By Jeremy Swenson
BHSN Game of the Week Producer
Lake Brantley
- 2009 record of 7-3
o Week 1 lost at Apopka (31-10). Won their next five in a row at Oviedo (34-29), vs. Lake Howell (27-7), at Seabreeze (21-17), vs. Winter Springs (30-0), and at Lyman (20-13)
o Have lost all 3 games on BHSN this season
- Have advanced to playoffs for the last 6 years (’04-present)
- Twelve seasons with 6 or more wins (98-present)
- Head Coach is George Clayton, in his 14th season at the helm – record of 90-38
- Began as Defensive Coordinator in 1988. Interim Head Coach in 1996. Named Head Coach in 1997.
- Led Patriots to State Title Game in 2006 Lost to Miami Northwestern 34-14.
- The Patriots are battling back from injuries and sickness to start their fall practice
- Clayton cancelled two days of practice early in the season, players were getting sick (some were diagnosed with the Swine Flu
- “It takes a while to get back after you’ve been sick,” George Clayton. “The worst part is that the kids lose a lot of their conditioning that they had been building for this season.”
Lake Brantley Offense
QB Bryce Bergeron
- Has really come along since last season, and he did fantastic according to Clayton
- He has a lot of intangibles
- Super smart in the classroom and has a high football IQ
- Really has a great feel for the game, reads the defenses, knows what to look for
- Ran the no huddle last season, called 50% of the plays near the end of the season
- Makes great decisions, takes advantage of what the defense gives to him
RB Tyler Krider moves from the RB/WB position to FB this year (the featured back position in LB triple option)
- A strong runner, more balanced runner
- Catches the ball well, blocks well and more of an inside runner than Miles
- Sophomore Ti’on Green moves into the starting line-up
- Is Tony Miles’ brother
- A really gifted athlete, has the natural ability to be a great runner
- Is feeling his way through the fall practice season
- Has the potential
- Joey Pellarin played RB last season
- Has the most experience in the backfield
TE/WR Senior Eric Gibbs is doing a great job this fall
- Played last season, but was not a starter
- Has great hands and good size
- Played on Basketball team and is in top 10 in his class academically
- Runs good patterns and blocks well
- Junior WR Xavier Youngblood started last season at WR
- Has good size and good speed
- Samuel Tovar and Connor Byrnes will also see time at WR
OL - Has been hit the hardest this pre-season. Have had injuries (shoulders, knees) that have knocked potential starters out of the line up
Justin Markell- blew out knee in Weightlifting this spring, had surgery, was on his way back, then got sick last week. He is just getting back to form, hopes to play in a week or two
- C Chris Halverson was projected to be the LT, but had to move because of injuries
- Is the best offensive lineman on the team
- Has the size and the strength
- RG Scott Teal has played really well so far
- Moved from C to RG and is picking up the scheme quickly
- Senior LG Noah Dunbar was projected as RT, but moved over to help
- Senior LT Matt Tiralosi has been a big boost for the team
- The RT position will be “by committee” with Senior Connor Anderson and Junior Matt Campbell and both have been doing well
- Neither have a lot of experience, Campbell is a lacrosse player as well
Lake Brantley Defense
- DL - Senior DT Daniel Palmer is a third year starter
- Is one of the leaders of defense, he and Rudd are the “backbone of the defense”
- Has great athletic ability
- DT Alphonso Dyer lacks size, but has a motor that doesn’t stop
- Tough nosed kid
- Junior DE Joey Grant is coming back from shoulder surgery
- Junior DE Tim Newton is really coming along, playing well in practice
- Senior Jeff Dorcely will start (shoulder injury-freak injury in practice)
- He is potentially one of the best athletes in the area
- He is on his way back, but not full speed yet
- Clayton believes that he is just as good of an athlete as Christian Jones
- Has an offer from the Citadel already
- FAU, USF are interested
