Month: June 2018

Sports: Spring Football A Mixed Bag For Wesley Chapel Squads

Spring football wrapped up for the area’s high schools two weeks ago, bringing an official end to the 2017-18 sports season for Wiregrass Ranch, Wesley Chapel and first-year Cypress Creek Middle High.

Here’s how the teams fared:

Wiregrass Ranch (WRH)

The Bulls were the only area team to come out with a win in their spring game, as rising senior Grant Sessums threw for three touchdowns and rising junior Dylan Ridolph had a sack and a fumble recovery in a 36-17 victory over Tampa Catholic.

3 Things About Their Spring
Big Boys Come Up Big: Head coach Mark Kantor is excited about how his offensive line is developing. He sees them as being an essential element if his Bulls are going to advance to the playoffs for the third-straight year.

That starting group — Josh Hood (G), Daniel Thompson (G), Barit Dhungana (C), Robert Gibb (T), and Connor Lenczden (T) — had a great spring.

“The offensive line played fantastic on Friday (against TC),” Kantor said. “They are young, but we’re excited to see how they are going to develop over the summer.”

Lenczden is a towering figure, standing 6’-5” tall and weighing in at 285 pounds. Gibb, a rising junior tackle on the opposite side, isn’t a huge guy (220 pounds) but stands 6’-2”, making for a couple of good-sized bookends.

Sessums Ready For Primetime: He will be entering his senior season with 21 games and nearly 250 passes thrown under his belt. Last year, he threw for 1,483 yards and eight touchdowns, and after throwing for three touchdowns against a very good Tampa Catholic team, the thinking is this will be a marquee year for S
essums.

“Sessums is a seasoned veteran now,” Kantor said. “We’re excited for him and for what is surrounding him.”

New Names, Not No-Names: Kantor is pretty excited what’s surrounding Sessums, and his enthusiasm isn’t lessened at all by all the talent lost from last year’s roster, like Penn State signee Jordan Miner.

Cypress Creek transfer Keith Walker has explosive speed and versatility, rising junior wide receiver/defensive back Julian Gonzalez played sparingly as a sophomore but scored on a long touchdown reception in the spring game and ran down a Tampa Catholic wide receiver on what looked like a sure touchdown. In the backfield, running backs Mason Buie and Jamar Hicks throw a nice 1-2 punch.

“We’re fortunate to have a lot of multi-dimensional kids,” Kantor said. “We can put them in different places, and it gives us an advantage.”
The Bulls host Clearwater Central Catholic on Aug. 17 in their preseason classic.

Wesley Chapel (WCH)

The Wildcats, coming off a two-year revival, were unimpressive in their spring game loss to visiting Mitchell High. After falling behind 9-0 at the half, they still could not quite muster a scoring drive in the second half before falling 15-0.

3 Things About Their Spring
Making The Grade: The Wildcats lost starting running backs Dexter Leverett and Malik Melvin to graduation, and didn’t have anyone to play running back in the spring. Head coach Tony Egan and company are hoping that rising senior Kris Chandler breaks through to meet grade eligibility requirements for the fall.

Chandler came to the Wildcats as a freshman transfer from New Tampa’s Wharton High. He impressed coaches in practice his sophomore and junior years, but could not get his grades up to speed before this spring.

“He’s probably going to be a two-way starter for us,” Egan said. “He’s a strong, fast, heck of a running back and he might be our best player on defense.”

Rising sophomore Zion Flavien will most likely be the starting quarterback for the Wildcats this fall. Flavien started every game on JV last season, and is 6’-2”, 225. He is eligible, but his parents have held him out of spring football so he can focus on his academics. Tyler Wittish, who played quarterback in the spring game, and Cornez McCrary also are options.

All In The Family: Wittish will make an impact. His older brother Austen, led the county in tackles last season. Tyler has gone through an interesting transition. He was a chunky 230 lbs. as a sophomore offensive lineman. In 2017, his junior year, he slimmed down to 190 and played receiver and quarterback.

This season, he’s back up around 230, but a muscular 230. He benches 300 and squats 450. Egan likes him at defensive end and tight end, but with Wittish’s cross-training, he’s able to play virtually any position.

Blockade: This is the biggest question mark for the Wildcats for the 2018 season. Three of the Wildcats’ guards quit or were kicked off the team leading up to the spring game. In fact, WCH only dressed five offensive lineman for that game. Egan said that his team actually ran a play in the second half with just four on the O-line.

“It ended up being one of our biggest gains of the night,” Egan said. “One of our five guys got injured and the refs should have flagged it, but somehow, we were able to get (the play) off.”

