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Prep Football Notebook: Wharton Offense On A Roll

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2008

At 5-2 and riding a five-game winning streak, the Wharton High football team doesn't resemble the squad that started the season 0-2.

That's because the Wildcats' offense has rebounded. Junior RBs Shane McEwen and Malik Williams have split the workload this season, but McEwen is among the top 10 in the county with 634 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Williams has 393 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Senior QB Andrew Clifford is close to surpassing his 2007 season total with 962 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a junior, he finished the season with 1,471 yards and 11 touchdowns, including the playoffs.

Since losing to Armwood, 52-10, in Week 2, Wharton has scored an average of 32.8 points per game.

"After Armwood, we saw that if we can score on them, and they're one of the best defensive teams in the country, we can score on anybody," said senior S Jairus Jones, also the team's leading receiver.

"Some players had to learn to let the game come to them," Wharton coach David Mitchell said. "You've got to do the little things."

The Wildcats can clinch their fourth overall playoff berth with a win against Mitchell in a Class 5A-District 5 game tonight.

CALLAHAN COMMITS: Armwood senior LB Casey Callahan has verbally committed to Stony Brook, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program.

Callahan, a two-year starter, has been one of Armwood's top tacklers in each of the last two seasons. He is fifth on the team this season with 38 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack, despite missing one game.

"We made some trips this summer and he's been around long enough to know what he wanted," said Hawks coach Sean Callahan, Casey's father. "I was good with it, too. He really sees himself playing there."

Casey also considered Liberty, Western Michigan and Central Michigan.

Casey is the third Armwood football player to make a verbal commitment. He joins OL Justin Cabbagestalk (Vanderbilt) and RB Sirchauncey Holloway (Liberty).

RAIDERS' SEASON ON LINE: It's cut-and-dried this week for Plant City, according to Coach Jason Strunk.

"We're playing for our season," Strunk said. "I want these guys playing well into November, so we have to win this game. It's a playoff game. I don't say that to them, because I want to win every game. But when it comes down to it, we have to win here today for sure."

Plant City (3-4) is 1-1 in 5A-District 7 play, and another loss could seriously hurt the Raiders' chances of earning a third consecutive trip to the postseason. The task this week is no small order, however. The Raiders, who will be playing their first home game of the season, are facing arguably Hillsborough County's hottest defense in Newsome, which has posted three consecutive shutouts.

That's not particularly good news, either, considering the Raiders have struggled this season on offense and are coming off a shutout loss against Armwood. However, Strunk said the offense has shown considerable improvement the past few weeks.

"The past three weeks the offense has really started to get to that level now, where we've started to be consistent," Strunk said. "Obviously against Armwood, the five turnovers were no good. But, we're starting to move the ball better.

"The key, obviously, is to come out and jump on them early, and try to get these guys the confidence they need."

NEWSOME D ON A ROLL: It would be tough to find a Hillsborough County defense that has played better than Newsome the past month.

Newsome's defense is in the midst of a remarkable stretch, posting shutouts against Robinson, Brandon and Riverview to help the Wolves run their record to 5-2.

"They've bought into the system and they're playing as a team," Newsome coach Kenneth Hiscock said. "They're molding now, and they're just flying around to the football."

Hiscock gives most of the credit for the current run to the play of the front seven. DT Conor O'Neal and DE Frank Marin have been the leaders on the line, while LBs Trent Cornwell, Troy Green and Joe Worth have provided solid play in the middle.

The entire unit is confident, and the Wolves are intent on extending their streak.

"They've taken pride in the shutout streak, and they want to keep that thing rolling, which is going to be hard," Hiscock said. "We're playing Plant City this week and it's going to be hard to try and do that, but that's our goal. We put that goal out at the beginning of the season and we're finally getting on a roll with it, and we're going to see if we can keep on it."

Newsome's offense, meanwhile, should get a boost with the return of wingback Vince Pennington, who has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury.

COUGARS BANGED UP: Durant is facing a must-win situation tonight at Sarasota Riverview, and the Cougars will have to rely on a pair of third-stringers to lead the way.

Coach Mike Gottman said Thursday that QB Steven VanVaernbergh will be under center in place of starter Je'Twan Smith, who suffered an ankle injury in last week's victory against Freedom. Durant's backup QB, Daniel Coan, was lost for the season a few weeks ago after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament.

Also, Duron Armstead will get the start at tailback in place of backup Antonio Morris, who also suffered an injury against Freedom. Morris had been filling in for starter Ryan Rice, who has missed the past two games after suffering a shoulder injury.

Gottman said there is "a chance" Rice could return to action tonight, but he didn't express much optimism. John Hicks will likely see some carries in the backfield, as well, the coach said.

"If we want to get into the playoffs, we've got to win this one," Gottman said.

LETO LOSES KEY PLAYER: Leto P/LB Emmanuel Bros broke his wrist at practice Wednesday and is out for the rest of the season. Leto coach Hugh Dehnert said Bros was injured while making a tackle. This season, Bros averaged 26.9 yards per punt. The senior also had 30 tackles and one sack.

Dehnert said K Luis Rodriguez will likely handle punting duties in Bros' absence.

Nick Williams, Adam Adkins,

Katherine Smith

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