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Yellow Jackets hanging tough

New coach Ricky Reynolds stresses togetherness and defense, and Blake has responded with three straight wins in its sixth season despite some long odds.

By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 11, 2002

TAMPA -- If there is an athletic program that can speak of hard knocks, Blake is the perfect pitchman.

When the Yellow Jackets (after reopening in 1997) won their first football game midway through the 1997 season, the victory was yanked away because the team used an ineligible player.

Blake had a crack at the playoffs in 2000, but was shut out in its first postseason appearance. Last season's team lost every game except the one against Alonso, then a winless first-year team.

This season, the school hired head coach Ricky Reynolds, a man rarely seen without a smile on his face, despite some hard knocks of his own.

Reynolds, 37, a former NFL defensive back who spent seven seasons with the Buccaneers and three with the Patriots, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June. He announced it to his players in August then missed the first two weeks of practice to have surgery. "They were shocked," Reynolds said.

"Some were scared. They didn't tell me this, but I heard from other coaches and parents that they were really scared for me. I just went on as normal."

His most recent pathology report indicated the cancer had not spread.

"When that's the case, the survival rate is 95 percent," he said.

In spite of the odds against them, the Yellow Jackets might be one of the biggest surprises of the season.

Reynolds relied on his assistant coaches, particularly defensive coordinator David Lewis, to keep the team afloat while he was recovering from surgery. The coaching staff has been one of the biggest reasons for the Yellow Jackets' success. Blake has the second-stingiest defense in the county, and it's no fluke considering the coaches are heavy on defensive expertise. After going 1-9 last season, the Yellow Jackets have won three consecutive games, two coming against Class 3A, District 8 opponents.

The Yellow Jackets (3-2) also beat Tampa Bay Tech 9-7, giving the 4A Titans their only loss. "They beat us up physically," Titans coach Mike Bradley said. "They were pushing off the ball and disrupting everything we tried to do offensively.

"We tried to tell our kids that Blake was for real and that they had better be careful. But I think they kept thinking it was just Blake and that they would win easily. Blake shamed us."

Blake senior linebacker Carlos Nedd said there's a certain togetherness on the team that has made all the difference. "Last year, everyone was an individual," Nedd said. "This season, we're a team. After the Plant game (Plant won 31-28), that opened everyone's eyes. They were beating us bad the first half, but when we came together as a team, we saw how much stronger we were."

It's a philosophy Reynolds has pushed all along, and he hopes the Yellow Jackets continue to build on their closeness, especially in a tough game against Armwood tonight.

"They started out slowly, but the practices are getting better," Reynolds said.

"We're still not there yet. Armwood will be a very tough task.

"We'll see what we're really made of (tonight)."

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