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By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 28, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Six soccer teams from Pasco County played in the Region C final four last weekend at Lake Parker in Lakeland.
The Under-15 West Pasco Thunder and Under-16 Zephyrhills Lightning won Region C titles and will compete for state championships April 7-8 at the President's Cup at Ocala.
Billy Chapman backstopped the Thunder to two shutouts, 2-0 over the Winter Haven Kicks and 1-0 over the Cape Coral Cyclones.
Chapman leapt to save a rising shot in the second half against Winter Haven and made a handful of point-blank saves late against Cape Coral. "The kids were marking up correctly," West Pasco coach Phil Dimestico said. "We made a few mistakes, but Billy was back there."
Ryan Villiard scored both goals against Winter Haven, and Sam Kaufman scored against Cape Coral.
Zephyrhills' keeper Matt Prowant also played well. He made five saves on penalty kicks, leading the Lightning to a 3-2 (4-2 in penalty kicks) win over the Temple Terrace Spirit and a 1-0 (4-3) win over Estero.
"He was the one who got piled on after both of those games," Zephyrhills coach Robert Ruchti said.
"He saved us."
Trent Cooper and Justin Chauncey scored in regulation against Temple Terrace. Chauncey, Shawn March, Kevin Senior and A.J. Blackstone converted penalty kicks, and Prowant saved three of five shots.
The final had to be decided by penalty kicks as well. March, Senior, Blackstone and John McKnight scored for Zephyrhills, and Prowant made two saves.
Central Pasco's U-15 boys and three West Pasco teams -- the U-17 boys, U-9 boys and U-15 girls -- also competed in the final four. Central Pasco and West Pasco's U-17 boys and U-15 girls reached the final.
JAGS WIN IT ALL: Seven Springs' seventh-grade boys basketball team went unbeaten to win the Pasco County Middle School Athletic Conference title. The Jaguars (8-0) faced their stiffest challenge in the seventh game, defeating runner-up Pasco (7-1) 59-22.
Seven Springs, led by guards D.J. Crosby and Blake Stockton and center Jon Saxer, concluded the season with a 68-21 win over Gulf. Its average margin of victory was 36.6 points.
"This was one of those teams where the coach was in awe of the talent," Seven Springs coach Chris Christoff said.
SIGNUPS: The Central Pasco United Soccer Association is conducting registration for its summer season -- May 22 to July 19 -- at the Pine View Middle School cafeteria in Land O'Lakes.
Signups are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 7 and 1 to 4 p.m. April 8. Cost is $35 per player, $30 for an additional family member.
Registration also is under way for the Junior Knights Basketball League. Signups are from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. April 3 and April 5 at River Ridge High.
Cost is $45 per player with games scheduled from April 19 through May. For information, call (727) 774-7137 or (727) 819-9560.