Prep Notebook: Underclassmen Stand Tall for Red Devils
Tue. July 24, 2012 at 1:34 a.m. | By Solange Reyner
By SOLANGE REYNER
THE LEDGER
TAMPA | Kathleen has some solid standouts in A'Treyu Farrior, Greg Abrams and Ja'Von Harrison.
Farrior, a rising senior who plays quarterback, can throw a nice ball. Harrison, a rising junior wide receiver who recently committed to Virginia Tech, runs routes well and is deceptively quick.
Abrams, a rising senior, is a cornerback who covers ground well.
All three performed well during the weekend at the USF Sling-and-Shoot II 7-on-7 tournament. But two underclassmen, rising freshman B.J. Zinnerman and rising sophomore Kevin Wilson, also stood out for Kathleen, which made it to the fourth round of the championship bracket Sunday before lightning forced event organizers to halt everything at about 3 p.m. Eventually, the tournament was called off.
At the time, Kathleen was down 8-6 to Armwood, the team that was stripped of its state title in Class 6A this past season because players were found to have committed recruiting violations.
The game was only about 10 minutes old, and Kathleen, which also competes in Class 6A, was on second and goal from the 12-yard line.
"It was coming. We were going to win it," Farrior said. "But the storm got in our way."
To get deep into the tournament, Kathleen beat Countryside 2, Lakewood and Countryside in the single-elimination bracket on Sunday, Day 2 of the tournament. Saturday was pool play.
Wilson had two interceptions against Countryside, one in the end zone and the other to seal the win with less than a minute left on the clock and Countryside's offense driving the ball.
Zinnerman caught a touchdown pass in that game and another against Armwood. He totaled three on the day.
"I wanted them to come out here and compete, and they did," Kathleen coach Irving Strickland said. "Out of the 21 kids that we brought, only four had been in an environment like this. It was a way for them to learn and come together. Winning was nice but not necessary."
And the match-up with Armwood that was shortened?
"We were gonna drop that hammer on them, too," Strickland said.
George Jenkins Gets to Second Round
George Jenkins made it to the second round of the tournament, beating Village Academy at the start of the afternoon session to get there. The Eagles then lost to Armwood.
Lakeland's McDaniel Chooses Louisiana-Lafayette
Josh McDaniel, a state champion in the pole vault in Class 3A this past season, will attend Louisiana-Lafayette on a full athletic scholarship. McDaniel leaves Aug. 15 for the school, one he picked over Florida State University, the University of Montana and the University of North Florida.
"I loved the campus, loved everything about it. I'm excited about getting up there and making progress," said McDaniel, who pole vaulted 15 feet, six inches at the state meet in early May. His mark stood as the best in all classifications this year in Florida.
McDaniel plans to study a subject related to anatomy, he said.
[ Solange Reyner can be reached at 863-802-7526 or solange.reyner@theledger.com. ]
