2018 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW CAPSULES

Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel are gunning for the postseason, while Cypress Creek looks to improve.

WIREGRASS RANCH BULLS
Head Coach: Mark Kantor
2017 record: 9-3 (4-2)Tonightโ€™s season opener:
@ Zephyrhills
Returning players: Grant Sessums (Sr., QB, #10) Dylan Ridolph (Jr., LB, #40), Kasean Ridgel (Sr., DL, #52), Connor Lenczden (Jr., OT, #62), Mason Buie (Sr., RB, #24), Cameron Lee (Sr., LB, #30).
Impact newcomer: Keith Walker (Jr., ATH, #7)

THE SKINNY: The Bulls are arguably the class of Pasco County, but only only play three games against county competition because Class 7A, District 8 is Hillsborough County-based. Kantor touts his linebacking corps as being his best unit on either side of the football. Dylan Ridolph is emerging into an elite linebacker, while Lee and juniors Nick Gaziano and Tyler Hayes will bolster the 3-4 defensive front.

Ridolph and Gaziano led the team with 89 tackles last year. Ridgel isnโ€™t a mammoth at 5-foot-10, 275 pounds, but Kantor claims he creates more disruption than anyone on the team. A re-vamped secondary will feature sophomore Noah Biglow and junior Julian Gonzalez on the outside.

Senior Dorien Green, a defensive back with an offer from Northern Illinois, will likely take over at safety. Walker adds a bit of homerun speed that graduated when Jordan Miner left for Penn State. Mason Buie will also work the backfield. Sessums (pictured above) completed 56 percent of his passes last season for 1,483 yards and eight touchdowns.

The experience will go a long way to helping the Bulls get back to the playoffs for a third straight season.

CYPRESS CREEK COYOTES
Head Coach: Mike Johnson
2017 record: 0-10 (0-0)
2018 preseason opener 8/17:
vs. Citrus Park Christian
2018 regular season opener 8/24:
@ Gulf
Returning players: Devin Santana (Sr., WR, #2), Logan Bercaw (Sr., OL/DL, #75), Trevor Maxwell (Sr., QB, #8), Jehlani Warren (Jr., ATH, #9), Jalen Warren (Jr., LB, #3), Tim Ford-Brown (Sr., RB, #5), Quinton Spears (Sr., UT, #1)
Impact newcomer: Cedric McBride (Sr., ATH, #18)

THE SKINNY: There were little to no expectations for the Coyotes in 2017, their first year. They won their first game against Gulf, but it later had to be forfeited due to an ineligible player and the Coyotes were outscored 470-28 the rest of the way.

There are, however, a few expectations in 2018. It looks as though Maxwell is going to be the guy at quarterback, and heโ€™s going to have plenty of talent around him. Santana (pictured) is a top-flight receiver, and newcomer McBride is a nice pass-catching complement. Tim Ford-Brown, the Warren twins (Jalen and Jehlani), as well as Colorado transfer Jovanni Addison, make for a talented and crowded backfield.

The question marks, typical for young teams, are up front and on defense. Bercaw is a solid defensive end with good size and will swing around and play tackle on offense, but the Coyotes are going to need more to be successful in 2018. Coaches are pretty excited about their linebackers in Jalen Warren and Addison, but the spots in front of and behind them need to be solidified. There are definitely a few winnable games on Cypress Creekโ€™s schedule this year.

WESLEY CHAPEL WILDCATS

Head coach: Tony Egan
2017 record: 6-4 (4-3)
Tonightโ€™s season opener: vs. Sunlake
Returning players: Jelani Vassell (Sr., ATH, #10), Fletcher Martin (Jr., PK, #36), Owen Libby (So., QB, #12), Seth Petty (Sr., C, #68), Kiaus Collins (Sr., RG, #50), Tyler Wittish (Sr., TE/DE, #9)
Impact newcomers: RT #70 Sean Hunter (Jr.) & RB Kris Chandler.

