By Brad Richardson, Bright House Sports Network
Last Updated: Thursday, May 23, 2013

PALM HARBOR -- The Largo Packers pulled out early preseason wins at the Palm Harbor University High School spring football jamboree on Thursday night.

The Packers knocked off the Hurricanes, 21-0, in the first game and Countryside, 21-14, in the second game. For head coach Rick Rodriguez of the Packers, it was a great way to end the spring season, while looking forward to the fall.

“We been going since February,” said Rodriguez. “These kids have been running, lifting weights and conditioning. We did a lot of special team plays tonight. Tonight, was a fun game for the guys.”

With scouts from USF, Tennessee and Virginia Tech on hand, players on all teams had to prove their worth.

PHU and Largo played the first game, which was highlighted by the offensive attack of the Packers. RB Jarvis Stewart found the endzone on the ground to score the first touchdown of the contest in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Raheem Harvey scored on a touchdown pass from quarterback Donavan Hale. Frankie Hernadez then broke through PHU’s defense to give Largo a 21-0 lead.

Largo faced Countryside in the second game.

Cordell Hudson started things out for the Packers on a 85-yard return for a touchdown to put the first points on the board. Countryside answered back with a touchdown in the second quarter. The Largo defense then put up some points when Jarvaris Sanders picked up a fumble recovery in the endzone.

After a 10-yd touchdown pass to Sylvester Kimborough from quarterback Trenton Chmelik, Countryside tied the game. Largo answered back on a fake punt play that gave them the edge for good 21-14.

For Largo's Hale, it was his first start at quarterback, replacing the talented Juwan Brown.

“I was nervous at first, but as the game went on, the butterflies went away.’” said Hale. “I am glad we played them (Countryside) in the spring so that we know what we can expect from them in the fall. “

PHU would get some retribution in the final scrimmage of the night, downing the Cougars 3-0 on a Tyler Kaminski42-yard field goal, the Hurricanes starting quarterback.

“I didn’t know it went in until the fans started cheering. After we lost to Largo in the first game, we just came together as team and said we need to get it done.”

PHU head coach Matt LePain wanted to have some strong Pinellas County teams participate in the jamboree to give his team something to strive for during the 2013 football season.

“We did this tonight because I wanted to show my guys what it's like playing against the two top football teams in Pinellas County,” said LePain. “Having a test like this tonight against teams like Largo and Countryside was good. Tonight, they made plays and they finished.”

Walter Weller to leave Seminole for Indian Rocks Christian School as of June 6

By BRAD RICHARDSON
Article published on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

SEMINOLE – Walter Weller, principal of Seminole High School, will leave the public school system for the private school sector at the end of the school year.

The announcement came on May 15 during the morning announcements at SHS, when he publically acknowledged his departure to the school’s students and faculty. 

After seven years with the Warhawks, Weller will join the Golden Eagles at Indian Rocks Christian School as the new superintendent, a decision he’d made three months ago, but waited to share. 

In addition to Weller leaving, Sam Roper will step down as head football coach after 28 seasons and band director Daniel Wood will leave to pursue his master’s degree after 14 years with the music program. 

“It will definitely be a new era for Seminole and it has been kind of coming for some time,” said Weller. “Last year it was [track coach] Bruce Calhoun and two years before that it was [math teacher] Robin Ladd. It is that time. With all the peaks and valleys, some have gone on to do other things within the school system, while others decided to retire.” 

But for Weller, faith and lessons learned have always been a guiding force in his decisions, especially as he moves to the private school system. 

“I have always looked at my job at Seminole High School as an extension of what I believe in and that is first and foremost helping kids, parents and teachers,” said Weller.

Weller has roots in Pinellas County. He grew up in Clearwater and graduated from Clearwater Central Catholic High School in 1981. 

After graduation, he attended the University of South Florida where he received his bachelor’s degree in social science education and later his masters in

education leadership from Nova Southeastern University in 1995. During the time of receiving his masters, he was a teacher, coach, athletic director and director of extracurricular student activities.

