This weekend was not a good time for coaches (John Maronto) or teams (Dwyer) or players (Nick O'Leary).
Maronto found himself victim to the old adage of 'never screw up on a slow news day'. The 68 year-old head football coach for Mainland was arrested Saturday night for 'solicitation'. Remember that all parties in this country are innocent until proven guilty - unless you're dealing with the IRS or the other five-letter acronym for the management body of high school sports in the sunshine state.
Dwyer found itself scoring not once, not twice, but three times in the final four minutes of a classic game in Ohio - only to have the referees decide that they needed to go to Pearle Vision and get their lens' checked out. Now I'm not one for bashing officials - and usually will defend them... but this was borderline criminal what these guys did to Dwyer.
Nick O'Leary is a house-hold name. If he wasn't before the game with Glenville (OH) - he is now. The grandson of golf legend Jack Nicklaus is arguably the best tight end in the country. He's also the bullseye for the aftermath of the controversal calls in Columbus (Miami fans - get ready). After the heart-breaking loss, O'Leary was giving the 'one-fingered' salute to the fans and players of Glenville. Maybe he was just telling them that they were #1... then again - maybe not.
Even the event founder - Kirk Herbstreit - was upset by the outcome, telling Joe Rose of WQAM "it made me sick to my stomach".
As if to add insult to injury - the five-letter body in Gainesville handed down its decision... stone him! Ok - so they're not as radical as the Iranian government and they don't have nuclear weapons, but does the punishment fit the crime?
Here's what I think should happen. O'Leary should go to coach Jack Daniels - who has stated he'd rather forfeit two games than play without O'Leary - and say, "Coach, I let my emotions get the best of me. I'd be honored to be in the stands cheering for you against Gardens (Saturday) and Pahokee" That would go a long way with 'restoring' the image of O'Leary - and show true sportsmanship and class.
Ok - back to reality.
From this past week's observations...
- I saw the Countryside Cougars Friday against Boca Ciega and coach Jared Davis has some weapons. So does Bogey.
- St. Thomas Aquinas is reloaded and I think is 'on a mission from God' to quote the Blues Brothers. The Raiders dismantled a very respected Dallas Skyline team. Too bad the Raiders couldn't have faced Euless Trinity instead of Skyline - now THAT would have been a game for the ages.
- Cocoa has very quietly gone 2-0 and still has one more out-of-state opponent left to play - Abeline. The Tigers look to be ready to defend their 2A crown.
- Miami Central played its heart out in a 45-42 loss to Camden Co. (GA).
- I'm taking a lot of flack for voting Plant #1 on my ballot. I usually stick with the team as my #1 until they lose. Plant had that honor prior to the non-counting kickoff classic against Manatee (which Manatee won last year - but that didn't matter either). I don't drop teams after a kickoff classic game no matter how bad they play.
- Eric Beverly may be able to make it back in time for the latter third of the season for the First Coast (Jacksonville) Buccaneers.
- Dwyer's record is really 1-0 ...
Our deepest condolences go out to the Wekiva family after the sudden death of one of their players.
This Friday we're at the Beef's in Clermont spotlighting the South Lake County war... East Ridge vs. South Lake. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they close Groveland (South Lake) and Clermont (East Ridge) High Schools and now - here they are - back again...
Here's the first week of the Beef 'O' Brady's Top 25
RN SCHOOL(FPV) CL W-L PTS
1 Tampa Plant(4) 5A 1-0 261
2 Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer(4) 4A 0-1 259
3 Pensacola 3A 1-0 258
4 Seffner Armwood 4A 1-0 249
5 Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas(1) 5A 1-0 246
6 Miami Central(1) 6A 0-1 232
7 Bradenton Manatee(1) 5A 1-0 227
8 Tampa Jefferson 3A 1-0 224
9 Miami Northwestern 6A 1-0 223
10 Orlando Dr. Phillips 6A 1-0 220
11 Cocoa 2A 2-0 197
12 Belle Glade Glades Central 2A 1-0 194
13 Lakeland 5A 1-0 167
14 Miami Washington 3A 1-0 135
15 Deland 6A 1-0 130
16 Apopka 6A 1-0 116
17 Miramar 6A 1-0 90
18 Jacksonville Bolles 2B 1-0 81
19 St. Augustine 3A 1-0 75
20 Tampa Robinson 2A 1-0 70
21 Pompano Beach Ely 5A 1-0 43
22 Hollywood Chaminade Prep 2B 0-1 34
23 Lakeland Kathleen 4A 0-1 21
25T Tallahassee Lincoln 4A 0-1 18
25T Jacksonville First Coast 5A 1-0 18
Others receiving votes:
North Marion (Citra) - 3A, 0-1, 17; Jax. Trinity Christian - 1A, 1-0, 13; Mainland - 6A, 0-1, 12; Charlotte (Punta Gorda) - 4A, 1-0, 11; South Fort Myers - 3A, 1-0, 11; Boyd Anderson(Lauderdale Lakes) 5A, 1-0, 10; Countryside (Clearwater) - 5A, 1-0, 9; Niceville - 4A, 1-0, 9; Lake Wales - 3A, 1-0, 4; Olympia (Orlando) - 6A, 1-0, 3; Palm Bay (Melbourne) - 4A, 1-0, 2; Belen Jesuit (Miami) - 2B, 1-0, 2; Immokalee - 2A, 1-0, 1; Madison Co. (Madison) - 2A,1-0, 1; Miami Jackson - 3A, 1-0, 1
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