QB No Longer A Question Mark For WCH Wildcats Football Team

Isaiah Bolden (above, left, with the ball) won the starting QB job in the spring and delivered a long TD run and TD pass in the 31-14 victory over Mitchell High on May 18.

Like every high school football team in the Tampa Bay area, Wesley Chapel High (WCH) came into spring practice with a number of important questions.

On May 18, however, the Wildcats may have answered their most important question during their 31-14 spring football victory over Mitchell High, based in the Trinity area of New Port Richey.

After a three-way battle to replace last year’s starting quarterback Jacob Thomas, second-year Wildcats coach Anthony Egan declared Isaiah Bolden the winner of a three-way battle with senior Tyler Wittish and junior Jelani Vassel to call his signals during the 2017 football season, which begins in August.

All Bolden did was go out and threw for a touchdown and run for another in the victory by the Wildcats over Mitchell. WCH is coming off a 7-2 record in 2016, their most successful season since 2004.

“He (Bolden) started looking really good in 7-on-7s this season, so I thought we should give him a shot, see what happens,” Egan said.

Isaiah Bolden’s favorite target during the spring game was WR Justin Trapnell, who had more than 90 yards receiving, including a 58-yard TD.

While Egan also says he liked what he saw in Whittish and Vassel, it was hard to resist the temptation of putting his best athlete under center. An oral commitment to the University of Oregon in Eugene (ranked 21st in the nation by an Athlon Sports preseason poll), after initially committing to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Bolden is another threat in a backfield filled with guys who are a threat to score every time they touch the ball.

And, it’s no secret that the Wildcats want to get Bolden more touches. He had nearly 500 return yards last season, including three touchdowns (two on kickoffs and one on a punt return), but with Thomas under center and the Wildcats committed to the running game, Bolden was limited on offense.

WCH attempted fewer than eight passes a game in 2016 despite having Jacob Thomas, the county’s leading passer the year before, under center. Bolden may not throw much more than that, but expect those attempts to be a lot more exciting, as the future Duck opens things up, whether he throws the ball or tucks it under and runs. Bolden has high-level speed and his presence under center will pull attention away from the Wildcats’ receivers and backs, who are already talented and numerous.

Bolden threw for 95 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Justin Trapnell, to give WCH a 10-7 lead over Mitchell at halftime in the spring game.

On the opening drive of the second half, Bolden scrambled out of the pocket, dodged one defender and raced 64 yards for a touchdown to extend that lead to 17-7. He finished with 81 yards rushing.

Bolden won’t have to do it all, if the spring game is any indication. With a number of talented skill players returning, as well as a good group of linemen, the Wildcats seem poised to take another step in 2017, which kicks off with a home game Aug. 18 against Land O’Lakes.

Dexter Leverett, who ran for 1,249 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016 and had 100+ yards in all nine of his starts, ran for 55 yards against Mitchell, and also led the way with some key blocks.

“Us backs, we have to take care of each other,” Leverett said. “Everyone has to do their thing.”

Malik Melvin ran for 123 yards in the spring game on eight carries, with two scores. He is a rising star and would likely be the main guy on a different team, and is coming off a solid 2016 campaign.

Keith Walker

“If you take one thing from our backfield, it’s unselfishness,” Coach Egan said. “They want to block for each other. Now we have three or four guys who want to do it.”

About the only bad news out of the Wildcats vaunted backfield this spring was the expected loss of sophomore Keith Walker, who ran for 48 yards on four carries with a TD but is zoned to attend Cypress Creek in the fall.

The WCH defense looked a little wobbly out of the gates in the spring game, giving up a three-play, 64-yard drive, but tightened up and didn’t allow another score the rest of the way (Mitchell’s second, and final, touchdown came on a kick return).

Do-everything defensive lineman Austen Wittish is the only returning starter from the 2016 front seven. He led the team in tackles last year with 93, including four for a loss of yards. The Wildcats’ success this season could hinge on how Wittish, his brother Tyler (a junior), seniors Andrew Brooks and Matt Severson and junior Ben Thomas can gel. Egan mentioned Chase Harris and Nick Hoffman as guys who will factor into the defensive alignment in 2017.

