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Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills Gear Up For District Games

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 28, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Zephyrhills players had a bit of an issue last Friday.

It wasn't Sunlake, as apparent by the 48-0 score. It was more the Bulldogs' opponent after the Seahawks - Wesley Chapel.

'Before the game, almost the whole team was overlooking them, like, 'Oh, Sunlake won't be any competition and we have Wesley Chapel the next week,'' Zephyrhills receiver/defensive end Josh Perkins said. 'So everybody was basically looking over Sunlake and focusing on Wesley Chapel because we know it's a very big game.'

Perkins admitted he and his teammates have endured one of the toughest weeks of practice this season. Chalk that up to the overlooking part, which forced Zephyrhills (2-1) into numerous penalties and a fumble at the Seahawks 1.

Throw in the fact that lining up across the ball is a tough Wesley Chapel (3-1) squad and the fact the Wildcats won it 31-26 last season and you can figure out why this week was tough.

'I tried to tell them that Sunlake, give them credit, Sunlake is a first-year team and they're doing the best they can, but Wesley Chapel is a veteran club with bigger people, faster people, stronger people,' Zephyrhills coach Tom Fisher said.

Perkins, who collected three sacks against Land O' Lakes, and his defensive mates will have to keep Wildcats' quarterback Greg Jenkins under wraps if they have a chance at victory.

Last week in Wesley Chapel's 35-3 victory against Brooksville Hernando, Jenkins collected 201 passing yards and added 66 rushing yards. On the season, the senior has 545 passing yards and shares a team-high 258 rushing yards with freshman Hunter Joyer.

Jenkins is also looking to elude further defeats the way he does defenders while scrambling.

'I wanted us to be undefeated, but now we just have to win them all out,' he said of the early loss to Land O' Lakes. 'I don't want to be like everybody else saying, 'All we need is two district wins to go to the playoffs.' I want to win all the district games to make sure and take care of homefield advantage.'

It's widely known the offensive weapon Zephyrhills possesses in Chris Henry and because of that, Fisher continues to preach that unit needs more contributors. If not, it could fall victim to a Wesley Chapel defense, which has given up 12 points or fewer in three games.

Typically, what Fisher says, the Bulldogs do.

'Tom does the best with what he has,' Wesley Chapel coach John Castelamare said. 'You better be ready for Zephyrhills at all times. I don't care what personnel is on the field, they're going to be ready for you.

'They always play hard; they always seem to do the right things to win. They have a great running back Henry, a receiver turned running back. I remember a long time ago when I had Tyrone Tomlin, he was a receiver we turned to running back and became a great running back. It can be done.'

All Tomlin did was set Pasco County single-season records for rushing yards (1,731) and rushing touchdowns (34).

And if any of the players needed a reminder this is a big game, watch for the Catch 47's Game of the Week television cameras along the sidelines.

'It's a very important game because our next game is a district game and so is their's,' Castelamare said. 'So you want to go into the district on a positive note. It's another battle for us. Another great game.'

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