Old Saint Nick brought good tidings and cheer to the Miner household, even if the big fellas was a day late.
On December 26, the Miner family was notified that their son Jordan, a defensive back and offensive playmaker for Wiregrass Ranch High’s football team, was selected to be a member of USA Football’s U19 US National Team.
The national team brings in top high school athletes from all over the country and flies them in to Arlington, TX, where Miner has been preparing for tonight’s game against Team Canada at 8 p.m. on ESPN 3.
“It feels good that all of my hard work has paid off,” Jordan Miner said. “I’m really looking forward to playing for my country and with some of the best talent around the world.”
Joining Miner on the All-American team is childhood friend and former Wesley Chapel High standout Isaiah Bolden.
Bolden and Miner have been friends since the sixth grade, but were never able to play together as they played for crosstown, rival middle and high school teams. They will finally get the chance to be teammates, even if it’s only for one game.
Bolden, originally a Florida State University oral commitment before flipping to the University of Oregon, followed former Ducks head coach Willie Taggart back to FSU and signed with the Seminoles during the inaugural early signing period last month.
Miner, a firm Penn State commitment, signed with the Nittany Lions.
“Jordan has been following high school football for a long time,” John Miner, his dad, said. “He had two goals for high school, one was to sign with a Division 1 school and the other was to be an All-American.”
The Bull baller had an outstanding season for Wiregrass Ranch in 2017, and his contributions were felt all over the field. He finished with four interceptions and 39 tackles on defense, and on offense rushed for 432 yards and six TDs, caught 17 passes for 215 yards and three TDs, and even completed five of seven passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
On special teams, he averaged 26.3 yards per kick return and 19.2 yards per punt return.
“We needed him (Miner) more on the offensive side of the ball this year and Jordan was offering to take over more responsibility there,” said Wiregrass Ranch head coach Mark Kantor. “It helped us fix things to where teams had to worry about him at many different positions.”
It also helped the Bulls make the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Bulls won their first playoff game ever, 17-10 over Lake Nona.
If you’ve attended a Cypress Creek Middle High School boys basketball game this year, you might have thought you were seeing the same two players over and over and over again.
You’re not.
The Coyotes have not one, but two sets of identical twins this season on their varsity roster — juniors Tai-Sheim and Jai-Keem Anthony, and sophomores Jalen and Jehlani Warren.
Chemistry is the name of the game for both sets of brothers.
The Anthonys moved to the Wesley Chapel area from Atlanta as fifth graders, already in tune with each other on the basketball court. They began to develop roles when they came up to the Wesley Chapel High (WCH) junior varsity team as sophomores a year ago, Tai-Sheim as a guard/forward, Jai-Keem as a point guard/shooting guard.
“I remember the first game (at WCH) last year, I scored 19,” Jai-Keem said. “The next game, I scored 21 and it seemed to get easier from there.”
The brothers never have a problem finding each other on the court. “I know I can look up the court and he (Tai-Sheim) will be in the corner for the three,” Jai-Keem said. “It always easy for us to find each other on the court.”
Both players would like to be the Cypress Creek point guard,but Tai-Sheim has accepted his role. “I’m fine with it (not being the point),” Tai-Sheim says. “He (Jai-Keem) is shorter, so coach put him at point. I just try to fit in wherever I play.”
The Warren twins aren’t playing together as Coyotes for the first time. Jehlani is the quarterback of the football team, while Jalen is one of the running backs and also played strong safety.
The two have a lengthy history on the courts, however, and sometimes Jehlani and Jalen have even had to face off as opponents in various leagues. “When we used to play together in rec leagues, they made us play on separate teams because we were so good together,” Jehlani says.
The Warren twins’ dad, Christopher, says that it wasn’t until their last year of AAU basketball that his twins were allowed to play on the same team together.
“They would take turns taking over games,” Christopher Warren said. “They pushed the offense along and were a good 1-2 punch.”
The Warrens grew up in Virginia Beach,and only moved to the Wesley Chapel area last year. They, like the Anthonys, developedinto their respective roles playing in rec leagues and in middle school.
Jehlani was more of a shooting guard or small forward, and Jalen played a lot of point guard. He has since shifted to shooting guard and forward for the Coyotes, as Cypress Creek already has Jai-Keem and freshman Willie Ravenna, who can play point. But, Jalen still finds his brother when he needs to deliver a pass.