“It’s the same system but we’ll have six new guys up front this year,” Egan said.

WRH Bulls Football Team Preps For Tough 2017 Schedule In Spring Game

New WRH Bull Raymond Woodie III (6), follows a block by Jordan Miner (1) on the way to a big gain in the 33-27 spring game loss to Tampa Catholic on May 19.

The Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) football team will arguably be one of the top two or three teams in Pasco County, but that does them little good when it comes to making the playoffs because they play in Class 7A-District 8, which also includes Hillsborough County powers Plant, Sickles, Gaither and Wharton.

So why not cap the spring football season against, well, another tough Hillsborough County team? That was third-year head coach Mark Kantor’s thinking as the Bulls fell behind 33-13 in the fourth quarter before rallying back and falling just a little short in a 33-27 loss to Tampa Catholic (TC) on May 19.

“You don’t know what it’s like going against them (Hillsborough County teams) until you actually line up against them,” Kantor said. “These kids are seasoned guys now and they’ve learned so much.”

Spring offered some challenges for the Bulls, who are coming off their most successful season after a 7-3 record earned them a spot in the Class 7A playoffs last season, their first postseason appearance since 2010.

To get back to the playoffs, one of the Bulls’ primary focuses in the spring was on replacing multi-facted quarterback Chris Faddoul, who signed to play for Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Faddoul made the lion’s share of the Bulls’ pass attempts in 2016, was third on the team in rushing and was their primary punter and place kicker. Replacing him is like replacing 3-4 players, but the Bulls have a deep roster (43 for the spring) and a lot of candidates.

Jordan Miner

Junior Grant Sessums, who threw only 28 passes in 2016, took all of the passing attempts in the spring game against TC. He was harried by the Crusaders’ defense and threw thee interceptions, but also threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

Rising junior Raymond Woodie III comes over from playing QB at Carrollwood Day School  (CDS), but played free safety in the TC game, picking off a pass and running it back 40 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Woodie, a contrast to Sessum’s pocket-style passing, threw for 543 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore for CDS, and already boasts 16 college offers from the likes of the University of Southern California, Penn State University, Michigan State University and the University of South Florida.

Nkem Asomba

His recent transfer to WRH left him out of the quarterback spot for the spring game as he learns the playbook, but Woodie could end up sharing time under center with Sessums.

“He (Woodie) adds another dimension,” Kantor said. “He’s tough, athletic and wants to help the team.”

He’ll also strengthen a running game led by senior Daquion “Da Da” McGee, who rushed for 1,063 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last year but found tough sledding against TC, rushing 13 times for minimal gains.

His counterpart in the backfield is fullback Chase Oliver, a 5’-9”, 210-lb. sledgehammer.

“Chase is a throwback football player,” Kantor said. “If he played in the ‘60s, he’d be an All-American.”

On the Bulls’ first drive against TC, Oliver steamrolled a Crusader defender for 11 yards and a first down. On the second drive, he caught a short pass and rumbled 54 yards, clobbering defenders to set up a short score. He finished with five touches for 82 yards in the spring game, although he never found the end zone.

The WRH coaches are careful not to run Oliver too much, as they also need him on defense, where he starts at linebacker. “It’s challenging (playing both ways) but I have to lead by example,” said Oliver, who is emerging as one of the team’s veteran voices. He says he was pleased with the late charge by the Bulls vs. TC.

“You can’t go to sleep, you have to play a complete game,” Oliver said. “I like the way we fought back from 33-13.”

Speaking of veteran leadership, the Bulls’ QBs will have the luxury of having a senior-heavy receiving corps. Leading receivers Adrian Thomas and Jacob Hill return after more than 400 yards between them in 2016. Rising senior Jordan Miner is a threat at wideout and at defensive back. Daniel Biglow and Shamaur McDowell also are good-sized, veteran receivers.

McDowell, Miner and Woodie give the Bulls the most recruited trio of teammates in Pasco County.

