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Bulls Making Most Of Rewarding Season

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2008

There have been so many lows for the Bloomingdale High football program over the years that finding the deepest valley takes some doing. For linebacker C.J. Curran, that moment came at the end of the homecoming game last season against Brandon.

The Bulls lost 56-0 that night, which wasn't unusual because Bloomingdale almost always loses. But Curran, then a junior, remembers walking off the field, feeling horrible for the seniors on the team and vowing that it wouldn't happen to him.

So if you're inclined, feel good for Curran and the Bulls because things did indeed get much better. For the first time in their 22-year history, the Bulls had a winning season and qualified for the state playoffs.

Their reward is a trip to mighty and undefeated Lakeland tonight, but the opponent is almost incidental considering how far the Bulls have come.

"There are still people out there who don't believe we can do it," Curran said, but the Bulls are used to things coming the hard way.

Last Friday, there was a rumor they had to forfeit all their games because of an illegal player. It figures there would be last-minute drama, but the county investigated and found nothing amiss.

So off they go tonight,

"Our kids are really excited," Coach Jason Stokes said. "We know it's Lakeland, but we're not going there to be a sacrificial lamb."

Stokes is the architect of this turnaround. He left Riverview last spring, where he was assistant head coach, because he saw an opportunity in what most people dismissed as a coaching graveyard.

He made the kids a promise. If they would do the work, he'd be there with them. He'd join them in the weight room, he'd make sure they were prepared and he'd always have their backs. Do that, he said, and together they could make history.

"I know when I was at Riverview, I thought what every other coach in the county did - Bloomingdale was a bunch of soft kids and we'd get an easy win," Stokes said. "Kids are kids, though, and I told myself that there was no reason we couldn't win. I could see the kids were tired of being doormats."

The doormat bit back this year, earning the runner-up spot in its district. And on Halloween night, the Bulls clinched a playoff spot with a 27-22 victory.

At Brandon.

"It was everything I had ever dreamed of," Curran said.

So you think the Bulls are worried about going to Lakeland? It's all cake now, no matter what people think might happen tonight.

"There are people out there who can't stand the fact Bloomingdale doesn't stink anymore," Stokes said. "All I know is, our kids have a great, great feeling right now. They did it. The monkey is off our back."

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