The lunchrooms and the walkway and courtyard at Cypress Creek Middle High School were finally filled by students as the new school, while others across Pasco County were back in business on Aug. 14. (Photo: Pasco County Schools)
Among the thousands of students who went back to school in Pasco County on August 14, more than 1,500 of them spent their first day at Wesley Chapelโs newest school, Cypress Creek Middle High School, which is located off Old Pasco Rd.
Cypress Creek Middle High was expected to open with about 1,500 students, but actually had 1,603 students show up on the first day. The schoolโs capacity is 1,958 students, so it still has some room to grow.
The new school was needed to relieve crowding at not only Wiregrass Ranch High and John Long Middle schools, but also has students who previously were zoned for Sunlake and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Weightman and Rushe middle schools.
All students at the new school follow the same bell schedule, from 7:25 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.
โThe first few days have been outstanding,โ said Cypress Creek principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles. โOur students are enjoying their new environment and are learning the layout of the campus. Other than the normal situation of getting used to the routine, and watching to see where we need to change procedures with car loop or bus loop, etc., we have truly had an amazing first few days.โ
Hetzler-Nettles also said that the campus was filled with Parent Teacher Student Association members helping students find their classes, and even Pasco Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning was on hand to help welcome the students and direct them to their new classes.
Cypress Creek Middle/High. (Photo: Cypress Creek Howler)
โIt takes a village to open a new school,โ added Hetzler-Nettles, โand our community has just been so welcoming and helpful! We couldnโt have done it without them and are excited for our future!โ
Among those who helped get the teachers set up in their new digs at the school on July 26 were volunteers from the Pasco Education foundation and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.
At Long Middle School, one of the schools that lost students to Cypress Creek, principal Christine Wolff said, โYou always miss the kids on campus that you have grown attached to, and my wish for all of our former students is to have a good adjustment and get excited for learning, and take that excitement for learning with them wherever they are.โ
She says that while Longโs enrollment numbers are down slightly (1,488 students were enrolled on opening day this year, versus 1,810 last year), the school is still over capacity because of all the growth in the area.
โWe did have a smooth start to the school year,โ Wolff says, โAnd, just like all of our Pasco County schools, weโre focused on meeting our school improvement goals and making sure they (the teachers and students) are meeting the learning standards in the classroom.โ
And at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), the 10-period schedule is a thing of the past, as many former students have new homes at either Cypress Creek Middle High or WCH.
A contentious rezoning process last year was designed to ease the overcrowding at Wiregrass Ranch while also filling the new school.
โWe had a great start,โโ said WRH principal Robyn White. โWe are back to the 7-period day, and while there are a lot of students on campus at the same time, it is manageable. We started day one with a little over 2,200, which was a decrease of 300 from last year.โ
CORRECTION: We inadvertently omitted New River Elementary from our chart of Pasco County school grades in our last issue. Weโre really sorry about that, because principal Lynn Pabst and the students and teachers at New River earned a โBโ grade for the third consecutive year.
Last year was a banner season for high school football in Wesley Chapel. Wiregrass Ranch High went 7-3 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2010, while Wesley Chapel High went 7-2 and just barely missed the postseason. Thereโs a new kid on the block this year, Cypress Creek Middle High, so expect things to get even more interesting in local โFriday Night Lights.โ |ย STORY and PHOTOS By Andy Warrener and John C. Cotey
WCHโs Isaiah Bolden is a lockdown CB and playmaker at QB.
WESLEY CHAPEL HIGH (7-2 last year, 5-2 in Class 5A, District 8)
If you had to rank the three teams in Wesley Chapel to start the season, the Wildcats would have to be No. 1. They have lots of experience, and while they will likely feel the effects of losing players to Cypress Creek in the coming years, it wonโt be this season.
WCH is locked and loaded. The Wildcats lost their two biggest games last season, key district meetings against Zephyrhills and River Ridge in back-to-back weeks, but still won seven games in 2017, or, one more game than they had in four previous seasonsโฆ.combined!
Head coach Tony Egan enters his second season at WCH with some holes to fill on the offensive and defensive lines, but has some prime talent at key positions.
Oregon and Florida State recruit Isaiah Bolden, a top DB prospect, will also play QB this year. Boldenโs ability to run makes a rushing attack that accumulated more than 2,200 yards and 32 touchdowns on the ground even more dangerous.
