Football Jamboree provides preview for next fall
By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON
For the rabid high school football fans, players and coaches who can’t wait, four South Shore teams offer a sampling of the fall 2021 season Thursday, May 20, at the new Sumner High stadium.
Featured in the pre-season Jamboree are East Bay versus Riverview at 6:30 p.m. After the Indians and the Sharks go at it for a half, Sumner and Lennard tangle. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online at the Hillsborough County Public Schools website: scroll down a bit and click on Athletic Tickets and then scroll down to Sumner High School and its listing for this game.
Returning for his second season is Sumner head coach Alonzo Ashwood. According to Ashwood, “ Our outlook for the 2021 season is to build off the school’s first season ever in school history.
“After finishing 7-1 we look forward to building off much success. What we are most proud of is our young men who come to practice everyday and give it their all. Also, the assistant coaches, administration, student body, parents and staff have all been a big boost for our football program. We look forward to another wonderful season,” concluded Coach Ashwood.
One task that other South Shore coaches must deal with is not a problem for Coach Ashwood. Last year was the inaugural year for Sumner High as well as for its football team. Thus, by state regulations, Sumner has no senior class this year, so Coach Ashwood has no graduating seniors to replace!
Coach Mike Gottman
The top returnee for the Stingrays is outstanding running back rising-junior Keoni Denny. Denny rushed for 511 yards on 54 carries. A pair of quarterbacks, each of whom threw a TD pass, are also returning. Splitting chores will be rising-senior Jason Rivera and rising-junior Braxton Maenez.
Sumner won its final four games of the 2020 season. Included among its seven wins were two non-varsity opponents. Sumner scored 220 points and yielded only 52. Next fall, the Rays face a full slate of varsity teams. First up on the 10-game schedule is Durant, a 34-6 winner over Sumner. The Stingrays early test is Aug. 27 at the Cougars’ stadium.
The Lennard Longhorns line up opposite Sumner in the Jamboree. After a season off due to illness in his family, veteran head coach Matt Kitchie returns at the helm of Lennard. The Horns biggest chore is replacing its offensive line, which helped compile a 4-5 worksheet in 2020. Last season, Lennard scored 200 points and gave up 201.Lennard plays in 8A-Region 4.
Three rising Longhorn seniors and a junior form the nucleus of Coach Kitchie’s offense for 2021. Bouncing back from an injury to his throwing hand is rising-senior QB Gavin Henley. Last season Henley completed 143 passes out of 254 attempted for 1579 yards with 13 TDs and only three interceptions. Three other returning and experienced offensive stalwarts are Ha’Keem Monroe, the wide receiver and a back-up quarterback, along with stocky pile-driving running back Chanucey Jones, who churned out 227 yards on 55 runs for three TDs. Henley’s go-to receiver, Elijay Singleton, also returns after grabbing 37 tosses for 553 yards and four TDs as a sophomore.
According to Longhorns’ Coach Kitchie, “This spring we are working to replace the seniors who graduated. We will practice for 18 days before heading over to Sumner to see if we have improved We are looking to replace our entire offensive line. On defense we have totally revamped what we are doing by adding an entire new coaching staff whom we brought over from Robinson high school.”
The opening half this Thursday at Sumner features East Bay versus Riverview, both teams looking to bounce back after tough 2020 campaigns. The Indians logged a 2-7 mark, and the Sharks went 1-8. The Indians longtime head coach, Frank LaRosa, has decided to leave East Bay after 10 seasons as head coach. During LaRosa’s tenure, the Indians went 47-53 and made the playoffs as a district champion in 2013.
He officially made the announcement in a social media post in January, saying he was walking away from coaching and teaching to pursue a new career in the sports equipment business that will allow him to spend more time with his family. A fixture on the sidelines for the past decade, LaRosa was a gregarious coach who was well-liked throughout the coaching community and worked tirelessly to promote his players. LaRosa is being replaced by another veteran coach, Mike Gottman, who comes over from Durant.
Looking to improve on last fall’s performance for the Sharks, Coach Mosel said, “This spring we have focused on returning to the basics and teaching the core components of what we do as a team. We felt that we needed to focus on technique and really teach the fundamentals. We have also worked on installing the base concepts for the Spring, which will allow us to grow on both sides of the ball over the Summer as we prepare for the fall season. In the Jamboree, we hope to get a good look at the growth of our players and evaluate their development within our system.”