He transferred to SHS in 2006, accepting an assistant principal position under the guidance of then Warhawks principal Rick Misenti. When Misenti left in 2007 to take a principal position in Guilford, Conn., Weller was appointed principal. 

During his time at Seminole, he wanted to ensure that Warhawk traditions continued. Ann Wilson, the school’s family and community relations liaison, said his interactions with the students and his support of faculty and staff have always been a priority for him. 

“He leads by example and is definitely a rules kind of guy,” said Wilson. “And if I had an issue with a student not following the rules, he would always have my back. He lets me do my job as I see fit. Nobody is complaining. He has been very fair. He had the to make a big campaign to have more faculty join the PTA at Seminole High School. He doesn’t hesitate. He jumps out and takes the lead.“

And from the leadership came the expected results. 

“We wanted to get high academic performance from what we were teaching, measuring what we were teaching and showing progress in the classroom along with FCAT scores,” said Weller.

He also went out of his way to make working at SHS an enjoyable experience for his faculty and staff.

“The most memorable thing … was [when] he brought his own barbeque from home and made a barbeque lunch for the entire faculty,” said Wilson. “He cooked everything and really treated all of us like we were family. All of us thought it was awesome.”

During his tenure at Seminole, many of his students and the programs received high honors. The Warhawk band marched in the 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade. 

Both the boys and girls soccer teams were state runner-ups in 2010 and the flag football team won district titles in 2012 and 2013. The baseball and softball teams won district titles and the 2007-2008 baseball team went 22-0 during the regular season. 

He’ll keep busy during his final days at SHS, finding replacements for open teacher positions. June 6 will be Weller’s official last day at SHS. 

In addition to graduating over 479 seniors this year, he also will be overseeing the graduation of his son, Noah, when he walks across the stage at Tropicana Field to receive his diploma. After that, the next step begins.

“I am definitely nervous about the move, but also very excited,” said Weller. “It’s going to be a challenge and I understand what is all going on there. But education is education. I am excited about being able to freely share my faith with other people along with students and faculty.”Article published on Tuesday, May 21, 2013Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved.

By Brad Richardson, Bright House Sports Network
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 08, 2013

CLEARWATER --  Clearwater Central Catholic baseball team lost just four games all season. One of those defeats was to Tuesday night's regional semifinal opponent Calvary Christian.

But behind the arm of starting pitcher David Paul, the Marauders downed their district rival once again, 7-1.

CCC (24-4) will advance to the regional finals on Friday in West Palm Beach to face King's Academy.

This was the fourth time this season that the Marauders faced the Warriors (22-7), with CCC winning three of those contests, including a win in the Class 3A District 9 tournament.

“We know Calvary’s got a good program and they got good players," said CCC head coach Todd Vaughan. “Both games [in this year's regional tournament] were kind of a fight to start out with.”

The Marauders took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when center fielder Johnny Karaphillis delivered a single to shallow center field. Starting pitcher Nate Reed balked advancing Karaphillis to second. He would then score the first run of the game after a single by second baseman Derek Gibree and a sacrifice fly to center field by 3rd baseman Brendan Overton.

Both teams would battle it out between the second and fourth innings. With Reed and Paul having a mixture of pitches to work with.

“I try to mix it up as much as I can,” said Paul. “If I’m up in the count, I throw a lot of curve balls...fast balls whenever I’m down in the count. I just throw whatever I got to throw the hitter off the best that I can. I just try to be as consistent as I can to throw strikes.”

But the game would turn in a brief moment in favor of Calvary.

On the 0-1 pitch, Reed delivered a solo home run to center field at the 360 mark. The score would be tied in the fifth inning 1-1, but Calvary’s celebration would short lived. 

The Marauders started their march in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a pop out to center field by Gibree, Overton sent a grounder to shortstop Dylan Stark, but Stark overthrew first baseman Grant McDaniel, allowing Overton to advance to second. Reed walked Paul, as CCC brought in Zuriel Collins as a courtesy runner for Paul. Catcher Andrew Mink then delivered a line drive single to right field bringing in Overton to score to make it 2-1.

