competition and we want to get to the level so they see us as their rivals.”
Senior Tobi Antigha went to Middleton High his first two years, but he still wants to build those rivalries as much as former Gaither and Sickles players on the team.
“I can see that in a few years these are going to be some of the top rivalries in the county,” Antigha said. “Steinbrenner, Sickles and Gaither. This is the old breeding ground for those schools, so I’m excited to get those rivalries started.”
The Warriors have high aspirations for 2010, but the first season did not go as smoothly as they had hoped. Steinbrenner played a split schedule with the four games against junior varsity (JV) teams and six varsity contests.
The Warriors went 3-0-1 in JV games, but 0-6 as a varsity squad. The offense scored just 44 points in varsity games, but Steinbrenner’s quarterback does not think that will happen again.
“We’ve done a lot more during the offseason with lifting and that kind of stuff,” said senior Christian Carriere. “I’ve seen just more commitment to be honest with you. In 7-on-7 we had a good turnout basically every week. I don’t think we missed a week because kids weren’t here. We’re ready to show people how far our offense as come.”
Carriere was at Sickles before Steinbrenner opened. He was the only Warrior to complete a pass in 2009. In total he completed 59 of 84 passes for 453 yards and two touchdowns. Antigha said he has seen progression in Carriere’s game.
“Our quarterbacks have really improved,” Antigha with a laugh. “Christian, I don’t mean to rag him out, but his arm has been like night and day. His arm is so much stronger now.”
Antigha had a team-leading 15 catches for 250 yards and two scores while playing mostly tight end last year. The 6-foot-2 Antigha said he will play more at wide receiver this year because the Warriors will be throwing the ball a lot more. He also sees progression in the team as a whole.
“Just our chemistry overall,” Antigha said. “Our quarterbacks have been responding well and the defense looks good. The whole team chemistry has been a lot better.”
One of the leaders of that defense is its shortest — junior linebacker Cody Cazin.
“We’ve improved a lot,” said Cazin, who went to Wharton High before coming to Steinbrenner. “In terms of tackling and flying to the ball. Just the overall intensity is a lot better.”
Another defensive leader is senior linebacker Alex Bombino.
“Offensively we’ve had a lot of improvements because that’s what 7-on-7 is really about,” Bombino said. “It’s more for the offense to get its timing down. On defense we’ve been working on our zones with our new coaches. With this new defense we’re using I think it’s going to catch some people off guard.”
Graham said Bombino is probably the toughest player on the team. He broke his arm during a Friday night game last season, went and got a cast put on and was cleared to practice the next Wednesday. Graham also said he broke a rib toward the end of the season and did not tell anyone he was in pain. The injury was only revealed after the year.
“Bombino has probably worked harder in the offseason than anyone else on the team,” Graham said. “There was times when he was on vacation and he drove back from fishing in south Florida just to make workouts and then he’d go back. He’s probably gained the most in the weight room. He’s about 35 pounds heavier than last year.
“Cody is a little undersized, but he plays through that,” Graham continued. “He hits a lot bigger than he is.”
Steinbrenner had four sports win district championships during the school’s first year and the football team is looking to add to that total this season.
“We just have to put in the time and effort,” Antigha said of how the Warriors can win a district title. “We come in and work out at 5:30 in the morning and we stay late, so we should be up at the top pretty soon.”
The Warriors’ first regular season game is at home against Gaither Sept. 10.
-All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches as of Aug. 23. To reach Kyle LoJacono e-mail him at .
