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Early interception sets tone for Sunlake playoff win By Michael Hinman mhinman@lakerlutznews.com
The Vanguard Knights had a long bus trip from Ocala to Pasco County to face the Sunlake Seahawks. And they weren’t going to leave without an upset in the first round of the Class 6A high school playoffs. Darryn Lake fell on the ball on the Knights’ own 37yard-line following the kickoff, giving Vanguard great field position to start the game. But just eight seconds later, senior cornerback Mosi Davis would change everything. In the very first snap of the 2014 playoffs between Sunlake and Vanguard, Knights quarterback N’Kosi Perry immediately tested the Seahawks’ defense with a long pass downfield. Davis, however, read the pass the entire way, and was there on FRED BELLET/PHOTO his own 28-yard line to interSunlake High School head football coach Bill Browning looks on with concern as his team trailed cept the ball and set the tone for a 24-6 first round Sunlake Zephyrhills 22-7 in the final game of the season. However, his Seahawks recovered quickly in the first round of the playoffs, defeating Vanguard 24-6. win on Friday. Sunlake (9-2) dominated the ground with 280 yards and three touch- Vanguard’s 1-yard line. However, senior run- more chances to score, Vanguard head downs. The Knights, on the other hand, ning back Nathan Johnson just couldn’t cross coach Edwin Farmer opted for a fake pointwere powerful in the air. Perry recovered the end zone, forcing the Seahawks to settle after kick, but could only watch as Rashard quickly from his first-pass interception to on an 18-yard field goal from senior Chris Laiz was stopped just inches from the goalcomplete 17-of-29 passes for 189 yards and Wilkinson to give Sunlake an early 3-0 lead. line, preventing a two-point conversion. a touchdown. Perry’s defense, however, limBoth teams would trade three-and-outs The Knights never really had a chance ited Sunlake to just a Chris Wilkinson field right after that, with Perry breaking that after that. Sunlake consistently moved the goal early in the first quarter off two inter- cycle late in the first by moving to his pass- ball and burned clock, staying on the ceptions. ing game. He converted a third-and-20 with ground as much as possible. They added “We’ll enjoy this one, but we better not just 23 seconds left with a 50-yard pass to touchdowns along the way as well, includbe satisfied,” Sunlake head coach Bill Lake. And after running 5 more yards him- ing a 46-yard mad dash by Davis that put the Browning said after the game.“Everyone in self, Perry found Lake one more time 14 Seahawks up 10-6 less than a minute after the playoffs is good.” yards away, this time in the end zone, to give Vanguard took the lead. After Davis’ game-starting interception, Vanguard a 6-3 lead to start the second. Naejaun Jackson tacked on two touchthe Seahawks took 12 plays to reach Knowing they may not get too many downs of his own, the first on a 7-yard
Suwannee completes playoff comeback Sometimes football really is a game of inches. A critical fourth-down stop late in the game left the Zephyrhills Bulldogs inches short of a first down and a potential 34-29
victory against Suwannee High School in their Nov. 14 Class 5A football playoff game. Instead, the Suwannee Bulldogs took over and scored a quick touchdown, and added another moments later when Zephyrhills
fumbled the kickoff. As a result, Suwannee won the game, 4234. It was a disappointing ending for Zephyrhills, who led 24-9 at halftime on the road in their first playoff game in eight years.
PREP SPORTS BOARD CHECK
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7A-7 FOOTBALL STANDINGS Team W L T ySickles 7 3 0 Gaither 7 3 0 Freedom 6 4 0 zTampa Bay Tech 5 5 0 Steinbrenner 3 6 1 Wiregrass Ranch 4 6 0
PF 258 245 166 187 174 192
PA 187 167 128 250 199 268
6A-6 FOOTBALL STANDINGS Team W L T ySunlake 8 2 0 zMitchell 6 4 0 Springstead 6 4 0 Land O’ Lakes 4 6 0 Fivay 2 8 0
PF 267 229 131 275 219
PA 62 196 95 269 322
5A-7 FOOTBALL STANDINGS Team W L T yRiver Ridge 9 1 0 zGulf 8 2 0 Hudson 6 4 0 Wesley Chapel 2 8 0 Ridgewood 2 8 0 Anclote 0 10 0
PF 336 330 288 151 157 113
PA 143 275 273 309 317 351
5A-6 FOOTBALL STANDINGS Team W L T ySouth Sumter 10 0 0 zZephyrhills 8 2 0 Pasco 6 4 0 Nature Coast Tech 6 4 0 Central 2 8 0 Hernando 3 6 0 Weeki Wachee 1 9 0
PF 404 388 255 282 92 155 126
PA 79 196 165 184 303 243 361
y-clinched district title, z-clinched district runner-up
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12 Girls Basketball Steinbrenner 40, Riverview 36 Boys Soccer Pasco 8, Anclote 0 Sickles 2, Freedom 2 Steinbrenner 6, Durant 2 Sunlake 4, Wesley Chapel 0 Wiregrass Ranch 3, Land O’ Lakes 0
14A
November 19, 2014
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THURSDAY, NOV. 13 Girls Basketball Land O' Lakes 56, Fivay 31 Boys Soccer Steinbrenner 2, Plant 2 Wiregrass Ranch 3, Gaither 0 Girls Soccer Land O’ Lakes 8, Lecanto 0
FRIDAY, NOV. 14 Football Lakewood 31, Gulf 27 Gainesville 24, Mitchell 17 South Sumter 16, North Marion 12 Sickles 9, Plant City 7 Tampa Bay Tech 42, Durant 25 River Ridge 29, Tarpon Spring 28 Sunlake 24, Vanguard 6 Suwannee 42, Zephyrhills 34 Boys Soccer Sunlake 6, Fivay 1 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19 Boys Soccer Anclote at Wiregrass Ranch, 7:30 p.m. Sunlake at Pasco, 7:30 p.m. Girls Soccer River Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch, 7:45 p.m. THURSDAY, NOV. 20 Boys Soccer Freedom at Plant, 6 p.m. Steinbrenner at Sickles, 6 p.m. Girls Soccer Freedom at Plant, 9 p.m. Steinbrenner at Sickles, 8 p.m. FRIDAY, NOV. 21 Football Lakewood at River Ridge, 7:30 p.m. Sickles at Tampa Bay Tech, 7:30 p.m. Sunlake at Gainesville, 7:30 p.m. Suwannee at South Sumter, 7:30 p.m. Boys Basketball Steinbrenner at Wiregrass Ranch, 6:30 p.m.
