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Nov 19, 2009 at 01:21 PM |
By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
For Gateway, Poinciana and Celebration, it’s time to hang up the pads.
The Panthers wrapped up a 2-8 season with a 42-0 loss at playoff-bound St. Cloud Friday.
“St. Cloud was too loaded for us, but I did not expect 42-0, I thought we’d at least score a couple of times,” Coach Marlin Roberts said. “St. Cloud did a good job.”
After 19 players finished the 2008 season, all but five seniors, Roberts said this year’s struggles were because, “We were as close to starting over as you probably could get,” he said.
Leading rusher and second-leading receiver Dev-onta Dobson (81 carries, 510 yards, 4 TDs) is a returning junior, as is quarterback Roger Allen (36-for-106, 521).
Poinciana, 2-8, fell to playoff bound Agape Christian, 38-0, in its finale Friday.
The Eagles rushed for over 200 yards, but penalties crippled the team, said Coach Gene Smith.
“It was only 6-0 at the half,” he said.
Poinciana won more than one game for the first time since 2000, but Smith said injuries robbed the team of consistency. Two projected starters in the offensive line missed most of the season. The team also lost standouts like Tavarus Alcime for several games, though Alcime still managed 90 tackles and nearly 400 rushing yards.
“We didn’t hit it as hard as we should have in the weightroom over the summer,” Smith said. “The kids see that now, and they’ll get to work.”
Poinciana’s schedule featured seven teams with winning records.
Celebration finished a 1-9 season Nov. 6 with a 14-6 loss at Lakeland Christian.
Junior quarterback Geoff Bangley (69-for-140, 713 yards) will return for his senior year, as will running back Tyler Osorio, who was the second-leading receiver (13-139). The most consistent offensive player was tailback Dominick Saragusa (146-742, 3 TDs), who had 237 yards against Lake Nona Oct. 16.
“We struggled a lot, but also had some good performances,” Coach John Bangley said. “The bright spot is we got a lot of kids coming back. Now we just need our fans and community to believe we can win. Once we accomplish that, this program can take off.”
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