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ABCs of county ball
By Times staff
Published August 31, 2007
Autumn:The season, technically speaking, in which prep football is played, though it still will feel like summer around here until, oh, late October.
B ooker T. Washington: If you can beat this powerful Miami program, chances are you can beat anyone. County teams have topped Washington during the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. Three times, the local squad eventually won state.
C C: The name by which virtually everyone refers to new Tampa Bay Tech coach Corries Culpepper.
D iabetes: What Middleton tailback Carlton Jones was diagnosed with last year. It hasn't slowed him. In fact, teammates call him "Superman."
E arl: This year, we have two men, not one, named Earl Garcia leading county teams. Earl Garcia Jr. is entering his 14th season at Hillsborough. His son, Earl Garcia III, is entering his first at King.
F ighting Irish: Alonso coach Mike Heldt's favorite team. He played there in the 80s.
G enerations: Three of them will be on the Sickles sideline this fall - QB Cullen O'Brien, coach Pat O'Brien (Cullen's dad) and assistant Dick O'Brien (Pat's dad).
H urricane: Or tropical storm. Or tropical depression. Seems as if one of these annually wreaks havoc on the early-season schedule. Will we get meteorological mercy in '07?
I naugural season: A year ago, Lennard and Spoto played junior varsity schedules. Now, they face the big boys for the very first time.
J ustin Le: Robinson's senior quarterback and, quite possibly, the most underrated passer in the county.
K ickers: Who's the best in the county? We like King's Daniel Zychlinski, Newsome's Vinny Zacarrio and Freedom's Alex Landeta, to name three.
L osing streaks: Tampa Bay Tech's skid is at 21 games, nine more than Sickles. We're expecting both to end before October.
M overs and shakers: Two prominent players switched schools during the offseason and both should have immediate and profound impacts this fall. Heralded offensive lineman Matt Patchan left Freedom for Armwood. Stud defensive lineman Moses McCray bolted Middleton for Hillsborough.
N FL: The county has produced several pro players, but no other program can boast what Chamberlain can. Four members of the program's 2001 state runnerup squad were with NFL teams last season (defensive lineman Brodrick Bunkley, Eagles; receiver Brian Clark, Broncos; linebacker Oliver "Ollie" Hoyte, Cowboys; and receiver Greg Lee, Cardinals).
O ptimism: At this time of the year, everyone's brimming with it.
P latooning: Some schools will do it at the quarterback spot, including Wharton with Andrew Clifford and Josh Powell, and Plant City with Clint Stearns and Cortez Hargrett.
Q uiet, as in the sleeper teams that might sneak up on people: Among them - Brandon, Durant and Jesuit.
R anking: Armwood's Patchan, arguably the county's best player, has a No. 19 national ranking among all senior prospects by Rivals.com.
S pread: The offense en vogue, which many local teams have implemented. Among them - Leto, previously a run-oriented team.
T urner, as in Billy, the coach with the longest tenure at a county school: The ageless one has 184 wins in 28 previous seasons at Chamberlain.
U nited: Is there a more unified team than Jefferson, inspired by the memory of fallen teammate C.J. Mills?
V intage, as in the old-school stadiums such as Dads Stadium (Plant) and Chelo Huerta Field (Hillsborough): Sure, they're rickety and rusty in some places, but they possess far more character than their antiseptic modern counterparts.
W einer: Or should we say "Winner?" Plant coach Bob Weiner won a combined 12 games in his first two seasons. Last year, he went 15-0 and brought the program its first state championship.
X 's and O's: And we're not talking hugs and kisses.
Y outh movement: What veteran coach Dominick Ciao is experiencing his first season at Berkeley Prep. The Buccaneers have only five seniors.
Z ero: Losses for Plant in the past 21 months.
Joey Knight, Times staff writer
[Last modified August 29, 2007, 14:40:36]
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