Playing quarterback for Wesley Chapel coach John "Wing-T" Castelamare might get a little boring, what with handing the ball off all the time. But senior Anthony Rawson managed to throw for 1,239 yards last year. Now fully recovered from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, the 5-foot-11, 198-pound senior goes one-on-one with staff writer Jamal Thalji.
JT: How's your shoulder?
AR: The shoulder is doing great. I had the surgery last December. It was just torn cartilage and a little torn muscle. I sat out seven games in baseball then my eighth game I came back.
JT: What was Coach Cas' reaction when you told him about the surgery?
AR: He was just like "Get (the surgery.) Take your time. It's a slow process. Don't rush it. Just make sure everything goes right so you come back strong and not weak." That's what my baseball coach told me, too. I was just working it, getting stronger every day. It was a process, a slow process, but it's back to 100-percent now.
JT: Were you impatient with rehab?
AR: When you're in physical therapy you want to go all out but (the shoulder's) not ready. It's always good for people around you to tell you to hold up. That's okay.
JT: You threw for 1,000 yards last year under Coach Cas, of all people. It was a dream come true, wasn't it?
AR: I thought he would let me do it, and he did let me throw a little bit. I guess you could say it was a dream come true. If I had completed some more of those passes it would have been even more yards. He gave me the opportunity to throw and I came through sometimes and sometimes I didn't. But he's done pretty well. He's gone through two undefeated seasons, so he knows what he's talking about.
JT: How often do you beg him to throw it more this year?
AR: It's like that at practice. But we'll see how the games are going. My time will come, so I'll wait.
JT: Last year you were the only county team to go an undefeated 10-0 in the regular season. But the Wildcats also lost their third straight playoff game, 28-7 to Robinson. Land O'Lakes, on the other hand, went back to the region finals. Would you trade 10-0 for a playoff win?
AR: We always say we want to win the playoffs, but losing those (regular season) games would just kill our season. If we went 10-0 and we won a couple of playoff games, then that would be it. We all know our goal is 10-plus. We're confident. We want to try and be the first team to win a playoff game at Wesley Chapel.
