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SportsATHLETE OF

THE WEEKKyle Thoma

leads Bulldogs to 24-13 win. 15A

FOOTBALL By Jen Blanco | Associate Editor

Jen Blanco

Sophomore Chris Pearcey filled in at running back in the second half, finishing with with 33 yards on seven carries.

Seasons are defined by wins and losses; district, regional and state titles; and record-setting performances.

But what exactly makes for a perfect season?

Some would argue a perfect regular season record. Others

would say a season isn’t perfect unless it culminates with a state champion-ship.

And still others would be satis-fied with making school his-

tory, becoming the first team to achieve an honor that had eluded all of the teams that have gone through the program before — such as the Lakewood Ranch High vol-leyball team, which won the school’s first district title Oct. 27.

More often that not, how you fare in the postseason carries the most weight, out-weighing any regular season accomplishments — even a perfect record.

The Lady Mustangs had a perfect 5-0-district record during the regular season, but the girls weren’t satisfied with a regular season district champi-onship. And who could blame them?

They wanted a district tour-nament championship. They wanted to be the first team in school history to have its name etched on a championship banner.

The same can be said for the Lakewood Ranch boys

JENBLANCO

COMMENT

Perfectioncarriesseveralmeanings

The Lakewood Ranch High football team fell to Largo 42-22 Oct. 28, allowing the host Packers to capture the Class 6A-District 7 title.

Brian Blanco

Flu bug bites Mustangs

VOLLEYBALL By Jen Blanco | Associate Editor

SEMINOLE — Green champion-ship banners hang from the rafters in the Lakewood Ranch High gym-nasium, painting a silent picture of the Mustangs numerous athletic ac-complishments.

Some are filled with champion-ship seasons while a select few re-main blank — void of any district, regional or state titles.

Volleyball was one of them. The program had never won a district title — let alone advanced to the re-gional tournament.

Until now.On Oct. 27, the top-seeded Lady

Mustangs made school history, de-feating second-seeded Seminole Osceola 3-1 to capture Lakewood’s first district title. Lakewood defeat-

ed the host Warriors 19-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-20.

“It is so exciting,” senior Quillan Toler said. “Coming here and being the first — it’s unbelievable. It’s real-ly, really cool. We worked really hard this season. But for the most part it’s just unbelievable. That’s all I can say. To be the very first one … I can’t even describe it. It’s so awesome.”

Sophomore setter Ali Milbourn agreed.

“It means a lot; It’s very exciting,” she said. “We worked very hard for it. It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling. You think winning a district cham-pionship is nothing, but when you (finally) get there, it’s awesome.”

HISTORY IN THE MAKINGThe Lakewood Ranch High volleyball team won the program’s first district title with a 3-1 victory over Seminole Osceola in the Class 6A-District 12 championship Oct. 27.

LARGO — The Lakewood Ranch High football team prides itself on running the football and controlling the line of scrim-mage.

But when illness and inju-ries knocked out the Mustangs backfield, it forced Lakewood to abandon its game plan. Quickly, the Mustangs realized just how important a single player, or in

this case two, can be to its overall success.

With starting running back McKenzie Hathaway, who has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns so far this season, sidelined with flu-like symptoms, Lakewood fell to Largo 42-22 Oct. 28, allowing the host Packers to capture the Class 6A-District 7 title.

Hathaway, who had been bat-tling illness most of the week, started the game but was unable to finish after three first-quarter carries for four yards.

“We knew it was going to be hard without McKenzie,” coach Shawn Trent said. “It hampered us right from the start. I think

SEE FOOTBALL / PAGE 18A

Lakewood Ranch senior Shelby Walker finished with 10 kills and seven blocks to help lead the way for the Lady Mustangs.

After winning its first district championship, the Lakewood Ranch High volleyball team hosted its first-ever regional tournament game Nov. 2.

SEE VOLLEYBALL / PAGE 16A SEE COMMENT / PAGE 16A

YOUROBSERvER.COM THURSDAY, NOvEMBER 3, 2011

YourObserver.com 15A EAST COUNTY ObSErvErTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011

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ATHlETE Of THE wEEk by Jen blanco | Associate Editor

What does it mean to you to be a part of the playoffs?

It’s a big accomplishment because of the hard work we’ve put in as a team since the beginning of August.

What do enjoy the most about football?I enjoy playing with the team. Also, I

enjoy playing offense and running the ball.

What is the toughest part about being a running back?

