Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Marcus Stewart, a three-sport star at Wesley Chapel, has accepted a partial scholarship to play football for Ohio Dominican University, a first-year NAIA program near Columbus.
Stewart, part of the Times' all-county football team as a defensive back last fall, committed to the small school after making an official visit two weeks ago. Two days earlier he visited McKendree College, an NAIA school in Lebanon, Ill., but he opted for Ohio Dominican, where he'll be one of more than 120 incoming players for the Panthers' inaugural roster.
"I think he definitely has a lot of skill as a defensive back, and we're very pleased to have him decide to come to Ohio Dominican," coach Dale Carlson said. "He's a tremendous athlete, as he's shown in track, and we think we've found a really nice young man."
While most football players take decades to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Stewart will need just one game. Ohio Dominican opens its season at Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the NFL's annual Hall of Fame game, on Sept. 4 against Walsh University.
Stewart, also a standout in basketball and track, is the third Wesley Chapel player to join a college program. Center Seth Fabin signed with West Point and will play for Army, and linebacker Ryan Bethell signed with Eastern Illinois.
Stewart rushed for 291 yards and scored seven touchdowns last fall despite missing the end of the season with a sprained ankle. He has contributed on both sides of the ball at Wesley Chapel since the program's second year, and Carlson said his experience in establishing a team's identity will help him at Ohio Dominican.
"He's been through the process before, and he knows that while the beginning might be a little difficult, we'll have a chance to grow together and develop a championship team," he said.
PASCO: Running back Donte O'Neal, who rushed for 1,101 yards and scored 13 touchdowns last fall, has signed with Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College, about 45 miles south of Kansas City.
"I wanted to go wherever I could play at, and the coach told me he could give me 20 carries a game," said O'Neal, who will play in the same conference as ex-teammate Ben Alford, a quarterback at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College.
Fort Scott boasts Titans running back Chris Brown and former Bucs guard Frank Middleton among alumni in the NFL.
ZEPHYRHILLS: Kevin Senior, a starter at tight end and defensive end, signed with Bethel, an NAIA school in McKenzie, Tenn.
"I just wanted to keep playing football," said Senior, who had 42 tackles and 41/2 sacks last season and caught two touchdowns. "It didn't matter what level. I just wanted to keep playing."
Senior was one of six Bulldogs players who played in an all-star game in Tampa in December, but he said his connection to Bethel came when coach Tom Fisher gave their coaches highlight tapes at a recruiting fair this spring.
"Coach Fisher was really the one who helped me the most," Senior said.
He added Zephyrhills quarterback Keith Ostermann and former fullback Justin Cobb, a 2003 graduate, are close to signing with Bethel.