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Friday Night Rewind

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2007

Who's Hot

Sickles: Wasn't the dream season over for the Gryphons when Tampa Bay Tech drubbed them two weeks ago? Hardly. Coach Pat O'Brien's squad has played great since that disappointing loss, posting consecutive victories against Wharton and Bloomingdale to improve to 4-1, the best start in school history.

Spoto: Somebody forgot to tell Scott Palmer his Spartans are a first-year varsity team. Spoto improved to 3-2 with a big win against previously unbeaten Tampa Bay Tech on Friday night. The Spartans' bye week comes at a perfect time. Now, they can get healthy for a big home game with Sickles, a game that - if won - would be a big momentum boost heading into the three-week stretch of district games that follows.

Alonso's offense: Mike Heldt's squad has won three straight and now stands at 4-1 midway through the season. After being shut out against Hillsborough in Week 2, the offense has responded well - the Ravens have averaged 27.3 points in their three-game win streak. Senior running back David Bankston has five TDs in the last two games.

Chamberlain's defense: The Chiefs posted their second consecutive shutout Friday in a win against East Bay, something that surely brought a smile to the face of longtime Coach Billy Turner, who returned to the sideline after missing his first game as a head coach last week. While Chamberlain is only 3-2, the most points the defense has yielded this season was 20 in a loss to Hillsborough.

Who's Not

Tampa Bay Tech: All the momentum from that great start to the season is done. One week after a first-quarter brawl that led to multiple ejections and six-week suspensions for several players, the Titans followed with their first loss of the year. Things don't get any better next week when undefeated Armwood rolls into Titan Stadium for a big district showdown.

Cambridge Christian: After starting the season 2-0, Rick Shears' squad has dropped three straight after Friday's loss to Keswick Christian. And one of the main reasons is, the offense has sputtered. The Lancers averaged 45 points in their first two games, but the offense since has managed just 17 points during the three-game slide.

Lennard: The first-year varsity Longhorns are winless through the first half of the season, and things don't get any easier for Jim Wilt's squad in the second half. Lennard's five remaining opponents have a combined record of 15-7, which includes 4-0 Fort Myers Bishop Verot, next week's opponent.

Similar, But Different

In their 35-14 victory against Jesuit, Gaither was up 21 points before the Tigers got on the scoreboard. It was a similar scenario to last year's district loss to Land O' Lakes when the Gators scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to upset the Cowboys 28-24, taking the district title.

'That game is not mentioned, but it's in the back of the players' minds,' Gaither coach Mark Kantor said. 'We still have a lot of young kids and everything, and they don't know it, but the guys who returned know it and they make sure that it doesn't happen again.'

As for the unpleasant incident on the field after the Jesuit game, when assistant coaches from both teams exchanged words, Kantor said it marred the Cowboys' third consecutive victory.

'They wanted to complain about the timeout with three seconds left,' said Kantor, who did get to shake Jesuit coach Joe Ross' hand after the game. 'We had young guys in. We've got a tough schedule still. They had young guys in. We're just trying to get game film on the guys. We're not trying to score. We just wanted them to get an extra play so we could use it on film so they could evaluate and see themselves.'

Did You Know?

Sickles has never had a winning season since the school started its football program in 1997. The program high for wins in a season is five, when the Gryphons went 5-5 in 2004.

Did You Know, No. 2?

While Leto's 2-3 record doesn't seem all that impressive, it is a respectable achievement for Coach Hugh Dehnert's squad. This is the first time since 1999 the Falcons have posted two victories through five games. In that 1999 season, Leto started 0-2 but won seven in a row - and finished 7-3 - to earn a playoff berth, the last time the Falcons reached the postseason.

Inside The Numbers

13 - Rushing touchdowns for Ridgewood's Byronell Arline in the last two games.

6 - Touchdown receptions this season for Lennard's Blake Kennedy, tied for the county lead with Plant's Cornelius Gallon.

4 - Times, including this season, Hillsborough has started 5-0 since 2002.

3 - Remaining undefeated teams between Hillsborough and Pasco counties (Armwood, Hillsborough and Ridgewood).

He Said It

'This is definitely a night to forget.' - Riverview senior running back Jahleel Addae, who has committed to West Virginia, after the Sharks lost 35-0 to Hillsborough and upon learning the Mountaineers were trailing USF 14-3 at the half. The Bulls eventually won the Big East matchup 21-13.

Adam Adkins, Katherine Smith

FRIDAY NIGHT REWIND

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