We’ve highlighted what we believe is to be Hillsborough County’s toughest district in the large classifications and outlined some of the reasons why we believe it will provide some of the best action around the entire Tampa Bay area. Now let’s ask “the one” question most of us would like to know surrounding each team from District 7A-9.
Tampa Bay Tech – No Deion Cain. Now what? The Titans will minus the services of one of the area’s most explosive athletes and playmakers to come from Tampa Bay in a very long time. TBT will have Daquon Green, they will have Trent Wyatt and they will have Marchalo Judge. Now they have to find the right chemistry and put it all together.
Bloomingdale – Was last season a bunch of “Bull?” 2014 saw Bloomingdale make significant strides and 2015 sees them returning the same folks responsible for those strides. The Bulls now find themselves in a position where expectations are MUCH higher than they normally are outside of those set by the players and staff themselves.
Lennard – Addition by subtraction? There is no true replacement for Diontae Johnson in terms of the playmaking he provided last season, but the Longhorns have everyone else back that contributed to their 7-3 season. Sometimes teams do exponentially better when not having to depend on their stud player. This could be the start of something special out in Ruskin if the ‘Horns carry their momentum from last season.
East Bay – Who is going to take them for granted? Because that would be a very precarious approach in our estimation. They aren’t the flashiest of teams on offense, but they are perhaps one of the strongest and most frustrating to deal with once they sink their triple-option arrowheads into the flesh of opposing defenses. The Indians also have D-1 talent lining up on defense for them as well which could be the difference.
Durant – Will they turn those negatives into positives? The Cougars were one of the most dangerous teams to play every week in 2014. Sure, the results didn’t exactly reflect their effort at the end, but watch this team on tape and what they return this season and you start to see why Durant is anything but a 5-5 team.
Strawberry Crest – Can they stay the course? The Chargers are in a good place if they can stick to the plan and keep grinding. They are perhaps the youngest team in the district still, but much like Seminole over in Pinellas County you can expect ‘Crest to ruin the postseason dreams of someone this season due to the simple fact they have more than enough talent to hang with every team in this district.
Plant City – Did y’all learn your lesson(s)? We’ve mentioned it several times, but it bears mentioning yet again. The Raiders were literally a handful of plays from being 11-0 and moving on to the regional semis instead of finishing 4-6-1 and exiting in the first round of the playoffs. They have arguably the most talented roster along with Lennard in this district. Now it’s time to see the results.