But he can throw a little too, and completed all of his spring passes to WR Justin Trapnell, including a 58-yard touchdown.
RB Dexter Leverett, a 1,249-yard rusher last season, could repeat or improve upon his 2016 numbers, though he may not have to, with Bolden and backfield mate Malik Melvin, who also has 1,000-yard potential.
Junior OL Seth Petty, senior LB Austen Wittish and Melvin, who also plays DB, were all All-Sunshine Athletic Conference performers last year.
The icing on the cake, however, could be DE Chaz Neal, a transfer from Armwood, arguably the best high school team in all of Tampa Bay. A 6-foot-9, 270-lb. FSU recruit, Neal will force teams to gameplan around him.
River Ridge and Zephyrhills will again be the teams to beat in Class 5A, District 8, but they have to travel to Wesley Chapel this year; in other words, we wouldnโt be surprised if the Wildcats beat them both of them!
Kwesi Littlejohn
WIREGRASS RANCH HIGH (7-3 last year, 5-1 in 7A-8)
In the spring, WRH looked like a team well on its way to repeating, if not exceeding, last yearโs breakout season. But, the transfer bug took a big bite out of the team during the summer.
The Bulls saw a trio of key players depart โ Shamaur McDowell, a DB that has orally committed to the University of Minnesota, transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton; last yearโs leading rusher, Da Da McGee (1,063 yards, 11 TDs), transferred to Hillsborough High; QB/S Raymond Woodie III, who has 20+ Division I offers, moved to Oregon with his father, who is the Ducks linebackers coach.
Between the three players, thatโs a ton of multi-position talent to lose. But, head coach Mark Kantor thinks he has the pieces to fill in the puzzle for the Bulls.
Senior RB Kwesi Littlejohn will take over for McGee, after carrying the ball five times for 100 yards in limited action last year. Paxon High (in Jacksonville) transfer Mason Buie also will get some touches.
FB/LB Chase Oliver, a 5-9 210-lb. wrecking ball, ran for 82 yards in the spring game and broke off some big runs, but is also effective as a third down/short yardage option. And, production at LB can help make up for the loss of McDowell.
Senior WR/DBs Dorien Green, Jacob Hill and Adrian Thomas are expected to rotate in at safety in Woodieโs absence.
Juniorย Grant Sessums inherits the starting QB job, and heโll have tall, skilled targets to throw to, like 6-1 Penn State recruit Jordan Miner (featured in our last issue) and 6-3 Daniel Biglow, both seniors. Miner is one of the most explosive players in the Tampa Bay area, and his big-play ability is a huge plus.
CYPRESS CREEK HIGH (First season)
Thereโs little doubt that you are going to take your lumps in your first year of varsity high school football. The seven most recent public schools to open in Pasco County went a combined 4-61, and WRH and WCH both started out with 1-9 records.
Keith Walker will see an increased role in 2017 at Cypress Creek.
That said, the Coyotes need to focus on one game at a time, says coach Mike Thompson.
โStart small,โ Thompson says. โIn game one, letโs get one first down,โโ he says. โThen, letโs get one touchdown. Then, letโs win a half โ baby steps. Itโs important to show weโre progressing.โ
Thompson is excited about sophomore QB Jehlani Warren, who the coach says has been โsoaking up the playbook.โ He will have some solid targets to throw to between Tim Ford-Brown, Devin Santana and Trevor Maxwell.
Though the team will have no seniors, guys like Santana and RB Keith Walker have varsity experience. Santana played four games for Wesley Chapel last year as a sophomore and had 158 yards receiving and a touchdown, and Walker, a budding star, ran for 136 yards and two scores as a freshman.
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN WC
Nkem Asomba
Nkem โKimโ Asomba (WRH Sr.) DL/OL:The 6-5, 265-pound Asomba is new to the sport and still raw but if he develops quickly, heโll be a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the football. Asomba was very disruptive in the spring game against Tampa Catholic.
Isaiah Bolden (WCH Sr.) QB/WR/CB/KR/PR: Bolden will be everywhere this year. Teams will not be able to gameplan around him anymore since the ball will be in his hands every play.
Jordan Miner (WRH Sr.) WR/CB/QB: Miner will get some reps in at Wildcat quarterback, as well as line up on the outside on both offense and defense. The Bulls will look to tap Minerโs skill set and versatility, and he is their most dangerous player.