Devaun Roberts

The Bulls also got a great showing in the spring game from senior Devaun Roberts. He set a high bar for himself against TC, picking up two sacks, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, a pass defended and a quarterback pressure from his defensive end position. “This is my first year at defensive end,’’ Roberts said. “I’m used to playing tight end though, so now that I’m lined up over the tight end a lot, I know the blocks. It felt good to get in there and scare that quarterback. We’re going to do well this year.”

Behind Roberts are two big, set pieces who certainly look like dominant linemen. Lenczden, whose measurements are not listed on the roster, is roughly 6’-6” and 260 pounds. Senior Nkem Asomba is listed at 6’-5”, 265. “He’s actually a basketball player, football is new to him,” Kantor said of Asomba. “He’s shown some athleticism and that he can play this sport.”

WRH Co-Valedictorian Rachel Sawah Heads To USF’s Med Program With Her A.A.

Rachel Sawah is not only the co-valedictorian at WRH, she also has earned her A.A. degree from Pasco Hernando State College by taking dual enrollment classes.

While many high school seniors struggle to figure out what they want to do next, Rachel Sawah says she knows exactly where she’s headed. She says the journey that’s gotten her to this point in life has helped her to determine her plans for the future.

She just graduated from Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) as the class of 2017’s co-valedictorian, with a weighted GPA of 4.79. While a student there, she also took many dual enrollment classes at Pasco Hernando State College, which allowed her to also graduate with her Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree this spring.

“Dual enrollment was a rewarding experience because I was able to take college classes in a college setting,” she says, “so I believe I am now better prepared for a university setting. Plus, there’s a greater variety of courses available in dual enrollment, such as microbiology, that I didn’t have in high school.”

Courses like microbiology have helped Rachel determine that she will study neurology and hopefully become a neurologist or neurosurgeon someday. “I thought I wanted to be a doctor, just a family practitioner,” she says, “but I didn’t have any specialization in mind. I feel that taking those extra upper level courses enabled me to find my certain path.”

And, she admits, those upper level courses also helped her GPA, which helped secure her spot as co-valedictorian.

In the fall, she’ll attend the University of South Florida, where she’ll enter the school’s honors B.S.M.D. (Bachelor of Science/Medical Doctor) program, a combined, accelerated program that allows students to graduate with both degrees in just seven years. For Rachel, having already earned her A.A. degree, it could take even less time than that.

“For now, I anticipate finishing my Bachelor’s degree in one or two years,” she says. “Then I might even apply to some upper level medical schools.”

Whether she transfers out of the University of South Florida or not, she’s happy to be getting her start there. She was accepted to and offered scholarships at several other Florida schools, but staying close to home was the most attractive to her.

“Financially speaking, USF was the best offer,” Rachel says. “They have a great pre-med program and I have basically a full ride, covering books and everything.”

She’ll live at home and commute to the school. “It’s really nice to stay at home with my family,” she says, which includes her mom and dad, two sisters, and a new baby brother.

While she feels she’s well prepared for college and is looking forward to it, she says her experience of being off campus for the last year of her high school experience has not been a detriment.

“I was still involved in a lot of activities (at WRH),” she says, “I was on the varsity tennis team and in Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, National Honor Society, and HOSA.” She explains HOSA is the Health Occupation Students of America, a student-led health organization for people interested in the medical field, with international competitions, in which she placed first in the state in a speech competition, both her junior and senior year.

In addition, Rachel says she completed more than 400 volunteer hours during high school, with more than 200 of those at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, plus other organizations and activities like the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.

Those service hours at the hospital also have helped her find her path toward a career in the medical field. “It’s helped to guide me because you see the doctors and you can help them and ask questions,” she says. “Having these in-person experiences, and taking many college courses, all of this is learning for the real world. I’m excited to start the next chapter.”

Wiregrass Ranch High Co-Valedictorian Lauren Payne Follows Her Sister To UF

Wiregrass Ranch High co-valedictorian Lauren Payne will follow her sister Emily to the University of Florida.

