SHADY HILLS One of the North Suncoast’s top returning quarterbacks may not be familiar to those outside of Bishop McLaughlin. • Rising senior R.J. Perciavalle is going into his third season as the starter under center and even saw some looks at quarterback as a freshman. • As a sophomore, ...
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Fri. May 17, 2013 at 8:56 p.m. | Derek J. LaRiviere
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
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
Fivay has plenty of holes to plug after a 6-4 season, losing all-North Suncoast quarterback Tyler Degen, star receiver Andrew Meyer and key parts of the offensive line. All of these questions fade to the background once you talk to coach Chris Taylor about his starting tailback. Rising senior Davion ...
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Mon. May 06, 2013 at 6:02 p.m. | Matt Baker
SPRING HILL — Less than 45 minutes into Springstead’s opening day of spring practice, three players fell atop coach Mike Garofano’s practice plans. “Get off my clipboard,” Garofano said. Now more than ever, Garofano needs those notes. Garofano spent more than a decade as an assistant under Bill Vonada before ...
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Wed. May 01, 2013 at 9:49 p.m. | Matt Baker
A few recruiting tidbits from the North Suncoast: * Anclote lineman Josh Parsons has orally committed to Webber International, he announced via Twitter this weekend. Parsons, a 6-foot, 235-pound two-way lineman, racked up 52 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble during his senior season. He also had four pancake ...
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Mon. April 29, 2013 at 8:13 a.m. | Matt Baker
Springstead’s do-it-all senior, Pedro Estrada, has orally committed to Norwich University, Eagles assistant Dustin Kupcik announced Monday evening on Twitter. Estrada, a 5-foot-8, 169-pound running back and defensive back, was one of the Eagles’ most versatile players during their 9-2 season and run to the district title. He rushed for ...
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Mon. April 22, 2013 at 9:17 p.m. | Matt Baker
Springstead LB Luke McLeod has orally committed to Harding University, Eagles assistant Dustin Kupcik announced Saturday via Twitter. McLeod had a standout senior season to emerge as one of Tampa Bay’s top under-the-radar prospects. He earned first-team all-Suncoast honors with 149 tackles and four sacks while averaging 32 yards per ...
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Sat. March 30, 2013 at 6:04 p.m. | Matt Baker
SPRING HILL – Will Allen headlined a group of five Springstead athletes to sign college letters of intent Thursday morning. Allen, one of the best linemen to come through the North Suncoast, went through a rigorous recruiting process, gaining attention from many different programs. In the end, the 6-foot-7, 278-pound ...
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Thu. March 07, 2013 at 11:07 a.m. | Derek J. LaRiviere
Springstead OL Will Allen has orally committed to the University at Albany-SUNY, he said early Saturday evening. “I’m glad my recruiting process is freakin’ over,” Allen said. “I was getting pulled all over the place.” The first-team all-North Suncoast tackle isn’t kidding. Allen, a 6-foot-7, 278-pound senior, earned scholarship offers ...
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Sat. Feb. 23, 2013 at 5:26 p.m. | Matt Baker
Will Allen, OT, Springstead (6-foot-7, 278 pounds) The latest: The Eagles senior has recently landed offers as a preferred walk-on at Florida and UCF, Springstead assistant Dustin Kupcik said. Vanderbilt also offered him a spot as a preferred walk-on a few weeks ago. Offers: Georgia Southern, Bethune-Cookman, Harvard, Penn, Alabama ...
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Wed. Jan. 23, 2013 at 1:32 p.m. | Matt Baker
A couple recruiting tidbits from Springstead, courtesy of assistant coach Dustin Kupcik: * LB Luke McLeod has Division II offers from Colorado State-Pueblo and Chowan University (N.C.). He also has an offer from Minot State (N.D.), where he plans to take an official visit to on Jan. 26. The first-team ...
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Mon. Jan. 07, 2013 at 3:01 p.m. | Matt Baker
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: ATH Janarion Grant, Sr., Pasco Grant, a three-way standout, watched his Pirates dominate the first six games of the year as he sat out with a hand injury. “When I came back, that’s when all eyes were on me,” Grant said. “I had to put ...
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Sat. Dec. 22, 2012 at 11:28 a.m. | Matt Baker
Some recruiting updates from Springstead, courtesy of assistant coach Dustin Kupcik: * Offers for OL Will Allen include Bethune-Cookman, Alabama State, Georgia Southern, Nebraska-Kearney and Florida Tech. Several Ivy League schools are recruiting him, and so are Southern Illinois and Mercer. He also has been offered a spot as a ...
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Fri. Dec. 14, 2012 at 2:50 p.m. | Matt Baker