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Beyond the Gridiron

Too proud to be anyone's sacrifice

The visitors at yet another homecoming, Freedom High School comes determined to battle for a win.

By DEMORRIS LEE
Published October 14, 2005

	[Times photo: Mike Pease]
	Freedom High School football player Kavaris Ladner, has his game face on as he exits the bus at Bloomingdale High School in Brandon. Post your comments on this story: Beyond the Gridiron guestbook

TAMPA PALMS - One by one with their shoulder pads dangling in their hands, they boarded the bus. The defensive squad on one, the offense on another.

It would take less than an hour for the Freedom High School football team to reach Bloomingdale High for yet another homecoming game last Friday. It would be the team's fourth homecoming of the season - a sign that last year they were the team that assured alumni and fans an easy victory.

But as the players filed aboard the bus, they had different intentions. It was going to be the red and blue Patriots celebrating in front of the purple, orange and teal-colored gowns worn by the girls on Bloomingdale's homecoming court who had been on the 50-yard line at halftime.

On the defense's bus, everything was in order. One player per seat. The same seat that they sat in for the last bus rise. "We got to keep everything the same," junior linebacker Ronald Bublitz said. "Our Plant game, we ate (our pregame meal) in a different room and it messed everything up." Freedom lost to Plant High.

Senior defensive player Sharrick Moore chimed in: "Back here, it's all about keeping your mind right, focusing on the game."

Up front on the bus, there was some chatter, a bob of the head here and there to the sound of portable music players, a conversation about some craziness that happened in the halls of Freedom High earlier in the week.

At 5:55 p.m., the orange bus with two black stripes on the side rumbled to a stop outside Bloomingdale High.

The players grabbed their shoulder pads and headed to the locker room, readying for another night on the gridiron.

Quiet.

All the players' energy had been left on the field along with the victory that they'd longed for.

A tough one. 17-10. A loss.

As the Freedom players boarded the bus, not a word was uttered.

"It's over with now," a fan yelled as the players took their seats.

Nothing was said.

As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, another supporter yelled: "Hold your head up, you played great."

Nothing. Not a sound.

Players lay in the seats. Some stared straight ahead. None said a word.

Exhausted.

Disappointed.

Emotionless.

The ride home on the bus without a victory.

The warm air from the bus' windows couldn't disguise the odor of young men who had played four quarters of football in humid conditions while wearing pads and helmets.

The sound of the bus' transmission was the only sound as it rumbled up I-75.

Quiet.

Some players lay with their heads against the window. Others balled their bodies up on the small brown seats. Others sat up, hair matted to their heads with sweat, looking straight ahead.

Quiet.

A player's cough breaks the silence, amplifying through the bus as if it was the bass coming from one of the student's car stereos.

Everything falls quiet again.

The bounce of the bus causes everyone to shift in synchronization. Cars whiz by and the lights from storefronts briefly illuminate the bus' inside and the players' disappointment before everything goes dark again.

Silence. Nothing but the churn of the bus' transmission.

A left. A right. A right and a left and the team is back on Freedom's campus. The players collect their gear and begin to descend from the bus.

A pretty quiet ride? asked a reporter.

With sealed lips, a grimacing head shake came from junior strong safety Mike Cole. He grabbed his shoulder pads and got off the bus.

Demorris Lee can be reached at 813 269-5312 or dalee@sptimes.com

North of Tampa is doing a regular series on Freedom High School's football team this season. To comment on the series Beyond the Gridiron, go to www.tampabay.com/guestbooks/freedom

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 08:21:03]