Lakewood High School graduate Aveion Cason (pronounced A-vee-on kay-SAWN) is living his dream of playing professional football.
On Thanksgiving, Cason collected 42 yards for the Dallas Cowboys in a 40-21 losing effort against the Miami Dolphins. In the spring of 2001, Cason was signed by the St. Louis Rams as a rookie free agent. He was released in late September that year, but the Kansas City Chiefs signed Cason to their practice squad.
The Detroit Lions picked up Cason for the last six games of 2001 and 10 more last year. In that time, Cason (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) collected 138 yards rushing and 320 receiving.
"Playing pro ball is a dream come true for me," Cason, 24, said.
Cason grew up playing youth football with the Lakewood Jr. Spartans, starting when he was about 6. In high school, Cason played at Lakewood and Northeast.
"Even with moving around, my high school experience was fun, even with its ups and downs," Cason said. "I rushed with the ball, went out as a receiver and returned some kickoffs, too."
His junior year, Cason rushed for 980 yards and posted more than 1,000 all-purpose yards. Cason continued his prowess at Illinois State by collecting the third-best all-purpose yardage in school history, averaging 141.2 yards per game his first year. In 1999, Cason was ranked No. 5 in all-purpose yardage per game (117.9), the eighth-best average in school history.
"It wasn't until college that I realized I had a special talent for football," Cason said. "Then, I started making plays, people began talking, agents were calling and pro teams were asking about me. I love what I do and what I do best is make plays."
The biggest differences between high school and college, Cason said, are that the game is faster and players are bigger. The same applies comparing college to the pros.
"When I'm rushing, I first look for the defense with certain fronts like what we've practiced," Cason said, "and, if there isn't one, then we have to make something happen. Fron there, instincts kick in to handle the rest. I like to change the pace and get players to miss me. Because of my speed, I have the ability to get outside quickly."
Cason's longest run this season is 63 yards in a 27-13 loss to Atlanta. The longest reception is a 28-yarder in a 16-0 loss to Tampa Bay. His total yardage is 220 rushing and 142 receiving in 10 games. Cason and the rest of Cowboys take on the Philadelphia Eagles at noon today .
VOLLEYBALL: Rice University junior middle blocker Catherine DuPont (St.Petersburg Catholic) is hitting .187 and has 1.09 kills per game. The middle blocker sports a 4.0 grade point average and was named to the Academic all-District VI team for the second year.
Florida Atlantic senior Abby Miner (Pinellas Park/Samford) was selected All-Atlantic Sun Conference for the second straight season and was ranked in the league's top 10 in kills per game (3.53). Miner led FAU in kills (367) and had 37 service aces and 21 blocks. In an A-Sun Tournament semifinal, Miner contributed 18 kills and three blocks in a losing effort to No. 1 seed Central Florida, the eventual conference champion.
Presbyterian College senior setter Kellie Haire (Clearwater) set a program record in assists (1,972) this season to total the school's second-highest career mark (4,315).
Senior Jessica Bosacki (Pinellas Park) posted a team high in digs (17) in a loss to Tampa in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament.
SWIMMING: Sophomore Jordan Raynovich (Northeast) turned in a third-place finish in the 200 individual medley against South Carolina to help Clemson win the in-state rivalry. Raynovich swam the event in a time of 1:55.38.
FOOTBALL: Senior middle linebacker John Culley (Shorecrest) collected five tackles in 10 games for Columbia University.
