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Football midseason report

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 5, 2001

Preseason picks on target except ... Five weeks down, five to go.

At the midway point of the season, some teams are rolling and others, well, could use a better second half. Some of the county's big names have produced big numbers, others have emerged from the sidelines and demanded attention, and a few have just not lived up to preseason billing.

Before the opening kickoff, Times staff writers Rodney Page, Bob Putnam and John Schwarb took their best shots at forecasting which players and teams would come up big in 2001. Midway through the season, their decisions are now under the microscope.

LEADING RUSHER

OUR PICK: Jason Teague (Osceola)

THE SKINNY: Teague has lived up to his hype. He has 814 yards on 101 carries, an average of 8.1 yards per carry. He has those gaudy numbers despite just 37 yards on 17 carries against Lakewood. That means in four other games, Teague has gained 777 yards, an average of 194 per game. In his latest effort, Teague gained 204 yards against St. Petersburg. The Warriors would clearly be lost without the senior tailback.

OH, WE FORGOT ... : Actually, there have been three that were overlooked. Tarpon Springs' Jeremy Saunders has 551 yards on 89 carries and has been a boost to a Spongers offense that has sputtered. CCC's Mike Scanlon has been crucial to the Marauders' start. He has 503 yards on 57 carries and has scored seven touchdowns. However, he missed the last game with an undiagnosed injury that has left him fatigued.

East Lake's Mike Wynn has also played well for the run-oriented Eagles. He has 492 yards on 55 carries.

LEADING PASSER

OUR PICKS: Ron Mathis (Gibbs), Kyle Wolfinbarger (Countryside)

THE SKINNY: As predicted, Mathis has aired it out. The senior has thrown for a county-best 1,064 yards and nine touchdowns.

Turnovers have been his only problem: He's has been picked off 11 times. Wolfinbarger, also a senior, hasn't thrown for as many yards in Countryside's balanced attack. His 558 yards rank fourth in the county.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Two newcomers at the position (see category below), Lakewood's Pat Carter and Northeast's Josh Harris, have started fast. Carter has led a Spartans offense averaging 28 points per game and a county-best 361 yards.

Harris has guided the Vikings to a 5-0 start.

Another surprise, CCC's Orlando Rivas, isn't a newcomer but is taking over as a full-time quarterback after the graduation of Jay Davis. Rivas has 561 yards.

LEADING RECEIVER

OUR PICKS: DeAngelo Woodie (Gibbs), Matt Galley (CC Catholic)

THE SKINNY: Woodie has thrived in the Gladiator's fast-break offense and leads the county in receptions (22) and yards (319).

Galley isn't too far off that pace, with 12 receptions for 167 yards. Galley might be able to put up more numbers once the Marauders get over the injury bug.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Marcus Anderson has been a workhorse for Lakewood. Usually the primary receiver, Anderson has caught 17 passes for 304 yards. Northeast has a pair of burners in Martin Teal and Ryan Ross that keep defenses from keying on the running portion of its Wing-T attack. The two are averaging more than 20 yards per reception.

BEST NEWCOMER

OUR PICKS: Kevin Marion (Dixie Hollins), Pat Carter (Lakewood), Isaiah Gwyn (Countryside)

THE SKINNY: All three players have indeed been vital to their teams. Marion has developed into a valuable and dangerous kick returner, taking two back for touchdowns and having a third (against Northeast) called back by penalty. As a receiver, he has caught 10 passes for 139 yards.

Pat Carter is a strong-armed quarterback who the Spartans have turned loose lately. He threw for 183 yards against Osceola and also had an 85-yard touchdown run. He is second in the county behind Ron Mathis with 856 yards on 63 completions. If the Spartans continue to use a spread offense, Carter could be a major factor in their playoff run.

Gwyn has been a perfect complement to Cougars quarterback Kyle Wolfinbarger, with 423 yards on 33 carries for a 12.8 average per carry.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Northeast quarterback Josh Harris picked up where his brother Andrew left off. Harris has guided the Vikings to a 5-0 record with 562 yards passing and four touchdown passes. He has not thrown an interception. Harris missed last season with a knee injury.

STINGIEST DEFENSE

OUR PICKS: Tarpon Springs, Seminole, Admiral Farragut

THE SKINNY: Seminole has been beyond stingy. The Warhawks are third in the county with 114.2 yards allowed per game, have yet to give up more than seven points in a game and have shut out a pretty good East Lake team and pass-happy Gibbs.

Tarpon Springs is fifth in the county with 157.6 yards per game, but has also been on the field more than normal because of a sputtering offense. And losing defensive back Roshawn Marshall to injury hasn't helped.

Admiral Farragut hasn't done too badly.

In a 14-7 upset loss to Northside Christian, the Mustangs' touchdowns came on an interception return and a kickoff return.

Still, there is some improvement needed if the Blue Jackets are going to make the playoffs.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Lakewood and Northeast both have monster defenses. Northeast has allowed only 68.2 yards per game and just 126 passing yards all season.

Lakewood isn't far behind with 102.2 yards per game. The Spartans shut out Osceola and Teague 48-0 recently, which prompted Warriors' coach George Palmer to say, "We were shut down as well as we've ever been shut down."

BEST GAME

OUR PICKS: Pinellas Park at Clearwater (Oct. 26), Seminole at Gibbs (Sept. 28), Tarpon Springs at East Lake (Nov. 2)

THE SKINNY: Okay, okay, Seminole at Gibbs (56-0) was a clunker. And Pinellas Park at Clearwater might be important in Class 5A, District 7, but the two teams will come in with losing records.

The Spongers-Eagles contest rarely disappoints, though Tarpon has looked shaky of late.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Northeast at Seminole, Oct. 19. Sorry, we didn't see Northeast getting off to such a huge start, but we're sold on the Vikings and sold on this district matchup being one of the bigger regular-season games in recent memory.

BEST CHANCES IN NOVEMBER

OUR PICKS: Seminole, CC Catholic

THE SKINNY: The Warhawks have an area-best 21-game win streak and are starting to peak, especially after last week's 56-0 rout of Gibbs. CC Catholic was rolling along, too. The Marauders were 4-0 and had beaten three-time defending state champion Tallahassee North Florida Christian.

Then the Marauders fell back to earth with a 54-0 loss to Jefferson. CCC has already clinched a playoff but to go far it has have some key players heal.

OH, WE FORGOT . . . : Northeast is back on track and its game against Seminole should decide the district title. Whether the Vikings win or lose, they should make the playoffs in a region that includes nine county teams.

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