BROOKSVILLE — Hernando’s best football season in 14 years continued Thursday with balloons and cake — and a slice of history. Leopards defensive lineman Malcolm Hudson signed with Army to become the program’s first Division I signee since 2001. “I gotta follow the path God put me on,” Hudson said. ...
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Thu. May 24, 2012 at 6:02 p.m. | Matt Baker
East Lake and Berkeley Prep are among the Florida High School Athletic Association's academic team champions for the spring. East Lake was tops for Class 8A, while Berkeley Prep led all of Class 4A for the second straight year. The team aggregate cumulative GPA is submitted for nomination, and the ...
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Thu. May 24, 2012 at 4:51 p.m. | Times Staff
Twitter and Facebook are ablaze with offers. Players reporting them as they happen, recruiting sites and newspapers following up, and the echo chamber cranking at full volume. So how does a guy like Eric Moate pick up 10 of the quietest offers ever? Well, consider he's one of the quietest ...
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Wed. May 23, 2012 at 8:43 p.m. | John C. Cotey
After a few warmups last week, most North Suncoast football teams play their spring games or jamborees Thursday or Friday. Here’s a quick primer on the teams, players and positions to follow as spring practice concludes. Five intriguing teams Fivay: The Falcons were one of Tampa Bay’s best stories last ...
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Wed. May 23, 2012 at 1:12 p.m. | Matt Baker
Florida Gators football coach Will Muschamp was in Tampa on Tuesday night to speak to a handful of reporters and a room full of Gator Club boosters. You can read more about that here. Muschamp talked about recruiting during the evening. Those tidbits, including his take on 7-on-7 football, didn’t ...
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Wed. May 23, 2012 at 9:51 a.m. | Matt Baker
Darren Hambrick, LB, Hernando (6-2, 215 pounds) The latest: The senior-to-be picked up two offers, from Tennessee State and South Alabama, Hambrick and Leopards coach John Palmer said via text messages. Hambrick had a strong spring game against CCC on Friday night and played more linebacker after lining up at ...
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Tue. May 22, 2012 at 9:17 p.m. | Matt Baker
The Florida Athletic Coaches Association all-star baseball games are this weekend at Fireman's Field in Sebring. The North and South all-stars play at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by the East-West game at 2:30 p.m. The overall championship is Sunday, 30 minutes after the consolation matchup, which starts at 11 a.m. ...
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Tue. May 22, 2012 at 4:04 p.m. | Times Staff
Though Mitchell loses two of its three leading rushers from a wing-T offense that racked up almost 2,300 rushing yards last fall, the Mustangs don’t seem worried. With a healthy Dan Barber, a more experienced Christian Trinidad and an upcoming Ryan Marsh, coach Scott Schmitz said his team’s backs could ...
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Tue. May 22, 2012 at 1:02 p.m. | Matt Baker
The Florida Dairy Famers released the ballot for the 2012 Mr. Baseball and Coach of the Year awards Wednesday. Media members from around the state will vote for the player and coach of the year in each classification. Once that group has been selected, writers will vote again on the ...
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Mon. May 21, 2012 at 8:28 p.m. | Laura Keeley
John Palmer rebuilt Hernando’s football program from the county’s doormat into a district champion. Someone else will be responsible for keeping the Leopards’ success alive. Health problems forced the fourth-year coach to resign Monday, three days after Hernando’s spring game. “Coaching is tough when it’s at its best,” Palmer said. ...
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Mon. May 21, 2012 at 3:57 p.m. | Matt Baker
Hernando QB Cleve Pope and WR Terrance Owens will sign with Concordia College on Thursday, Leopards coach John Palmer said Monday. Pope threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns last fall to help Hernando to its first district title since 1997. One of the county’s top athletes who earned a ...
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Mon. May 21, 2012 at 1:33 p.m. | Matt Baker
Just last month, when discussing the Florida High School Athletic Association’s six-month investigation into the Armwood High School football program, executive director Roger Dearing said, “We don’t suspect anybody from Armwood recruited.” And when the organization’s 45-page preliminary report was released Monday, the focus was on the five players on ...
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Fri. May 18, 2012 at 10:54 p.m. | Laura Keeley
At Lecanto Score: Nature Coast 34, Lecanto 8 Spring game-breakers: Working out four quarterbacks for the starting job during the game, the front-runner seems to be rising junior Luis Espinosa. After throwing only two passes last season without a completion, he threw three touchdowns in the game, connecting with rising ...
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Fri. May 18, 2012 at 10:16 p.m. | Derek J. LaRiviere
At Hernando Score: Clearwater Central Catholic 20, Hernando 7 Spring game-breakers: Clearwater Central Catholic’s Jake Shade looked good in his new positions. A quarterback last season, Shade had a pair of key tackles in the defensive secondary and caught a sliding 22-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. His replacement ...
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Fri. May 18, 2012 at 10:15 p.m. | Matt Baker
Springstead DE/TE Austin Howell will sign with Ohio Northern University next week, Eagles assistant Dustin Kupcik said Friday morning. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior recorded 38 tackles and a sack last fall. The Polar Bears are a Division III school in Ada, Ohio. They finished 6-4 last season.
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Fri. May 18, 2012 at 10:08 a.m. | Matt Baker