Northpinellas: Schmidgall will see fruit of hard work in the Peach Bowl

"We've had a good season and finished strong," said Schmidgall, 21, a former Countryside High School standout. "We won our last seven games to finish 9-2 on the season. It seems we got better every game."

Georgia Tech's schedule included five teams that made bowl games and seven opponents that had winning seasons.

Victories over fifth-ranked Clemson and rival Georgia late in the season clinched the Yellow Jackets' fourth consecutive bowl appearance and a No. 15 ranking.

When Schmidgall enrolled at Georgia Tech, he didn't know if he would be playing football or not.

Recruited primarily by NCAA Division II and III schools, Schmidgall opted for Georgia Tech to pursue a civil engineering degree.

"I didn't have a scholarship offer but knew I wanted to do something with engineering, and Georgia Tech is a good school," he said.

"When I got accepted there, I asked if I could walk on," Schmidgall said. "At the last minute, I had an opportunity to go to their freshman football camp."

Schmidgall participated on the scout team as a freshman and traveled to some of the games. During his second year, he was on the scout squad but participated in several games.

"My third year I was a backup center behind Noah King," Schmidgall said. "This year as a starter, I think I've improved as my experience has increased."

Tech's offensive line allowed the fewest sacks (16) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Focus and concentration have been keys to Schmidgall's success.

"When you're preparing for a game or playing in a game, it helps me to visualize the right moves and what happens in successful games," he said. "I try not to let setbacks affect my play."

Schmidgall has been recognized on and off the field.

For his efforts against Georgia, he was named the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week. Against Navy, Schmidgall was presented the Homer Rice Award for his academic achievements.

"Looking back four years when I came here as a walk on, I never thought I would be here," Schmidgall said. "Georgia Tech has been in bowl games before, but it's a totally different feeling when you're playing."

Schmidgall's dream will become reality 5 p.m. Friday in Atlanta's Georgia Dome before a capacity crowd of 70,000.

EXTRA POINTS: There are several other area football players whose schools will participate in bowl action the next 10 days.

Virginia's Joe Holt (Clearwater), a freshman reserve lineman, reserve receiver Jeffrey Chambliss (Pinellas Park) and sophomore reserve offensive lineman Heath Boucek (Shorecrest) are in Honolulu for tonight's Oahu Bowl with Georgia.

Wednesday, Cincinnati sophomore Frank Lang (Dunedin) and teammates battle Marshall in the Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich.

Atif Austin (Tarpon Springs), starting cornerback for Iowa State , travels to Phoenix for the Dec. 28 Insight.Com Bowl with Pittsburgh.

On New Year's Eve, junior safety Sam Meinrod and Air Force will be in San Jose, Calif., in the Silicon Valley Classic against Fresno State.

Tony Lazzara (Shorecrest) and Theo Mougros (Tarpon Springs) will contribute to Clemson's effort against Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day in Jacksonville.

Tim Carter (Lakewood) will be in Orlando New Year's Day as one of Auburn's receivers and kick returners in the Citrus Bowl with Michigan.

(Lakewood), senior safety for Notre Dame, will be in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl against Oregon State.

The Jan.2 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans pits Florida's Clint Mitchell (Countryside) and Eric Johnson (Seminole) against Miami's Markese Fitzgerald (Dixie).

The injured Nick Franklin (Osceola) will cheer for Patrick Newton (Shorecrest) and the rest of the Florida State Seminoles on Jan. 3 in the national championship game against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in Miami.

I-AA FOOTBALL: Ryan Watson (Lakewood) played in all 14 games for Appalachian State, including a run to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

A 19-16 overtime loss to No. 1 Montana ended ASU's season and gave it a No. 4 position in the final poll.

It was the first time Appalachian State had advanced to the semifinals since 1987.

Watson, a defensive lineman, logged 18 tackles in the the playoffs, including two for a loss of yardage, a quarterback sack and a forced fumble.

Watson had 66 tackles for the season.

BASKETBALL: Flager College freshman Alison O'Brien (Clearwater) was named to the all-tournament team in this month's Habersham Bank Classic in Georgia.

O'Brien, a former first-team all-county selection, scored 22 points against Piedmont College (Ga.) in the opening round of the classic. She had 15 in a loss to Emanuelle College in the final.

Second-year tri-captain David Ross (Boca Ciega) hit a 3-pointer for South Carolina in an 80-55 win over North Carolina-Asheville. Colin Shaw (Seminole) contributed nine points for NC-A.

TENNIS: Second-seeded Kyle Nelson (Canterbury) reached the semifinal round of singles in the ITA Southern Region Tournament before falling to teammate Dylan Bird.

Nelson, a sophomore at Emory University, advanced to quarterfinal action in the ITA doubles competition with partner Matt Frank. VOLLEYBALL: Carson-Newman College (Tenn.) was led by Stacie Haire (Clearwater) and the junior's six service aces and eight digs in its championship quest in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

After eliminating the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds, fifth-seeded Carson-Newman played No.2 Presbyterian College (S.C.) in the final.

Jenny Gyarmathy (Keswick) is a middle blocker for Carson-Newman. In showdown of siblings in the championship, Haire's younger sister, Kellie, contributed 35 assists and 17 digs for Presbyterian.

SWIMMING: Joe Novak (Dixie), a 1999 West Point graduate, was selected to be a member of the Patriot League's All-Decade Men's Swimming and Diving Team.

Novak was nine-for-nine in individual finals in a three-year period and won three consecutive conference titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and the 100-yard butterfly.

Novak is the only swimmer in league history to capture three swimmer of the meet awards.

Currently, Novak is a platoon leader in Fort Hood, Texas.

SOCCER: Marquette senior Rhegan Hyypio (Lakewood) was named to the NCAA Division I All-American team.

Hyypio started all 24 games this season at defender yet scored five times and had an assist for a total of 11 points.

- News for this column may be faxed to Nancy Morgan, 445-4119, e-mailed to namgamma@gte.net or sent to 710 Court St., Clearwater, Fla. 33756. Please include phone number.

Back to North Pinellas news

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

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

From the Times
North Pinellas desks