Players entering their 10th season, coming off a major injury and in the midst of a position change rarely make an impact. ...more

January 13, 2008

AVON PARK — The first time the Sebring and Avon Park boys soccer teams met this season, the Blue Streaks rattled off four goals before anyone on the field broke a sweat. This time around, however, it was the Red Devils who had their arch-rivals sweating, holding Sebring without a goal for the first half before running out of steam in a 4-0 Blue Streak victory. "The first time we played them, I didn't hear their coach say a word," said Avon Park coach Jocelyn Simplice, whose team has struggled through a winless season. "But this time, he was on the sideline yelling at his guys — I think we were some kind of threat to them tonight." Sebring junior Pedro Gori scored two second-half goals to pace the Streaks, who had their chances in the first half but couldn't finish against AP keeper Arnaud Louis. Gori said his team came out "non-chalant." ...more

January 12, 2008

FROSTPROOF — Speed has never been an attribute missing from the Frostproof boys soccer squad, but a strong defense was the difference in the Bulldogs' 1-0 victory over Sebring at Faris Brannen Stadium on Tuesday. "We'll live to fight another day," said SHS head coach Paul Brown, whose team had gone undefeated (8-0-2) in its previous 10 games. "[Frostproof] is deserving to win. They ran us off the ball. I'm a bit disappointed. We played very flat tonight and lost a bit of momentum we'd built up before the break. "We just need to come out and beat Avon Park on Thursday and get back on track." The Class 3A Bulldogs controlled the middle, stacking center field and keeping he ball out of Sebring's heavy hitters, which forced the Blue Streaks to the wings. ...more

January 10, 2008

Jason Rich was an option to take the game-winning shot, but not the first. What mattered is that he made it. ...more

December 31, 2007

Higher earning, higher learning. That's the way head football coaches should look at the difficult transition from the college ranks to the pro game, especially with the recent departures of Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino still reverberating in NFL executive suites. ...more

December 16, 2007

WAUCHULA — The roster is certainly the same, but after watching the Sebring boys soccer team scrap its way to a 3-1 victory over Hardee on Thursday night, one gets the feeling that this is a different team altogether. Senior Daniel Grimaldo scored two second-half goals and senior Nicholas Peters added another to help the Blue Streaks extend their unbeaten streak to eight games since losing to the Wildcats on Nov. 27. Grimaldo, who capped the scoring with a show-stopping header into the net in the 59th minute for his second multiple-goal game of the season, said the Streaks are playing at a different level than they were when they opened the season with four straight home losses. "We were rusty last time we played them," Grimaldo said. "That wasn't our team then. Tonight, we showed up and played hard." Sebring coach Paul Brown, who joked his team "didn't come out of the locker room" during the Streaks' 2-0 loss to Hardee earlier this season, said his team responded well to the Wildcats' challenge this time around. ...more

December 15, 2007

SEBRING — Speed has its place on the highway, but nothing slows a team down more than the inability to deal with an opponent that's fleet of foot. The Lake Placid boys soccer team had no antidote to the team speed of the Sebring boys soccer team, which was quicker to the ball, faster in the open field and were quick on defense in their 4-2 victory over cross-county rival Green Dragons at Firemen's Field. Sophomore Buck Schroeder's speed was on display early, as he broke away from his man on the left wing and watched his chip shot dribble into the net for the game's first score just four minutes into the contest. ...more

December 12, 2007

SEBRING — After playing their best soccer on the road, the Sebring boys team finally broke through to earn their first home win of the season with a 3-2 decision over Braden River on Thursday night at Firemen's Field. "Finally, a home win," said junior Jazan Jimenez. "We were doing fine on the road ,but we couldn't win at home. "Now that we've got that first win out of the way, we've got to make sure we don't lose at home for the rest of the season." The Class 4A-District 10 victory improved the Blue Streaks to 5-4-2, 2-1-1, and came after Sebring had blown a two-goal lead late in the second half. "We made it hard on ourselves," said Blue Streak coach Paul Brown. "We had a nice, comfortable two-goal lead and then lost our concentration and allowed two silly goals on individual mistakes.We've talked about not making errors, but at least we were able to overcome them and get the win. ...more

December 8, 2007

Navy football coach Paul Johnson is headed to Georgia Tech after turning around a struggling program in six years at the military academy. ...more

December 8, 2007

WAUCHULA –– Hannah Shoop had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Whitney Wells led the Streaks with 12 points on Friday night as the Sebring girls basketball team continued its winning ways on Friday with a 51-33 victory over Hardee in Class 4A-District 10 action. ...more

December 2, 2007