The toughest part of play-ing running back is being fit and not getting tired at the end of the game.

Who is your favorite player?

My favorite player is Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. I love the way he leads his team, and he makes the passes that win the game.

Do you play any other sports?

Yes, baseball and basketball.

Which sport do you prefer?My favorite is football. It has more ac-

tion and is always fast-moving.

Who is your biggest role model?My biggest role model is Wes Welker.

He overcomes being small, but he is still a top receiver for the Patriots.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?I have a brother, Brett, who is 10 years old.

What’s your favorite subject?Spanish. I like learning a new

language, and it’s a challenge.

If you were president for a day, what one law would you

create?If I were president for a

day, I would pass a law so that

students did not have homework on weekends or holidays.

Do you have a favorite food?

Grilled chicken and pasta.

The East County Observer and Bogey’s Restaurant and Sports Pub have teamed up to showcase the East County’s top athletes. Each recipient’s article will be featured on the restaurant’s wall.

Kyle ThomaThirteen-year-old fullback Kyle Thoma hauled in two touchdown passes, rushed for

an 80-yard touchdown, kicked three extra points and racked up more than 200 yards of total offense, leading the East Manatee Bulldogs Junior Midget team to 24-13 victory over the Palm Harbour Panthers in the opening round of the playoffs Oct. 29. Here is an inside look at this week’s Athlete of the Week.

EAST COUNTY ObSErvErTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 201116A YourObserver.com

Lakewood finished the regular season a perfect 5-0, win-ning the regular season district championship. But it was a district tournament championship and a trip to the region-al tournament that the Lady Mustangs had been working towards all season.

And in the days leading up to the district semifinals and championship, the Lady Mustangs made it a point to look up at their blank banner and reiterate to one another how this would be the year a district title would finally be added to the banner.

“Everyone’s been talking about the banner and how it’s going to be ours; and we’ll be able to come back and look at it,” Toler said. “So it’s really cool to be able to make it real.”

The Lady Mustangs got off to a slow start, falling behind 4-11 at one point in Game 1. The girls rallied to tie the game at 15-15 before Seminole Osceola pulled away down the stretch.

“We weren’t playing well at all in the first game,” coach Perri Hankins said. “We just made a lot of mistakes. It’s a big game. They were excited. Some of the mistakes were nerves and some of it was being pumped up and wanting it too much.”

Lakewood found itself trailing 4-11 again in Game 2 be-fore once again tying the game at 15-15 and eventually edg-ing past the Warriors.

“Osceola was playing so well,” Hankins said. “They were really playing errorless. In the second game, I told them they’re not going to be able to keep playing as well as they are right now. I just said to our team, ‘We just need to play a little bit better, they’ll come down, and then we’ll pass them up and get going.’ And that’s when everything just changed around. I think they kind of relaxed at that point.”

In Game 3, the Lady Mustangs finally found their rhythm, taking control of the match. Holding onto a 15-12 lead, Lakewood scored 10 unanswered points behind the serv-ing of junior Mariah Robertson.

Filled with momentum, Lakewood took the lead early in Game 4 and never relinquished it on its way to capturing the district title.

Robertson finished with 21 kills, 12 digs, four aces and two blocks to lead the way for Lakewood. Sophomore Ash-lyn Falahee had 17 kills, and senior Shelby Walker finished with 10 kills and seven blocks. Milbourn added 48 assists and two aces to help power the Lady Mustangs.

“We have such a good group of players that play well to-gether; and I can get different people in at different spots and they play at the same level,” Hankins said.

With the win, Lakewood played host to District 11 run-ner-up Tampa King Nov. 2 in a Class 6A-Region 3 quarter-final, marking the first time the Lady Mustangs have both played in and hosted a regional tournament match.

“It’ll be really awesome,” Toler said. “Obviously, we want to get farther and keep winning, but mostly, we just need to stay focused in practice. A lot of times, it’s hard for our team to stay focused. We get so many things going on at once, but when we stay focused and start working on our game plan, then we’re unstoppable.”

For complete results on Lakewood’s regional quarterfi-nal match, be sure to check YourObserver.com.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblanco@yourobserver.com.

golf team, which also is battling for perfection. Only the Mustangs’ idea of perfection isn’t nearly the same. Lake-wood carried a perfect 88-0 record into the Class 2A state championship Nov. 1-2.

