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Jamboree Roundup: Plant, Jefferson Earn Wins

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 23, 2008

TAMPA Plant's offense picked up where they left off last season, producing big statistics and a lot of points.

Led by quarterback Aaron Murray's five touchdown passes, Plant defeated Blake 41-0 in the first half of spring jamboree action at Jefferson.

Murray credited his offensive line, which was without two starters because of injuries, for buying him plenty of time and also his receivers. The junior quarterback, who recently committed to the University of Georgia, completed 14 of 21 passes for 204 yards in one half of action.

"Our guys definitely stepped up tonight," Murray said. "This shows how hard we've worked all spring to come together as a team. I think we've got our hunger back."

Gone are playmakers Derek Winter and Cornelius Gallon, but several receivers showed off their skills. Tight end Orson Charles hauled in a 39-yard one-handed reception near the end of the first quarter to set up the Panthers second touchdown of the game.

Not to be outdone, receiver Alan Sampson, who led the team with seven receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns, made a leaping 30-yard reception to set up Charles' lone touchdown of the night.

Junior defensive back Eric Dungy, the son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, closed out the scoring for Plant when he intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for the touchdown.

As for the offense, it's got a little bit of a different look to it, but still produces the same results.

"We got a lot guys involved tonight," Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "My kids just love to play the game and it showed tonight."

In the second half of action, Jefferson defeated Robinson 27-7.

Led by freshman quarterback Quentin Williams, the Dragons scored first, capping off an 80-yard drive with a nine-yard strike from Williams to tight end Fred Overstreet. It was one of Williams' three touchdown passes

Robinson responded with a 40-yard touchdown reception from quarterback AJ Phillips to running back Robert Smith to tie the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Jefferson defensive back Lenthia Lewis returned it 97 yards for the touchdown.

"We are a very young team, but we've got some playmakers," Jefferson coach Mike Fenton said. "Our guys really responded tonight."

Katherine Smith

Chiefs, Cowboys Prevail

TAMPA The two halves of football at Middleton were fairly similar with Chamberlain winning the first half 15-7 over Hillsborough and Gaither taking the second half 13-7 over Middleton.

Both scrimmages also featured a player that stood out a bit more than others: Chamberlain quarterback Dontae Aycock and Gaither running back Jarvis Giles, two reasons scouts from Florida State, Tennessee, Miami and South Carolina, among others, were in attendance.

Aycock brought Chamberlain back from a 7-0 deficit by running and passing with equal authority, leaving Hillsborough more than a little frustrated.

"The good news is that we didn't get anybody injured," Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said. "We also played a lot of people, including 18 different defensive players. That said, we have to get better in every area, and that goes from the head coach all the way down. I can assure you that we will work hard to get better."

Garcia noted that from what he saw on Thursday, Chamberlain would be a force to reckon with next fall, especially considering that several key Chiefs, who transferred from other schools the past school year, didn't play on Thursday. Chamberlain coach Billy Turner said the decision to keep the transfers out was to make sure all transfer stipulations were followed. All in all, though, Turner was encouraged.

"I'm not going to get ahead of ourselves," Turner said. "But I think if we keep working hard we have a legitimate shot at getting to Orlando [home of the state finals] next year."

From the looks of Thursday night, Gaither's Giles has a chance to lead the county in rushing.

Following his first carry of 12 yards, Giles finished 84 yards on seven carries, including a 34 yarder for a touchdown.

Gaither also showed toughness on defense, holding Middleton to one late scoring strike, a 26-yard touchdown toss from Justin Sanders to Aaron Anderson. Gaither then snuffed any Middleton hopes when Dylan Fisher intercepted a pass inside the Cowboys' 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

"I thought we executed well offensively and several players stepped up with some big plays," Gaither coach Mark Kantor said. "I'm excited about where we are."

Middleton coach Harry Hubbard commended Sanders on his competitiveness, but said he didn't expect him to be the Tigers' quarterback next fall. The quarterback assignment, Hubbard said, would probably fall to a rising freshman.

"I asked Sanders to get us through this spring and that's what he did," Hubbard said. "[Next fall] look for Sanders to be a great receiver for us. I expect great thing from him at that position."

Scott Purks

Alonso, Jesuit Win

TAMPA Alonso quarterback C.J. Bennett, throwing exclusively from a spread, shotgun formation, completed 17 of 24 passes, connecting with eight different receivers, for 181 yards and three touchdowns as Alonso overwhelmed visiting Sickles 30-10.

"C.J.'s been doing a great job and he's a true quarterback," Coach Mike Heldt said. "We're not an overpowering huge team, but if we can move [the ball], we're going to score points."

In the jamboree's first game, Jesuit rallied from an early 6-0 deficit to earn a 14-6 win over Leto.

Heldt challenged his offense to score 35 points in just one half against Sickles and, despite a constant rain, the Ravens nearly succeeded. A couple of early Gryphons fumbles helped pave the way.

Alonso recovered Sickles fumbles on the opening kickoff and the Gryphons' third play from scrimmage and scored touchdowns on both short drives. Bennett hit Kory Strassberg, who finished with 69 yards on five receptions, from the 3, then tossed a 10-yarder to Jonathan Armand for a 13-0 lead. Bennett connected with Demonte McAllister for a 9-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter and ran one in from the 3 late to finish the scoring.

Sickles, which ran seven plays in the first quarter, scored on quarterback Cullen O'Brien's 69-yard run and a 32-yard Tyler Deming field goal.

For Jesuit, much remains uncertain despite the victory. The Tigers allowed a pair of reverses on Leto's first two offensive plays to cover 80 yards and a quick score and are no closer to deciding on a starting quarterback — based on solid play from both Ryan James and Bobby Eveld.

James completed three of four passes for 29 yards, including a 10-yard strike to Erick McGriff that gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead. Eveld finished two of three for 58 yards, including a 53-yard completion to Will Schaefer after avoiding the rush.

"Quarterback is a wide-open competition," Jesuit coach Joe Ross said. "Ryan brought some things tonight and Eveld is more of a passer with a strong arm. Right now it's dead even.

"Defensively I was happy that we recovered after the first score, but we better find some fast guys, because Leto definitely had them."

Chris Errington

Carrollwood Day Loses

ST. PETERSBURG Carrollwood Day School took the field for the first time playing 11-man football and lost 18-12 against Canterbury.

The contest was a controlled scrimmage with each team getting 12 plays each half and a simulated overtime with both teams getting five plays. There was no kicking game.

Canterbury won the regulation 12-6, while both teams scored a touchdown in the overtime session. Billy Embody tossed a pair of touchdown passes to account for Carrollwood Day's scores, an 11-yard pass to Matt Monteilh to tie the scrimmaged at 6 and in overtime a 12-yard strike to Michael Canter.

"It was different," Embody said of the 11-man play. "Usually when we practice our passing game we either have a secondary or a line. We don't have enough players to practice against an 11-man team.

"Trying to read the secondary while dodging the line, that was multi-tasking."

Lee Diekemper

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