County teams look for fast start in the standings; Storm seeks defining win
By J. Daniel Pearson
For the News-Gazette
When Rich Pringle was named Celebration’s football coach last year, the Storm becoming an independent team for the next two seasons was on the table, allowing them to create a more competitive schedule and possibly record a winning season.
Pringle wanted nothing to do with it.
“It made no sense to me. I told our administration I rather have a chance to go to the playoffs and if we finish 4-6, I’d still feel better about it than going 10-0 and telling the kids, ‘Nice job, but the season is over,’” he said. “What would keep our better players from transferring to another school where they can play for a title? Part of the reason this program has struggled is that no one has ever taught them how to win. We are working to change that.”
Early results have been promising. In their season opener, they scored 55 points against Poinciana, the second highest total in school history. Last week, they went to 2-0 with a 48-8 win over Lake Region. Junior running back Oneil Senatus rushed for 314 yards on just 10 carries, setting a school record with seven touchdowns. Senatus has now 569 yards and 10 touchdowns in two games.
Celebration takes a huge step up Friday at 7;30 p.m. hosting perennial state power Dr. Phillips in their District 8A-9 opener Although the Panthers are 1-2 this year, they are still more than a dangerous opponent. Although the game is a paper mismatch, Pringle says his team is relishing the opportunity to compete against one of the state’s best.
“We are teaching our players that we are going into every game with just one goal and that is to win,” he said. “We don’t necessarily have to win the game for it to be a program win, but I’m not big on moral victories. We are going to prepare for a great team and we are looking to win the game,” he said.
In other action, Osceola (1-1) travels to Olympia (1-1) in an 8A-9 test. After losing their season opener to state-ranked Cocoa,Osceola blasted Tohopekaliga, 69-0 on Friday
The Kowboys defense was stifling, allowing less than 50 yards of total offense while adding two defensive touchdowns. The offense piled up 277 yards on just 22 plays and scored TDs on seven of eight drives.
“We checked all the boxes on what we wanted to do,” Coach Eric Pinellas said. “The thing that was most impressive is we got a lot of work in with our second and third team guys and they were productive when they were in the game. That goes a long way in building confidence.
“I can tell from the film Olympia is very well coached and they do have some good athletes. Our job will be to go out and execute our game plan and do the things we know we should be able to do.”
At Gateway, the Panthers (1-1) scored 13 second quarter points on touchdowns from Laquavion Pinellas and Elijah Simmons and then held on to beat Liberty 13-8.
“We built a two score lead and simply wasted opportunities to put them away,” Head Coach Marlin Roberts said, citing a touchdown that got called back for holding, a fumble inside the 10 yard line and other penalties that killed drives. “It felt good to get that first victory under our belt, but it wasn’t easy.”
Gateway will host Eau Gallie in its district opener on Friday night.
Liberty (0-2) hosts Melbourne Central Classic.
St. Cloud’s (1-1) offensive struggles continued in a 20-2 loss to Sebastian River. The Bulldogs will attempt to get on track this week when they host Melbourne (0-2) at 7 p.m.
Poinciana was in a tight 7-6 game with Mulberry when a length lightning storm forced cancellation of that game. Poinciana will then be at home on Friday night against Lake Region (0-2).
Go to www.aroundosecola.com for updates throughout the week.