They’ve spent an entire season on top. They’ve practiced for several hours every day to be perfect. So, to say the season wouldn’t be complete without a state champion-ship would be an understatement. In the case of the golf squad, a perfect season isn’t just a perfect record or just a state championship — it’s both.

Still, there are other teams across the East County who would rather forget their regular season records. At 2-6, the Braden River football team is by no means in the midst of memorable season. But still, the Pirates are one win away from reaching the postseason — a perfect ending to a not-so-perfect season.

After all records are meant to be broken — no mat-ter how perfect they are. And sometimes, the teams that appear to be anything but perfect are the ones that find themselves on the verge of perfection.

Jen Blanco

After losing Game 1 19-25, Lakewood Ranch rallied, winning its next three games en route to the district title.

vOLLEYbALL/PAGE 14A

COMMENT/PAGE 14A

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LAKEWOOD RANCH — As she walked to the starting line, Lake-wood Ranch’s “Mama Hen” was filled with a mix of emotions.

It was a bittersweet morning for Devin McDermott, as the lone senior on the Lady Mustangs var-sity cross country team prepared to run her final Manatee County Championship race.

After her teammates surprised her with balloons, signs and a bag of sentimental goodies, McDer-mott and her teammates gath-ered together at the starting line in prayer and geared up for their final preparation race before the grueling three-week stretch lead-ing up to the state championship.

Having won district and region-al titles and having finished sec-ond overall at the Class 2A state meet each of the past two seasons, the Lady Mustangs were the un-disputed favorite heading into the Manatee County Championships Oct. 29, at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch.

But that doesn’t mean the girls took the race lightly.

“We always look forward to the county meet, not just because of the fun and competitive environ-ment, but because it’s the one meet that kicks us into gear for that long and challenging battle to the state championship,” McDer-mott said. “Of course, we wanted to keep the tradition alive and bring home another girls varsity

title, but that wasn’t our main ob-jective — just like it isn’t for any other meet of the season. When we step up to the starting line, our goal is to see how much better we can do personally, and with that, hopefully will come a win. The county meet was no different.”

It might not have been their main objective, but that doesn’t mean the Lady Mustangs weren’t pleased with the results. Lake-wood scored 15 points to finish well ahead of runner-up Braden River (61).

“As a team, it helped our con-fidence by getting a perfect score of 15 points,” junior Olivia Ortiz said. “We were all very excited and can’t wait to see what future lies ahead.”

Ortiz crossed the finish line first in 17:49 — more than two minutes ahead of the rest of the field. It was the first time Ortiz was forced to pace herself.

“This race was definitely differ-ent from the past races this season I have ran,” Ortiz said. “Usually, I am in a group and we are all push-

ing for first place, but this race I was all by myself. Overall, I liked the race and course. The most difficult part was staying on my pace and not slowing down. My goal was to break 18 minutes, and thankfully, I did.”

The first seven finishers were Lady Mustangs. McDermott fin-ished second in 19:50 followed by Kristin Zarrella (20:07), Natalie Novak (20:14), Katie Wray (20:36), Ashley Platt (20:51) and Michelle Last (21:25).

“I am ecstatic to have finished

with all Lakewood girls around me,” McDermott said. “Run-ning my last county meet was sad, because it meant leaving all of the memories we had made there. However, I know we have a lot more to accomplish in these next few weeks, and there’s no one I would rather do that with. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect last county champion-ship.”

The Lady Mustangs weren’t the only ones to walk away with Manatee County Championships. Lakewood’s JV girls and varsity and JV boys teams were all victo-rious.

The Lakewood boys varsity team scored 41 points to edge past Manatee (44). Four runners placed in the top 10 — Evan Dip-siner (third, 17:33), Mitch Arnold (fourth, 17:37), Quintin Wampler (eighth, 18:08) and Josh Napier (10th, 18:15).

Lakewood’s JV girls scored 21 points to finish ahead of South-east (47).

Meanwhile the JV boys team scored 20 points to finish ahead of Manatee (57).

“The the big accomplishment this year was that the JV girls and both varsity and JV boys were able to take home the gold as well,” McDermott said. “I was proud of the Lakewood Legacy that they left on that course.”

With another Manatee County Championship under their belts, the Lady Mustangs will now pre-pare for the Class 3A-District 11 meet Nov. 4 at Estero Community Park — the first hurdle in their quest for a state championship.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblanco@yourobserver.com.