The Wildcats will have rising seniors Seth Petty and Joey DiMarco, but Egan would prefer to use them both full time at defensive tackle.
The Wildcats travel to Land O’ Lakes on August 17 for their pre season classic.

Cypress Creek (CCMH)

The Coyotes were beaten 48-7 by Zephyrhills Christian Academy (ZCA) in their spring game. However, they were missing one of their best all-around players in Jalen Warren, who had a cast for a broken finger removed the day after the spring game. The Coyotes fared much better in the second half against ZCA after falling behind 40-0 in the first, getting two explosive plays from wide receivers Devin Santana and Tim Ford-Brown.

3 Things About Their Spring
QB, Or Not QB: Jalen’s brother, rising junior Jelani Warren, took most of the snaps at QB last season, but head coach Mike Johnson is open to moving him to another skill position to take advantage of his speed and athleticism.

The taller frame of rising senior Trevor Maxwell would make a good substitute at QB. Maxwell played sparingly under center last season, but played the entire second half of the spring game.

“Maxwell only had two weeks of spring practice while playing baseball, but he picked things up quickly,” Thompson said. “With Jelani, it’s two different dynamics at QB. It will be a fun competition over the summer during the 7-on-7 games.”

Black Magic: Rising senior Devin Santana might just be the biggest threat on the offensive side of the football for the Coyotes. He led the team with 10 catches and 134 yards last season, and has the size, speed and hands every coach dreams of at the high school level. Santana had a sparkling play in the spring game against ZCA, scooping up a ball thrown at his feet on a five-yard slant and then turning it upfield for an 80-yard touchdown. If the Coyotes can figure out a way to get the ball in his hands, look out.

You Got Players: When Johnson started the program a year ago, he had a grand total of three players. Obviously, this past spring game was the program’s first, as 36 players dressed against ZCA.

“I’m extremely proud,” Johnson said. “We had 20 days to get the guys ready (for ZCA) and we showed flashes of what we can accomplish.” The Coyotes are still in search of an opponent for the preseason.

Education Notebook: Big Surprise For Weightman Middle School Student

Mayah Jaramillo hadn’t seen her brother, U.S. Air Force Airman E-2 Joel Jaramillo, the entire school year.

The graduating eighth grade student at Weightman Middle School had no idea that her mom and assistant principal Andressa Williams had been secretly planning to change that in a big way.

They’ve been plotting with Joel, stationed in Nevada, to get him home for her middle school promotion ceremony. They were hoping that when her name was called at the ceremony on May 25, Mayah would get the surprise of her life as Joel joined her on stage.

Plans were for Joel to take a red-eye flight to arrive the morning of the ceremony and sneak in the back door of the Wesley Chapel Center for Performing Arts on Wells Rd. to be there for his little sister’s special day.

Joel is a 2015 graduate of Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), but the last time Mayah saw him was at his graduation from basic training last August.

Because of his commitment to serve his country, Joel wasn’t able to drive her to school for her first day of eighth grade, as he had for her previous three first days of school. (See photo.)

The surprise went off without a hitch, as a shocked Mayah burst out in tears as her brother came up from behind and surprised her.

WRH Ranked Nationally

Wiregrass Ranch High has landed on the U.S. News & World Report list of 2018 Best High Schools.

Less than 30 percent of high schools in the country qualify for the list, and only four other schools in Pasco County appear on it: Land O’Lakes, Mitchell and Sunlake high schools, plus the Pasco e-School.

WRH earned a “Silver” badge, meaning it was in the top 11 percent of U.S. high schools. The U.S. News & World Report analysis ranked the school number 117 in Florida, with a 91 percent graduation rate and 37.4 college readiness ranking, out of 100.

The college readiness ranking is a measure of how many students took and passed at least one Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test before or during his or her senior year for the last year this data is available, which is 2015-16. (It does not consider students taking dual enrollment classes, which are a popular alternative to AP classes among high-achieving students at WRH).

“I can’t tell you how proud this news makes me,” said Kurt Browning, Pasco County’s superintendent of schools. “This is a testament to our administrators’ deliberate planning, our teachers’ high-impact instruction, and our students’ hard work and focus.”

For more information about Pasco’s schools on the 2018 Best High Schools report, go to USNews.com/education/best-high-schools.

High Schools Celebrate Graduates

Congratulations to the graduating classes of Wesley Chapel (WCH) and Wiregrass Ranch (WRH) high schools.

