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Hillsborough County Football Capsules: Week 1

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By The Tampa Tribune | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

ROBINSON AT ALONSO
Both teams had different experiences against Pinellas County teams in the Kickoff Classics last week. Alonso took care of Countryside, while Robinson did all it could to stay in the game against St. Petersburg. The Knights have some talent at the skill positions, but they are very young and inexperienced.

They'll get schooled quickly, especially on offense, against Alonso's smothering defense, which starts up front with a one-two punch from tackles Demonte McAllister and Teddy Eumo. The Ravens look to get some help from the offense this season, with quarterback C.J. Bennett more comfortable in his second year in the system.

ARMWOOD AT PLANT
Rivalry or not, this game has all the elements to make it the must-see game of the week. The field will be littered with Division I talent on both sides of the ball. Armwood's dominant defense will try to take the air out of Plant's offense, something they were able to do twice last season.

But the Panthers have some new weapons on offense, including a tall target in tight end Orson Charles and one of the fastest players in the county, wideout Allen Sampson. Four new starters on the offensive line, albeit much beefier than Plant has had in the past, will try to get Ryne Giddins and company off quarterback Aaron Murray.

BLAKE AT JESUIT
Jesuit will test its new spread offense on Blake's defense, a unit that helped the Yellow Jackets secure a victory in last week's Kickoff Classic. Tigers wide receiver Erick McGriff looks ready made for the new system. He caught three touchdowns in Jesuit's loss last week. Tight end/defensive end John Plansencia is also expected to reap the benefits of the new scheme.

Blake hopes to carry over the momentum from last week's come-from-behind victory. The Yellow Jackets numbers are down, but the team in place has a strong sense of pride and dedication to their school. Blake might be lacking in numbers, but the ones they do have play a physical brand of football.

CHAMBERLAIN AT GAITHER
Last season, Gaither tailback Jarvis Giles rushed for more than 200 yards against the Chiefs. But the Cowboys still lost the game. Expect another heavy does of Giles, but also a little more passing from Gaither. In hopes of taking some pressure off of Giles, the Cowboys are opening up their offense this year with quarterback Kamren Hawkins. Tight end Justin Lattimore expects to see a lot of action.

The Chiefs received a slew of new players in the offseason, including wide receiver Anthony Williams, a Jefferson transfer. But the key to Chamberlain's triple option offense remains quarterback Dontae Aycock, one of the most athletic and talented players in the county. Gaither's young defense will have its hands full trying to contain him.

SICKLES AT LETO
Leto coach Hugh Dehnert joked there would be plenty of tickets available for his team's game. If the Falcons perform as well as expected this season, seats could be hard to come by after a while. Leto's speedy defense, which starts with pressure up front from Kenny McAllister and Vann Watkins, limited Spoto's offense to just 40 yards last week.

An inexperienced Leto offensive line will certainly be tested by Sickles front four. The Gryphons also get a lot of physicality from their linebackers, including Taylor Drane and Cody Durakovic. Sickles lost a lot of talented players to graduation, but they return a core group that tasted the playoffs for the first time in school history and want to make it an annual event.

BRADENTON PREP AT BERKELEY PREP
Class 2A Berkeley Prep crushed 1B Bradenton Prep 35-6 last year to start the season and the Bucs are hoping for a repeat performance in this opener. And considering the Patriots were found guilty of 19 regulations by the FHSAA this summer, fined nearly $35,000 and placed on probation for three years, their chances for revenge against Berkeley seems slim.

Bradenton Prep, which fell just a game short of playing the 1B state crown last fall, also didn't participate in a kickoff Classic game last week and instead used the time to practice. After clobbering Northside Christian 44-12 in its Kickoff Classic, Berkeley Prep seems to have gotten past the loss of star quarterback Archie Barnes to graduation. The player helping fill the void is senior running back Julian Crockett, who had TD runs of 10, 12, 50 and 78 yards against Northside. If Bucs coach Dominick Ciao can get that sort of production from his ground game this week against the Patriots, Berkeley should be off to another 1-0 start.

