Freedom and Wharton set to tip-off promising boys, girls hoops seasons

FreedomghoopsWEB
Point guard Nari Garner (left) and forward Megan Clark will be counted on to fill a big void and keep the Patriots atop the district standings this season. (Photo/John C. Cotey)

Most coaches would be fretting over the loss of a player who averaged 35 points a game, a player who became Hillsborough County’s all-time leading girls’ scorer and was the undeniable and unstoppable thrust of the offense last season.

Not Freedom girls basketball head coach Laurie Pacholke.

Oh sure, the loss of everyone’s Player of the Year Taylor Emery, who signed with Tulane University, will hurt a little. And the transition to a more balanced offense is sure to hit a few bumps along the way.

But Pacholke doesn’t think those bumps will derail what she expects to be another solid season.

“I’m super excited,’’ she said. “You know, last year we always had Taylor with her 30-35 points, and someone else with 15 or so and it was a different player every night. Now those (other) players will be able to showcase their talents more.”

Basketball season tips off next week, with the Patriots playing at Spoto and the Wharton girls opening at Alonso, both on Nov. 12.

The Wharton boys host Strawberry Crest the following week in their season opener Nov. 17, and the Freedom boys open the next night at Leto.

You can expect much of the same from the New Tampa squads again this season. While the Wharton girls have hovered under .500 the past few seasons, the other three teams have enjoyed making it at least as far as the regional final, with the Wildcat boys and Patriot girls going to the state semifinals, and have combined to win 295 games and lose only 103 the last five seasons.

The Wharton boys haven’t won fewer than 20 games since 2008-09.

However, the Freedom girls have the biggest shoes to fill this season.

With Emery gone after a 26-3 season, Pacholke will lean on returning 5-foot-7 senior Nari Garner and a cast of teammates that the coach says is ready to breakout.

Garner, a slick ball-handler who averaged 5.7 assists last season, is one of Hillsborough County’s top point guards and a team leader.

She will be counted on to fill up the hoop a little more this season in Emery’s absence. Garner didn’t have to score a lot last season but had games of 21, 20 and 18 twice on the way to averaging 10.8 points and is capable of more.

“I think anybody will tell you in high school basketball, as long as you have good guard play, you’ll be okay,’’ Pacholke said.

Garner will have help from 5-8 junior forward Megan Clark, but will have to wait until the end of December. The all-around talent averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game last season, but Clark tore her ACL at the USF Team Camp in June.

Senior forward Makayla Gentry will be much improved, Pacholke said, and the coach is eager to see what players like juniors Ashley Bell, Taraja Leon and Olivia Gonzalez do in potentially expanded roles.

And Pacholke says the defense, usually very good but underappreciated, will be a weapon again.

The Patriots are still the team to beat in Class 7A, District 8, where Steinbrenner, Sickles and Plant are expected to be their top competition.

“We’re still going to be really good,” said Pacholke, whose team will play its first game at home Nov. 20 against Sickles. “I think because Taylor was so good, you didn’t really get to see what our younger kids can do. But they are good. I think you’ll see that this year.”

Pacholke adds, “It’s a whole new vibe, we are looking forward to it.’’

WHARTON BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Tommy Tonelli
Last year: 24-5
District record (8A-7 in 2014-15): 9-1
District outlook: The Wildcats’ new District 7A-8 will be even tougher this year, with the addition of a Sickles team that is probably the District’s favorite. But, the Wildcats and Freedom should both be in the playoff race.
Key returners: G/F Evan Trice (Sr., 6-2), F Josiah Crawford (Sr., 6-3), G Matthew Tonelli (Sr., 5-11), F Devontres Dukes (Sr., 6-4), PG Tray Gildon (Jr., 5-10)
X-Factor: F Dae’Son Barnes (So., 6-3).
Season Outlook: Since returning for his second stint as Wharton head coach in 2009, Tonelli has averaged 23.6 wins a season. The Wildcats should approach that mark again this time around, too. Trice (12 ppg, 4 assists, 4 rebs) and Crawford (9 ppg, 6 rebs) will lead the way after a big offseason in which Wharton captured the Southeast Basketball Academy (SEBA) Summer League title. Gildon will run the point and Tonelli said the shifty guard has shown tremendous improvement this offseason. Gildon will be backed up by the coach’s scrappy son Matthew Tonelli, and Dukes can be a force inside. Barnes could be a special find for the Wildcats as he moves up from junior varsity. In fact, Barnes could be one of a few jayvee players from last year’s 15-1 squad to have on impact on varsity.
The schedule: The Wildcats open the season Nov. 17 hosting Strawberry Crest, and also play Nov. 18 (at Wiregrass Ranch), 20 (at Plant) and 21 (host Newsome).

