Central seniors have much to prove

By DAVID MURPHY
Published September 21, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Four years ago, they were a pack of snot-nosed kids bouncing off the walls of Central High's hallways.

Chad and Chase Walker, so nice, their mom birthed them twice. Jon Guggino, shortened to "Gino." And Duane Marks, nicknamed "Boo" because, well, we don't exactly know why.

Today, they are part of a nucleus of seniors that has the Bears dreaming big heading into tonight's district opener against Ridgewood.

"Seeing them as freshmen, they were running around crazy and confused," Central coach Cliff Lohrey said, "but they did it all together, so we knew they had a chance to be a special group."

For Central, last year was the year of the Foxx, and rightfully so. Senior running back DuJuan "Foxx" Harris racked up more than 1,600 rushing yards while carrying the Bears to their first playoff berth in five seasons. But lost among the star's accolades were the contributions of a solid class of juniors. Guggino, Marks and Nathan Brazeau anchored a linebacking corps that helped hold opponents to fewer than 13 points per game over the last eight games of the season. Chase Walker started every game at quarterback and hooked up with brother Chad on two touchdown passes in a late-season comeback win over Springstead.

This year, they are all seniors. Five of them on offense. Eight of them on defense.

And they are determined to prove that Central was more than the exploits of one player.

"No one thinks we're going to do anything this year because last year Harris carried the offense," Guggino said. "But we have a lot of talent."

Central's seniors are as tight off the field as they are on it. Guggino, Marks and the Walkers, who have played together since their days at West Hernando Middle, are tighter than most.

They look for each other on the field and play legendary games of Madden off it (Chase and his Baltimore Ravens are the best of the bunch).

Tonight, they'll look to take their first collective step toward the postseason. Last year, the Bears beat Ridgewood 23-20, but they did it largely on the back of Harris, who had 142 yards in the first half.

Tonight, Central's current crop of seniors have a chance to prove themselves.

"It's a huge motivator for those guys," Lohrey said. "Every one of these guys love Foxx, but they want to establish themselves with their own part of their legacy."

David Murphy can be reached at dmurphy@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1407.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 18:53:45]