Plant rising junior cornerback Derrick Baity has received his first scholarship offer, from USF, he said Saturday. Baity’s coaches told him about the offer following the Panthers’ participation at the USF Sling 'N Shoot 7-on-7 tournament on Saturday. “It feels so good,” Baity said. “I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling yet.” The ...
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Sat. June 15, 2013 at 7:29 p.m. | Joel Anderson
It’s foresight from here, baby. For the remainder of the summer, we’ll peek at the 2013 season, project on it and pontificate about it — at length. But before that, let’s reflect once more on what we saw this past spring. (Our lists are not ranked in order of importance ...
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Fri. June 07, 2013 at 2:31 p.m. | Times Staff
Former Plant High School star offensive lineman Richy Klepal, who retired from football in September after suffering a near-fatal concussion, has been cleared to start non-contact summer workouts with Florida State. “Cleared to practice everything but hitting,” Klepal said via Twitter Friday. “Its good to be back #NoleNation bout to ...
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Fri. May 31, 2013 at 8:10 p.m. | Joel Anderson
At Plant Scores: Plant 22, Robinson 0; Jefferson 55, Leto 0 Spring game-breakers: Plant needed just one minute, 36 seconds to score on the opening drive after Colby Brown found Alexander Jackson for a 7-yard touchdown. That score was set up by a 44-yard gain on a swing pass to ...
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Thu. May 23, 2013 at 11:31 p.m. | Bryan Burns
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
The football vernacular is loaded with names — derby, duel, controversy, quagmire — for quarterback competitions. We’re not going to affix any such label to those occurring locally. Suffice to say, some county jobs are up for grabs. Here are some more prominent vacancies, and those vying for them. Alonso ...
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Thu. May 09, 2013 at 11:14 p.m. | Times Staff
Five Plant seniors made their commitments official Wednesday, bringing the total of Panthers bound for college football programs in the fall to 15. The signees are: quarterback Kyle Groh (Ohio Wesleyan), defensive end Kareem Martin (Lindenwood University in Missouri), defensive lineman-linebacker Eliel Shines (Seton Hill in Pennsylvania), defensive lineman Gage ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 11:33 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Where did all the yards go? • All but one of the county’s seven 1,000-yard rushers in 2012 will graduate and move on to college programs, leaving frustrated defensive coordinators and would-be tacklers in their wake. • Now, the game-day burden falls on their old coaches to figure out a ...
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Wed. May 08, 2013 at 10:23 p.m. | Times Staff
Plant offensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen has received his first college scholarship offer, from Washington State, according to Panthers coach Robert Weiner. Fruhmorgen, a rising junior, is the son of former Alabama and NFL offensive lineman John Fruhmorgen. A 1983 graduate of Jesuit, John Fruhmorgen is also a member of the ...
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Mon. May 06, 2013 at 3:23 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Plant receiver K.J. Walker announced Tuesday that he has committed to Averett University in Virginia. Walker plans to officially sign with Averett on May 8. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Walker caught three passes for 44 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers as a senior. Averett is a private school of ...
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Tue. April 30, 2013 at 9:07 p.m. | Joel Anderson
When we went looking for the stars of 2013, we zipped right past the pretty-boy quarterbacks, the speedy running backs, the hard-hitting linebackers and the fancy-footed wide receivers and defensive backs. This year, they’ll be taking a back seat to those referred to, lovingly, by their coaches as the big ...
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Tue. April 30, 2013 at 8:34 p.m. | John C. Cotey
Palm Harbor University’s offseason has been filled with football players changing schools. Shane Dixon, the team’s leading receiver, bolted for IMG Academy. Starting fullback Connor Dorris transferred to Clearwater Central Catholic. Backup quarterback Brevet Killett left for Gibbs. But starting quarterback Tyler Kaminski has stayed. It would have been easy ...
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Sat. April 13, 2013 at 3:02 p.m. | Bob Putnam
TAMPA — The photo is from about seven years ago, when Mack Brown was coming off a season that ended with a national title and Andrew Beck was a brawny 10-year-old with a buzz cut. Brown stared ahead at the camera with a wan smile and both hands on his ...
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Tue. April 09, 2013 at 10:15 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TAMPA — The high-definition MRI showed small areas of bleeding on Richy Klepal’s brain, a condition commonly known as a Duret hemorrhage — and usually only discovered during autopsies. “The outcome is almost universally fatal,” reads a summation of the hemorrhage in Imaging Science Today. So five days before his ...
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Sat. March 09, 2013 at 8:21 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Coaches and administrators confirmed Wednesday morning what local prep football fans have been fearing: the Armwood-Plant football rivalry is on hold, for at least two years. Though Hillsborough County’s 2013-14 public-school schedules still are being finalized, county athletic director Lanness Robinson said several factors forced the halt — at least ...
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Wed. March 06, 2013 at 10:19 a.m. | Joey Knight