By Brad Richardson, Bright House Sports Network, 
Last Updated: Thursday, December 19, 2013, 12:07 AM

SEMINOLE -- The Seminole Warhawks and Tarpon Springs Spongers, both teams having one loss, faced off to see who would reign supreme in the conference.

The Spongers would succumb to the wrath of the Warhawks offense and would become Seminole’s seventh straight win; the Warhawks would remain undefeated in 7A District 9.

For coach Josh Walker, this win comes at a pivotal time in the season when observing your competition and seeing how similar it will be with districts.

 “I got to hand it to Tarpon they are a good team and have a lot of pieces at different spots which play to their advantage,” said Walker. “Looking back on the game, we had some issues especially in the first period when we couldn’t seem to get a consistent tempo going.”

The Warhawks and the Spongers would battle for control of the court with Tarpon’s Mitch Wilcox and Trai Halton setting up the tempo for the Sponger offense. The Warhawks would struggle to keep control of the lead, but Tanner Cowan would be present and ready for rebounds that the Warhawks needed for a 14-11 lead in the first period.

Tarpon’s offense would come alive in the second when Scottie James’ six points would help keep Spongers in a 23-22 lead. But with the help of Seminole’s Henry Beard and Marco Behori, the Warhawks would tie the game up at 26 at halftime.

“At first when I went into the locker room, I felt this is not the team I know. They (Tarpon) kind of dictated the things that we were doing wrong in the first half. I told them to focus on offense rebounds, understand on the screener role that they were running with Trai Halton while also trying to make them play our game offensively.”

At the start of the third, the Warhawks would barely hold a 41-37 lead and seemed in trouble after an absence from Behori.

“I tried to steal the ball and I bumped heads with the other guy causing a gash just above my left eyebrow,” said Behori. “The whole time I was getting my eyebrow treated, all I could think about was getting back into the game and needing to be back out there.”

The Spongers would try for one last comeback in the fourth after the return of Behori scoring 26 points in that period.

But foul shots from Beard and Conner Frain would shut the Spongers down with a final score of 67-49. 

“Although a great win for the guys and a high point for the season, next weeks games will be a very important for us because they are all three district games,” said Walker. “Each game like we always say is “brick by brick” that’s how it always is.”

The Seminole Warhawks (8-1) will be away at Countryside facing the Cougars and the Tarpon Springs Spongers (9-2) will face off against the Fivay Falcons on Dec. 20.

The Clearwater Tornadoes faced off against cross-town and 7A District rivals, the Countryside Cougars, on Dec. 6. The teams battled it out the with Tornadoes controlling the first two periods with a 17-6 score by the end of the first half. After the Cougars took a small 36-35 lead by the end of the third period, the Tornadoes claimed victory with a 46-40 win in the last few minutes of the fourth period. The Tornadoes were then 1-1 and the Cougars were 1-4. Pictured here, Clearwater sophomore guard Romain Minott-Neufville Jr., #44 tries to get a layup shot past Countryside's senior center Anthony Hinson, #0, hoping to help the Tornadoes gain the lead in the first half of the game.  

The Seminole High School Warhawk Band and the Northside Christian Royal Ambassador Marching Band competed in the 2013 Florida Marching Band Coalition State Championships at Tropicana Field on Nov. 23. Northside Christian's field show "Roarin" earned it a score of 88.94 and state champion in Class 1A. The Warhawk's show "What Goes Around" earned them a score of 90.50 and runner-up in Class 4A. Above, Color guard captain Kaylyn Fox of the Seminole Band was one of five students from the state of Florida to receive the prestigious Jon Kersten Music n' Motion Auxiliary  Award Scholarship. She was honored during the awards ceremony following the competition. She plans to attend USF in the fall.  

By Brad Richardson, 
Last Updated: Saturday, December 14, 2013, 12:17 PM

ST. PETERSBURG--The Gibbs Gladiators were looking to hold on to bragging rights over their district rival Lakewood Spartans.

The Gladiators would continue to hold the first place spot in 5A District 7 defeating the Spartans 55-52, pushing their winning streak to five games.

With a packed gym, fans and players were ready for a showdown. It’s this type of rivalry situation that Gibbs coach Larry Murphy said kept his players focused and concentrated on the job they have to do.

“This was definitely a big district and neighborhood game win for us tonight,” said Murphy. “How we approached winning was playing our type of basketball.  That involved putting pressure on them (Lakewood) in the first 32 minutes of the game and making plays on offense while keeping them in a decent tempo.”

They were even able to hold them below 60, which can be a difficult task against the Spartans.

“With Lakewood sometimes we could go into overtime but tonight we were able to keep them in the 50’s, which is a big plus.”

The Gladiators would start the game holding off the Spartans with a 16-7 lead just before the end of the first period. But the Spartans would answer back putting pressure on the Gladiators defense, halting their lead at 24-21 just before the end of the first half.

At the start of the third period, the Spartans were ready to take back the game. Right from the start, the game changed when Lakewood’s Anthony Lawrence nailed a 3-pointer, which tied the game at 24. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Gladiators would still hold at 40-31.