“When I’m dribbling in, he (Jehlani) knows if I’m gonna cut or pass it,” Jalen says. “It’s very exciting because he’s the person I know best, and I know he’s not going to fail me.”
There’s a mutual confidence boost when the twins are on the floor together. “I’m more confident (with Jalen on the court),” Jehlani says.
The sets of twins, and the rest of the Coyotes, picked up their first win ever by beating Sarasota Military Academy 53-49 on Dec. 19 — their last game before the holiday break. Their schedule so far has been brutal, with losses to Wiregrass Ranch High, Berkeley Prep and Tampa Catholic.
Isaiah Flores leads the team with 8.3 points a game, with Jai-Keem right behind him at 7.3 and Tai-Sheim at 6.
“Both sets of twins are great kids that come from great families and they give 100 percent,” Coyotes head coach Anthony Mitchell says. “Our team is a work in progress, but having siblings together helps unite us.”
The Freedom wrestling team rewrote the school record book last season, but may not be done making history, says coach Derrick McCoy. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
The most successful winter sports program at Freedom High in Tampa Palms this season might very well be the school’s wrestling team.
No, really.
Not historically strong, the Patriots had a breakout season in 2016-17, and are primed for even better things this winter.
Head coach Derrick McCoy has been at the helm for five years now. He remembers when he took over the program in 2012 and had just six wrestlers. Prior to the Thanksgiving Break, McCoy had 29 certified wrestlers with four more in the process, bumping his total squad number up to 33.
“This will be the first year all of the weight classes are filled, and all but the 106-lb. class have more than one guy in them,” McCoy says.
Last season, the Patriots were the Class 3A, District 7 runners-up, scoring 152.5 points, just behind champion Steinbrenner, which had 155.5. They were fourth at the Hillsborough County Championships, had nine regional qualifiers, three state qualifiers and senior Alex Kiester placed fifth at the Class 3A state meet.
All were program firsts.
Last season also was the first that McCoy had the services of an assistant coach. Mike Neuman, a collegiate wrestler for the University of Iowa, was a full-time assistant to McCoy last year, and the extra coach is just what the budding Patriots team needed.
“Before, it would be just me and like 20 kids,” McCoy says. “Now we’re able to break up into groups, so the extra help is great.”
Keeping pace with program firsts, Kiester, Freedom’s top wrestler, has become the first Patriots wrestler to commit to a college program — Queens University in Charlotte, NC.
“I think if he really pushes it, he could be a finalist at State this year,” McCoy said. “He’ll have to focus on the State champ from last year (Brevin Balmeceda of Miami South Dade).”
Kiester is set to move up from 145 pounds to 152 this year, and while much of his competition from last year also will move up, the second, third and fourth-place finishers at 145 pounds from 2016-17 have graduated.
Senior Jerry Miller will slot into Kiester’s old weight class at 145, and the pair are training partners. Miller got knocked out in what is known as the “blood round” at Regionals (the elimination round in wrestlebacks that determines whether you advance to states or not) last season, but McCoy expects Miller to qualify this year.
Senior Dawson Baker at 170 lbs. is another wrestler McCoy expects to make States. Baker suffered a season-ending injury at Districts, but McCoy cites him as one of the hardest workers in the room. Sophomore Blake Schroyer at 120 is another solid State prospect; he was a Regional qualifier as a freshman but drew State runner-up Michael Bush of Sarasota in the second round and was sent to wrestlebacks.
Senior 132-pounder Zion Factora was a backup to senior State qualifier Tommy Barker last season, but could break through to States himself this year, and 220-pound junior Andres Procel has grown into his body for his junior year.
Wrestling in the 195-pound class but weighing just 190 last season, Procel is up to 219 with just 12% body fat heading into 2017-18.
McCoy is hoping to advance four wrestlers to States this year and has put together a solid schedule to battle test them. The Patriots will actually host two 6-way duals this season, and the 3A-7 District tournament. The Patriots also will host cross-town rival Wharton on Dec. 13, where Freedom will be heavy favorite.
HOOPS, THERE IT IS:
After a nice three-year run in which Freedom averaged 20 wins and advanced to the playoffs twice, the Patriots were hit hard by graduation and stumbled to a 9-12 record last year.