LB - Senior LB Jordan Rudd is the leader of the defense
- Tough nosed kid, very strong
- Has great athletic ability
- Senior David King missed the first 6 games
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DB - Junior Tanner Blackman is one of their better defenders
- Started last season as LB
- Senior CB Thomas Layden missed all of last season
- Getting his chance to play this season
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ST - Junior K/P Tyler Gilbert has done great for Clayton
- Very confident from 40-45 yards
- Hits the end zones on KO, and puts his FG’s right on the money
- Punts really well, will be D-1 K/P by the end of these next two years
Winter Park
- 2009 record of 9-1
o Won first 5 games of the year before losing to Edgewater, 28-14
o Won District Title for first time in __ years
- 2008 record of 5-6
- Lost to East Ridge in 1st round of playoffs, 23-7
- Head Coach is Tim Shifflet, in his 3rd season – record of 19-12 (.613)
- Served as assistant coach with Winter Park before becoming head coach in 2007
- Back to Back 5 win seasons to begin his tenure at WP
- Shifflet is excited for the kids to get a chance to redeem themselves after last years 1st round performance
- The kids have really made major improvements since last season, especially Sam Richardson and Patrick Mputu (MMM-PU-TOO)
- Has been really happy with his defense this season, only allowing 11.2 points per game, this was a place of concern after they lost so many players from last years team
- Shifflet knew that one of his backs was going to step up and run wild this season, he just wasn’t sure if it would be Patrick or Zee Ware
Vs. Lake Brantley
- Knows that this will be a big test for his Wildcats
- They really want to get the W in the first round and show that this team is for real
- The team is excited, they know that this is their chance on TV
- Shifflet has a TON of respect for the coaching staff at LB, “Every year they seem to win, 6, 7, 8, 9 games and make the playoffs, they really are doing the right thing over there.”
- Shifflet said that the LB offense poses a problem for any defense, with their triple option and their improving passing game
- Shifflet said that the LB defense is a “tough nosed, run down hill, come up and hit ya” defense that can stop teams that aren’t well coached.
Winter Park Offense
QB - Sam Richardson- Junior is
- Shifflet was impressed by the work that Sam put in over the off season, and he has really improved since last year
- Shifflet believes that Sam is probably one of the top Junior QB’s, not only in Central Florida, but in the entire state
RB - Patrick Mputu is a 3rd year starter at RB
- Has really put in the work and has turned into quite a RB
- Has amassed 1578 all purpose yards
- 1247 rushing yards and 15 TD’s
WR -Play four players at WR
- They Spread the ball out well
- Will rotate Senior Jared Thompson, Senior Anthony Jiminez, Senior Zee Ware, and Senior Terrell Foy
- All can catch the ball, are doing a better job blocking for Patrick
- Ware, Foy and Jiminez are 2nd year starters
OL
- LG Scott Levin is a 2nd year starter
- Is starting his 22nd consecutive game
- LT Daniel Diaz is a 2nd year starter
- Has only missed one start in 2 years due to injury
Winter Park Defense
DL - Senior DT Beano Duffie is a high motor kid
- Causes disruption in the middle
- DT William Snell is a big kid
- Junior DE Austin Shelton is a lanky kid that replaces Austin Jacks
LB - Senior LB Mike Boles is the defensive Captain
- Makes plays from side to side
- Is a big kid at 6-4, 210
- Makes the defensive calls
DB - Senior Keron Rouse is the best defender
- Is a big time shutdown corner
- Teams have been going away from him
- Had 9 INT’s in 2008, only 3 this season
- The other DB’s have benefited from him
- Senior CB Corey Gonsalves is the major benefactor of Rouse’s skills
- Leads the team with 6 INT’s
- Senior Dwayne Pearce is second on the team with 5 INT’s
- Senior Zee Ware will start at FS
- Has lots of speed
- Plays both ways
ST - Senior K/P Alex Rowlinson will handle all of the kicking duties