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McLaughlin, Grover Are Special For TC

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By BILL WARD

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

TAMPA - If you turn up to just about any Tampa Catholic football practice, you're likely to find them spending a lot of time on special teams. That's because coaches there believe it's an often overlooked part of the game, one that played a vital role during the Crusaders' run to the 2007 state final.

And two of the most important players on that unit - arguably two of the most unheralded members of the team - are Matt McLaughlin and Ralph Grover.

McLaughlin is a senior kicker and punter, whom Coach Bob Henriquez says "almost single-handedly kept us in the game against Madison County" in the Class 2A state final and was vital to the squad's unprecedented playoff performance.

Grover, a senior safety, is someone TC special teams coach Kerry Bender calls his "special teams guru" who "leads by example."

"You just don't get players like that every day showing up on your team," Henriquez said. "Matt has really worked hard to master his craft and Ralph is vital to everything we do on special teams and defense."

Like many kickers, McLaughlin had always played soccer. In fact, last fall was his first season of football. But one day, just for fun, his father, Terry, took him to a field near their home. He wanted to see what Matt could do with a football. To their surprise, he had a knack for it. After TC soccer coach Kevin McCarron learned about McLaughlin's interest in football, he told Henriquez he might have someone for that open kicking position.

Before long, McLaughlin was the starting kicker and punter.

More importantly, McLaughlin was a full-time football player. With an eye on playing collegiately, he has spent the last seven months in the weight room, practicing on his own and attending kicking camps. He has become bigger and stronger, with better range and grown more confident in his kicking.

"I feel like a completely different player than I was this time last year," McLaughlin said.

Grover, meanwhile, is someone Bender says "was born to play football." Since his freshman year, he has been on special teams. He's the "gunner" on the kickoff team and the "bullet" on the punt squad. In other words, Grover is the first player down the field for TC and one of their hardest hitters.

"He's like a kamikaze for me," Bender said. "He just zooms down the field. I like to make sure he's on every punt, every kickoff and every field goal for me. I get nervous when Ralph's not out there. And I've never had to ask him twice to do something."

"I could not care less about offense," Grover said. "I just want to go down the field and hit somebody."

After that response, Bender just smiles and says proudly, "That's why I love this guy."

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