WHARTON GIRLS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Chad Reed
Last year: 8-19
District record (8A-7 in 2014-15): 3-7
District outlook: The Wildcats’ district added some top teams, making the Wildcats playoff hopes a little harder to reach as Freedom, Sickles and Plant will be the co-favorites.
Key returners: F Lauren Wall (Sr., 6-0), C Sabrena Eye (Jr., 6-1), G Diamond Wells (Sr., 6-0), G Ashley Jones (Jr., 5-8).
Season Outlook: Reed inherited a program that was just 1-21 the year before he got there and turned them into a 21-5 team his first season. Since then, the Wildcats have not finished over .500 and last year tumbled to a 8-19 finish, the worst under Reed. The Wildcats lost leading scorer Nicole Wolard to graduation, but second leading scorer Wall (9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds) is back for the ‘Cats. Wells, who averaged a team-best 9.7 rebounds to go with 8.2 points a contest, also is back. Wall, Wells and Eye are all 6-feet tall or better, giving the Wildcats some value along the frontline, although Wall also led the team in three-pointers. Jones will play point guard for the Wildcats, who improved as last season went on and only lost by two points to Plant in the district tournament.
The schedule: The Wildcats play seven games in November, all against teams that won at least 16 games last season and went to the playoffs. The Wildcats open on the road at Alonso (Nov. 12) and play their first home game Nov. 13 against Plant City.

FREEDOM BOYS BASKETBALL
Head coach: Cedric Smith
Last year: 22-7
District record (7A-8): 10-0
District outlook: Freedom will be reunited with rival Wharton in district play this season, making the two meetings between the teams this season must-see basketball in New Tampa.
Key returners: G Sheldon Odunna (Sr., 6-3), G Nasir Cole (Sr., 6-0), PG Dylan Angel (Sr., 6-1), C Alex Rojas (So., 6-8).
X-Factor: F Chase Creasy (Jr., 6-4).
Season Outlook: Last year, the Patriots spread the ball around, as 17 different players scored. Well, 15 of those players were underclassmen, giving Smith the most experienced team he’s ever had. It could prove to be his best team, as well. Odunna continues to show great improvement year-to-year and is the team’s best player, averaging a team-high 16.1 points last season. Smith says he is one of the best guards in the county. He shares the backcourt with Cole and Angel, and guard play is one of the Patriots’ strengths. Freedom has a host of long wings to fuel the defensive side, like senior Jamal Byrnes and Quenden James, and Smith said Creasy is good enough to be a starter but he needs his offense off the bench. After reaching the regional final in 2013-14, Smith and his Patriots are ready for the next step.
The schedule: Freedom opens up on the road with a game at Leto (Nov. 18) before the home opener Nov. 20 vs. Sickles. Oh, and then it’s Wharton on Dec. 1.

NEW TAMPA HOOPS BY THE NUMBERS
115 — combined victories the last five seasons (23/year) by the Wharton boys basketball team.
108 — combined victories (21.6/year) by the Freedom girls basketball team the last five years.
15 — players who made at least one free throw for the Freedom last year.
13 — all-time playoff appearances by the Wharton boys, the most of any boys or girls hoops team in New Tampa.
6 — consecutive playoff appearances by the Wharton boys, including a state semifinal appearance in 2013.
3 — all-time playoff appearances by Freedom, including the last two seasons.
50.6 — percentage of the Freedom girls’ team’s points scored last year by Taylor Emery (1,020 of 2,012).
10 — all-time playoff appearances by the Wharton girls, one more than Freedom.
12 — of February, when the girls Class 7A State final four begins.
1 — of December, when the Wharton & Freedom boys & girls teams will square off at Wharton in the “Battles for Bruce B. Downs”
19 — of February, when the boys Class 7A state final four begins.

 

Turnout for Special Operations Warrior Foundation a thriller

hamptoweenThe New Tampa community of Grand Hampton recently held its second annual community 5K road race and children’s one-mile fun run, raising $6,050 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

The theme of the event this year, held on Oct. 17, was the “Grand Hamptoween Monster Dash” and “‘Lil Monster Dash,” featuring a twilight run through the streets of Grand Hampton. Children and adults also competed in monster costume contests, sponsored by Cartwright Realty.

A haunted house, bounce houses, DJ dance party, face painting, popcorn, pizza and food catered by OTB Delights Café provided hours of fun and entertainment to hundreds of Grand Hampton residents and Tampa Bay-area runners. Florida Race Management provided the 5K race course and timing, as all runners had chipped bibs this year.

A “flash mob” of monster dancers set the tone for the race, performing a routine to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Twelve other area corporations and businesses combined as donors for this year’s race, and many were present at the race site.

Walgreens at Country Line Road and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. was a second-year sponsor and also provided flu shots on-site. Other second-year sponsors were the Melrose Management Partnership, Two Men & A Truck, The Breakfast Nook of Lutz, Valley Crest, Bright House Networks, Dr. Lisa LaPresti of Sea of Smiles Children’s Dentistry and ICI Homes.

First-year sponsors included AAA, Donna “K” Kempinksi of Keller Williams, Ierna’s Heating & Cooling and Dr. Bill Scheu’s New Tampa Chiropractic & Injury Center.

The Tampa-based Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) provides full scholarships and grants as well as counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions. Immediate financial assistance also is provided to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.

As the main community event for the fall season, this year’s Grand Hamptoween 5K race more than doubled the charitable donation to SOWF over last year’s race and provided lots of family and athletic fun for all.— Special to the Neighborhood News

 

Caetano running for school board post

CaetanoWEBAfter filing last year to regain his old Tampa City Council District 7 seat, New Tampa’s Joseph Caetano ended up not running, saying he had a change of heart.