Source: MaxPreps.com, various
www.LakerLutzNews.com
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THIS OUT
COLLEGE SIGNINGS FOR LOCAL ATHLETES
Three successful high school athletes are taking the next steps in their careers at NCAA Division I schools. Nikki Carroll, a senior at Tampa Catholic High School, signed a letter of intent to attend the University of South Florida on an athletic scholarship. Carroll is the back-toback state champion in pole vaulting for Class 2A, and signed her letter in a ceremony at her school Nov. 12. That same day, Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School senior Alyssa Mathis signed a letter of intent to play volleyball for San Diego State University in California. She had more than 1,000 kills in her high school career — including 320 as a senior — and added 270 blocks to her resume. Taylor Emery, a standout point guard for the Freedom High School girls basketball team, will continue her athletic career with a scholarship from Tulane University in Louisiana. Emery is known not just for her basketball skills, but her writing skills as well. She penned a tribute song for schoolmate Jordan Harris, who passed away after a battle with cancer, and sold the song on Apple’s iTunes store to raise money for the family. The senior signed her letter of intent on Nov. 13 at the New Tampa YMCA.
NEW TENNIS LEAGUE
The Tri-County Tennis League is looking for individuals, teams and facilities to begin league play. It will include age divisions from 40s and older. League play also will feature ratings-
Vanguard 6 0 0 0 — 6 Sunlake 3 14 7 0 — 24 Sunlake statistics
RUSHING: Nathan Johnson 20-102, Dayton Feiden 8-64, Mosi Davis 1-46, Naejaun Jackson 5-26, Logan Wolfe 4-25, Terrence Jackson 1-7. PASSING: Dayton Feiden 4-5-0-63. RECEIVING: Terrence Jackson 1-37, Nick Valdes 2-33, A.J. McClendon 1-4. QB SACKS: Austin Yeloushan 1.5, Dylan Franklin 1, Spencer Jarvis 1, Will Alvarez 1, Kalon Gipson 0.5. INTERCEPTIONS: Mosi Davis 1, Dylan Stanton 1
scamper late in the first, and the second a 6yard end zone run in the third. Johnson led the rushing attack with 102 yards, while quarterback Dayton Feiden added 64 yards of his own. Feiden spent very little time in the air, finishing 4-of-6 for 63 yards with no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Lake led all Knights receivers with 108 yards and a touchdown, while Justin Watkins picked up 38 yards on three catches. The Seahawks’ defense, however, sacked Perry five times in the game, costing Vanguard 22 yards. Sunlake now heads on the road this week to face Gainesville, which outlasted Mitchell 24-17 in the first round. And like Vanguard before it, Sunlake has experience against what is expected to be a tough Hurricanes team that is far better than its 65 record might indicate. “We played Gainesville before, so we know what to expect,” Browning said, citing the 17-14 loss to the Hurricanes last year that knocked Sunlake out of the playoffs in the first round. And how will the Seahawks prepare? “We’ll just keep believing in ourselves,” Browning said,“and work hard.”
Suwannee advances to take on South Sumter, who stands undefeated at 11-0 after running the table in Zephyrhills’ District 6, and getting past North Marion High School 16-12 in their opening playoff game. Zephyrhills finishes their successful season with an 8-3 record, snapped a playoff drought, and nearly pulled off a big win in their return to postseason action.
only play, regardless of age. For information, call Walt Bockmiller at (813) 527-8211.
T-SHIRTS SUPPORT CROSS-COUNTRY COACH
“I Run For Keppel”T-shirts are available to help support Land O’ Lakes High School cross-country coach Kris Keppel, who is battling pancreatic cancer. The shirts are $15 each, with all proceeds going to Keppel. For information or to make a donation, call (813) 406-5730, or email carolyn011jr@hotmail.com or kbdehaas@aol.com.
SPORT ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE FOR SENIORS
Senior Sports is seeking players older than 60 for a number of regular co-ed sporting events, including Slo-Pitch softball for fall and winter competition. Senior Sports has participants who play golf every Wednesday and bowling every Thursday. It also has added tennis and indoor volleyball. For information, call Walt Bockmiller at (813) 527-8211.
GIRLS SOFTBALL REGISTRATION OPEN
Lutz Leaguerettes, a slow-pitch softball league for girls ages 6-18, is now accepting registrations for its spring schedule. They play at the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex, 766 Lutz Lake Fern Road. The fee is $180 through Dec. 1. For information, visit LutzSoftball.com.
SOCCER LEAGUE REGISTRATION OPEN
The Greater Tampa Bay Football Club is now accepting registrations for its fall and winter soccer league. To register, visit GTBFC.com.