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Ferlita set to beat cramp in style

By FRANK PASTOR
Published September 16, 2005

HUDSON - He gulps water seemingly by the gallon. He hydrates two or three days before games. He looks after his electrolytes.

But no matter what Vince Ferlita tries, he continues to be hampered by cramps.

It's not that the Hudson senior can't take the heat. A Tampa native, he has toiled under the unforgiving Florida sun since he was a 9-year-old in the Police Athletic League.

But after playing running back his first two varsity seasons, Ferlita's body seems to still be adapting to the demands of two-way play.

"Going hard all the way through a football game, you never get a chance to rest," Ferlita said. "You're always sweating. It just takes a lot out of you, especially someone my size. I don't have that much reserved."

There's not much room in Ferlita's 5-foot-8, 140-pound body. Not with the quickness, athleticism, heart and toughness already there.

Despite his size and surgeries on both shoulders, Ferlita is one player undefeated Hudson (3-0) cannot do without. In addition to being the Cobras' leading ground gainer with 213 yards and three touchdowns, he moonlights as the team's top cover corner.

"He's got probably the fastest first five steps that I've coached, without a doubt," said Hudson coach Mark Nash. "That's his biggest successful attribute. The thing that contributes to his success is that he's ultra-quick. He's at full speed in 5 to 10 yards."

Ferlita will need every bit of that quickness to cover Develin Robinson in tonight's game at Land O'Lakes (2-0). Because Hudson's defense is designed to create pressure up front, Ferlita will be left in man coverage with the fleet receiver who averages nearly 17 yards a catch.

"I don't think people give him enough respect, honestly," Ferlita said. "I've seen him make some plays where he's made people look bad and he looks phenomenal out there. I'm going to have my work cut out for me, definitely."

Ferlita has overcome challenges before. Undersized all his life, he succeeded at every level by utilizing his quickness and playing aggressively.

"I think he's got some great skills, that's where he makes up for it," said Ferlita's father, Vince, a Hudson assistant. "You can't deny, when you go up against a 280-pound person, who weight-wise is going to win that battle. But you've got to be able to get a clean shot at him. He just plays hard and utilizes what he does well."

Ferlita similarly sidestepped labral tears in each of his shoulders the summers before his sophomore and junior seasons to return stronger than ever as a senior.

Now, it's the leg cramps that limited him to a combined two carries in the second halves of wins over Wesley Chapel and Springstead the past two weeks.

After researching hydrating, he found the one thing he wasn't taking was vitamins. He now takes seven a day and drinks a litre of an electolyte mix and two weight gain shakes in addition to water.

"Hopefully, that will do the job," Ferlita's father said.

[Last modified September 16, 2005, 01:36:17]