THE SKINNY: The Wildcats lost a lot to graduation, AND even more to Cypress Creek when it opened two years ago. The teamโ€™s numbers dwindled down to bare bones in the spring but have rebounded slightly, heading into fall.

Athlete Jelani Vassell returns for his senior campaign and he likely will not come off the field. All-Conference senior Seth Petty moves over to center from tackle and is the leader of the group and its best blocker. Heโ€™ll have some help, however, as senior Kiaus Collins returns at right guard and Apopka transfer Sean Hunter sets up at right tackle.

The biggest question mark for the Wildcats is at quarterback. Sophomore Owen Libby is the guy getting the call and, while heโ€™s completely unproven and inexperienced, he has great size, especially for a sophomore, and coaches like what theyโ€™ve seen through the summer and fall.

The guy to keep an eye on for Wesley Chapel is Wittish (pictured), who will line up at tight end and defensive end. Heโ€™s the teamโ€™s best blocker, probably their best tackler and their fulcrum of leadership. The Wildcats are still likely going to be looking up at River Ridge and Zephyrhills in the Class 5A, District 8, but it only takes upsetting one of them to put them in the playoff picture.

WRHโ€™s Ian Flores โ€” Elite Midfielder, Faithful Teammate, Savvy Webmaster?

Ian Flores led Wiregrass Ranch High with 20 assists last season.

Certainly it was Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) senior Ian Floresโ€™ prowess on the soccer pitch that made him such a highly sought-after recruit, but his character and knack for web design and self-promotion helped make him the most recruited soccer player to come out of the schoolโ€ฆever.

 

โ€œIan is the most highly recruited soccer player that has ever played at Wiregrass Ranch,โ€ athletic director and head boys soccer coach David Wilson says. โ€œWe have had 14 players accept offers from colleges in the past five years, and all of them combined had fewer offers than Ian.โ€

In late March, he signed with Division III Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.

Floresโ€™ resume is impressive.

He led the Bulls with 20 assists his senior year, which was second in all of Floridaโ€™s Class 5A.ย  He was nominated to the All-State team both his junior and senior years, becoming the first Wiregrass athlete in 11 years to be nominated as a junior.

He was nominated as an All-American four times, and for the first team All-Conference by the Florida Coaches Association twice.

Flores was invited and tried out for the professional Major League Soccer club DC United, and also has participated in the U.S. Olympic Development Program (ODP). He had 20 scholarship offers and has been in talks with 60 different colleges over the course of his high school career.

Flores says he picked up some invaluable techniques working with DC United and the ODP.

โ€œThe competition level there is way high,โ€ Flores says. โ€œYou learn a lot of small details like not just making passes but where to make a pass, like passing to the correct foot so the other person can make a better touch.โ€

Already drawing attention with his athletic exploits, Flores, after his sophomore year, took his recruiting endeavors to the world wide web. During the summer of 2016, he launched his recruiting website, IanFlores.com. He got some help putting it together from his proud father, Carlos, who owns and operates an online full-service creative agency called Milorian Studios, but Ian has since taken over control.

โ€œHe (dad) still helps with issues like posting videos from different platforms,โ€ Flores says. โ€œBut I do all of the editing, creating content and posting articles that come out.โ€

The website is impressive. It has links to highlight videos heโ€™s edited and stories written about him in different media outlets. He even publishes his own blog.

โ€œItโ€™s a first-class website,โ€ says Eric Sims, who has coached Flores on the club team he plays for, Tampa Bay United. โ€œIan also has first-class communication with coaches. He does everything the right way and gives things all heโ€™s got. Itโ€™s really opened doors for him.โ€

To top it all off, Flores is a consummate team player.

โ€œYou can play with teammates that are not necessarily your friends but when your teammates are your friends, thereโ€™s a big difference,โ€ he says.

Flores says that was mentality was a big factor in choosing Oglethorpe over schools like Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Flores felt welcomed and accepted not just by the coaching staff at Oglethorpe, but even more so by the players.