The Freedom boys basketball team hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2016-17 campaign. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
Much of the drop-off was attributed to the tough competition in Class 8A, District 8, where the Patriots posted a 7-8 record.
However, head coach Cedric Smith thinks his boys are due to have a much better season in 2017-18. It starts with returning four-year starter and 6-foot-9 center Alek Rojas.
“Alek is the one guy who has played since his freshman year,” Smith says. “We’re fortunate to have that big guy that allows us to play like a traditional basketball team. It creates matchup problems when teams try to play zone (defense).”
The starting point guard from last season, junior Nick Butler, returns as well.
“Nick got an unbelievable education from the previous point guards (Nasir Core and Keyshon Reddish) ahead of him,” Smith says. “You want your point guard to be an extension of the coach.”
Very little experience returns otherwise for the Pats. Junior scoring guard Trevian Henson is back, but players like forwards Jeremiah Ashe and Dante Johnson are new and raw, and will be counted on to help get the Patriots claw back to the top.
“We got our butts kicked last year and the guys are more hungry to work and to listen this year,” Smith said. “This group reminds me of the first group that won the District in 2012-13. Their eyes are open, they’re listening, they want to get better.”
Freedom is 1-2, including a 65-52 loss to Wharton.
GIRLS HOOPS STARTING OVER
The Freedom girls basketball team had a great season a year ago, going 17-8, even if it was underlined by an early exit in the district playoffs.
Megan Clark led the team, averaging 23.3 points per game, but now laces up to play for Tennessee Tech University.
In fact, the Patriots girls graduated roughly 90 percent of their offense, but Coach Laurie Pacholke is getting solid production already from junior guard Emoni Thomas, who scored 29 points in season-opening win over Hillsborough, and Regan Roger, a 6-1 wing who added 18 against the Terriers.
Roger is one of five Freedom players 5-10 or taller, so size isn’t a problem. But, finding the players to run the floor like Pacholke likes will be, at least in the early going.
SOPH COACHES SEEK SUCCESS
The Freedom girls soccer team had a pedestrian 6-6-2 season last year, but it was also head coach Jen DeMik’s first year at the helm.
The Patriots recovered from losing their first four games, going 6-2-2 the rest of the season. They started 2017-18 on the right foot, winning their first games as Allie Freihofer led the way. The freshman put three goals in the net in the first two games of the season, and she is one of seven Patriots to already score, though the Patriots fell to 2-2 heading into this week.
Boys second-year coach Cornelis Van Der Luit brought the Patriots up from the cellar last year, going 7-7-2 after a 3-12-2 mark the year before, but seven seniors from last year’s squad have graduated. The Patriots are 2-4-1, and are coming off 6-0 win over East Bay.
The Wharton girls soccer team has the tools to put together its best season yet. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
The Wharton girls soccer team may be ready for a breakthrough.
The Wildcats are off to a 7-2 start (heading into Friday’s game against Steinbrenner), with the only losses coming to Class 3A State runner-up Land O’Lakes and undefeated Palm Barhor University. Experience will be a strong suit for this year’s Wharton grads.
“We lost six seniors from last year’s (12-6-3) team, four of which went on to play in college,” head coach Denis Vukorep said. “Last year, we were still finding our identity. We had just one senior and she was injured most of the year. This year, we return all 11 starters.”
Two of those seniors are already making a charge at the school record books.
Keeper Caroline DeLisle, who recently signed with the University of Central Florida in Orlando, made 150 saves and posted six clean sheets in 2016-17. She is on pace to break the school record for career shutouts.
“The psychology of having one of the top keepers in the state back there helps us,” Vukorep said. “Teams come into the game like we’re up 1-0 already.”
Senior forward Alisha Deschenes already has the school record for goals in a season, after scoring 23 last season. Deschenes is getting some attention from smaller schools to play at the next level, and Vukorep says she’s perfectly capable of playing at the Division I-A level.
Junior midfielder Sydney Hubbard (tied for team high with eight goals to go with seven assists) pairs well with Deschenes, who has eight goals and eight assist.
“Sydney is a center-mid that’s responsible for defense who can also be creative in the attack,” Vukorep said. “She has a way of putting herself in good positions.”
