 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Wildcats tread in new territoryBy JAMAL THALJI
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- John Castelamare didn't know what to think. His Wesley Chapel team had such a bad week of practice, with a crucial Sunshine Athletic Conference game looming against River Ridge on the road, that he wasn't sure what would happen. What happened was a 39-0 Wildcats' rout. It was Castelamare's first win against River Ridge in six years and the first time in seven years his team has started a season 2-0. "I thought we played a good game," Castelamare said. "We came in here after having a bad week of practice and we didn't know what to think. We came to play, though. "River Ridge, on paper, they were tough. Their front line, we were worried about that. River Ridge just had a bad night, but they're still a great football team, and they're going to win a lot of games." The Royal Knights are a better team than this, but it's hard to prove after River Ridge found itself down after just the second play, when Chris Roberts hit Marcus Felder with a 71-yard halfback pass. Wesley Chapel rolled up 300 rushing yards, 20 second-quarter points, six sacks and a blocked punt. River Ridge was in negative yardage on the ground, barely touched field-goal range and punted eight times. The Wildcats put the ball on the ground five times, yet the Knights only took it away twice -- and couldn't do anything with it when they got it. Wesley Chapel even had 12 penalties, but the extra yardage was wasted on River Ridge's overmatched offensive line. So, River Ridge is 0-2 and virtually out of the conference race, and Wesley Chapel is 2-0 and suddenly a conference contender. Don't think Pasco and Zephyrhills haven't noticed. Land O'Lakes sure isn't out of it, and River Ridge can still play spoiler. A three-way tie is also a statistical possibility. But clearly the road to the SAC title now rolls through Wildcat Stadium, because Zephyrhills must visit on Sept. 28, Pasco on Oct. 18 and Land O'Lakes on Nov. 2. The question is, can third-year Wesley Chapel handle being a front-runner? "No more little boys anymore," Castelamare said. "They're big boys now, and they have to step it up. Everybody is going to play us harder to beat us from now on, and we have to step up."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times |