WRH students graduated on May 24, at the Sun Dome on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida (USF). The school’s valedictorian is Sabina Grace Boddupalli, who plans to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville and major in Business Administration.
WCH’s valedictorian is Karissa Sue Olsen. After graduating with the rest of her class at the USF Sun Dome on May 25, Karissa is planning to return to USF for college, where she’ll major in Pre-Physical Therapy.

Cypress Creek Middle High School, which opened this fall, did not have seniors this year. Its first graduates will be the class of 2019 next year.

Quail Hollow Elementary Kid Cooks Fall Short At ‘Challenge’

The team from Quail Hollow Elementary (QHE; bottom photo on next page) that was one of four finalists in the fifth annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge at One Buccaneer Place didn’t bring home the trophy they coveted.

Fifth-graders Gracie Evans, Madison Gulley, Katelyn O’Neil and Lindsey Overland prepared their Alfredo Smothered Roasted Red Pepper & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Swirls for the event, held on May 19 at the practice facility and HQ of the Tampa Bay Bucs.

But, they were bested by Lake Gibson Middle School in Polk County, which clinched the victory with its Quarterback Quesadillas with Pineapple Salsa recipe.

“It’s been another impressive year by our Tampa and Central Florida schools,” said Teresa Moran-Wiebe, Dairy Council of Florida, Director of Youth Wellness. “Each team demonstrated the versatility and nutritional value of dairy products in a creative way.”

The students’ creations were judged by Florida Dairy Farmer Courtney Campbell, Executive Chef of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Michael Beadles and Publix Aprons Cooking School Chef Alan Landers.

Hosted by the Dairy Council of Florida in partnership with the NFL, the cooking challenge is a fun-filled food competition for elementary and middle school students throughout Florida and is part of the “Fuel Up to Play 60” program.

School & Hospital Partner Up

North Tampa Christian Academy (NTCA), which is under construction on County Line Rd. and set to open for the 2018-19 school year, has announced a partnership with Florida Hospital, naming it the “official health and wellness partner” of the school.

The new private school is currently being built on more than 43 acres of land. It is now accepting applications for students in grades K-12, while its on-campus preschool is accepting applications for kids ages two to pre-K.

The partnership is an obvious fit, as the NTCA is the culmination of plans that started in 2012, when the Florida Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists began working in concert with the Adventist Health System and Florida Hospital West Florida Region to establish the school in this area.

Sandra Doran, Ed. D, NTCA’s Founding Head of School, says, “We are so thrilled to have Florida Hospital joining us, as our official health and wellness partner. Our core values truly align and it’s all about the students, providing them unique healthcare opportunities both in and outside the classroom setting.”

NTCA will is inviting the local community to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, inviting the community to tour the brand-new campus, on Tuesday, July 17, 11 a.m.

For a virtual tour of the school, visit SeeThisSchool.com. An informational session for interested parents will be held on Wednesday, June 20, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m., at Lincoln Memorial University Nursing School at Florida Hospital Health Park (3102 E. 138th Ave., Tampa). Call (813) 591-0309 for more info or to RSVP.

Nibbles & Bytes

Congrats To The North Tampa Bay Chamber Of Commerce!
O.K., so it’s not called the Wesley Chapel Chamber anymore and the new office is located in Lutz, but May 10 was still a pretty big day for the recently renamed North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, its CEO Hope Allen and her staff, Board of Directors and Ambassadors.
They and a total of about 200 Chamber members and guests were all on hand when Allen cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening of the Chamber’s new office at 1868 Highland Oaks Blvd., Suite A-1.

“This is such an amazing day for us,” Allen said, holding back tears. “Thank you for your continued support as we continue to support the businesses in our three-county area.”

It was as hot inside the Chamber’s new office — which also rents out suites to a number of tenants (who also had ribbon cuttings following the Chamber’s own scissors ceremony) — as it was outside, where the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club band “Strictly Business” played, there was great food provided by Chamber members like Culver’s and Chick-fil-A of Wesley Chapel, The Private Chef of Tampa, A Dash of Salt & Pepper, Fresh Healthy Café, Ava’s Lowcountry Cuisine, Tijuana Flats of WC, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Prime 19 Events at Cheval, Top Shelf Sports Lounge (at Florida Hospital Center Ice), Catering by Vesh, CBK Catering & Events, Chuy’s Tex-Mex, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Brunchies (Lutz), Pinchers Crab Shack, Buttermilk Provisions and Craft Café & Coffee Shop and beer and wine from A Time for Wine.

Also attending were dignitaries like State Rep. Danny Burgess, Pasco County commissioners Mike Moore and Jack Mariano and Pasco’s comptroller and clerk of courts Dr. Paula O’Neil, all of whom were genuinely excited to share in the celebration.

