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Soccer Notebook: Durant Primed For Region Run

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A Tribune staff report

Published: January 15, 2009

PLANT CITY - As someone who played for the Durant High boys soccer team and now coaches it, Jamin Hollingsworth should know what he's talking about when he calls this year's squad "the best ever" in the school's 14-year history.

Entering Wednesday night's match against Newsome, the Class 6A Cougars boasted a record of 18-2-0, with their only losses coming to nationally-ranked Jesuit and Freedom, a 5A side that many expect to make a deep run into the postseason.

Besides having a school-record number of wins and a first-place finish at the Wharton Invitational, the Cougars have few weaknesses. And unlike many high school teams, Durant boasts two exceptional strikers instead of one.

Junior forward Billy Fanning has a team-high 20 goals and has contributed seven assists, while senior forward Cecil "Popsie" Clarke has 15 goals and 10 assists.

"Not that those two are more important than anyone else on the team, but we haven't played a team yet with two forwards that can consistently put the ball in the back of the net," said Hollingsworth, who played for the University of South Florida. "Having that dimension to our attack makes it very difficult for teams to match up with us."

Hollingsworth says his team MVP so far has been senior sweeper Freeman Bass, who finds ways to cover both ends of the field and has contributed six goals and two assists. Joining him on defense are three other seniors - Jarrett Williams, Tommy McCandless and Micah Garcia and sophomore goalkeeper Connor Bass, Freeman's brother.

Hollingsworth says Tuesday's loss to Freedom was a bit humbling, but he believes his team was due for a letdown. The bulk of his starters have already played 20 matches, which has been physically demanding.

With the start of district play still two weeks away for boys teams, there's time to recover and prepare for that all-important tournament, where the top two finishers advance to the region quarterfinals.

PORTUGAL- BOUND

Bloomingdale's Jordan Johnson is headed to Portugal in March to train with the Region III Olympic Development program.

Johnson and her Region III teammates will be staying at the same hotel as the U.S. women's national team, which will be competing in the annual Algarve Cup at the same time as the ODP training camp. The camp runs from March 7-15.

"It's definitely a dream come true," Johnson said. "Last year, I made it to one of the camps, but I didn't get called to Europe, so that was upsetting. This year, to come back and get called to go on the Europe trip, to me, is amazing. I'm looking forward to every second of it.

READY FOR SPOTLIGHT

Freedom's girls (8-2-2) have only one starting senior in forward Monique Lamotte, who is leading the team with 13 goals. The next leading scorer on the team, junior Olivia Bloemke, has five goals.

However, Lamotte isn't the only thing the young Patriots have going for them, according to Coach Chris Hinkle.

"Monique does a lot for this team," Hinkle said. "But she can't, and doesn't, do everything."

Hinkle isn't wrong, as a strong but young defense has made a statement for the Patriots in a tough 5A-8 district. The Patriots have only allowed 10 goals this season in 12 matches, getting great play from junior sweeper Gabbie Peek and freshman goalkeeper Chloe Stokes.

"We play really strong defense," Hinkle said. "We don't allow very many shots, and our skill players in the back know how to shut down team's attacks."

This year, the Patriots might have what it takes to put themselves into region play for the first time since 2005.

In order to do that, however, they'll need to get past Newsome and Bloomingdale, who have represented the district each of the past three seasons. Freedom drew 0-0 with Bloomingdale and lost 2-1 to Newsome earlier in the season.

Bill Ward, Nicholas Murray, Jarrett Guthrie

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