Vukorep is confident Hubbard will find a D-1 school to play for at some point. At center back, towering junior Callista Ferrin pushes the six-foot stratosphere.
“She’s an intimidating figure in the back,” Vukorep said.
The Wildcats’ biggest hurdle will once again be their schedule. Their district, Class 5A, District 7, is one of the toughest in the state and every team finished with a winning record last year.
What’s changed this season? Not much — heading into Thanksgiving break, the combined record of 5A-7’s six teams was an astounding 38-6-4, and most of those losses are against each other.
The strength down the middle is the strength of the Wildcats this season; Deschenes, Hubbard, Ferrin (and DeLisle protectingthe goal) form a backbone of a team looking to win its first District title since the 2010-11 season.
“This year is probably our best chance,” Vukorep said.
SHOOTING FOR ANOTHER 20
No one has been more consistent than Tommy Tonelli’s Wharton boys basketball program over the past decade or so. Last year, the Wildcats finished 20-6, the ninth straight season under Tonelli dating back to 2006-07 that they have won 20 or more games.
The starting lineup for the 2017-18 Wharton boys basketball team includes: (back row, l.-r.): Nate Barnes, DJ Henderson & Ryan Anders; (front row, l.-r.) Darin Green Jr. & Carr Thiam
If Wharton is going to make it 10 straight, and make the playoffs again, the ‘Cats will have to do it with a brand new starting five.
Junior guard and captain Darin Green Jr. already has several Division 1 scholarship offers and, according to Tonelli, “is one of the top shooters in the state.”
Senior captain DJ Henderson is the projected starting point guard for the Wildcats. The third guard is sophomore Carr Thiam; Tonelli says that Thiam did a great job on JV last season and developed well over the summer.
Senior captain Ryan Anders and senior Nate Barnes are the two forwards. Barnes enters his fourth year with the program and third on varsity. Tonelli gives high marks to Anders’ strong off-season work.
The Wildcats will host the Class 8A-8 District playoffs, which may give them a needed edge.
“Seeding is going to be crucial for this year’s District tournament,” Tonelli says. “It’s definitely an advantage to be hosting it.”
Last season, Sickles hosted the tourney and cruised all the way to the State championship, handing Wharton three of its six losses last season. Former Wharton junior varsity coach Mike Weaving takes over as head coach at Sickles.
“To me, Sickles is still the team to beat,” Tonelli says. “They have three starters returning, experience, a good squad and a good coach.”
But Friday night, Wharton upset the Gryphons 44-38.
The Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches Association (TBBCA) hosts a summer tournament every year and this past summer, Plant defeated Tampa Catholic in the finals.
The Wildcats won all 10 of their summer league games and made the semifinals in the tournament.
“That summer league is a pretty good gauge of where you’re going to be in the winter season,” Tonelli said.
The Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start.
STRONG DOWN THE MIDDLE:
The Wharton boys soccer team battled to a respectable 9-7-2 record last season, but will have to make do this season without its leading scorer.
Wharton will likely rely heavily on senior Jamal Farhoud, who had eight goals last season, and junior keeper Andy Ilken, who had five shutouts and a 2.24 goals-against-average as a sophomore.
Not too dissimilar to the girls squad, the Wharton boys have strength down the middle. It starts in the back with Ilken, who had 98 saves a year ago. In front of Ilken, center back Matthew Hartnell returns and senior midfielder Matthew Dookie lines up in front of Hartnell, while Farhoud returns at forward.
YOUTH TAKING CHARGE:
Head coach Chad Reed comes into his 10th year at the helm of the Wharton girls basketball team. The ‘Cats are searching for their first .500 season since 2013-14, and their first winning season since 21-5 in 2009-10.
To improve on their 6-19 mark from last season, the Wharton boys will have to overcome losing almost 50 percent of their offense to graduation. Senior guard Parker Onderko, who averaged 5 ppg last year, is expected to be a more significant factor.
The Wildcats were 3-3 heading into Friday’s game against Steinbrenner.
REBUILDING ON THE MAT:
It’s a rebuilding year for head coach David Mitchell in the wrestling room. According to Mitchell, the 2017-18 squad is the smallest group he’s ever had at the school, with eight or nine wrestlers from last season who didn’t return.
