photo gallery VERO BEACH — The umpire waved his arms in the air, signaling the game was over. Canterbury players headed for the dugout, unable to control their emotions. Some burst into tears. Others stood in stunned disbelief. They thought they had thrown a state title away ...
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Sat. May 11, 2013 at 4:42 p.m. | Bob Putnam
TAMPA — While big names like East Lake’s Mason Cole, Lakewood’s Isaiah Wynn and St. Petersburg Catholic’s Reilly Gibbons head up a class of offensive linemen that might be Tampa Bay’s best ever, the river of talent across the line of scrimmage this year is a deep one, running from ...
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Sat. May 11, 2013 at 3:11 p.m. | John C. Cotey
Each week, our HomeTeam staffers will nominate male and female Hot Shot athletes from each of the counties we cover. These nominations span Saturday, May 4 through Friday, May 10. Winners get a free T-shirt and bragging rights over every other school in the area. Read up on what made ...
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Sat. May 11, 2013 at 12:12 p.m. | Times Staff
TAMPA Mason Warren looked up at Daddy on Friday night, a deep look of consternation on his face. He had just watched Leland Saile, one of the Jesuit High baseball players, dump a big old thing of Gatorade — a special mixture by trainer Chris Smith of lemon-lime and grape ...
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Sat. May 11, 2013 at 12:24 a.m. | John C. Cotey
TAMPA — The best season in Mitchell history ended Friday night against one of the best prep pitchers in the country. King ace and Florida signee Brett Morales struck out a school-record 17 batters to lead his Lions to a 4-1 home victory in the Class 6A region final. “What ...
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Fri. May 10, 2013 at 11:16 p.m. | Matt Baker
Central will host an hour-long recruiting seminar for parents and athletes at 7:30 p.m. May 20 at its auditorium. The program by Dynamite Sports will instruct students from middle school to high school and their parents about academic requirements, eligibility and other issues pertaining to college sports and recruiting. The ...
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Fri. May 10, 2013 at 11:53 a.m. | Matt Baker
Five Springstead athletes signed with colleges this week, including all-Suncoast LB Luke McLeod. McLeod signed with NCAA Division-II Harding University in Searcy, Ark. He led the Eagles’ swarming defense with 149 tackles (11 for a loss) during Springstead’s district title run. All-around athlete Pedro Estrada signed to play football at ...
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Fri. May 10, 2013 at 11:19 a.m. | Matt Baker
Offers reported via Twitter, text or phone call on Thursday, May 9 Marcus Applefield, OT, Weeki Wachee Offer(s): Vanderbilt, USF, UCF, FIU Comment: Recruitment of Applefield is taking off. Vandy is his first SEC offer. Deiondre Porter, QB, Jefferson Offer: Coastal Carolina Comment: Porter, who threw for 2,700 yards and 27 TDs, ...
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Thu. May 09, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. | John C. Cotey
Weeki Wachee OL Marcus Applefield continues to be one of Tampa Bay’s biggest recruiting surprises after a hectic Thursday. The senior-to-be picked up offers from USF, UCF, FIU and Vanderbilt today, coach Mark Lee said. His only in-state offer before Thursday came from FAU. The Commodores are Applefield's first offer ...
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Thu. May 09, 2013 at 9:33 a.m. | Matt Baker
Region baseball: Hernando edition Coming Thursday: A closer look at Wiregrass Ranch and Mitchell 5A: Hernando (24-5) vs. St. Johns Creekside (21-10) Skinny: The loaded Leopards have four college signees and continued their reign as the North Suncoast’s top program by clinching their fourth consecutive trip to the region final ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 5:33 p.m. | Matt Baker
BROOKSVILLE One of Hernando’s biggest challenges this spring is to find a replacement for Tyrail Hawkins, the do-it-all athlete who lined up everywhere from quarterback to defensive back to returner and signed with Georgia Southern. • “We won’t have just that one guy,” Leopards coach Dwayne Mobley said. “We’ve got ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 3:49 p.m. | Matt Baker
Hudson’s basketball team will host its West Pasco Shootout on Saturday with a day full of competition among teams from the North Suncoast and beyond. Here’s the schedule, from Cobras coach Jason Vetter: 9 a.m. – Wiregrass Ranch vs. Hudson 10:05 a.m. – Nature Coast vs. Hudson 11:10 a.m. ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 11:07 a.m. | Matt Baker
LUTZ — Wiregrass Ranch junior Zach Drury had the utmost respect for nationally ranked Steinbrenner before he took the mound Tuesday night. Two hours later, Warriors coach John Crumbley thought just as highly of Drury, whose two-hit shutout led the Bulls to a stunning 4-0 victory in the Class 7A ...
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Tue. May 07, 2013 at 11:04 p.m. | Don Jensen
Hernando County recruiting is having one of its biggest springs ever. Hernando lineman Connor Foradas is the latest piece of evidence. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior earned his first college offer Tuesday, from Purdue, Foradas said in a text message. Foradas was one of the top linemen for the Leopards last ...
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Tue. May 07, 2013 at 10:49 p.m. | Matt Baker
WESLEY CHAPEL Soon after Wiregrass Ranch promoted assistant Mike Lawrence to turn around a struggling Bulls team, Lawrence reached out to a few experts in rebuilding programs: Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops and Mark Mangino. • Lawrence knows the trio from his playing days as a running back at Kansas State. ...
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Tue. May 07, 2013 at 6:26 p.m. | Matt Baker