Another national signing day is in the books. Let’s take one last look at how our local schools and athletes fared, and sneak a peek at 2014. Top 10 Tampa Bay high school classes 1. Armwood: Armwood had the best class last year, and while not as formidable or deep, ...
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Sat. Feb. 09, 2013 at 4:08 p.m. | Times Staff
No matter what anyone else thought of him, Wes Bullock Jr. and his family were convinced of his talent for football. Bullock has almost always been the smallest player on the field, from his first days in Little League through his senior season at Plant High. As expected, his ...
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Wed. Feb. 06, 2013 at 8:37 p.m. | Joel Anderson
DOVER - Colby Brown had neither the stature nor the statistics to merit much attention among the more highly-touted quarterbacks in his group. He left fledgling stardom at Orlando Olympia for a season of virtual anonymity at Plant, spending much of the past fall on the sideline behind college-bound senior ...
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Tue. Feb. 05, 2013 at 3:09 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Sunday afternoon Plant football said goodbye to the guy who took the Panthers from here to there, from local to national, from nothing to something else. Tuesday morning the Panthers were fortunate enough to replace him with pretty much the same guy, if you discount the small blemish on his ...
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Tue. Jan. 08, 2013 at 8:14 p.m. | John C. Cotey
TAMPA — Less than 48 hours after Plant High School coach Robert Weiner’s announcement that he was taking an assistant’s gig at USF, the pall over the school remained palpable. Shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, in fact, Panthers secondary coach and social studies teacher Bo Puckett conveyed as much in ...
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Tue. Jan. 08, 2013 at 9:20 a.m. | Joey Knight
TAMPA — Plant coach Robert Weiner summoned his players and staff Sunday evening to the Roland Acosta Field House, a short spiral from the field that likely will someday bear his name, to confirm what had sent a jolt through cyberspace hours before. He had just become arguably the most significant ...
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Sun. Jan. 06, 2013 at 2:41 p.m. | Joey Knight
Offensive Player of the Year: QB Pete DiNovo, Sr., East Lake It has been a whirlwind two weeks for Pete DiNovo. After competing in the Pinellas senior all-star game Dec. 12, DiNovo was in Orlando two days later for his official visit to the University of Central Florida, where he ...
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Mon. Dec. 24, 2012 at 5:32 p.m. | Times Staff
Offensive Player of the Year: QB Will Worth, Sr., Newsome Why we picked him: Considering no county player was more vital to his team, Worth also was a bona fide defensive player of the year candidate. We chose him for offense in part because of his staggering playoff performance. The ...
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Sat. Dec. 22, 2012 at 11:29 a.m. | Times Staff
High school football season is …ov…ov…ov… I can’t say it. Go ahead. You try. Feels weird, doesn’t it? Ov …ovvvvvva… But it is. Let’s face it, we’re spoiled. We’ve had Tampa Bay area teams playing for state titles since, like, forever. Or at least 2000. You have to go back ...
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Thu. Dec. 20, 2012 at 11:50 a.m. | John C. Cotey
After USF announced Sunday that it was firing coach Skip Holtz after three seasons, at least one bay area recruit said he was remaining firm in his commitment to the Bulls. Plant LB/DE Mitchell Wright said the move "definitely doesn't change what I think about USF or going there. I'm ...
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Sun. Dec. 02, 2012 at 4:44 p.m. | Joel Anderson
By the numbers1 Playoff victories in Newsome's first nine seasons of existence.2 Playoff victories for Newsome this season.14 Yards, the longest run for Tampa Catholic in its 10-7 loss to Clearwater Central Catholic. By comparison, CCC had seven runs longer than 14 yards.40 Playoff victories (including those later forfeited) for ...
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Sat. Nov. 24, 2012 at 4:53 p.m. | Joel Anderson
ORLANDO — On the first play of Friday’s Class 8A region semifinal, Plant’s Aaron Banks dropped back and fired a 32-yard pass to Tristan Cooper. Banks had plenty of time to complete the throw. Cooper outleaped the defensive back for the ball, and Plant had crossed midfield in only a ...
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Sat. Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:02 a.m. | Joel Anderson
Plant had them all over the years, from undersized tackling machines like Mike Tate to ball-hawking playmakers like Beau Hume to major-college prospects like James Wilder Jr. None of the Panthers’ three state championships since 2006 has been won without at least one of them. But coach Robert Weiner has ...
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Thu. Nov. 22, 2012 at 10:04 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TAMPA — Plant won again Friday night by using its best asset. It wasn’t somebody in a helmet and pads, but they are deep, experienced and playoff tested — the Panthers’ coaches. Coach Robert Weiner and his staff figured out a way to win with a solid game plan and ...
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Sat. Nov. 17, 2012 at 1:00 a.m. | Todd Foley
Homecoming, district titles, senior night, crosstown rivalries …none of it matters anymore. High school football’s second season starts Friday night and 11 Hillsborough teams enter with championship dreams. Of course, some dreams come true and others can — and do — turn into nightmares. What follows is our attempt to ...
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Sat. Nov. 10, 2012 at 1:28 p.m. | Joel Anderson