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Countryside QB earning attention
By BOB PUTNAM
Published May 13, 2006
Last year, Rutgers showed up at spring practices to study L.D. Crow's every move.
Recruiters from the school sat in bleachers like birds on telephone wires, whispering comments in one another's ears, making entries on clipboards and imagining the Countryside quarterback wearing their uniform.
The Scarlet Knights even offered a scholarship.
Cougars coach John Davis found that a bit strange.
"I had to tell the guys, "You know L.D. has never taken a snap in a regular-season game,"' Davis said.
The interest had a lot to do with Davis' reputation for producing quarterbacks. When Davis coached at Clearwater Central Catholic, his son, Jay, was a star quarterback. Jay went to N.C. State, throwing for 3,371 yards as the starter the past two seasons. When John took over at Countryside, he helped Harrison Beck become a top-notch signal-caller. Beck led the Cougars to consecutive district titles and is battling for the starting job at Nebraska.
That put pressure on Crow, who was thrust into the team's highest-profile position.
The transition was seamless.
Crow, a senior-to-be, blew away teammates with his calm demeanor, ability to shake off adversity and knack for making big plays. He finished last season 99-of-154 for 1,360 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.
That really got the attention of colleges this spring.
Crow, listed by flavarsity.com as the 50th-best prospect in the state, already has offers from Stanford and Middle Tennessee. Louisville, Central Florida, Connecticut, Mississippi and Nebraska have visited this spring.
Davis said more will come.
"L.D. looks big, moving a lot better with a lot of zip on the ball," Davis said.
The trick is keeping Crow in one piece.
Last year, tackles Seaver Brown and James Boyd, guard Andrew Cordello and center Matt Brown were hobbled down the stretch.
Crow sustained internal bleeding from a hit in the regular-season finale against Lakewood and missed the region quarterfinal against Dixie Hollins.
Boyd and Brown were among 21 seniors the Cougars have to replace.
"We've got a lot of work to do this spring, especially up front with the lines," Davis said.
Christian Molina (6 feet 4, 260 pounds) and James McGarrity (6-2, 270) likely will be the new tackles, and Mike Cleveland will move from guard to center. Jason Detwiller and Adam Grasinger will be the guards.
If they can keep rushers at bay, Crow will have time to throw to a bevy of receivers, including Matt Mooney and A.J. Mathews.
Mathews, though, will miss the rest of the spring due to disciplinary problems. He was listed at No.21 on flavarsity.com's list, the highest among county players. The Cougars will travel for their spring game against Class 2B defending state champion Ocala Trinity Catholic on May 26. The game will be a matchup between two of the state's top quarterbacks: Crow and John Brantley.
Brantley, the nephew of former Buccaneer Scot Brantley, orally committed to Texas this spring.
NUMBERS GAME: Lakewood paid a price last season for having so many new starters. The growing pains came with an 0-6 start. The Spartans bounced back to go 2-2 down the stretch, including an upset of Countryside in the finale that prevented the Cougars' first undefeated regular season.
Along the way, a team loaded with underclassmen soaked up every lesson. Lakewood coach Otis Dixon hopes the payoff is coming.
The Spartans return 18 of 22 starters, including 10 of 11 on offense. That is a big advantage considering Dixon is using the spread offense he learned while playing under Mike Canales at USF.
Quarterback Corey Henderson and receiver Ronnie Lane should form a potent combination. Lane already is getting looks from Division I schools.
SCRIMMAGE TIME: The Sunshine Football Officials Association is holding a clinic for officials to get up to speed on rules and regulations. To help, the association will bring in eight county teams for scrimmages: Clearwater, CCC, Countryside, Dunedin, East Lake, Largo, Seminole and Shorecrest.
They are from 9 a.m. to noon today at Clearwater.
[Last modified May 13, 2006, 02:30:25]
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