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Teams Scrambling Because Of Injuries

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

TAMPA - Got an injured starter? Join the club.

Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, most teams are dealing with injuries of some sort, and most are at critical starting positions.

The area's top ranked team, Armwood, hasn't been full-strength all season. The defensive injuries, namely to starters Petey Smith and Sergio Joyner, have forced others to step up.

The defending state champion Plant Panthers lost starting middle linebacker Chris Breit before the season began to a back injury, while starting tailback Lovell Jackson suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 against Armwood.

Breit and Jackson have since returned, but their absence, sent the Panthers, much like other teams, scrambling for replacements.

'It's not an excuse, it's football,' Plant coach Robert Weiner said.

Injuries force a shuffling of the roster, but they're not always a bad thing.

'There is one good thing when you have injuries,' Weiner said. 'You get some guys some reps. They get thrown in the fire early on and they've got to become good right now. Sometimes you find some surprises. Sometimes it's not a surprise. You just have a guy who gets better and then when later on down the road you need him as a substitute, he's gotten some reps and he's ready to go.'

INJURY UPDATE: Jackson had an MRI performed on his sore hamstring that took him out of the second half of Plant's 35-16 victory against Hillsborough last week. The image showed a deeply bruised hamstring, but no tears. Jackson was limited at practice this week, but is expected to play tonight against Leto.

The Panthers will have to wait another week before James Harrell III joins the lineup, Harrell has been sidelined with a broken foot all season. He has begun light workouts at practice and is expected to play next week against Chamberlain.

PRACTICE CUT SHORT: Chamberlain's final practice before its game with Alonso was cut short Wednesday by the Tampa Police Department. The school was put in lockdown as police looked for a man in the area who reportedly had a gun.

The football team and band were removed from their practice and sent to the school.

SHORT WEEK: Sickles coach Pat O'Brien did his best to work around a short week of practice leading up to the Gryphons' contest tonight against King.

To do so, O'Brien replaced his usual Saturday film session and weight work with a two-hour practice in pads, simulating what the Gryphons usually do Thursday, the day before a Friday game.

'It gave us an opportunity to take our normal Thursday practice, and we can still work on our normal days Monday through Wednesday,' O'Brien said. 'We tried not to get out of sequence on things.'

THE HOME STRETCH: Plant City coach Kevin Kelley has a team brimming with confidence as it pushed nationally ranked Armwood to the limit last week. He has a relatively healthy roster. And his Raiders control their destiny.

Plant City resumes district play tonight against Newsome, the first of two district games that will determine if the Raiders win a district title.

After a bye week, the Raiders face Brandon on Nov. 2.

Win both games, and the Raiders will be 5A-District 7 champions.

'The table is set for us,' Kelley said. 'It's in our hands.'

MISSING COBRAS: Coach Mark Nash learned Tuesday that senior MLB Paul James will remain suspended for the rest of the week, meaning he cannot play Friday against Class 3A-District 8 rival Gulf in a game with playoff implications for both teams.

James, who averages 13 tackles per game, is expected to return next week.

In addition, senior DT Travis Tindell, a team captain, has missed two practices this week due to an illness. His status is uncertain for Friday.

The losses are major blows for Hudson (4-2, 1-1 3A-8), preparing to face the top offensive team in the Tampa Bay area according to MaxPreps.com. Gulf (3-3, 2-0) leads the area with 468.0 yards per game, while Hudson is second with 451.8 yards per game.

5A-DISTRICT 6 ON THE LINE: Last season, Chamberlain lost to Alonso,14-8, in a game that would determine the Class 5A-District 6 champion.

Tonight, the district championship will once again depend on the outcome of this game.

In the last meeting, Alonso was held to under 100 total yards while Chamberlain had over 300, but Chamberlain made too many mistakes that fell in Alonso's favor.

Compiled by reporters Katherine Smith and Nick Williams and correspondents Matthew Postins and Bart O'Connell. Keyword: Prep Sports, for expanded prep news and notes.

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