Lauren Payne says she wasn’t necessarily trying to earn the title of valedictorian of the 2017 class at Wiregrass Ranch High, but that’s where her hard work and smart choices landed her.

She recently graduated as co-valedictorian, with a weighted GPA of 4.79.

“I chose my classes based on what I thought was going to be interesting,” Lauren says, not with having the toughest schedule in mind. “I took a mix of AP (Advanced Placement) classes and dual enrollment, and they were all good.” She says her favorites — among courses such as AP calculus B/C, government and statistics — were her dual enrollment world literature and AP biology classes. What did she take for fun? “Oceanography and anthropology were like electives,” she says.

“Lauren has a really strong work ethic,” says her mom, Janet. “It is really important for her to try her best and challenge herself.”

Lauren’s natural drive to try her hardest has earned her some pretty impressive credentials. For example, she’s a National Merit Scholarship winner. This makes her eligible for a program called the Benacquisto scholarship, where the State of Florida provides a financial award equal to the cost of attendance at a Florida school, including tuition and fees, on-campus room and board, books, supplies, travel and miscellaneous expenses remaining after using  award given by the National Merit Scholar program and the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program.

Lauren is taking her Benacquisto scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville, the school from which her older sister Emily just graduated. Emily was WRH’s salutatorian in 2013.

“I chose UF because I’ve been visiting my older sister there since middle school,” she says, “and I always felt like I belonged.” UF also offered her its Presidential Scholarship, which offers $5,000, $8,000 (gold) and $10,000 (platinum) per year to in-state, high-achieving students.

Her plan is to major in microbiology and cell science and eventually work in the medical field. “It’s exciting to be on my own for the first time,” says Lauren, who has lived in the same house in Meadow Pointe her entire life, attending Sand Pine Elementary and John Long Middle School before WRH.

While she’s following her older sister’s footsteps into college, she also followed her athletically. Lauren watched Emily run cross country in high school, so she started running in middle school. Lauren became part of a team at WRH that won the Sunshine Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship this year.

“I looked up to my sister, so I thought running cross country looked like so much fun,” Lauren says. “Once I started, I really liked the coach and all the girls on the team, so I stuck with it, even though it was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

She adds, “There are some days for everyone where it’s just a really rough run and it doesn’t feel fun or easy. There’s a point where you have to decide whether I’m going to stick through this. The experience with all the other girls on the team made the hard days worth it.”

In addition to being a scholar and an athlete, Lauren also was active on campus at WRH, as a class Senator all four years, president of Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society), a Ranch ambassador (representing the school at different events such as orientation and open house) and a member of both the National Honor Society and the Science National Honor Society.

“She grew up liking to try a lot of different things, such as dance, swimming, and playing a couple of different instruments,’’ said her mother Janet. In fact, Janet says Lauren still plays violin but had to stop playing in the school’s orchestra.

“Orchestra is a big-time commitment,” Janet said, “Lauren had to make choices. She even did cheerleading for her first two years, but couldn’t keep doing all of those activities, so she had to make decisions about how to best spend her time.”

While Janet is proud of Lauren, she doesn’t seem at all surprised at her success. “Since Lauren was pretty young, she’s always had a curiosity about how things work and has been enthusiastic about school,’’ Janet said. “We’ve had great public schools and great teachers who have nurtured her along the way. Those things came together: good schools, good teachers, she gets a lot of support and she tries hard.”

New Tampa Wildcats 20 years old!

The New Tampa Wildcats, the first organized youth football and cheer program in New Tampa, was established in 1997 and will celebrate its 20th season beginning on July 5.

The Wildcats have their own field very close to County Line Rd. in the Live Oak Preserve area of New Tampa and provide a safe, fun environment for boys and girls ages 5-15. The program’s stated goal is to, “develop well-rounded young men and women who learn not only the fundamentals of football and cheerleading, but also the importance of education and teamwork.”

You don’t have to live in New Tampa to play or cheer for the Wildcats. For more information, visit http://www.NewTampaWildcats.org/, call (813) 501-5259.