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Wildcats Turn To The Run, But Struggle Without Jenkins

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By NICK WILLIAMS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Wesley Chapel senior quarterback Greg Jenkins could only watch from the sideline Saturday as his team lost to Wharton 31-7 in a key district game.

The Wildcats, who fell to 3-3, could have used a few big plays from Jenkins, who had passed for 545 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 288 yards and four touchdowns before injuring his shoulder Sept. 28.

Instead, Wesley Chapel relied on its running game, with freshman Hunter Joyer and junior Keenan Reynolds splitting the carries. Joyer finished with 66 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries, while Reynolds had 35 yards on 11 carries. Backup quarterback Chris West completed five of 10 passes for 61 yards and was sacked four times for a loss of 15 yards.

'We had our number two quarterback in the last two days, and he's getting better,' Wesley Chapel coach John Castelamare said. 'I'm sure the kids feel kind of down, maybe, about that sort of thing, but they played good at the beginning, and we scored on them. They are a good football team.'

The strong point of the offense, however, was Joyer (5-11, 239 pounds), who gained the majority of his yards after the initial contact. He broke through two defenders to score on a 5-yard run in the second quarter.

'He's a tough kid,' Castelamare said. 'He's a hard runner. He's a kid who goes into the locker room after the game and there's blood all over the place from something, he's beat up, and he still has his braces. He's only 14. He's going to be a good football player.'

'He's a good fullback,' Wharton coach David Mitchell said. 'He's going to do some good things. I'll tell you what, I'd rather see that guy in an I-formation when he can run downhill on people. He can make a difference if he runs downhill on people.'

Wesley Chapel's big play of the night was a pass on fake punt from West to senior Ray Rouch for 37 yards in the first quarter. The play put the Wildcats on Wharton's 10, but five plays later, West was sacked and fumbled at the 6, and it was recovered by Wharton.

Defensively, Wesley Chapel recovered a fumble and senior defensive back Micah Johnson intercepted a pass in the second quarter.

Both Teams Hope This Rivalry Gets Going

SPRING HILL - Saturday's contest between Bishop McLaughlin and Academy at the Lakes was a learning experience for both teams.

Bishop McLaughlin (1-4) won the game 41-0, dominating the Wildcats the entire game. But Hurricanes coach Marty Williams knows what a loss like that feels like for a first-year program. Three years ago, Bishop McLaughlin was a first-year program.

'We've been there. We've lived it,' Williams said. 'No one knows better than we do what it feels like.'

But both coaches agreed - no one quit playing. No one had their heads down.

'We've got a lot of respect for AATL program and Coach Mark Arbet is doing a great job putting that very small school on the map,' Williams said. 'Their kids played hard and left it on the field. And that's all any coach can ask for.'

Arbet agreed.

'The kids played hard,' Arbet said. 'We're a small team, in our first year. We figured we would match up a little bit better with them. We had a little bit of an injury issue. Hopefully, we'll rebound this week.'

Bishop McLaughlin's offense was in high gear the entire night. Quarterback Jeff Pope rushed for 141 yards and passed for another 69 and scored a touchdown. Ryan Beeble scored three touchdowns and added 90 yards, Trae Williams scored the Hurricanes' other two touchdowns as Bishop McLaughlin produced 431 yards of offense.

Both coaches said they would like to see the series between the private schools continue. The Wildcats will be an FHSAA independent next season but could be placed in Class 1B-District 6 for 2009.

''We definitely want to continue playing Bishop McLaughlin,' Arbet said.

'Absolutely,' Williams said. 'I'm trying to look and see what's out there. When I was at South Sumter, we knew the level of our competition and our district and who we had to schedule. Here, I don't know what's out there. I didn't even know Academy at the Lakes existed until that day.'

Williams almost didn't play this game. After Tampa Bay Christian folded its program the week before the start of the season, Williams thought Week 6 might be a good week to take off. The Hurricanes' bye week isn't until the final week of the season. But Williams let his players decide whether they wanted to play.

It looks like the right decision.

Rick Harmon

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