No mourning departing CCC stars

By BOB PUTNAM
Published May 17, 2006

The biggest thing Mike Jalazo needed this spring was patience.

For the past two weeks, the Clearwater Central Catholic coach was missing six key players who are on the baseball team. The Marauders' season ended Monday with a 4-2 loss to Florida Christian in the Class 3A state semifinals.

Brian Ackerman, Matt Daar, Jeff Ijjas, Mike Leandri, Dante Roberts and Zack Upton all returned to the field on Tuesday. They were a welcome addition to a club that has plenty of starters to replace, including tailback Ronnie Harris (Jacksonville), receiver/defensive back Riley Cooper (Florida), tight end/linebacker Colin McCarthy (Miami) and offensive lineman Kevin Young (South Carolina).

"We're going to support the baseball team no matter what," Jalazo said. "No doubt. I'm glad to have them back, but I would have rather seen them play for the state title (on Tuesday)."

During their absence CCC found some other gems among the 78 on the roster. Micah Poole and Anthony Cochran stood out as tailbacks. Chris Campbell, Paul Freedman and Jordan Becker stepped up as receivers. Nate Lentz and Eric Sarra were strong at fullback. Kyle Rettig and Jarrett Fisher provided beef on the offensive line.

The six returnees from baseball only added to the depth. That is good news for quarterback Andrew Nowels.

The 6-foot-4, 211-pound Nowels is entering his third year as starter and needs 1,800 yards to break the school's record for career passing yards set by Jay Davis, who had more than 5,900 from 1998-2000. Though the Marauders lost a lot of playmakers, Nowels says they are not short on talent.

"You can't deny we had great guys here last season," Nowels said. "They were tough to replace. But the new guys are getting it done. I have faith in them, and, believe it or not, I think we have a chance to do even better this season."

Nowels made sure he was ready this spring. He spent two to three days this offseason working at IMG Academies in Bradenton.

"I knew I had to be ready to be a leader," Nowels said. "I want to help this team become even better."

The work is showing. Nowels was invited to the scouts.com camp last weekend in Boca Raton. This weekend, he is going to the rivals.com camp in Gainesville.

On Thursday, he'll play in the spring game against Clearwater.

"Andrew has a had a tremendous spring," Jalazo said. "He's ready."

Jalazo said he also is pleased with the defense, especially the secondary, where Roberts, Gilbert Alderman and Grant Ridgeway have been roaming.

"Spring is always a good time because you always come up with surprises, guys who really step up," Jalazo said. "We've had a lot of that."

TIME TO REPLENISH: Last season, Dunedin coach Mark Everett counted on his defense to keep his team in games. The unit was backed by a tenacious trio ( Darrell Roseman, Jon Woods and Justin Frost) that helped the Falcons reach the playoffs.

All three players graduate today.

That left some holes for Everett to plug this spring.

Vince Hollingsworth is the only linebacker coming back. Everett, though, could take solace in knowing he has some experience in the secondary with Michael Towns, Jarvis Parsons and Robbie Mincey.

"There are some guys back, but we definitely take some hits," Everett said. "We've got a lot to replace, especially along the front seven."

Another interesting battle is at quarterback, where Mincey, Tyler Weathersby, Terry Nnataubeugo and Ryan Carlson are battling for playing time.

[Last modified May 17, 2006, 01:29:12]