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Gators Philosophy Blossoms As Playoffs Approach

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2008

LAND O’ LAKES - There was a point during Friday night's 31-14 Land O' Lakes victory against River Ridge when the score could have gotten out of hand.

The Land O' Lakes football team sailed into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 31-0 advantage and the Royal Knights' offense couldn't mount an effective drive.

As the remainder of the fourth quarter dwindled away, Gators coach John Benedetto did what he believes is the right thing to do — put his bench players in the game.

"We use a lot of kids," Benedetto said. "Our motto as coaches has always been to teach the game of football. We can have a kid who comes out as a junior that we feel as though might be able to help us in the last three or four games of the season, then we're going to work with that kid. And sometimes they do develop into pretty good football players.

"It's important to play these other kids who come to practice every day and work just as hard as the starters do."

The benefit of that philosophy is twofold.

The backup players get experience, which in turn can come into play if a starter goes down, and secondly, it enhances the camaraderie of the team.

"I think it forms a little more of a bond with the team because when they do make a good play, and you see that it does happen, the rest of the guys get pretty excited about it," Benedetto said. "These kids are pretty close and they like to see kids, who don't normally play a whole lot, have success."

The experience gained could come in handy as Land O' Lakes (6-2, 3-1 Class 4A-District 8) kept pace with the district's other top teams in Springstead and Tarpon Springs. Each team has one loss in district play.

Land O' Lakes' district loss came against Springstead in Week 4, while the Gators dealt a loss to Tarpon Springs. Springstead was upset by River Ridge in Week 8.

The Gators must win next week's matchup against district foe Ridgewood to keep alive its shot at a 12th consecutive playoff appearance. If Tarpon Springs can knock off Springstead, Land O' Lakes could claim its 13th district crown.

"You're never down. You're never down," Benedetto said. "There's always an opportunity for you to improve and get better and that's what we've done. We've become a good football team as the season has gone on. Maybe if we played some of the teams we played earlier in the season, it might be a different story now."

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

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