Jehlani Warren
Keith Walker (CCH So.) TB/WR: Walker comes over from Wesley Chapel after having a breakout game in the spring for the Wildcats.
Leverette (WCH Sr.) RB/S:Leverette was the featured guy in the offense last season. With Bolden under center and Malik Melvin lining up alongside him, it will be hard for defenses to key in on Leverette in 2017.
Chase Oliver (WRH Sr.) LB/RB: Oliver is a bulldozer of a player, and a menace to both ball carriers and would-be tacklers. Oliver joined the 1,500 Club in 2017 (combined bench press, power clean, squat and dead lift weights).
Chaz Neal (Sr.) DE/RT: You wonโt miss him, as he stands 6โ-9โ and towers over teammates. He might be the best player in the county that no one has seen. Heโs a huge (pun intended) X-factor for the Wildcats and his impact on the field will be immediately felt.
Jehlani Warren (CCH So.) QB: As Warrenโs fortunes go, so go the fortunes of the Coyotes. If Warren and the offense can find rhythm early in the season and adjust to game speed, the Coyotes could have a productive season.
Chaz Neal
Austen Wittish (WCH Sr.) LB/FB: Wittish is the centerpiece of the Wildcatsโ defense. He led the team with 94 tackles a year ago and will also contribute at FB.
Kwesi Littlejohn (WRH Sr.) RB/S: Littlejohn will be the guy most asked to step into the void left by McGee. If Littlejohn can bring some consistency to the position, the Bulls will be in great shape.
GAMES TO WATCH
WRHโs Jordan Miner leaps for extra yards during the spring game.
Tonight: Gulf at Cypress Creek
Welcome to high school football, Coyotes. Oh, and mmmmm, gotta love that brand new stadium smell. The Coyotes are young and ready to go, and they couldnโt have found a better opponent for a first-ever game in Gulf. The Bucs typically are one of Pasco Countyโs smaller teams up front, although they often have a few great athletes, but they are also riding a 21-game losing streak. Dare we say it?
Sept. 1: Wiregrass Ranch at Wesley Chapel
Itโs a shame the big rivalry game got cancelled due to inclement weather a year ago, with both teams in the midst of their most successful seasons in years. The wait should add a little charge to this yearโs showdown. There will be a Fox 13 pep rally that morning and Spectrum Sports will televise the game.
Oct. 20: Zephyrhills at Wesley Chapel Some key injuries early in the game and miscues on special teams opened the door for the Bulldogs to steal a game that Egan felt his squad had under control.
Oct. 27: River Ridge at Wesley Chapel
A banged up Chapel team hung with the eventual district champion for most of the game last year. This year, the Wildcats host Eganโs former team, and a district title could be on the line.
Oct. 27: Plant at Wiregrass Ranch
Itโs always worth a trip to check out the four-time state champion Panthers, who are once again loaded. This game should be ripe with playoff implications.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
Hereโs how PascoCountyFB.com has the teams ranked for 2017 in its Super 7.
School grades have been announced for the 2016-17 school year and, of the 12 public schools located in Wesley Chapel, all either maintained their grades from the 2015-16 school year, or went up by at least one letter grade.
Letter grades are assigned by the State of Florida Department of Education (DoE), based on statewide standardized assessments. High schools also have a graduation component, based on how many students graduate in four years. The letter grades then reflect the percentage of points received, of the total number of available points.
The biggest jump in local school grades was at Quail Hollow Elementary (QHE). For the 2016-17 school year, QHE received an โAโ from the DoE, a big boost from the C it received last year, in 2015-16.ย Prior to that, the school had been closed for two years for remodeling.
But, QHE isnโt the only school that improved. Veterans and Seven Oaks elementaries both improved from B to A, while Watergrass Elementary improved from C to B.
For the other elementary schools, Sand Pine and Wesley Chapel both maintained their A ratings, while Double Branch maintained its B. Wiregrass Elementary received its first-ever grade since it opened last fall, a B.
Wesley Chapel High (WCH) raised its grade back up to a B again after last yearโs grade dipped to a C for the first time in the schoolโs history.
โI was ecstatic,โ says Carin Hetzler-Nettles, who was the principal at WCH until she was named principal of the new Cypress Creek Middle High School in January. โItโs fun to see that grade improve, and itโs exciting for the community, staff and kids at the school.โ
The other Wesley Chapel high school, Wiregrass Ranch (WRH), maintained the B rating it had last year.