In the last period, the Spartans would take one last attempt to get the lead. Lakewood’s Michael Clark would nail a layup cutting the score to 53-52 with 44 seconds left. But Gibb’s Barry Brown extended the lead after nailing two foul shots.

Lakewood’s Jacobi Boykins would try for one last attempt at the basket, but Brown would steal it away running the clock down making the final score 55-52.

Although a great win tonight, for Murphy, it game showed the power that his team possesses on the court.

“They are always going to play their best even getting down to the wire that’s what you got to expect. We are going to take this season one step at a time and approach the next two games with the same mindset and play action.”

The Gibbs Gladiators (7-1) will host the Oldsmar Christian Eagles on Dec. 17 and the Lakewood Spartans (2-5) will face off against Wekiva Mustangs on Dec. 26.

Countryside senior forward Donal Wasoff (12) works the ball downcourt against Clearwater's Devin Fabian (52) in a boy's high school basketball game Dec. 6 at Clearwater. The Tornadoes edged Countryside 46-40 in a defensive struggle to improve to 1-1. Countryside dropped 1-4. 

By Bradley Richardson, 
Last Updated: Monday, December 09, 2013

Seminole – The Lady Warhawks of Seminole were hoping to keep their winning streak alive after close wins over CCC and Dunedin as they faced off against the Tampa Prep Lady Terrapins.

The Warhawks would hold the Terrapins off with a 4-1 win at Seminole.

For coach Gary Kolb of the Warhawks, the key to winning against the Terrapins was getting off to a quick start, and being able to finish strong.

“Tampa Prep has always been a successful strong program and we definitely had a challenge tonight,” said Kolb. “I thought we took control and possession of the ball when it mattered and our speed up front was definitely a big difference and improvement.

The Lady Warhawks would score first after Olivia Red settled a pass from Sarah Reinhold and fired a shot past Terrapins keeper Olivia Marshall with 29:06 in the first. They would follow that goal again with Red getting the ball to Reinhold making it 2-0.

“Once those two get running and get moving the ball there is no stopping them. They are definitely speed kills and bring so much intimidation on the field.”

The Terrapins were not going to let the game be a shut out.

At the start of the second half, Emma Goltermann would break away from the Seminole defense while heading to the outside right of the goal box and nailing the shot past Seminole keeper Bria Riancho making it 3-1 with 14:20 left.

“As they know a 3-0 lead in soccer is one the worst leads that you could possibly have. I challenged them at half time to come back into the game within the first 20 minutes, hold them off and keep playing till the end of the final whistle.”

The Warhawks sealed the deal once and for all with 1:20 left when Brandy Maulucci scored the final goal for the game making it 4-1 after the ball got away from keeper Marshall.

The Warhawks (7-2-1) will be at Northeast on Dec. 9 facing the Lady Vikings and the Tampa Prep Terrapins (7-5) will be facing the Wharton Wildcats on Jan 3. According to Kolb, its going to be a very interesting and intense game.

“It’s going to be a another tough challenge since they got a very good goalie (Raquel Hauss) and core defense. But most of all it’s a big district game for both of our teams.”

Above, Sophomore running back Theo Anderson breaks away from Lions tight end Irick McDonald (17) on his way to a Golden Eagle touchdown late in the fourth quarter. At left, the Golden Eagles seniors pose with head coach Mark Buchanan, center back. Pictured with him are front row from left, Ryan Ferguson, Cedric Galloway, Preston Heeren, Chandler Nigh, Robby Wendel, Kendall Brandenburg, Jacob McBride and Chris Parish. For More photos see page 14A. 

Above, Indian Rocks Christian's Theo Anderson (4) gets help from senior left back Kendall Brandenburg (24) while taking down the Hialeah Champagnat Catholic's quarterback Kato Nelson (1). Indian Rocks lost at home in the Class 2A regional semifinals Nov. 29. Below, Indian Rocks junior wide receiver Tristan Denisac (3) breaks away from Champagnet's Darnell Salomon (7), helping Indian Rocks get a first down late in the fourth quarter. 

By Brad Richardson, Bright House Sports Network
Last Updated: Saturday, December 07, 2013, 12:35 AM

CLEARWATER -- Clearwater hosted Countryside in the Jack L. Wilson gym on Friday night, and the Tornadoes would claim victory in the battle of winless teams with a 46-40 win.

The win over the Cougars is also the Tornadoes' first 7A District 9 win of the season.

It was also the first win for new Tornadoes head coach Tom Shaneyfelt, who said that although it is a great way to start off the season, it’s not who they face that makes a great win, it’s how they play each game.

“It’s all about baby steps this season,” said Shaneyfelt. “We are trying to get our kids to understand that what they have to encounter from any opponent on the court everyday, every night and every game. At this point in the season the opponent doesn’t so much matter, it’s us playing the best we can.”

The Tornadoes would have a rough start in the first half as Countryside’s Jake Trimble and Jhakheem Smith put points on the board, holding off the offensive advances of Clearwater’s lead scorer Marcus Budd. He would put nine points on the board in the first half.

