Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Dragons' confidence didn't leave

By SCOTT PURKS

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

TAMPA -- It's unlikely any football team has had more player transfers and coaching changes -- coming and going -- than Jefferson in the past year.

Jefferson running back Carl Jones got things started last season when he moved to Armwood. Then in the spring, several Tampa Catholic players transferred to Jefferson. Shortly thereafter, two prominent Dragons, linebacker Elijah Dukes and defensive back Ricky Johnson, enrolled at Hillsborough.

Among coaches, Jefferson made wholesale assistant changes last fall then made some more moves in the off-season with the hiring of several Tampa Catholic coaches. And all of this, by the way, received the Florida High School Activities Association stamp of approval. But none of it, according to Jefferson, has hurt team unity.

"At first, it was a pretty big change for everybody, and we had to make some adjustments," Jefferson quarterbacks coach Mike Fenton said. "But now it feels like we've always been here together. Things are going great here."

Fenton is a perfect case study for Jefferson's confusing personnel whirlwind. Fenton has been a career specialist at Jefferson for years while simultaneously serving as a coach at Tampa Catholic. The only thing that got him to switch to Jefferson's football staff, however, was "a difference of philosophy" with Tampa Catholic administrators. Fenton wonders if it was fate.

"Seriously," he said, "I think everything has worked out real well for everyone involved."

Former Tampa Catholic quarterback Matt Glavich agrees -- and then some.

"The school, the teachers and the students are all I hoped they would be," said Glavich, who led the county last season with 1,833 passing yards at Tampa Catholic. "And the football team is so talented that I seriously think we could go undefeated.

"When I line up to take the snap, I'm thinking that we have a lot of weapons. We have great running backs (including Josh Balloon), fantastic receivers (Andre Caldwell, Camerson Rodgers and C.J. Janis-Smith) and a strong offensive line." Defensively, Jefferson could be even better. The Dragons, though minus Dukes and Johnson, return the majority of the squad that led the county in defense last season, giving up 137.2 yards and 7.3 points per game.

Leto, Jefferson's opponent tonight, might be wondering if it's in trouble. Then again, the Falcons might be thinking all of Jefferson's personnel changes look like a mess.

"I think a lot of people had given us up for dead because of everything that's happened," Jefferson head coach Mike Simmonds said. "But we have grown close over here through all this.

"Last year, we went 10-3 and went deep into the playoffs. This year, we don't see any reason that we can't improve on that.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright