The Wharton Wildcats held down Hillsborough and speedster Duran Bell for most of the first half of their spring jamboree at King High School. In their first two drives, the Terriers went for minus 20 yards. Only late in the second quarter with the field cut in half did Bell get around the Wildcat defense for a 25-yard touchdown. A late pick-six hung a 14-0 loss on the Wildcats but head coach David Mitchell was not discouraged.
โI think we played better than we thought we would,โ Mitchell said. โWe raised the bar, thereโs still room to get better but as a group we played well; thereโs nothing to be upset about.โ
Top Players
The Wildcats will look to rising junior running back Shannon King this season. King ran for just shy of 400 yards in 2015 and is the source of veteran leadership on the Wildcat offense.
Shannon King
โHe (King) in the man on the team this year,โ Mitchell said.
King only picked up 20 yards on Thursday night against a stout Hillsborough defense but with a hefty offensive line and a whole summer to develop, look for King to be a thousand-yard rusher this fall.
Rising senior wide receiver Justin Brown will be depended on to make up for the top three Wildcat receivers from 2015 moving on. Brown didnโt log any catches in the spring game against Hillsborough but gained 25 yards on a pair of jet sweeps that netted first downs for the Wildcat offense.
The Wildcats should be fine on defense as veterans AJ Hampton (rising junior), rising senior Chase Goode, and rising senior Justin Visconti return. Goode was second on the team in tackles (71) in 2015 and Visconti was second in sacks (5).
Linebacker Chase Goode
Top Plays
Some other Wildcat defenders emerged in the spring game as rising sophomore Cade Coleman had a drive-killing tackle-for-loss in the second quarter.
Linebacker Christian Thompson and lineman Lavel Dumont combined for a sack that ended up with the Terriers turning it over on downs.
Defensive back Hunter McCain had a bone-jarring hit that broke up a sure completion deep in Wildcat territory.
Top Position Battles
The biggest question mark for the Wildcats this year is at quarterback. The Wildcats started Andrew Curtin who struggled, then Harrison Hawk, who also struggled.
Mitchell thinks that rising sophomore Reshae Soloman, who is listed at 5-6, 125 is going to be the guy in the fall. He was ineligible for the spring game but Mitchell said, โHeโll be the number one guy unless someone beats him outโ.
Top Comment
โOur defense is going to be solid but we have to keep them off the field,โ Mitchell said.
Top Takeaways
The Wildcats still have some big questions to answer this summer. The quarterback controversy is going to hurt them and prevent them from scoring a ton of points, but if youโre in a situation where youโre looking for a quarterback to step up, ย youโd better have a stout defense and solid ground game.
The Wildcats seem to have that as a hefty offensive line with Nikolas Dominguez, Coty Meier and tight end Lavel Dumont. It will be a tall task to get past Plant and the Sickles in the district, but the Wildcats were one win away from grabbing one of those playoff spots last year.
TAMPA, FL – DECEMBER 20: Head Athletic Trainer Tom Mulligan tends to Brian Boyle #11 of the Tampa Bay Lightning after a hit to the head during the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Amalie Arena on December 20, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)
Tom Mulligan has the training and experience to help cure a lot of things.
But, when it comes to Tampa Bay Lightning fever โ which is running rampant in the area these days โ the teamโs head trainer and Arbor Greene resident can only suggest one solution:
Watch more Lightning hockey.
โThis is great,โโ Tom says. โIโm not playing, but the next best thing is to be a part of it and help contribute, and I love just watching the excitement of people in the area. Last year, the run we had was fantastic. To do it again would be great.โ
Tom, his wife Kellie and children Tyler, 13, Zachary, 10, and Abby, 8, have been fixtures in New Tampa since 2002, when they moved into an apartment at Richmond Place before finding their first of two homes in Arbor Greene.
Kellie is an occupational therapist at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, and the Mulligan kids all currently attend or have attended Richard F. Pride Elementary and Louis Benito Middle schools.
โFor my kids, they get to go to the rink and talk with the players, and Tyler even got to help at rookie camp,โโ Kellie says. โHe was literally filling bags of ice, but still, he was there.โ
The Mulligans are among the holdovers from a time when roughly 75 percent of the Tampa Bay Lightning team lived in New Tampa. Although retired former stars (and local media personalities) like 2004 Stanley Cup-winning captain Dave Andreychuk and Chris Dingman still live here, the current crop of players tends to settle elsewhere. But, Tom said the Mulligans love the area and the schools too much to follow suit. There may not be any hockey wives for Kellie to lean on, but they say there is a bustling community in Arbor Greene that rallies together.
โTom travels so much that I wouldnโt be able to do what I do without our friends and our community, even if itโs just friends helping meet my kids at the bus if Iโm running late from work,โ says Kellie.
Tom Mulligan (center, top) poses with his wife Kellie and his kids (from left) Tyler, 13, Zachary, 10 and Abby, 8. Photo: Courtesy of the Mulligan family.
The Arbor Greene community might be Tomโs biggest fans. While many would most likely gather for Lightning playoff games anyway, a good many do so knowing their neighbor is a part of this yearโs championship-contending team.
โOne of the cool things from last year my wife and I talked about was a few families in the neighborhood getting together and renting a 15-foot blow up projection TV,โโ Tom says. โEveryone was so into it and excited. My wife sent me a few pictures when they did it and I shared them with the team. That was pretty cool.โ
At our press time, the Lightning had advanced all the way to the NHLโs Eastern Conference finals, where a best-of-7 series against the Pittsburgh Penguins is all that stands between the team and a second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup finals.
Tom, a Quinnipiac College (now University) in Hamden, CT, graduate with a B.S. in Physical Therapy and a minor in Biology, has played a big role in helping the team get here, helping all of those injured Lightning players get healthy and ready. Heck, even the most fervent Bolts fan might make the case that Tom holds the key to the teamโs Stanley Cup chances, considering the questions the New Bedford, MA, native has been asked this postseason.
โIs Steven Stamkos going to make it back from a blood clot in time?โ
โIs Anton Stralman ready to return from his broken leg?โ
โHow are the โupper bodyโ injuries that have been keeping JT Brown and Erik Condra sidelined coming along? Oh, and by the way, just between usโฆ.what exactly are those upper body injuries?โ
The return of each of the aforementioned players would certainly bolster Tampa Bayโs championship hopes, and Tom, the longtime Lightning trainer, would love to see it happen.
But, heโs not saying.
โYou get the questions, but the people that we are close to and friends that we have in the area and in the neighborhood, they understand that I canโt talk much about that,โโ Tom says. โYou hear the questions. I wish I could give them the answers.โ
This yearโs Lightning team has already surpassed the expectations that were tempered when the injuries piled up near the end of the regular season. Tom and his staff are working hard to get the Lightningโs key players back on the ice.
โI mean, a lot of the credit goes to the whole training staff and itโs led by Tom and they are the best around,โโ says Stralman, a defenseman who broke his left leg on March 25 before finally returning for the Pittsburgh series. โItโs a long season and they keep our bodies in the best condition they can be. This time of the year, everyone is hurting but the training staff keeps us close to 100 percent. We all owe a lot to the trainers here.โ
Tom, a former varsity defenseman in high school back in New Bedford, landed the job as the Lightningโs trainer by chance. In the summer of 2002, when Tom was the head trainer of the Providence Bruins (Bostonโs American Hockey League affiliate), he happened to call an old friend who told him that the Lightning trainer at the time was taking a job with the Florida Panthers.
Tom decided to apply and ended up getting the Lightning job.
A Dream Come True
It didnโt take long for him to experience the goal of anybody working in hockey โ being part of Tampa Bayโs Stanley Cup-winning celebration in 2004.
โThat was my second year with the team when we won the Cup, and everything just happened so fast,โโ Tom said. โHopefully you think youโll get another chance, then 12 years go by and you start to wonder if it will ever happen again.โ
In the grand tradition of the Stanley Cup, each member of the organization gets to spend a day with the most famous trophy in sports. Tom took the Cup over to his parentsโ house in New Bedford for a small celebration. A picture with Tyler, who was then 16 months old, actually sitting in the Cup made the cover of the local newspaper.
โI wasnโt necessarily the coolest (kid on the block), but the Cup was,โโ Tom says.
Since the Lightningโs only Cup win, Tom has traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Helsinki, Finland, as a trainer for the USAโs World Championship teams in 2008 and 2012, and was a trainer on the USA team which lost in the Bronze medal game (to Finland) at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
However, heโd love another Cup so his kids could enjoy it, even though it extends his time away from his family.
โWith playoffs, it can be so unpredictable that itโs hard,โโ Kellie said. โAnd for Tom, even on off days, heโs going in for treatments. The cool thing is, itโs so exciting to be part of the playoffs. As a family, we get to share in that and the kids are part of it. It makes all the sacrifices worth it.โ
Mary Seaman says reading this book, Six Months To Live, by the father of Lightning center Brian Boyle, has inspired her to oraganize her own pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Herzegovina.
Mary Seaman is a believer.
When she was in the throes of a disastrous divorce in the mid-1980s, she says a brief interaction with Pope John Paul II helped pull her through it.
So when she read the 2014 book Six Months to Live: Three Guys on the Ultimate Quest for a Miracle, about Artie Boyleโs pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Herzegovina, and how it cured him of cancer, it didnโt defy Maryโs logic. It actually made perfect sense to her.
Seaman, an Arbor Greene resident the past 14 years, was so moved by Artie Boyleโs book that she is organizing her own pilgrimage to Medjugorje in August. The 15-day trip, which costs $4,490 and is scheduled for Oct. 9-24, also will include time in Italy at other holy sites.
โItโs been pulling at me,โโ Seaman says. โI think the stars are aligned.โ
Boyle, who is the father of Tampa Bay Lightning (see pg. 1) center Brian Boyle, helped connect Seaman with the right people for her trip.
Seaman, 65, said she needs to sign up 40 people for the trip, and is roughly halfway there. Father Ed Lamp of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd., where Seaman is a member, is accompanying the group on the trip as the spiritual advisor. Seaman met Father Ed at Tampaโs James A. Haley Veteranโs Hospital, where she was once a nurse and he was a chaplain.
She also is a member of the Monsignor Kevin S. Mullen Columbiettes at St. Markโs, a group which does charity work through the church.
Seaman herself doesnโt have cancer. In fact, she says, her life is pretty good. She says, however, that she is always eager to grow spiritually, and wants others to experience the same joy she has.
โIโm so awe-inspired by the opportunity to go and lead a group and bring other people to that holy place, Seaman says. โI think itโs just exciting and profound.โ
Medjugorje is in eastern Europe, in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia & Herzegovina, near the border of Croatia.
In June of 1981, six local children claimed they had seen an apparition, or vision, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and ever since, the town of roughly 2,500 residents has become a popular spot for Catholic pilgrimages, with millions of believers estimated to have visited.
Of the six children from 1981, Seaman says, three no longer receive apparitions as adults. One of those that still does, Ivan Dragicevic, will be accompanying Seamanโs group on the pilgrimage.
Although the apparitions and their authenticity are a point of contention among Catholics and other scholars, for many itโs matter of faith.
Artie Boyle was suffering from stage 4 metastatic renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) and was not expected to survive. He was diagnosed in 1999 and had his kidney removed, but eight months later, doctors found three tumors in his right lung. He was given a 5-percent chance of survival.
Boyle had all but surrendered to the disease when his neighbor and best friend Rob Griffin, a former youth league coach of Brian Boyleโs, and his brother-in-law Kevin Gill, bought him a ticket to Medjugorje for Labor Day weekend in 2000.
Boyle, who was 44, admits in his book to not being an overly spiritual person at the time, but he writes that something happened to him on Cross Mountain as he and his friends prayed and confessed their sins together.
He came back convinced he had been cured. He was scheduled to have his right lung removed four days after his return to the U.S., but new CAT scans, and numerous doctors, revealed that the cancer had all but disappeared.
The story made headlines, and Boyle appeared on a host of talk shows while writing his book. On the back cover blurb, his urologist, Dr. Francis McGovern, wrote: โWith the severity and progression of Artieโs disease, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, it is difficult for medical science to explain why he is alive today. But, every time I see him, I am sure there is a God.โ
Boyle has been back 14 times since. He says he has seen โextreme atheistsโ converted on the spot as well as hardliners who hate God and donโt worship Mary. He said the feeling of peace there is โpalpable, and you donโt get that everywhere else. Iโm sorry, you just donโt.โ
The Power Of Faith
While Boyleโs story evokes skepticism in many, it called to Seaman. She was given Boyleโs book by her sister-in-law while visiting in Boston, and it turned out that Boyle was from Hingham, just outside of Boston, where Seaman once lived.
That compelled Seaman to call Boyle, hoping to speak with him. She left a message, and was surprised when he did finally return her phone call about two months later. She has recently talked with Boyle again, this time about possibly speaking in New Tampa about his experiences.
Seamanโs desire to embark on a pilgrimage may seem frivolous to some, but she has a strong faith and some of her desire is derived from personal experiences.
In 1985, she and her husband had purchased tickets through her church to visit Rome to see Pope John Paul II speak during Lent. But, when her marriage fell apart abruptly, she told the priest at her church she had to give up her seat; that he should give it to someone who couldnโt afford to go.
Seaman reverted to making rosary beads, something she did in her spare time. She decided, after some reflection, that she wanted to go on the trip after all, but was told her seat had already been taken. Desperate, she offered to pay her own way and follow the group on her own. She received permission, but before she bought the ticket, another person backed out.
In Rome, she was among the thousands jockeying for position to see the Pontiff.
โAs we were standing there, someone came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder and said, โIf you want to see the Pope, get to the rail,โ Seaman said. โI didnโt know what that meant. But then, the doors opened, and I saw the rail.โ
Seaman got to the rail. And sure enough, after the Pope finished speaking, he exited right past where Seaman was standing. She handed him a set of her rosary beads, and he put his hands on her head and blessed her.
โI canโt tell you how powerful that was,โโ Seaman said. โIt was as if Jesus wrapped his arms around me. I was so high. I had experienced the birth of my children, I ran the Boston Marathon, but when John Paul touched me, it was like heaven opened up.โ
That feeling is what Seaman hopes others can experience at Medjugorje, where some have claimed to have witnessed rosary beads changing colors and the sun appearing to pulsate like a heart.
โIโm so excited,โโ Seaman said. โI just canโt tell you how excited I am.โ
For more information about the pilgrimage, please contact Mary at (707) 799-5163, or email her at nursingsuccess@icloud.com.
Wharton High grad and featured author Kimberly Karalius
Looking for a good book? Barnes & Nobleโs annual local author book signing event on Saturday, May 21, 2 p.m.- 4 p.m., has you covered.
With the most diverse group of local authors the bookstore (located at the Shops at Wiregrass mall) has had to date, youโre sure to find something to satisfy your craving for the written word.
Book lovers are invited to meet and chat with the authors, as well as get their copies of each authorโs books signed.
โItโs a great way to get multiple authors in the store,โ says Wiregrass Barnes & Noble assistant manager Lisa Kuehner, who is coordinating the event. โA lot of these authors are self-published, so itโs a good way for them to promote and sell their books.โ
This year, there are 27 authors scheduled to attend, more than Barnes & Noble has had in the past.
โWeโre expecting a bigger turn-out this year, too,โ says Kuehner.
The authors have been reaching out to their own audiences, and the store also has been using social media networks like Instagram and Facebook to get the word out about this yearโs event.
Some authors are returning veterans, like Kimberly Karalius, who is the author of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters and its sequel, Love Charms and Other Catastrophies.
Kimberly graduated from Paul R. Wharton High in New Tampa and holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She recently completed a national book tour for her first book, published in 2015, and did her first book signing at the Barnes & Noble local author book signing.
Jamie Elizabeth Tingen (below), the author of Butterfly Messages, a love story about people reconnecting with former sweethearts, and Betrayal of the Butterfly, a mystery about the bonds between a mother and her child, will also be at the fair.
Retired educator Madonna Jervis-Wise, who has made a number of recent appearances in these pages and is in in the midst of a book tour after publishing her most recent, Images of America: Wesley Chapel, will be attending as well.
Jervis-Wise also is the author of several other books, including Images of America: Zephryhills, Images of America: Dade City, Tapestry-Zephryhills, and Wildcat Creek Kids.
Other Wesley Chapel and New Tampa authors who will be featured at the bookstoreโs event include Jenice Armstead, Barbara Post-Askin, Sarina Babb, John Chaplick, Jonathan Chateau, Sharron K. Cosby, Marilyn De La Cruz, Jeanette Lynn Dundas, Ben Gold, Jwan Israil, C. Johnson, Jason Leclerc, Debbie Lum, Josh McMorrow-Hernandez, Stephen Morrill, Susan Noe Harmon, Lorelie Dionne Orat, Lucille Rose DโArmi-Riggio, Elizabeth L. Rivera, Ria Prestia (Maria Rooney), Dee Segarra, Evelyn Johnson-Taylor, Vincent Vinas, and Paul Wartenburg.
The Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Shops at Wiregrass Mall, located at 28152 Paseo Dr. in Wesley Chapel, is hosting its annual local author event & signing on Tuesday, May 21, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. For additional information, visit TheShopsatWiregrass.com.
The Freedom Patriots ground up the host King Lions for 143 yards of rushing in just two quarters of play. Running backs Carlos Rodicio and Xavier Freeman gained most of those yards with Rodicio scoring on the gameโs only touchdown, a five yard run that made it a 7-0 win.
Top Players
Rising senior Carlos Rodicio was not a huge factor in the Patriot run game in 2015 but expect him to be a lynchpin in this yearโs ground game. Rodicio picked up 65 yards on seven carries in two quarters against King.
โHeโs going to be a huge factor on offense this year,โ assistant coach Dave Sevier said. โHeโll play slot, running back and outside linebacker. Heโs a downhill kid that takes it and goes.โ
Carlos Rodicio led Freedom in rushing Thursday night.
Complementing Rodicio in the backfield will be rising junior Xavier Freeman. Freeman didnโt log a carry in 2015 but he should garner a lot of work in 2016. Freeman looked explosive Thursday night against King and picked up 50 yards on seven carries, including runs of 21 and 22 yards.
Rising junior quarterback Deshard Hughes was stymied by the King defense and the Lions picked him off twice but coaches are pleased with how fast heโs picked up the offense and with his athletic ability. Hughes did make a great stop on defense to kill a Lion drive in the first quarter of the spring game.
Rising junior linebacker Brendan Abel showed flashes of promise against King. He made a crushing hit to separate a Lion receiver from the ball on Kingโs first possession and swarmed to the ball the rest of the night.
Rising juniors Jayland Desue and Miguel Quiles made some big defensive plays for the Patriots. Desue logged a sack on the Lionsโ first possession and Quiles had two tackles-for-loss and a half sack that ended the Lionsโ fourth drive.
Top Plays
Hughes found Donta Acree for a 25-yard gain in the first quarter against King.
Brendan Abel
On Freedomโs scoring drive, Freeman carried three straight times for 21, 22 and 2 and then was thrown back for a loss. No matter, Rodicio broke an 11-yarder to the King six-yard line and then scored on a five yard burst.
The Lions were set up first and goal at the 5, late in the second quarter, but the Patriot defense held. On a fourth down run from the 11, Sebastian Cuevas chased Lion quarterback Kenneth Wilson to the sideline, tackling him at the five to get the ball back with just seconds remaining.
Top Position Battles
The Patriots are high on Hughes but they played Amar McRae also. McRae seems like the better run option as he broke a 28-yarder.
Rodicio and Freeman should have plenty on their plate in 2016, no real need for a battle over the position.
Only Acree and Xavier Walker caught passes for the Patriots in the spring game. No doubt that position will be up for competition.
Top Comment
โCarlos (Rodicio) was steady and Freeman stepped up even after the fumble,โ Sevier said. โWe rode them on that winning drive, those two lead by example.โ
โ Theyโve added some wingspan to the pocket,โ Sevier said ofย tackles Bryant Young and David Springs
Top Takeaways
Charles Strawn
The Patriots are still in that brutal 7A-8 district with Plant, Sickles, Wharton, Gaither. Itโs going to be tough sledding for a squad that has just 35 players on the roster and dressed just 30 for the jamboree. Athletes are going to have to adapt to playing both offense and defense.
Only two starters return on the offensive line but coaches are pleased with what they see in Young and Springs. The Patriot line created quite a bit of running room against the Lions in two quarters but their ability to come together as a group will dictate the fortunes of the 2016 Patriots. The Patriots only have six offensive linemen. If thereโs much attrition in 2016, that will makeย head coach Floyd Graham’s debut season with Freedom tougher.
In 1985, she and her husband had purchased tickets through her church to visit Rome to see Pope John Paul II speak during Lent. But, when her marriage fell apart abruptly, she told the priest at her church she had to give up her seat; that he should give it to someone who couldnโt afford to go.
