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JAMAL THALJIThe past two seasons have helped ease memories of previous playoff failures.
LAND O'LAKES - Ask Auburndale. Ask Merritt Island. Or Ocala Forest, or Ocala Vanguard. Ask Lake Gibson. That team beat Land O'Lakes in the playoffs, but sure was impressed afterward.
Land O'Lakes is not just another team. Not just another Pasco County team, that is.
The Gators have ended the most successful two-year playoff run in county history.
The run that re-ignited Land O'Lakes football, and its coach of 26 years, John Benedetto. "It's given us new life," he said. "I was considering not coaching after last season. But I wanted to go at least one year more because of (quarterback) Andrew (Weatherford), but now I'm in it for at least three more years. That's how energized I've become because of the last two seasons."
It isn't just Benedetto. Longtime assistant coach Bill Gebauer said he's sticking around too, as is the rest of the staff.
Until last season, the last county playoff win was Pasco over Citrus, 38-21 in 1998. Zephyrhills beat Bartow 15-14 last season.
But no county program has matched Land O'Lakes' success. It is the first county team to reach consecutive region finals and the first with two playoff wins in consecutive seasons. Not team had won consecutive playoff games since Pasco's '92 run. Of the teams that beat Land O'Lakes this season, Wesley Chapel is 0-3 in the playoffs; Pasco is 0-2 in the past two playoffs and Zephyrhills missed the playoffs this year.
The Gators' two-year run is complimented by individual records. Last year, Weatherford set single-season county records, completing 162 of 249 passes for 2,645 yards to spark a school-best 12-1 record and its first region final. He led the state with 39 touchdown passes and had only six interceptions.
He was complimented by a player who enjoyed the best year for a receiver in county history. Logan Payne, now a freshman at Minnesota, led the state in 2002 with 72 receptions for 1,251 yards and led Florida with 21 touchdown receptions.
This year, Weatherford's career passing records hit the stratosphere, as he finished with more than 7,600 yards and 79 touchdowns. And his team was 2-4 this season before going on a six-game win streak.
But what the team accomplished together means more to Weatherford.
"It was a great two-year run," he said. "We accomplished it because we worked hard. The work ethic has changed here. When my brothers Will and Sam were here, they were the hardest workers on the team, there were three or four kids who worked as hard as they did. Over the past two years, there's been a handful of kids, 10-12, who have worked hard.
"It's just a will to win. When you put that much hard work into something, you're going to win."