Celebration, Life each win one half at Storm jamboree

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
The final acts of the 2011-12 high school athletic year take place Thursday and Friday when six county football teams play their spring games.
Thursday at 7 p.m., Ocoee visits St. Cloud, Florida Air Academy is at Gateway and Osceola travels to Lake Gibson.
Friday at 7 p.m., Mount Dora goes to Harmony while Liberty travels to Cypress Creek and Poinciana visits Orange City University.
St. Cloud Coach Brad Lennox will be on the sidelines as the Bulldogs head coach for the first time. Lennox served as an assistant coach at St. Cloud for several years before moving to Osceola two years ago, then returning last winter to replace interim Coach Chad Ansbaugh.
Lennox said all of his players have an opportunity to earn a starting position.
“All spots are still open,” he said.
The first period will feature the JV teams, followed by three varsity quarters with live kicking, Lennox said.
Gateway Coach Marlin Roberts said his Panthers are a little farther along in preparation for the regular season than they were last year.
“We look a little better than we did last year at this time,” he said.
Osceola, coming off a 10-2 season and a fifth-consecutive playoff appearance, faces a strong challenge at Lake Gibson. The Kowboys won, 14-7, last spring in a game played with regular-season intensity.
“We’ll learn a few things about ourselves,” Nichols said.
Daequan Harrison and Scooter Fagan have worked at quarterback this spring. Both will be juniors.
The Kowboys have one of the state’s top running back recruits in rising senior Stafon McCray.
Liberty Coach David Benson thinks he has found the solution at quarterback after losing sophomore Terrell Bonds, who transferred to Miami after passing for 2,000 yards last season.
“As of now, Jalen (Benn) is our QB and he is doing a fantastic job,” Benson said.
Benn is a converted running back who missed most of last season after a knee injury.
Benson liked what he saw from the team’s green and gold scrimmage last week.
“The defense came out on top. We had a lot of big plays on offense, but when it came down to it, the defense held us to several three and outs,” he said. “Our defensive is playing at a very high level right now, let’s see if it carries over into Friday.”
Harmony will play four varsity quarters against Mount Dora Friday, Coach Jerrad Butler said.
“Our kids have worked hard this spring. I feel like we have got a great deal of work in. They’re looking forward to getting out there and playing on Friday,” he said.
Butler said Sterling Hicks and “a couple others” would call signals.
Poinciana Coach Corey Fleming said his team is ready for its 7 p.m. game Friday against University, which is at Deltona High.
He said several players have performed well during spring workouts, including freshman defensive back Drian Jenkins.
“He’s shown some signs of being a pretty good player,” Fleming said.
Life Christian Coach Mike Bonneville liked his team’s effort at the Celebration jamboree last week.
The Lions beat Windermere Prep, 16-14, and lost to Celebration, 8-0.
“It was very encouraging for the upcoming season. Windermere beat us 43-6 last season, so much improvement on our end,” Bonneville said.
Najeem Hosein passed for 96 yards and rushed for 43 yards and a TD for the Lions.
Antonio Smith rushed for 37 yards and made five tackles, while Richard Bruno had seven tackles. Julius Rivera had three tackles and fumble recovery.
Sam Camargo had a 72-yard pass reception.
Celebration fell to Windermere Prep, 16-0, under interim Coach Eric Scrivens.
“Things went relatively well considering the tumultuous nature of the spring,” Scrivens said.
Storm Coach Ben Aarestad was relieved from his duties five days into practice.
“We came out with nerves against Windermere and made a couple of turnovers. We didn’t make the same type of errors against Life Christian,” Scrivens said.