Sports

Hillsborough

Strength in numbers

Armwood has 49 players benching more than 225 pounds, 41 squatting more than 315 and 10 running the 40 in under 4.7 seconds. Will all of that muscle and speed translate to three straight state titles and 44 consecutive victories on the field?

By SCOTT PURKS
Published August 26, 2005

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SEFFNER - Armwood isn't here to win the state bench pressing title, but its statistics do, in fact, give an indication as to how strong the two-time defending state champion is.

For example, 49 Hawks bench press more than 225 pounds.

That means of the 75 kids in the Hawks' football program, 65 percent have pushed up more than 225, which is, relative to high school programs, and certainly to the general public, bewildering.

Consider that across town for last spring's jamborees there were several schools, including a couple in Armwood's 4A classification, which had fewer than 25 kids on their rosters. Class 4A Leto had 19.

Then there's the question of how many of those benched more than 225?

"Not many," said first-year Leto coach Scott Palmer.

More perspective: When they won their first state title in 2003, the Hawks had 14 players benching more than 300. Last season that dropped to 11 and this season it's down to 10. For the first time, however, two Hawks bench more than 400: defensive tackle Jay Cross at 425 and linebacker Dougie Thompson at 405. Also, the 49 players benching more than 225 is a total well beyond any previous year.

"Of course," Armwood coach Sean Callahan said, "there's a lot more to it than bench pressing."

A few things include overall weight training, sprinting (thousands of 40-yard dashes in the offseason) and plyometrics (jumping, bounding and hurdling two or three times a week).

And it goes on all year.

"We live fitness," Callahan said, "because we believe it's the most important thing we do.

"Getting stronger means getting bigger and getting bigger makes it easier to intimidate. We want to start intimidating the second we step off the bus. We wear the half shirts and the cutoff sleeves for a reason. We want the other team to see our size and muscle.

"Partly because of this, I don't think our kids are afraid of anybody. And this is not something I preach, it's something that just happens with being strong and fit.

"Our kids' self-esteem is through the roof and I think they realize it's because they've worked hard to get stronger and faster."

A few of the more fit players - including wide receiver Mat Brevi (pictured in centerpiece) and lineman Torrey Davis and fullback Marquise Branton (pictured on the Hawks' team page) - say that getting fit, though painful, is fun when you do it at Armwood.

"Everybody gets into it," Brevi said. "When you get into a workout everybody is rooting everybody on. There's an energy that takes over."

"And then it's great to see the results," Davis said. "When I came here I couldn't run one 40-yard dash without falling on the ground and thinking I was going to die.

"Now I can run 40 of those (40-yard dashes) in a row (a challenge that comes on the last workout of the summer). I've also lost a lot of weight (from 315 to around 280) and gained a lot of strength (350 on the bench and more than 500 on a squat).

"Knowing I've done that makes me feel really good and makes me feel like I'm ready to play."

As long as Callahan is there, he says the fitness program will stay as strenuous as ever.

"We want to keep winning," Callahan said. "And to us, that means staying strong."

[Last modified August 24, 2005, 15:27:04]

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