Dr. John Long Middle School maintained its A from the previous year, and Weightman Middle School kept its B.
While the school grading system has many critics, the grades are widely used by parents as a measure of how well their childโs school is performing.
Hetzler-Nettles is among many who say that school grades are just one of many factors to be considered when attempting to measure a schoolโs performance. This is partly because a different group of students is tested each year.
โIn high school, tenth grade is our heavy testing year,โ she says. โNext year, weโll test a completely different group of tenth grade students. There is a human factor.โ
And, she says, the specific criteria that make up the schoolโs grade also are different from year to year.
โThere are always things that change,โ says Hetzler-Nettles. โThe grading changes every year at the state level, and then we tend to see trends. This year, it seems like the schools are on an upswing.โ
According to permitting records filed with Pasco County, the popular food-truck-turned-mini-restaurant is planning to set up its ninth Tampa Bay location within a month inside the Tailgate Mart convenience store on the northeast corner of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R. 56, behind the Shell Station.
โWe just finished getting permitting done and are aiming to get that location up and running by September,โโ said Heather Chaudhry, director of marketing and operations, adding that another location in Treasure Island is also set to open around the same time.
The Tailgate Mart, located at 25195 S.R. 54, currently has a deli that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner items, but it will be remodeled to accommodate the latest entry into the busy eatery scene along S.R. 56/54 corridor.
Chaudhry said Taco Bus typically prefers stand-alone locations, but they do make exceptions in high-volume areas, like the intersection of S.R. 56 and S.R. 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd.
โWeโre not looking to do many locations like this,โโ she said. โWesley Chapel is an up-and-coming location, so itโs a very good place to be, with all the development and expansion in that area.โ
Taco Bus has achieved something of a cult status since its humble and quirky beginnings in 1996 as a converted school bus operating as a food truck on E. Hillsborough Ave. selling authentic Mexican fare. ย Chef Rene Valenzuela quickly expanded to St. Petersburg, before taking the food truck concept inside and opening a restaurant in downtown Tampa, although he retained the school bus setting and charm.
Taco Bus achieved notoriety in 2011 when it was featured on an episode of Food Networkโs Man v. Food, as well as an episode of Guy Fieriโs Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The nearest current location to Wesley Chapel is on E. Fletcher Ave. in the University of South Florida area. With its late hours, affordable prices and popular conchintina pibil (slow-roasted pork), el hefe burritos, 99 cent empanadas and $2 tacos on Tuesdays, it is a popular stop for local college students.
โWesley Chapel is not far from many of our other locations,โโ Chaudhry said. โWeโre lucky in that aspect, that we have some exposure in the area. We are always looking to bring the bus experience to our other customers in the area.โ
The Taco Bus will be located in the westernmost portion of the Cypress Creek Town Center DRI, directly north and across S.R. 56 from a proposed Aldi store.
Directly west of the Taco Bus is the Brightwork Crossing project, which is expected to bring a Wawa and Burger King to S.R. 54 as well. Representatives from both of those companies have already met with the county to pursue permits.
Burger King is looking to construct a 3,349-sq.-ft. restaurant on S.R. 54, just west of the proposed 5,636-sq.-ft. Wawa.
American Idol auditions are Aug. 12, but you need to sign up Aug. 5.
Those who have always yearned for the chance to be on American Idol, circleย Saturday, August 5 on your calendars.
On that day, sign-ups will open atย ABCActionNews.com/Idol, with the first 400 registrants given the chance to audition — by performing a short a capella song before a panel of local celebrity judges — at Wesley Chapel’sย Florida Hospital Ice Center on Saturday, August 12.
The winner of “Tampa Bay Idol” will receive a โFront of the Lineโ ticket to audition for American Idol producers during their bus tour stop in Orlando on Thursday, August 17.
โPasco County has so much talent and I couldnโt be happier Tampa Bay Idol is holding their next tryout (here),โ said Pasco County District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents much of Wesley Chapel. โThe ice arena where this will be held is a wonderful facility and we look forward to seeing the talent and the arena featured for the Tampa Bay Idol.โ
To audition, local singers must meet all eligibility requirements and download the official rules & local registration which can only be found at ABCActionNews.com/Idol.
