Northpinellas: Soccer season heats up after holiday break

Soccer season heats up after holiday break

Gaither and Sickles boys soccer teams played in separate tournaments earlier this month.

By ROD GIPSON

NORTHDALE -- Coming off their holiday breaks, Gaither and Sickles boys soccer teams did some tournament play before the rigors of district playoffs next month.

Sickles entered the King Tournament while Gaither hosted the first Soccer Field Classic, both held Jan. 4 and 5. Sickles fared better, but not by much, beating Wharton and Leto before falling to Brandon. Gaither proved a gracious host, losing to Land O'Lakes and Jesuit.

The Gryphons, 2-5-3 going into Friday's match against Bloomingdale, beat Leto behind the play of Carlos Pinnace. The senior midfielder had two goals and an assist as Sickles broke a 1-1 halftime tie and went on to a 3-1 victory. Then they ran into the Brandon Eagles, who dominated from the start and had little trouble defeating Sickles 6-1.

"We had a total meltdown," said Sickles coach Mike Rady. "We're a young, inexperienced team and it showed tonight. This is especially disappointing because we played very well in the first two days of the tournament, particularly against Leto."

Gaither came into its tournament the third-ranked team in the nation, according to Fox's Fab 50 poll. But after giving up a goal and letting a Land O'Lakes forward slip past their defense and score, the Cowboys suffered a 2-1 loss and were on their way to another.

The next night, an uninspired Gaither lost 5-1 to Jesuit, ranked fifth in the Fox Sports poll. The Cowboys have bounced back since the Jan. 4-5 tournament, beating Hillsborough 5-0 Tuesday night to halt the two-match slide and defeating Sickles 2-0 Wednesday to improve to 14-4 before facing Wharton on Friday. Results were not available by North of Tampa's deadline.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: The Sickles machine continues to roll on. The Gryphons are 12-0 after victories against Riverview, Bloomingdale and Durant during the last seven days. The pollsters have noticed, voting Sickles up a notch to eighth among Class 6A teams. Sickles, 4-0 in district play, continue their league slate Thursday night at Gaither. The Cowboys have senior guard Tara Whalen back from an ankle injury that kept her out most of December. Averaging 10.7 points a game at the time of her injury, Whalen scored 13 points in her first game back against Durant.

WRESTLING: Chamberlain and Gaither are 4-4 and 5-2 respectively after the Chiefs' 47-24 mild upset of the Cowboys last week. Meanwhile Wharton is 0-4 after its 47-23 loss against King and Leto 4-3 as it prepared for Saturday's Raider Invitational tournament in Plant City. Leto, Wharton and Gaither were scheduled to participate in the event and the Falcons may perform the best, lead by Pablo Magana-Roca (6-1 at 145 pounds), Sean Messer (12-4 at 189) andGilbert Perez (9-3 as a heavyweight).

FOOTBALL: Gaither seniors Lydell Ross, Cesar Paz and Kenny Huebner were all named Class 6A First Team All-State. Ross set a Hillsborough County record with 2,698 yards rushing in 2000, getting help from offensive lineman Paz. Huebner also set a county record with 28 sacks. Chamberlain junior linebacker Broderick Bunkley was named to the Class 5A All-State Third Team.