Road tripping, to all 13 county hot spots

By Izzy Gould
Published August 31, 2007

I wanted to get reacquainted with Pasco County football so I decided to tour the county.

Who better to call than my mentor, John C. Cotey, now known as Mr. Big-time Columnist, who demands everyone address him as sir and bow when he enters the office. He should know how to map it out.

Lord Cotey suggested Google maps because he loves the application and uses it on all three of his iPhones.

I had to use dial up on my Dell and after it cut out about 10 times - seriously - I finally had a color map of Pasco County on my screen. I began plotting my course, which looks like a big oval beginning at Academy at the Lakes, then headed east on State Road 54 to see a couple of familiar faces at Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch.

Did you know there are 13 stops on the tour, up three from last year and six from 10 years ago?

Any guess how long a trip to 13 schools might take?

If Google is right - of course it's right; Google can do no wrong - it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a three-hour tour. I added a couple of potty breaks, a stop through the McDonald's drive-through and a brief interview with Gilligan and the Skipper.

I was staring at a four-hour drive. I needed a car. I begged Cotey to pull a power play. He summoned the Times' columnist limousine.

Man, talk about your sweet rides. This thing is stocked with food, drinks and eight high-definition flat screens with satellite hookup and wireless high-speed Internet. Each seat offered a massage to iron out any writing cramps; there's even an open-air hot tub in the back so Cotey can wave to his legion of fans along U.S. 19.

We might have to take a detour - to Miami.

The driver pulled up to the plush Times bureau in Land O'Lakes and we were off.

We drove past Zephyrhills to check in on Tom Fisher, then to Dade City to meet a new Tom in first-year coach Tom McHugh. It's amazing how those towns have retained their charm.

We went zipping along State Road 52 heading west and noticed the lanes have expanded just west of the Suncoast Expressway. We zipped by Bishop McLaughlin and behold, there's new lights. We stopped at Hudson and noticed nothing is new. We peeked in at River Ridge, where Tim Stevens has a lid on the quiet before the storm, then to Ridgewood to see if the hype is justified. For some reason, Byronell Arline and Ben Perry said they "know where I live." I still can't figure that out.

We checked in on Gulf, where Jay Fulmer swears he has a bona fide replacement for Alton Voss. We went to Mitchell - look out for Mitchell - then Sunlake for a cup of tea with Hernando icon Bill Browning.

We saved the best for last: a visit with the dean of Pasco County coaches in Land O'Lakes' John Benedetto. That's 31 seasons, and it begins coaching the fifth - and we're told the most promising - Weatherford in freshman Stephen.

Yes, a lucky 13 teams for Pasco County, with a possible state contender, a handful of Division I prospects, a volume of veteran coaches and, we're told, two more schools on the way by 2010.

This isn't your old Pasco County in most parts, but that might be a good thing.

As for the Times, we've got the resident encyclopedia in Cotey, a fresh face in David Murphy and I guess I'll keep those two from killing each other.

Should be another fun year of Pasco County football.

Izzy Gould can be reached at igould@sptimes.com or 813 909-4612.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 13:59:49]