The Tornadoes would fight back and would take a 26-17 lead just before the end of the first half. For Budd, the second half was filled with both intensity and a little bit of frustration.

“With this game there is always a true rivalry and I think at the end, we started to get a little frustrated, especially Chase (Ierna)”, said Budd. “But once we worked out our frustration with a few timeouts, things came together.”

At the start of the second half, the Cougars picked up the pace and became a threat to the trailing Tornadoes. Center/forward Anthony Hinson would pick up 10 points after only scoring four in the first half. The Cougars would squeak a 36-35 lead at the end of the third period.

But the Tornadoes would not go down without a fight. Rasim Avmet would give the Tornadoes eight points in the third and fourth period along with Austin Fuoco’s five points. Both players would get foul shots, which would close out the game.

For Shaneyfelt, the win tonight gets the team to focus on the season ahead.

“Marcus and all them got off to a great start and they held them off till the end of the game,” said Shaneyfelt. “Going into the next game, its not going to matter which games they should be winning, it should always be about the standard they hold themselves to and how they are going to finish.”

For Budd, this win brings a great motivation to look forward to.

“Tonight’s game should be a good way to possibly start a winning streak,” said Budd. “If we take the confidence from this game, then we will be definitely good.”

The Clearwater Tornadoes (1-1) will face off next against the Northeast Vikings, while the Countryside Cougars (1-4) will face off against Pinellas Park Patriots on Dec. 10.

Indian Rocks Christian sophomore running back Theo Anderson (4) shoots past First Baptist Academy defenders Nick Ariztizabal (43) and Zach Williams (36) for a third-quarter touchdown in the Nov. 22 home game against Naples First Baptist Academy. The Golden Eagles rolled to a 28-14 victory in Class 2A regional finals game, advancing their win streak to nine games. IRCS hosts Hialeah Champagnet Catholic Friday Nov. 29, 7 pm in the state semi-finals. The game marks the first time the Golden Eagles have advanced to the state semifinals. 
SEE PAGE 14A

Indian Rocks Christian senior wide receiver Robby Wendel (7) and the rest of the Golden Eagles take the field at the start of their Class 2A regional finals game Nov. 22 at home against Naples First Baptist Academy. The Golden Eagles claimed a 28-14 victory, sending them to the state semi-finals for the first time in the school's history. The game will be played Friday, Nov. 29, 7 pm at Indian Rocks Christian School. 

SORRY FOR POSTING THESE LATE, I HAVE BEEN BUSY. BUT TO CELEBRATE THE AMAZING SEASON FOR THE GOLDEN EAGLES, HERE IS ONE OF TWO POSTING DONE IN THE LARGO LEADER. 
ALL THE BEST B.K.R. 

By Brad Richardson, 
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 04, 2013, 12:42 AM

SEMINOLE—The Seminole Warhawks battled against the Palm Harbor University Hurricanes hoping to continue their winning streak.

The Warhawks would breeze past the ‘canes with ease, 71-50 and in-so-doing, hold on to their first place spot in 7A District 10.

For Head Coach Josh Walker, he was ready to get his team back to business especially after a short break for the holidays.

“I was really glad the way the kids responded with this game,” said Walker. “With the past week being Thanksgiving, things could have gotten a little wild but they came into this game ready to get the job done and that’s all I could ask for from them. They had only one day off during the break and they were in the gym working hard as always and tonight showed it.”

Although taking a tough 51-56 loss against St. Pete High School early in the season, they later came out on top with a 74-59 win over the Boca Ciega Pirates on Nov. 26.

Tuesday night’s matchup was never in doubt as the Warhawks would dominate the first period thanks to forwards Tanner Cowan, Lorenzo Gulley and guard Henry Beard. They would hold off the Hurricanes to keep a 38-24 advantage just before the half.

According to Seminole guard TJ Frounfelter, who would score six 3-point shots in the game, they had to change a few things going into the second half even though they had the lead.

“Our defense wasn’t hard when we came onto the court in the first but we were definitely hitting our three’s when it mattered the most, which to me was good,” said Frounfelter. “Second half we came out and just kept them down.”

At the start of the third period, both teams battled it out. The Hurricanes would get a sliver of hope after a technical foul to Seminole gave Pigozzo four free throws.

But it was not enough to hold off the Warhawks in the third and fourth period as Seminole would claim their third win at home.

Lead scorers for the Warhawks would be Frounfelter with 28 points along with Cowan and Gulley with 13. For PHU, Joe Pigozzo would bring 20 points to the game along with Joe Walker’s 10 points.

“One of the things we have been working a lot this season and we struggled a little bit in this game was transition defense,” said Walker. “Our guys definitely showed what the team is made of though in the end. TJ (Frounfelter) did a good job running the floor and our guards did a good job keeping in rhythm with him and setting screens and getting him open to get those big shots. Tanner and Lorenzo definitely stepped up tonight.”

The Warhawks (3-1) next game is against Pinellas Park on Friday Dec. 6 and the Hurricane’s (3-2) next game is against Pasco High School on Jan. 1.