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UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer WESLEY CHAPEL -- They fumbled. They stumbled. Worse yet, they lost. The Wildcats weren't used to any of that in last week's 24-21 loss to Zephyrhills, and Wesley Chapel found itself in a similarly unfamiliar position this week: rebounding, regrouping, refocusing on the things responsible for a run of 17 straight regular-season wins. It might be a good thing for the Wildcats. And for the rest of the county, the worst thing that could have happened. Wesley Chapel has something to prove again. "This was one of the best weeks we've ever had, because we know we have to prove to ourselves once again that we belong on top," senior tailback Greg Harrison said. "The first three years, we were out to prove something, but after we proved it, a couple of our heads got big and they didn't feel like they had to prove anything anymore." It's a reversal of roles for tonight's game against Mitchell (2-3). The Mustangs, who won one game in their first season last year, are riding a two-game winning streak, while the Wildcats are the ones hoping to end a skid. Last year's game was a 58-0 Wesley Chapel victory, and, unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Wildcats are looking for more of the same. "It's made all of us mad, so now we have to do the same things we did last year," Harrison said. "We can't go 10-0 now, but now we can make it better in the playoffs." Just as the Wildcats (4-1) are unaccustomed to losing, they're also not used to things like fumble drills, or "scoring drills" as positive-thinking coach John Castelamare calls them. After losing four fumbles and getting away with it two weeks ago in a win over Ridgewood, the Wildcats fumbled three times in the loss to Zephyrhills. The last came in the final two minutes, in Zephyrhills territory, and from Harrison, who already had a touchdown and more than 100 yards rushing. "You can't fumble the football against teams like that and expect to win," Castelamare said. "We have a gauntlet to help, we have one-on-one drills, but it also could be fatigue that makes you fumble. We've been working on that more this week." Castelamare said senior Tyrone Tomlin, the county's leading rusher, isn't in the same shape he was last year, in part due to offseason knee surgery, but his conditioning is improving. Tomlin has lost five fumbles in two games, but Castelamare said he expects his top runner, like the rest of his team, to return to the field with renewed focus tonight. "It's not something I have to yell at them about," Castelamare said. "They feel like this big (holding fingers together) as soon as it happens, and they feel like that over the weekend. They know, and I don't have to tell them what they need to do there." The Wildcats have two injuries that could keep them from lining up at full strength. Kenny Roberts, a contributor on both sides of the ball, had an MRI on Thursday for a shoulder injury that's been bothering him, and if he plays, it will be in a limited capacity. The same is true for starting right guard Ryan Bethell, who missed last week's game with a knee injury.
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From today's Pasco Times Editorial |
