New faces steal the spotlight during Red and Black game.
By GREG AUMAN
Published May 30, 2003
DADE CITY - The T-shirts hawked outside R.F. Edwards Stadium on Wednesday night boasted "A New Beginning" in Pasco football, and that means more than just first-year coach Dale Caparaso.
Thirty-six of the 50 players who suited up for the Red and Black intrasquad scrimmage were not on varsity at the start of last season, and many of the stars in the Black's 28-0 victory had fans searching for their rosters.
"We have a lot of things to work on, but a lot of nice surprises," Caparaso said. "I thought our team hustled, kept their mouth shut and thought they were very respectful on the field. They gave a great effort, and that wasn't always the case last year."
Caparaso spoke highly of quarterback Terry McMillan and tailback Donte O'Neal at the start of spring drills, but both seniors found challengers at their positions Wednesday.
McMillan, who lost a fumble and had an interception returned 92 yards for a touchdown by Johnny Peyton, opened the game 1-for-6 for 2 yards before completing two passes to O'Neal. With him at quarterback, the Red team went three-and-out on its first four drives, and McMillan was replaced by Dustin Hattaway in the second half.
Junior Kyle Hobbs, the quarterback for the Black squad, fared much the same passing, going 1-for-8 for 5 yards and an interception, but he had the game's biggest plays on option runs. He ran 20 yards on one play and 37 on the next for the game's first touchdown, then added an 88-yard scoring run, finishing with 145 rushing yards. Not bad for a player who did little more than serve as the team's holder and backup kicker last season.
"We knew coming in to this ballgame that Kyle was more of an option guy and Terry was a little bit more of a passing guy that we want," Caparaso said. "Both quarterbacks do things exceptionally well and have things to work on. We may have a two-platoon system this fall."
At running back, O'Neal had nine carries for 25 yards and caught two passes for 43 yards, but the biggest plays on the ground came from senior Myron Saul, who had a 16-yard touchdown run and added a 30-yard gain.
Star receiver Peyton, who had a coach from South Florida watching him from the sideline, returned the interception for a touchdown but did not catch a pass.
There were big plays defensively - linebacker Michael Onyskin and defensive linemen Tom Brunk and Jerry Carter had some of the biggest hits, and Dominic Brown made a nice interception across the middle.
"My goal was I wanted to hear 15 smacks, see 15 collisions," said Caparaso, who counted 16. "(That's) when a human being knocks another human being on his butt, and there's a big crack involved."
As for new faces, Caparaso said that's to be expected when a new coach takes over. He saw the same thing last week when he visited his old school in Massachusetts.
"I just visited Bellingham, and there were five or six kids there who came out that didn't want to play for me," he said. "That's just the way it is."
KEEP AN EYE ON: One breakout star was defensive end Jimmy Lyman, the point guard for the basketball team, who had a sack and forced an interception with pressure on another play.
"He's a stud - I'll say that outright," Caparaso said. "He will become, if he is not already, one of the top defensive ends in the county. He's a player. He causes more problems for our offense than I can stand."