Lakewood Ranch wins championshipsCLEAN SWEEP by Jen blanco | Associate Editor

The Lakewood Ranch boys and girls varsity and JV teams were all victorious at the Manatee County Championships Oct. 29 at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch.

Courtesy photo

Lakewood Ranch High’s boys and girls varsity and JV cross country teams all won county titles Oct. 29.

EAST COUNTY ObSErvErTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 201118A YourObserver.com

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(Jeren Kowalewski’s) a heck of a quarterback, and he did a great job. But at the same time we’ve got to be able to control the ball, because we’re not always good enough on defense against big-play athletes to stop people all of the time.”

With Hathaway on the side-lines, the Mustangs turned to backup tailback Andre Chris-tiano, but a head injury lim-ited him to just six carries. As a result, Lakewood turned to sophomore Chris Pearcey, who finished with a team-best 33 yards on seven carries.

“Chris did a heck of a job for a young kid,” Trent said. “He took care of the ball, but we can only do what we can do, and when you lose your gun, it’s hard to do stuff.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Trent said. “The kids came back in the second half and fought hard. We had some opportuni-ties and unfortunately we didn’t make some stops defensively when we needed to make some stops. A couple plays here and there, maybe it could’ve been different, but they’ve got a heck of a team.”

Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, Kowalewski punched the ball in from 1 yard out with 4:08 remaining in the first half, capping off a 12-play, 80-yard drive.

Down by three touchdowns to start the second half, Lake-wood recovered an onside kick. Seven plays later Kowawlewski connected with Brandon King for a 16-yard score. Zach Reda hit a 33-yard field goal later in the third quarter to pull the Mustangs within 28-15, but that

would be as close as Lakewood would come to a comeback.

Kowawlewski, who threw for 217 yards, connected with King for a 25-yard score with 7:09 remaining in the game. But a 48-yard touchdown run on the first play of Largo’s ensuing possession dashed any hope of a Mustang rally.

King finished with nine catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way for Lakewood.

“(Brandon) King’s a heck of player,” Trent said. “He’s had a great season all year. Because of some injuries, he’s kind of gotten thrust into the role of playing both ways. He’s just made play after play after play on both sides of the ball all year long.”

Luckily for the Mustangs, the season isn’t entirely lost. Lake-wood (4-4, 3-1 in 6A-7) could still finish as the district run-ner-up.

Lakewood’s loss coupled with Seminole Osceola’s 14-13 win over St. Petersburg Dixie Hol-lins means the Mustangs need a win at Osceola this Friday to reach the postseason.

The Mustangs faced a simi-lar scenario last fall when they played host to Palmetto in the district finale for both teams. The Mustangs needed a win to secure a spot in the playoffs for the second-consecutive season, but they ultimately fell short.

Now, in the midst of a new district and with a playoff spot on the line, Lakewood is hoping to get its ground game healthy in time to secure a spot in the postseason.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblan-co@yourobserver.com.

ObSErvEr TEAm SpOTlighT Q&A

KAiTlYN YAwNAge: 9Grade: Fourth-grader at Freedom Elementary Position: Utility What does it mean to you to be on the Observer softball team? It means that I, and all of my teammates, are awesome because we just are. What do you enjoy the most about softball? Being with all my friends and doing the sport. When did you start playing soft-ball? When I was 4 years old.Why did you decide to start play-ing?I thought it was going to be a really fun sport. If you could describe the Observer softball team in one word, what would it be? Amazing

JUST THE STATS

The amount in dollars that River Club golf course owner Mike Pascuzzi was awarded Oct. 25, after hitting a hole-in-

one during a Wounded Warriors charity event last month.

1,000

0The number of losses the Lakewood Ranch High boys golf team had heading into the Class 2A state meet Nov. 1-2.

3 The number of Super Bowls the PAL Raiders won Oct. 29.

The num-ber of top

seeds the Lakewood Ranch High swim team earned for the Class 2A-Region 3 meet Nov. 5 at the North Shore Aquat-ic Center in St. Peters-burg.

7The number of district wins the Braden River and Lakewood Ranch High football teams each need to advance to the playoffs.

1

FOOTbAll/pAgE 14A

YourObserver.com 19A EAST COUNTY ObSErvErTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011

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LAKEWOOD RANCH — There’s rarely a day that goes by that Lakewood Ranch residents Rob Tucker and Janie Scott aren’t smiling and having fun.

Even when their dream of opening a martial arts studio on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch was initially hit with a roadblock, the partners continued to remain optimistic.