HILLSBOROUGH AT JEFFERSON
Although Hillsborough has won four out of the last five meetings between these two schools, Jefferson appears to have one of its best squads since the graduation of quarterback Stephen Garcia in 2006. And the Dragons' new star under center – sophomore Quentin Williams – is the player that is leading the way.

In last week's 21-9 road victory over traditional Space Coast power Titusville Astronaut, Williams passed for all three of the Dragons' scores. He looked comfortable in the pocket, scrambled when necessary and converted a fourth down with a 23-yard TD strike to Andre Davis, who out-jumped two War Eagle defenders in the end zone to make the catch. Considering Hillsborough surrendered more than 300 yards passing to Lakewood last week in its Kickoff Classic, another standout quarterback should concern the Terriers' defense.

Of course, Hillsborough won that preseason game comfortably, 30-18. And thanks to speedsters like running back Lindsey Lamar and receiver Charles Lovett, the Terriers proved they are quite capable of quick-strike scores. In its first two plays of the game, Hillsborough scored on a 92-yard bomb to Lovett from quarterback Tarean Austin and a 76-yard sprint off tackle by Lamar, who is also one of the nation's top prep sprinters. If the Terriers can contain Williams and avoid turnovers, their depth, size and speed should give them the edge in this game.

TAMPA BAY TECH AT BLOOMINGDALE
It was a game Tampa Bay Tech will never forget, and one Bloomingdale will try its hardest to forget.
In the 2007 season opener, Tech snapped its two-year losing streak with a 50-7 victory against the Bulls. Bloomingdale is hoping for a similar turnaround in its program and would like to return the favor.

Both teams are coming off solid performances in their respective preseason classics, TBT with a 27-0 win over Plant City, and Bloomingdale beating Riverview, 15-6.

Bloomingdale may still be without starting fullback Greg McDaniel, but Anthony Amos showed he's capable of running the ball with his 26 carries against Riverview.

FREEDOM AT WHARTON
The Patriots looked sharp last week against Zephyrhills, in which sophomore quarterback Josh Grady threw for 193 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to lead Freedom in a 37-0 victory.
With strong safety Jairus Jones flying around, however, Freedom may want to try to establish a running game.

Wharton, on the other hand, was unsuccessful against Plant's dominant offense in the preseason classic. Wharton has won the last two season openers against Freedom.

KING AT LENNARD
Neither team put up huge numbers in their preseason losses last week, but both quarterbacks did find a way to put their respective team on the scoreboard.

King senior quarterback Keith Graham finished off a 67-yard drive on a quarterback keeper up the middle. He rushed eight times and was 2-for-11passing for 10 yards.

Lennard quarterback Andrew Burdick was responsible for two touchdowns in the loss to Newsome.

NEWSOME AT SPOTO
Newsome routed Lennard while Spoto earned a close win over Leto last week in Kickoff Classic matchups.

Newsome sophomore running back Conner Powers was a star against Lennard, but will be challenged by Spoto's defense, led by sophomore linebacker Rodney Williams.

Spoto first year coach Dale Caparaso would love to begin his career at Spoto with a victory, and a win over Newsome should give the fairly new program confidence.

PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN AT KISSIMMEE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN
In its Florida Christian Conference season opener, the Knights shut out Kissimmee Heritage Christian, 23-0. Junior tight end and coach's son Brian Hubbart had two touchdown catches while junior running back Josh Leigh had 112 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Providence will face Heritage Christian once again, but has dominated the conference in the last 10 years.

FAITH BAPTIST CHRISTIAN AT ORLANDO EASTLAND
In its first ever official 11-man tackle football game, Faith Baptist Christian lost to Ocala Christian in the Florida Christian Conference season opener, 14-9.