โ€œI got a great vibe from the other players and from students at the school,โ€ he says. โ€œI felt like these people really wanted me to excel in what I do.โ€

Flores also picked Oglethorpe because of its proximity to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the southeastern U.S.

He plans to major in business and Atlanta seemed like a great place to start.

โ€œIan is an outstanding human being and a great kid,โ€ Sims says. โ€œHe has set himself up for success, regardless of what he ends up choosing to do, because heโ€™s such a well-rounded individual.โ€

No State Title, But Streak Still Alive

Destiny Okungbowa (Photo: John C. Cotey)

When it comes to dynasties, the Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) boys tennis team has all the characteristics.

The Bulls rarely lose, collecting more than a dozen conference and district championships.

They make it to the State championships on a regular basis, including winning State titles in 2014 and 2015 and a runner-up finish last year.

The Bulls never rebuild; they simply seem to reload year after year.

โ€œWeโ€™ve had a good run,โ€™โ€™ says coach and school athletic director Dave Wilson.

Good? Try great.

On the way to another District title this season, and a pair of Regional playoff wins over Lakeland and Strawberry Crest, the Bulls again ended their season in Orlando at the Class 4A State championships, falling in the quarterfinals to Olympia High.

And The Streak remained alive. Since losing a match to Land Oโ€™Lakes in 2010, the Bulls have now run off 125 consecutive regular season wins.

โ€œItโ€™s a good feeling, because youโ€™re always playing for something,โ€™โ€™ says junior captain Destiny Okungbowa, who plays No. 1 and 2 singles for the Bulls. โ€œBut, the streak is always in the back of our minds. Itโ€™s like a chip on our shoulder because everyone is gunning to be the team to end that streak. So, it kind of keeps you focused and locked in on the moment.โ€

Kinishkh Ramesh (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Wilson does not stress keeping the streak alive to his team, but he doesnโ€™t have to.ย  Three of his current players โ€” Okungbowa, sophomore Kinishkh Ramesh and Josh Abrams โ€” all had brothers on the team who are more than willing to remind their younger siblings of the legacy.

โ€œIโ€™m competitive with my brothers,โ€ says Destiny, the younger sibling of Courage, who played for a State title in 2012, and Foresight, who was on the 2014 and 2015 State champions and, Destiny says, โ€œis always bragging about it. So yeah, I want to keep the streak.โ€™โ€™

In their season finale, the Bulls edged Tampa powerhouse Jesuit 4-3 (teams play five singles and two doubles lines in a match) at the Sports Club at Hunterโ€™s Green Country Club. Ramesh and Okungbowa won at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, and teamed up at No. 1 doubles for a 7-5, 6-3 win. The fourth line was won by Abrams, who has never lost a high school singles match, with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5.

Jesuit was missing its top player, or The Streak might now be over.

โ€œI thought this year when we played Jesuit, they probably would have beat us if they brought everybody,โ€ Wilson says. โ€œIn some ways, it would be nice to be done with it so we wouldnโ€™t have to worry about it.โ€

Because he has to worry about it, though, Wilson must remember to bring enough of his better players to every match to ensure a win. Otherwise, he would be able to get additional playing time for some of his reserves.

โ€œThey all know we have the streak and they donโ€™t want to be โ€” and now, they are not going to be โ€” the team that lost the streak,โ€ Wilson says. โ€œThatโ€™s why itโ€™s a big deal to them, more than anything else.โ€

There may be no end in sight, either.

Ramesh, who was 14-0 in singles and 8-0 in doubles this year, and Okungbowa (14-1 and 11-0) are the two best players, and both return next season. Adam Mansour is a 6-foot-3 freshman who was 11-1 at line 3 singles, and is only getting better, and Abrams (16-0 at singles) is coming back as well.

โ€œBased on what is coming back,โ€™ says Wilson, โ€œI expect us to make another run (at a State championship) next year.โ€