Ten months later, their persistence and positive outlook paid off. On Oct. 26, the Lakewood Ranch resi-dents opened America’s Best Martial Arts, 8120 Lakewood Main Street, Suite B101.

“We called, and ini-tially, they (Main Street officials) were not inter-ested,” said Tucker, the school’s master instruc-tor.

“This is round two, but it worked,” he added.

America’s Best Martial Arts offers classes in ka-rate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and general fitness for both children and adults. Every Friday, the school will hold family classes, allowing children and adults to learn together.

Tucker began taking martial arts when he was 7 years old after watching Bruce Lee movies and seeing his dad learn the sport.

“It was just something I wanted to do, and I’m (fortunate enough) to have the opportunity to do it almost 40 years later,” Tucker said. “I love watching the kids grow and see-ing the changes in them.”

Tucker spent the past several years traveling and helping marital artists open schools across the country. However, the road wore on him, and eventually, Tucker decided to alter his career path to allow more time with Scott and his two children, Mary, 10 and Reece, 7. That’s where the idea for the new studio was born.

Scott, also is a personal trainer and massage therapist, began taking martial arts about two years ago.

“I love it,” Scott said. “I’ve always worked out in the gym, but this is something completely different. The parents have such energy. It’s a good time. It’s not super formal or traditional — it’s fun.”

Now, the couple is hoping to share its love of martial arts with East County families.

“We just like seeing the families become active,” Tucker said. “There’s too much of a disconnect from healthy living, so if we can put that back in people’s minds, that would be great.

“There’s still the tradition and respect for the martial arts, but it’s fun,” he said. “Kids won’t stay unless they’re having fun.”

In addition to its Lakewood Ranch studio, the couple hopes to open a few more studios in the Sarasota/Braden-ton area in the next 12 months.

For more information on America’s Best Martial Arts visit www.americasbestma.com.

Contact Jen Blanco at jblanco@yourobserver.com.

AMERicA’S BEST MARTiAl ARTS OWNErS: Rob Tucker and Janie Scott ADDrESS: 8120 lakewood Main Street, Suite B101PHONE: 907-0460HOUrS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. SundaysWEbSITE: www.americas-bestma.com

New martial arts studio lands on Ranch Main St.America’s Best Martial Arts opened Oct. 26 on lakewood Ranch Main Street.

now open by Jen blanco | Associate Editor

Jen Blanco

lakewood Ranch residents rob Tucker and Janie Scott hope to bring a little fun to their new martial arts studio.

SPORTSBRIEFS + Premier to host

Winter ShowcaseThe Premier Sports campus

at lakewood Ranch and U.S. Soccer announced recently the 2011 Development Academy Winter Showcase and Nike international Friendlies will be held in early December at the East county complex.

All 78 of the academy’s clubs will travel to lakewood Ranch for three non-conference games during the Winter Showcase Dec. 2-6. The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will face Brazil, France and Turkey during the Nike international Friendlies Nov. 30 through Dec. 4.

+ Lady Pirates fall in district semifinal

The Braden River High vol-

leyball team won’t be playing for a district title for the first time in five years after falling to top-seeded Venice in a class 7A-District 11 semifinal Oct. 26.

The lady Pirates (14-9) fell to the lady indians (19-8) 25-12, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22. brittany Jaco led the way for Braden River with 29 digs and 24 kills; and Courtney McDevitt added 22 assists and nine kills.

+ Nolan Middle wins championship

The Nolan Middle School girls soccer team defeated King Middle 4-0 Oct. 20 to capture the 2011 Manatee county cham-pionship and finish the season undefeated.

championship players include: brianna blethen, riley bohan, Athena Kavis, Camryn Kerrigan,

Hannah Miller, Julia Ortiz, valerie visaggio, Nicole Wurster, Katie brooks, Chanel Duregger, Kinsey Goelz, Kylie Privette, Cameryn Wurster, Caitlyn Klein and Shyame Madison.

+ Midgets to play for conference honors

The East Manatee Bulldogs Junior Midget team will play for the FYD conference champion-ship after defeating the Palm Harbour Panthers 24-13 Oct. 29.

Nate Strawderman threw for 194 yards and a pair of touch-downs. Kyle Thoma hauled in two touchdown catches, ran for an 80-yard touchdown and kicked three extra points. Dillion Davis, Hunter Jernigan, ronnie Carabbia and Dillion Townsond led the way defensively for the Bulldogs.