Football: Sickles 27, East Bay 0
TAMPA — The gravity of the situation was not lost on Ray Ray McCloud III. Prior to the biggest game in school history, former players gathered around the current crop and gave a speech. They spoke of...
View ArticleFootball: Plant 24, Orlando Dr. Phillips 23 (OT)
TAMPA — Alex “Buddha” Jackson stood on the sideline at Dads Stadium — a place with which he’s not too familiar when Plant’s offense is on the field — and stared blankly. Plant trailed Orlando Dr....
View ArticleFootball: East Lake 45, Pinellas Park 0
EAST LAKE — Pinellas Park exhibited a veteran cool this past week, preferring a coping mechanism that included a quiet anger and acceptance about what happened in their previous meeting with East...
View ArticleHomeTeam Hot Shots: Nominations for Nov. 16-22
Each week, our HomeTeam staffers will nominate male and female Hot Shot athletes from each of the counties we cover, then we turn the voting over to our readers. These nominations span Saturday, Nov. 9...
View ArticleEast Lake's Carson Lydon offered by UCF
East Lake linebacker Carson Lydon was offered by the University of Central Florida on Saturday, Eagles coach Bob Hudson said in a text message. The offer is the first for the junior linebacker, who...
View ArticleSunday Morning QB, Round 2 playoff edition
Five things we learned Friday night1. Noah Johnson has arrived: The question all season in Seffner has been: how far can first-year starting quarterback Noah Johnson take the Hawks? Pretty far, it...
View ArticleJefferson's Deiondre Porter ready for move
At the end of a successful summer for Jefferson quarterback Deiondre Porter, one in which he wowed coaches during the Unsigned Preps Bus Tour of college campuses and orally committed to play at USF...
View ArticleThree girls soccer players suspended for fighting
Two Ridgewood girls soccer players and one River Ridge player have been suspended six weeks for fighting during a game, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association. The unsportsmanlike...
View ArticleHomeTeam Hot Shots: Winners for Nov. 16-22
A spotlight on the Times’ bay area players of the week.Female Hot Shot: Leah Neck, Fivay Sport: SoccerSkinny: Though relatively new to soccer, Neck is a versatile athlete. A forward as well as a cross...
View ArticleBoys soccer: Pinellas Super 7, players to watch
East Lake made a long run in the Class 5A playoffs last season, advancing to the region final before losing in overtime to Winter Garden West Orange. That capped a 15-4-4 season. This season, it looks...
View ArticleBoys soccer: Hillsborough Super 7, players to watch
TAMPA — Eric Sims stood on the turf at Corral Memorial Stadium, watching his Jesuit soccer team warm up for a game against Middleton. He took over coaching duties Sept. 17. But when Sims scans his...
View ArticleBoys basketball: Wesley Chapel in control vs. Anclote
WESLEY CHAPEL — Anclote fans started cheering in the third quarter Monday, thinking maybe the Sharks could come back. Their players were finally hitting shots and climbed into double digits. It wasn’t...
View ArticleBoys soccer: Wiregrass proves point by earning tie with Sunlake
WESLEY CHAPEL — There will be no repeat of Sunlake’s perfect regular season. Down 2-0 to a Seahawks team that had surrendered one goal all season, host Wiregrass Ranch came back to force a 2-2 tie...
View ArticleColumn: Springstead keeping chin up as Armwood awaits
SEFFNER — Daniel Larusso used the crane to take out the Cobra Kai, and Jimmy Chitwood hit that jumper from the free-throw line, and Rocky beat Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago. So, who is writing the...
View ArticleEast Lake's Hudson carves out own identity at QB
EAST LAKE — One of the unavoidable realities for East Lake High quarterback Jake Hudson is being compared with Pete DiNovo, the most prolific passer in Pinellas County. DiNovo, who graduated in...
View ArticleGirls basketball: Gulf gets lift from senior
NEW PORT RICHEY — Gulf coach Clare Ennis told her players on Tuesday she wouldn’t see them for another three days, a rare break in their daily practice schedule. But before the Buccaneers celebrated...
View ArticleBoys basketball: Shorecrest stuns Jesuit with late rally
TAMPA — Jesuit, the Class 5A defending state champion, and Class 3A Shorecrest squared off Tuesday in a battle of unbeatens. By the third quarter, the only question for the host Tigers, it seemed, was...
View ArticleBoys basketball roundup: Osceola, Curry pick up pace in second half
ST. PETERSBURG — Six years ago, Jeremy Crane was hired at Osceola, inheriting a team that was in the midst of a 39-game losing streak. Crane turned the once downtrodden program into a viable one with...
View ArticleLakewood's defense a rock all season
Early in Lakewood’s season, when the offense was trying to find a rhythm, the Spartans defense was steady. In the middle of the season, when the Lakewood offense was scoring in bunches, the defense...
View ArticleState semifinal notebook: Tampa Catholic fine with underdog tag
Tampa Catholic coach Mike Gregory concluded practice Tuesday afternoon by reminding his players that they’re not supposed to advance come Friday night. “You are the underdog,” he told them. Just last...
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