The action came and went like a wave along the North Shore before the Memorial Day Weekend leaving us with plenty of talking points and information to digest. The week started with action on Wednesday with nearly 100 points scored between two teams in Pasco County. The action was in full force on Thursday with Hillsborough County’s Jamborees and other counties playing four quarters, with Friday’s multiple “primetime” match-ups not disappointing. Now that the waters have calmed down a bit we take a look at a few of the main reasons why the first week of Spring felt as hot as the middle of Summer, as we clean out the locker room in the week that was.
Wednesday Night
Pasco defeats Wiregrass Ranch 53-41. The first (and only) BCP area match-up of the week (and night) gave us a boatload of material to process plus 94 points produced by both offenses. A few answers to questions seemed to be answered, plus a couple of brand new questions have now been posed to Wiregrass Ranch and Pasco. Guys like Jayvaughn Myers, Michael Penix Jr., and Eric Wilson for the Pirates should help that squad put up huge numbers on the offensive side. With the size and strength they have in the trenches on the defensive side, it appears the only element that can slow down Pasco is perhaps the Pirates themselves. We figured Wiregrass would go through some growing pains under first year Head Coach Mark Kantor, but the Bulls seem like they’ve got enough self-motivation along with some quality pieces to the puzzle they can force teams to think twice about simply showing up and assuming a victory. Wiregrass faces an insanely tough schedule both in-and-out of district, so a repeat of 2014’s 4-6 record would be viewed by some as remarkable, while others may feel this team was good enough to win even more than that regardless of their schedule.
Thursday Night
Everybody got cranked up the night before the three-day holiday began and there were definitely some moments of “wow” along with a few, “uh-oh’s” and even a few “oh-no’s” starting with the jamborees that were scheduled in Hillsborough County. The mantra before all these began should have been “it’s JUST two quarters” and for the most part that is what the vast majority of the programs and staffs’ in the county left their respective quads saying. There were a few exceptions, though. Out at Bloomingdale, the host Bulls took it on the chin in just 24 minutes giving up 38 points to their neighborhood rivals, Brandon. Granted, we think the Bears will do this to several teams this season with their big play capabilities, but that’s probably not how they drew it up at Bloomingdale. Many questions are now circling around a squad that DOES have playmakers and is about to head down a very tough road each week this Fall.
At the Gaither Jamboree, it was the host Cowboys falling to Alonso 20-7 in the Ravens first game since Chris Oladokun’s transfer to arch-rival Sickles. Speaking of the Gryphons and Oladokun, they were blanked by a motivated Steinbrenner team that is now a member of the state’s highest classification and definitely needed this extra shot of momentum as the summer approached. The “Quad of Discontent” as it has been affectionately nicknamed in years past does not disappoint in any sport, and after the games were played that night the buzz on social media proved this just seems to keep getting more-and-more heated between the four. East Bay and Lennard played to a 13-7 score in favor of the Indians which is now a district game come the Fall in addition to blossoming into one of the area’s best rivalries. It’s a shame none of these aforementioned contests were played just 24 minutes.
At the quad containing the hosts Strawberry Crest versus Plant City along with Armwood against Tampa Bay Tech, it may have come as a bit of a shock to the system that the Chargers and the Raiders played a much better half than Armwood and Tech, but such was the case. ‘Crest and Plant City are chocked full of young talent that showed much progression in the offseason. While Armwood was a bit dodgy on the offensive side at times, they showed proof defensively that it’s really not going to matter how effective they need to be right away at scoring big numbers if the talent-level of their young guns on that side play to their potential.
Mitchell and Anclote put up 125 points if you need them against Fivay and Springstead respectively. Middleton avenged their regular season loss to Leto and put up 35 on the Falcons while Hudson blanked Dixie Hollins 27-0 in an impressive fashion. Seminole, Hardee and Pinellas Park all posted impressive performances as well in their games against Dunedin, Mulberry and Largo respectively. Saint Petersburg picked off three Jack Allison attempts in a shootout (albeit a loss) down in Palmetto which certainly bolsters the argument their presence in a district with East Lake, Pinellas Park, Seminole and Countryside is cause for primetime coverage this Fall.
Friday Night
The marquee game was Tampa Catholic visiting the Moon Lake area of Southwest Pasco County taking on River Ridge and the state’s leading rusher Chris Schwarz. The running back went bonkers against the Crusaders, but the Royal Knights had to deal with a royal pain in the tuchus a.k.a. the great-Nate, a.k.a. Nate Craig-Myers and his sinfully efficient night scoring an important touchdown late in the third quarter to keep TC’s lead just beyond what River Ridge could manage.
Lake Gibson, Sunlake and Clearwater were three teams of interest on the agenda this Spring and all three walked away with victories. The Braves behind Hunter Orem were sensational on offense against Zephyrhills and even better a on defense. Sunlake’s Defense does what it does best; shutout opponents. Clearwater’s victory over Clearwater Central Catholic to say the least, but that certainly does not diminish the talent on CCC’s Roster. Make no mistake the Marauders are still the big dogs at the small-school level and can still hang with anybody they want to in Pinellas. That’s just the product of the kind of talent Clearwater has on their roster as much as anything else.
Auburndale and their stable of backs were unable to get going in a game won by Mother Nature, while Weeki Wachee got the momentum they were looking for with a 26-16 victory over Wesley Chapel. Lakewood made the trip down to Dade County to take on the runners-up to Apopka in Class 8A, (Columbus) and came away with a 35-0 defeat while Northeast showed some flashes of athleticism and posing as a possible problem for opponents come the Fall in their shutout of Boca Ciega, 13-0. St. Petersburg Catholic and Palm Harbor University both put up big numbers on offense, but took close losses to Brooksville Central and Nature Coast Tech in solid performances.