TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sunlake's Young Pups Getting A Little More Bite In Them

ADVERTISEMENT

By EDDIE DANIELS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - There aren't many football coaches around who would publicly condone fisticuffs from his players, which was evident Friday night during the Sunlake intrasquad scrimmage.

Eight plays into the second quarter, two players - one from the Black and the other for the Teal squad - became entangled in a heated, physical debate. Both players were ejected by the officials and shortly thereafter, defensive coordinator/athletic director Matt McDermott called the teams to the center of the field, telling each group: That will not happen again.

To give further breadth to his message, both players spent a hefty portion of the 20-minute halftime session doing exhaustive up-downs.

Sunlake coach Bill Browning spent the entire game perched atop the press box and when the contest ended - Black beat Teal 27-15 - he addressed his players about the incident.

If there ever could be a silver lining regarding players brawling, one was found Friday evening.

"It's something that you can't condone, but at the same time, we have a little fight to us now," Browning said of the youngest team in Pasco County. "Guys were mixing it up and they're competing for jobs against each other. In that regard, we've got a little bite to us."

Browning compared last season's squad to cowering pups. The Seahawks lethargically traversed their inaugural season, in which they had to play a varsity schedule, going 0-10 and being shut out or held to seven or fewer points in eight of the those contests.

Sunlake running back Mike Shaver, who led all rushers in the spring game with 98 yards on 15 carries, is optimistic, pointing to the physical maturation he and his teammates have and will undergo by the time Sept. 5 arrives - the team's regular-season opener against River Ridge.

"Compared to the way we were last season, Coach Browning says it the best, we were little pups out there just running around, not knowing what we're doing," Shaver said. "Just a bunch of guys with pads on,. But this year, I think we've come together a lot more as one and everyone looks at us as nobodies, the underdogs. We have something to prove this year.

"We're a lot more aggressive than we were last year, we've gotten a lot stronger and a lot faster. Really, we're going to be undersized by 80 or 90 pounds again this year, but I don't think it bothers us that much anymore because we played everybody last year, so we know what to expect."

If that fighting spirit becomes a companion when the Seahawks enter the 2008 regular season, opponents won't look at that date on the calendar and assume an automatic victory.

"What I saw I liked because there was some hitting going on, aggressiveness," Browning said, scraps of a smile cropping up on his face. "We're flying to the football. That wasn't happening in the past. Last year we were a coward dog and we were young. We were a young pup and now we're starting to get a little bite to us. Hopefully we'll continue in that direction."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214 or edaniels@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT