Dade City's Glavich headed to Jefferson

By Compiled by KEVIN KELLY, STEVE LEE, SCOTT PURKS and JAMAL THALJI

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 22, 2000

Former Pasco junior varsity quarterback Matt Glavich, who led Hillsborough County in passing during last fall's regular season with 1,833 yards, has transferred to Jefferson from Tampa Catholic.

That sets the stage for a return to W.F. Edwards Stadium when Jefferson visits Pasco next season in a Class 3A, District 6 matchup. It will be Glavich's second game in his hometown. As a sophomore, he led TC in a 58-6 rout of Wesley Chapel last season.

The transfer follows a group of TC football coaches who switched to Jefferson, but Glavich, who still lives in Dade City, said his move had more to do with education and finances than football.

"The tuition at Tampa Catholic was going up and Jefferson offered a financial course that I wanted to take," Glavich said. "It was a combination of those things that helped me make the decision to change."

"Matt came in for us last year and did a great job," said Bob Henriquez, who stepped down as TC's head coach after last season and appears headed for Jefferson as an assistant. "Matt was thrust into the starting quarterback position and responded well even though he was a sophomore. I think he handled himself as well as any sophomore that I've ever coached."

Jefferson quarterback coach Mike Fenton, who also transferred from TC in the fall, said Glavich will have to compete for the starting position.

Rams pleased with progress

At 2-7, the Ridgewood girls tennis team is hardly a viable contender for the Sunshine Athletic Conference championship. But this is a team that takes consolation in small strides.

On March 16, the Rams (1-1 in the SAC) earned their second victory, beating Wesley Chapel 4-3. That matches Ridgewood's win total over the previous three seasons (1-13 in 1997, 1-12 in '98 and 0-14 in '99).

"We're pretty happy about it," said Joe Kelly, in his second season as coach. "We're making progress."

The No. 2 doubles duo of Rachel Rauber and Bridget Leigh proved the difference against Wesley Chapel. Rauber, Debbie Romer and Catie Mansfield also won singles matches.

Ridgewood defeated Gulf 4-3 on March 2 for its first win since 1998.

BEST BET

WHAT: Softball

WHEN: 7 p.m.

THE SKINNY: On March 7, River Ridge handed East Lake its first loss of the season, winning 7-6. It is East Lake's lone district defeat. The Eagles (10-3, 3-1 in 5A-10) are atop the Class 5A, District 10 standings but River Ridge (8-3, 3-2) is waiting for an opportunity to improve its position. Despite both throwing their No. 1 pitcher, the first game between River Ridge and East Lake was a hit-fest (13 runs, 23 hits combined). Expect the same tonight

OUR TWO CENTS

As if high school polls weren't suspect enough, Ridgewood received more votes than East Lake in the latest Class 5A softball rankings released on Monday.

The Eagles (10-3) beat Ridgewood 1-0 on March 1 and lead the Class 5A, District 10 standings at 3-1. The Rams are 7-2, 3-2 in 5A-10.

One team that did not receive votes was River Ridge.

The Royal Knights (8-3, 3-2) have split with Ridgewood and beat East Lake earlier this season.

Do either of the aforementioned teams deserve consideration in a statewide poll? Yes. Should someone end the confusion and eliminate high school polls altogether? No.

Part of the fun of playing high school sports is the competition and comparisons between teams. Beside, if there wasn't a poll, what else would there be to gripe about? Well, there always are sportswriters.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.