“It’s hard to get started after taking time off,” Mitchell said. “Wrestling is a year-round sport. You find you can beat a guy one year and then he’ll beat you the next year, because he didn’t take any time off.” Seniors Jonathan Gomez (195 lbs) and Gabriel Schroeder (160) will be two of the notable Wildcat grapplers this season.
The Wiregrass Ranch High boys soccer team, a state semifinalist in 2015, is poised to have its best season yet. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
Below are five teams we’re watching closely this winter high school sports season:
1:Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) Boys Soccer — Head coach David Wilson says that the 2017-18 team could potentially be the best he’s ever had. That’s saying a lot from a coach who brought his team to the state semifinals in 2015 and hasn’t lost a game against a Pasco County team in four years.
“When you have a strong and talented group of seniors that have played together for three years on varsity, there’s potential for great things,” Wilson said.
A trio of senior veterans coming off All-State seasons form the down-the-middle strength for the Bulls. Center back Jackson Trudel controls the game from the back line. Center-mid Royce Luedde is 6-foot-4 and controls the air, the middle of the field and is great on set pieces. Midfielder Ian Flores is one of the most highly-recruited players Wilson’s ever had, with 60 colleges having contacted him, including Rutgers Univ. in New Brunswick, NJ, which has offered him a scholarship.
The youngsters aren’t bad either – freshman Justin Amis and junior Rafael Silva scored three goals apiece in a 13-0 preseason win over Hernando, with sophomores Noah Leonard and Jake Bierhorst pitching in two goals each.
2:WRH Boys Basketball — The Bulls have had the unenviable situation to be mired in Class 8A, District 8, which is brutally tough, with the likes of perennial New Tampa powerhouses Freedom and Wharton, as well as defending state champion Sickles. If the Bulls continue to build on their 2016-17 arc, they might be ready to pull even with that triumvirate of top-tier teams.
“Eight seniors return for this year’s team,” says Bulls head coach Jeremy Calzone. “So, if there’s a year to do it, it’s this one. It’s the most experience we’ve ever had to start a season.”
Senior forwards Jayden Wilson (6’-9”) and Justin Rush (6’-6”) give the Bulls great size. Junior guard Elijah Howell is the team’s best shooter and leader on the floor. Senior guards Val Garcia and Jordan Miner also are veterans who have been on varsity since their freshman years.
3:Cypress Creek Middle High (CCH) Girls Weightlifting — New program starts from scratch, right? Not so much. Four-year Wesley Chapel High (WCH) girls weightlifting coach Tico Hernandez has 24 girls on the team to start the season.
Like their coach, sophomores Addison Metcalf and Megan Faysash, who is already emerging as the team leader, come over from WCH. Junior Neely Peterson didn’t lift in 2016-17, but is a fierce competitor, according to Hernandez. Freshman Emily Speck is the team’s spark plug and is working to perfect her skills and technique.
4:Wesley Chapel High (WCH) Girls Basketball — The team’s toughest opponent this year likely will be adversity.
Coming off their best record (15-9) since the 2009-10 season with everyone poised to return, the Wildcats lost their top returner to an ACL injury, and CCH’s opening just four miles away took some of WCH’s other key players.
“We lost 80 percent of our scoring from last year,” Livingston said. “We only return three kids total from last year’s varsity team.”
But the toughest adversity will come in the form of getting over the death of a family member. The Monday prior to tryouts, assistant coach Marcellus “Coach Shack” Shackelford was killed in a car accident.
Shackelford was the only assistant four-year head coach Peter Livingston ever had.
“There’s a lot of adversity we’re trying to overcome this year,” Livingston said. “We also want to celebrate him (Coach Shackelford) and try to get ready for the season.”
5:WCH Boys Basketball — Last season was a down year for the typically steady Wildcats boys basketball team. After a 21-8 season two years ago, WCH managed just a 9-17 record in 2016-17.
They should bounce back this season, as they get a shot in the arm from the school’s football team. Division I-A senior football recruits Chaz Neal (who is 6’-9”) and Isaiah Bolden will take to the hardwood for the ‘Cats in 2017-18.
Neal played in seven games for Armwood a year ago, averaging three rebounds.
Old Saint Nick brought good tidings and cheer to the Miner household, even if the big fellas was a day late.