Jeff Smith would be courtesy runner for Mink, bringing up left fielder Andrew Murphy to the plate, who delivered a single to bring in Smith and Collins making it a 4-1 ballgame.

Reed would get pulled after six innings and 98 pitches. CCC would gain two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning off Daniel Broeseker making the score 7-1.

At this point, Vaughan felt comfortable on what the outcome of the game would be.

“When we got up 7-1, I felt pretty confident we weren’t going to give up six runs to tie this game and go into extra innings,” said Vaughan. “I have been here a long time and have seen some funny things happen, but I figured it was not going to happen tonight.”

Paul prevented any Warriors from getting on base the rest of the way earning the win for CCC.

For head Coach Greg Olsen of the Warriors, the end of the season brings much hope for next year.

“It was a very tight game up until the sixth inning,” said Olsen. “It’s baseball and sometimes things happen. This team and these players have committed to making this program solid and they work hard every day. Our seniors have a special place in my heart. David Paul and the rest of that team are solid baseball players and I wish them the best of luck on Friday.”

For Vaughan, going into the game on Friday, he wants to make sure his players are ready.

“We are going to do like we always do,” said Vaughan. “We can sit there and say that were going to scout another team, but first and foremost I got to make sure that my guys are going to be able to do what they know how to do. I’m more worried about what my guys are going to do and not about what the other team is going to do.”

By Brad Richardson, Bright House Sports Network
Last Updated: Friday, May 03, 2013

TARPON SPRINGS-Rain delays couldn’t stop the East Lake Eagles from defeating the Wharton Wildcats 1-0 in 10 innings to advance to the 8A Regional Semifinals.

They will now face Durant on Tuesday at 7 PM at Eagle Field.

Going into the game with a 23-3 record and ranked 14th in the state of Florida, the Eagles appeared to be the favorite, but according to head coach Dan Genna, they came out to play this game as if it was their last. Wharton was also fresh off a strong district tournament, in which they knocked off Newsome and Alonso.

“We knew how good Wharton was and knew it was going to be a battle,” said Genna. "There were two great warriors (East Lake's Ryan Wall & Wharton's Tristan Deluna) out there pitching and they laid everything on the line. We just had to wait and see which would crack first. We just didn’t get rattled.”

The two teams battled it out for seven innings with many chances for both to score runs to take command of the game. Wharton had an opportunity to score in the top of the 2nd and 5th innings with the bases loaded, but it was Wall's power arm that kept the Wildcats in check. 

A pitching change came in the seventh inning when third baseman Brad Deppermann stepped in for Wall. He consistently threw fast and away from hitters, getting an edge over the Wharton offense, but walking to the mound, he knew the pressure was on him.

“I came into the inning in a little trouble. I came in bases loaded, two outs and just kept throwing fast. I was hoping after every inning that this game would end soon, but by the 10th, I knew that we had to get something done.

In the bottom of the 10th, with two outs and runners on second and third, lead-off hitter and right fielder for East Lake Troy Strominger delivered a single to left field, allowing Tyler Neuhaus on third to bring in the winning run for the Eagles.

For Neuhaus, it was a relief to see his team jumping over the fence to start the dogpile.

“The run felt great and I had a big smile on my face running down the third base line,” said Neuhaus. “But most of all, the credit goes to Troy (Strominger) for getting that beautiful hit.”

The winning pitcher was Deppermann after throwing three innings and over 60 pitches.

Although they can celebrate tonight, the Eagles have a lot of work to do this weekend in order to prepare for Durant (22-5).

"I’m proud of these guys, they have battled all year,” said Genna. “Their confidence has been great. Come Tuesday we will be ready for them. We know that they have a great ball club too...and we will put our helmets on and go after them. We will be ready for Mr. Valdez and his team.”