WESLEY CHAPEL - A victory at Pasco on Friday locks up the conference and Class 3A, District 9 titles for Wesley Chapel.
Big deal.
What would prove the Wildcats are the real deal is a playoff win.
"We've got to get to that playoff (game) first," coach John Castelamare said.
Wesley Chapel has won 15 straight, excluding playoffs, since a 27-23 loss to Land O'Lakes in the 2002 finale. And at 5-0, 2-0 in 3A-9, a win over Pasco (3-2, 0-1) clinches a fourth consecutive playoff berth.
Therein lies the rub. A proven winner in the regular season at 40-15, the Wildcats are 0-3 in the playoffs and have been outscored 103-49.
A turnaround, Castelamare said, begins with solid practices and ends with productive games. Although his team is coming off Friday's 21-0 defeat of Ridgewood, its third shutout, Castelamare lambasted his players for sloppy play (10 penalties for 80 yards) and lackluster effort after taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
"If you're going to win games and win championships, you can't do that," Castelamare said. "We just practiced poorly (that week). We always tell them, "The way you practice you play."'
Some of his players concurred.
"We didn't show up," two-way lineman Khalil Madani said. "We played like we practiced all week."
Wesley Chapel and Mitchell (4-1) boast the county's best records and meet Nov. 4 at Mustang Stadium. That game, as well as the Pasco contest, might have had players looking ahead.
"I don't think we were thinking about Pasco," Madani said after the Ridgewood game.
Overlooking an opponent, Castelamare said, can't happen if his team's postseason trend is to change. And it starts with realizing that as Wesley Chapel's victories mount, so too do opponents' desire to snap the streak.
"I never know what's in their minds," the coach said. "Maybe they're overconfident.
"Other teams play their hearts out to try to beat us. Whatever their record is, they're playing above and beyond, and we've got to match that."
If it's intensity Castelamare seeks, he might have found it in Aaron Dickler and Antonio Melvin, who replaced Nigel Bryant and Zach Carter (both out with ankle injuries) Friday. Dickler rushed for a game-high 138 yards and two touchdowns, and Melvin gained 41 yards and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
"Now we know we have some depth," Castelamare said, "and we can keep this thing going."
WILDCATS' PLAYOFF BLUES
Wesley Chapel is aiming for its second straight and third overall unbeaten regular season. But it has yet to win in the postseason. The regular-season and district records and playoff results:
REC DIS PLAYOFFS2004 5-0 2-0 ???2003 10-0 4-0 Lost 28-7 to Robinson2002 8-2 4-1 Lost 40-20 to Bradenton Southeast2001 10-0 5-0 Lost 35-22 to Wauchula Hardee2000 5-5 2-2 Did not qualify1999 2-8 0-4 Did not qualifyOT 40-15 17-7 0-3, outscored 103-49[Last modified October 13, 2004, 00:39:22]