BRANDON AT MIDDLETON
Brandon lost two key starters in last week's Kickoff Classic victory over Sickles. Senior running back Jarquez Bradshaw broke his foot and will miss 8-12 weeks, while two-way lineman Danny Gonzalez injured his knee will miss at least Friday's season-opener against Middleton. Those losses will have an impact on the Eagles' offense.

Middleton looked good in a 14-13 win over Jacksonville Sandalwood behind the strong running of Rodney Johnson (22 carries, 61 yards, TD) and quarterback Greg Windham, a freshman who got his first taste of varsity football.

This game could come down to defense, as it did last year, when Middleton had a late interception returned for a touchdown to seal a 19-10 win.

CAMBRIDGE CHRISTIAN AT JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN
This is the first game for new Lancers coach John Kelly, and Cambridge Christian will face a team that went 7-3 last year and advanced to Class 1A state playoffs.

The Lancers' performed admirably last week in a Kickoff Jamboree, posting a win over CDS Prep while playing Winter Haven All Saints' to a scoreless tie. Senior quarterback Etienne Turner threw one touchdown and ran for another.

Cambridge Christian's running game still needs some work, according to Kelly, and the improvement there could lead the Lancers to a win in their season-opener for a third consecutive season.

LEESBURG FIRST ACADEMY AT CDS PREP
CDS Prep will play its first official 11-man football game, and the Patriots will play host to a program that finished 1-9 in 2007, its first varsity season.

Patriots coach Lane McLaughlin was impressed with the fight his team showed during loss to Cambridge Christian and Winter Have All Saints' in last week's Kickoff Jamboree, but CDS Prep must do a better job offensively to pull out a victory here. The Patriots' lone score in the two halves played came up a fumble return by Darius Bing.

PLANT CITY AT DURANT
First-year Plant City coach Jason Strunk is hoping the Raiders can bounce back following a disappointing 27-0 loss to Tampa Bay Tech in a Kickoff Classic.

The Raiders' offensive line must do better in pass protection. Senior quarterback Clint Stears was sacked 10 times by the Titans defense.

Durant's defense, which had trouble against Gaither in a 27-7 loss last week, must perform better if the Cougars are going to have a chance. The Cougars' offense did well early behind new quarterback Je'Twan Smith and senior running back Ryan Rice, but couldn't get anything going in the latter part of the game as the Cowboys reeled off 27 unanswered points to pull out the win.

Durant and Plant City have split the last six meetings in this matchup of neighborhood rivals.

EAST BAY AT RIVERVIEW
East Bay owns a 4-2 mark in the all-time series between neighborhood rivals, who will be playing this year for the Raysbrook Cup.

Coach Brian Thornton's Indians looked pretty impressive in a 35-6 victory over King in their Kickoff Classic, with senior running back Chaz Burrows scoring three rushing touchdowns.

On the other hand, Riverview struggled under first-year coach Bruce Gifford in a loss to Bloomingdale, though Gifford said most the mistakes were mental and he was confident his team would correct the miscues by game time. Senior Alex O'Regan will get the start at quarterback for the Sharks, but don't be surprised if Riverview leans heavily on its running game, especially after junior Ronnie Johnsons's performance last week.

OCALA TRINITY CATHOLIC AT TAMPA CATHOLIC
Tampa Catholic, coming off its most successful season in school history, looked good in a 23-15 win over Naples Lely in a Kickoff Classic last week.

Junior quarterback Christian Green threw for one touchdown and ran for another for the Crusaders, while the defense clamped down in the second half to preserve the win.

Trinity Catholic won the Class 2B state title in 2005 and was the state runner-up in 2006, but dipped to a 6-4 mark last season and was knocked out in the first round of the state playoffs.

Tampa Catholic defeated Ocala Trinity Catholic 10-0 in the 2007 season opener.

Compiled by staff writers Katherine Smith, Bill Ward, Nick Williams and Adam Adkins

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