And, since the new Chamber office also leases space to other businesses, those businesses also held ribbon-cutting ceremonies during the event, including Realtor Mollyana Ward and Lagoon Realty, Washington Woods Accounting, Furr & Wegman Architects and Rettig & Associates.

In addition to the Strictly Business band, Allen also thanked Acme on the Go, West Coast Rentals and her staff for their help in making the Grand Opening another smashing success.

For Chamber membership & other information, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com or call (813) 994-8534.

La Prima Pizza Is For Sale!

If you love NY-style pizza as much as I do, you probably love La Prima Pizza, located next to the SuperTarget in the Northwoods Plaza.
If you’re interested in owning and/or operating a successful local restaurant, one of the few true NY-style pizza places in Wesley Chapel, you definitely should talk to La Prima owner (and my long-time friend) Willie Lopez and his Chef Dino, who are looking forward to retirement after 15 years of serving the Wesley Chapel community.

“It’s been an amazing run for us,” Lopez told me as I enjoyed yet another perfect slice from La Prima. “I believe there’s still tremendous growth opportunities here in an established, turnkey business. It just needs to be someone else’s business to make it happen.”

If you’d like more information about La Prima Pizza (1211 Bruce B. Downs {BBD} Blvd.), stop in or call Willie Lopez at (813) 907-2878.

Checking Out The Basement

Speaking of pizza, I know that many of our readers are still anxiously awaiting the Grand Opening of the new location of Amici Pizza (and Salon Tres Anne) in a new, freestanding building located a quarter-mile north of the Grand Oaks plaza that Amici and the salon used to call home. Although the new building is getting close to completion, we still haven’t heard an opening date announced.

On the other hand, we have already visited The Basement Beer & Wine Bar (photo on next pg.), the new bar and entertainment venue which has been open in Amici’s former space in the Grand Oaks Plaza for a couple of months.

I wish that The Basement would have full liquor, but the place that husband-and-wife owners Jason and Ashley bill as “The Best ‘80s Bar in Tampa” does have a fun vibe and offers DJ dancing on weekend evenings, trivia and karaoke during the week (my buddy, Gary Carmichael of Heart & Soul Karaoke is there on Thursday evenings), a pool table and a great selection of craft and other beers, plus a variety of house wines.

Here & There, This & That…
• The latest word from a company spokesperson on Bahama Breeze Island Grill, which is getting ready to open just east of Chuy’s Tex-Mex on the north side of S.R. 56, is that the Wesley Chapel Bahama Breeze should open this summer, sometime in July. We’ll keep you posted when the company announces an actual opening date.

• And, for those who can’t get enough pizza, we also have not yet gotten word as to when the new Pomodoro Pizza will open in the same plaza on S.R. 56 as Wolf’s Den (in the space formerly occupied by Kwan Ming Bistro), but the new sign promises New Jersey-style pizza, which New Yorkers will agree is slightly different than New York style, but we’ll let you know more when Pomodoro opens.

• The new Burger King, which will be the first new business to open in the development known as Brightwork Crossing, just west of the Walgreens at the junction of S.R. 54, S.R. 56 and Wesley Chapel Blvd., is now hiring. The building is nearly complete and should open before the unnamed apartment complex in the same development, which now has multiple buildings coming out of the ground. We’ll keep you posted.

• I was sad to hear that the Ellen’s Hallmark store in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center has closed. A spokesperson for the store says that Publix, the plaza’s landlord, had raised the rent too high for the 20-year-old store to continue. The Ellen’s Hallmark store in the Shoppes at New Tampa (S.R. 56 at BBD) is still open. — GN

American Wood Flooring Offers The Newest Products & All-Inclusive Pricing

Decorating trends change over the years and American Wood Flooring, located next to Marshall’s in the Super Target-anchored Northwoods Plaza, is always adapting to those changes. For example, formica cabinets and linoleum floors are pretty much things of the past. CEO Andy Dunning’s showroom reflects those changing trends and more.

“We’re always bringing in more samples and getting with manufacturers to fit the new demand for the most current styles,” he says.

The family business has been around for 25 years and started out exclusively in wood flooring, based out of anothr small storefront in New Port Richey. A little less than 12 years ago, Dunning opened the shop in Wesley Chapel. The showroom floor, crowded with sample displays, reflects how quickly trends have changed and how American Wood Flooring has changed along with them.

“When we started out, it was mainly wood flooring,” Dunning said. “Then, we had customers that wanted their whole house done, so we expanded into carpet. When we had customers who also wanted their bathrooms re-done, we expanded into tile, too.”

American Wood Flooring can cover the entire house — with wood, laminate, tile and carpet.