Now, he says, he is following his heart.

Caetano is one of five candidates who have (so far) filed to replace Carol Kurdell in the District 7 seat on the Hillsborough County School Board in 2016, returning to what he says are his roots.

Caetano says he was a school board member in Woburn, MA, from 1981-85, and he plans on taking some of the things he championed then and using them to build his platform now for the District School Board election, which will be held during the Primary Election on August 30, 2016.

(Note-Unless one of the five Dist. 7 candidates garners at least 50-percent of the vote on Aug. 30, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to a runoff during the General Election on November 8, 2016.)

Specifically, Caetano, 82, says he will run on vocational education, which he says was the backbone of the school district he served up north.

“I know vocational education is a dirty word (to some people),’’ he says. “But it’s a very good system.”

Some other concerns Caetano said he hopes to tackle: the financial woes of the Hillsborough school district, graduation rates that he says remain far too low and increasing the pay for the District’s bus drivers.

This won’t be the first time Caetano has run for the Hillsborough School Board. In 1996, he was unsuccessful in a deep field of nine for a countywide that included winner Sharon Danaher, although Caetano says he received 20,450 votes.

“I know they (the voters) are going to end up loving my message when I come out again,’’ he said.

“They” had better love him, because Caetano already faces four other candidates for the District 7 seat — a little less than a year before the Aug. 30 Primary Election.

If he ends up following through this time on his filing, this will be Caetano’s first campaign since he served on the Tampa City Council from 2007-11. He was unseated in March 2011 by current District 7 Council member Lisa Montelione, finishing third of four candidates and attracting 19 percent on the vote.

Caetano, a longtime Tampa Palms resident now living in Grand Hampton, owned the Bostonian Hair Studio in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center for more than two decades (and a second salon in the New Tampa Center plaza for several years), before filing for bankruptcy in 2008 and closing both of those salons. He later opened and closed two salons in Wesley Chapel and helped his daughter, Jacquie, open the Urban Renewal Hair & More salon in the Pebble Creek Collection a couple of years ago.

The always-colorful Caetano promises that his age won’t hold him back. He said he works out at a gym every day and is in top shape.

“I think I can make a difference; I’m a hard worker,’’ Caetano said. “I’m going to win the election, I’ll tell you that now. I’ll work my (butt) off. And I’m running from here down to Apollo Beach. I’ll be knocking on doors and advertising.”

Caetano said he plans on forming a committee in the coming months to plan his campaign and begin his fund-raising efforts in earnest.

For more information, email Joseph Caetano at caetanobim@aol.com.

First Pasco County all-star game will feature 10 from Wesley Chapel

Wiregrass Ranch RB/DB Brandon Mosley is one of 10 players from Wiregrass and Wesley Chapel High named to the first all-star game. (photo: John C. Cotey)
Wiregrass Ranch RB/DB Brandon Mosley is one of 10 players from Wiregrass and Wesley Chapel High named to the first all-star game. (photo: John C. Cotey)

Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel didn’t come close to making the football playoffs this season, but a handful of players from each team will get one more high school football game their senior season.

The rosters were announced for the 2015 Pasco County East-West Classic, the first-ever all-star game for the county, and the Bulls and Wildcats are well-represented, by players and coaches as Wiregrass Ranch head coach Mark Kantor will be in charge of the East.

Making the team from Wesley Chapel were wide receiver Brian Mena, offensive and defensive linemen Naim Smith and Tristan Pauwels, kicker Chase Oknefski and linebacker Mike Mosley.

The Bulls representatives will be wide receiver Taylor Bleistein, offensive and defensive linemen Tyler Ichimura and Marque Davis, running back and defensive back Brandon Mosley and linebacker Ty DeCarire.

 

The game, organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at Sunlake High School (3023 Sunlake Blvd., Land O’Lakes). Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at any of the high schools or at participating Beef O’Brady’s.

 

Two-county police chase starts in Tampa Palms, ends in St. Petersburg

Teamwork between the Tampa and St. Petersburg police departments, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office, continued to yield results as a stolen car chase that started in New Tampa resulted in the arrest of seven in St. Petersburg Monday morning.

The TPD, SPPD and  PCSO have been working more closely together since forming a regional Auto Theft Task Force on Aug. 14, designed to attack the growing number of auto thefts with cooperation beyond each county’s borders.

According to TPD, at approximately 3:39 a.m., Nov. 2, Sgt. O. Rosa was at Tampa Palms Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. when he discovered the car ahead of him at a traffic light had been reported stolen.

Rosa initiated a pursuit, which was then joined by other officers until they were able to pull back and let a Tampa police helicopter take over, tracking the stolen car all the way to 15th Avenue S. and 7th Street S. in St. Petersburg.

Several of the suspects in the car jumped out and ran into the house, which was quickly surrounded by Tampa and St. Petersburg police officers.

Seven people were detained and transported to the St. Pete Police Department for interviews.

There were no injuries or crashes reported in the pursuit.