“We want to be your one-stop shop,” Dunning says.

“We just had carpeting installed on the second floor of our home,” says customer Jacqueline DeRoze. “They did such a superb job that we just ordered flooring for the entire main level.”

Everything-Included Pricing

Dunning says that customers sometimes get sticker shock when they look at American Wood Flooring’s prices per square foot when compared with other installers. But, that’s because every square-foot price at American Wood Flooring is all-inclusive — which means sub-floor preparation, underlayment, removal and disposal of old carpeting and padding, transition pieces, material and install of quarter-round trim. Even things like moving furniture in and out of the room are included in the price per square foot.

What’s more, American Wood Flooring offers a Lifetime Warranty on the installation, and that is offered through the store, not the installer. That means that if American Wood Flooring no longer uses a particular installer, the warranty is still valid, regardless of who did the installation. The only additional costs a customer might incur outside of the square foot quote is if old tile flooring needs to be torn out or if the project includes covering a staircase.

“It happens all the time when the customer is holding a quote from a big box store or competitor that’s for something like $2.99 a square foot,” Dunning said. “But, once they nickel and dime you to death, it often ends up that our quote is less than theirs and I stand behind what I sell.”

So, What Are The Latest Trends?

Color scheme-wise, Dunning says that grey- and white-wash tones are the newest trends. For laminate flooring, LVP, or Luxury Vinyl Plank, is the latest craze.

LVP is a hybrid of laminate and vinyl flooring that’s completely waterproof. Most laminate flooring is water-resistant but water can still seep into the cracks where the pieces fit together and saturate the fiber board, causing swelling and warping. LVP panels have a vinyl veneer that protects both the panels and the joints from water intrusion. The sub layer of the LVP is actually made from Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), a thermoplastic known for its rigidness.

A layer of cork separates the top layer of PVC from the bottom layer.

Flex Core Naturals is one of the five different brands of LVP flooring that American Wood Flooring has available.
“We brought it (LVP) into the store about 16 months ago and we were installing three to five floors a month with it,” Dunning said. “Now we’re putting in 12 to 15 LVP floors a month.”

LVP falls in the middle price range with regard to the different types of flooring, coming in between $5.99 and $7.99 per square foot. As a comparison, Dunning says some hardwood flooring can go as high as $17 or even $18 per square foot.

He adds that another benefit to LVP flooring compared with other types of laminate is the sound. Dunning says an air pocket exists between laminate flooring and the subfloor. This can make that knocking sound when walking on it with shoes, especially hard-soled shoes. LVP flooring lays flush with the subfloor, so it is quieter.

Another growing trend in flooring is the demand for American-made product.

“When we started in Wesley Chapel in 2008, about 40 percent of the product we sold was made domestically,” Dunning said. “This year, I would say that 75 percent of our product is made here in the U.S.”

Dunning says he enjoys this trend.

“Typically, the domestically-made products are better quality,” Dunning said. “Most are made from American lumber anyway. It puts Americans back to work and brings jobs back to the United States.”

Another bonus to ordering through American Wood Flooring is that there is no sales tax if American Wood Flooring also does the installation.

“The State of Florida considers flooring a permanent home improvement and customers can save the sales tax if we do the install,” Dunning says.

“American Wood Flooring installed all of the hardwood flooring in my house,” says another satisfied customer, Janet Noblett. “They did such a fabulous job. Andy is very professional, dependable and extremely knowledgeable. I have recommended him to many of my family and friends and they have all been so pleased.”

Right now, American Wood Flooring is offering a promotion for waterproof flooring for just $5.99 per square foot. The store also has a $3.99-per-square-foot laminate flooring special, as well as a $1.99- per-square-foot carpeting special.

American Wood Flooring also offers a refer-a-friend incentive. Customers who refer a friend receive $50 gift cards to restaurants like Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

The American Wood Flooring showroom in Wesley Chapel is located at 1285 BBD Blvd. and is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. For more info, visit AmericanWoodFlooringFla.com, or call (813) 991-7999.

Kalarickal Resigns As Chairman Of The Board Of North Tampa Bay Chamber

Local dentist Dr. Zack Kalarickal has officially resigned his position as Chairman of the Board (and the Board itself) of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC) only six months into his one-year term, citing family concerns.

Immediate past president Jennifer Cofini of the Parks Auto Group, who read the Chamber’s official statement to more than 100 NTBC members at this morning’s Monthly Business Breakfast at PHSC’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, has stepped in to serve the remainder of Dr. Kalarickal’s term.

Look for more details in the June 15 & June 29 editions of the Neighborhood News.’