Buccaneers Sign Adarius Glanton from Panthers

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced on Monday the addition of former FAU Owls linebacker Adarius Glanton (Lake Gibson alum) off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.

Glanton was on the Panthers’ practice squad all season, but the Bucs made room for him on their own 53-man roster by waiving safety Kimario McFadden.

Glanton was an undrafted rookie in 2014 that saw action in 10 games for the Panthers as a rookie. He started two games at strongside linebacker and recorded 12 tackles and a forced fumble. He also contributed to the Panthers on special teams kick-coverage.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Scoreboard - Week 14, 2015 Season

 

Week 14 of the 2015 Season is in the books and here are the final scores from games involving Polk County teams.

Viera 24, Lakeland 14
University Christian 31, Victory Christian 0

Derwin James earns ACC Player of the Week honors

 

Florida State freshman safety Derwin James (Haines City alum) was named the Week 11 ACC Defensive Back of the Week following his performance in the Seminoles’ 34-17 victory over NC State last Saturday.

James tallied a game-high 10 tackles, one sack, one QB hurry and recovered a fumble.

This is the first ACC honor of James’ career and this latest recognition continues to push the name of the freshman on the national map. Earlier in the season James was named the top college football freshman by Pro Football Focus.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Chris Rainey 2015 CFL Season Highlight Reel

 

BC Lions running back Chris Rainey (Lakeland alum) 2015 CFL season is over after his team lost 35-9 against the Calgary Stampeders on Nov 15. Rainey did have a solid 2015 campaign, especially on special teams where he finished with 761 kickoff return yards with 1 touchdown and 593 punt return yards with 1 touchdown.

Rainey earned CFL top performer of the month at the end of September for his 729 combined-return yards performance over three games in which he returned two kicks for touchdowns. His 103 yard kickoff return for a touchdown and 103 yard punt return for a touchdown against the Calgary Stampeders on Sept 18 was the CFL’s first-ever pair of 100-plus yard TD returns by the same player in a single game.

Here is a highlight video Rainey shared with Polk County Football for fans to check out what he accomplished during the 2015 season.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Adrian College defensive back Jarius Garner earns All-Conference honors

 

Adrian College junior defensive back Jarius Garner (Mulberry alum) was selected to the 2015 All-Michigan Intercollege Athletic Association football all-conference second team defense on Monday.

In eight games, Garner finished with 28 total tackles (19 solo) while leading Adrian College and tying for first in the conference with five interceptions. He also finished with 4 pass break ups and 1 blocked kick.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Tenoroc plays East Ridge for Postseason Bowl Game

The Tenoroc Titans did not qualify for the Class 4A playoffs, but their season is not over with just quite yet. Tenoroc finished the regular season 6-4, but have one last chance to add another win to their memorable season. The Titans take on the East Ridge Knights in a postseason bowl game in Clermont today.

The Titans are led on offense by junior quarterback J’Torian Spates who has passed for 875 yards and 6 touchdowns while rushing for 351 yards and 2 touchdowns. His favorite target, senior wide receiver Keyon Walters, leads the team in receiving yards with 498 yards and 4 touchdowns. Walters also adds 300 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on the ground this season. Another target of Spates is senior wide receiver Jordan Holder who leads the team in receptions with 20 and has 265 receiving yards on the season. Senior running back Jedarian Gaskins leads the ground attack for the Titans with 1,050 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns on 119 carries.

The Knights are led on offense by sophomore quarterback BeSean McCray who has passed for 1,404 yards and 18 touchdowns while also adding 963 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Senior running back Tirrek Hooten is the leading rusher with 1,570 yards and 14 touchdowns on 212 carries.

The game is scheduled to kickoff today at 7 PM.

Winter Haven to finish season in 2015 FCA Honor Bowl

The regular season is finished for most teams in the county, but Winter Haven won’t be one of them. The Blue Devils were invited to play in the 2015 FCA Honor Bowl today against Tampa King (5-5).

The Winter Haven Blue Devils finished the 2015 regular season with a 7-3 record. Those three losses were to Kissimmee Osceola, Kathleen and Lakeland; teams with a combined record of 25-4.

The 2015 FCA Honor Bowl will kickoff today at 7 PM. The site of the game will be Victory Stadium at Southeastern University. General admission is $5.00 and for any student-athletes who wear their game jersey to the game will only be charged $2.00 for admission.

DJ Law named to the MACJC All-State Team

Link: EMCC Athletics

East Mississippi Community College sophomore running back DJ Law (Haines City alum) earned second-team honors on the 2015 MACJC All-State Football Team announced Monday by the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges.

Despite missing two games due to an injury, Law still led EMCC in rushing this season with 597 rushing yards. Law also led the team in all-purpose yards finishing with 858 total yards (597 rushing, 132 receiving and 129 kickoff return yards) for an average of 122.6 yards per game. Law’s 2015 season performance included four 100-yard rushing games and a 9.3 yards per rush average ranking him second nationally. Law finished with 3 touchdown runs and 1 touchdown reception on the season.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Utah linebacker Gionni Paul earns Week 10 National Player of the Week honors

 

Link: Walter Camp Football Foundation

Link: Athlon Sports


Week 10 of the college football season saw Utah senior linebacker Gionni Paul (Kathleen alum) walk away with a few National Player of the Week honors.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation and Athlon Sports named Gionni Paul the National FBS Defensive Player of the Week for his performance on Saturday against Washington.

Paul recorded nine tackles (two for a loss), two quarterback sacks, one interception and recovered a fumble and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown to help 12th ranked Utah defeat Washington, 34-23.

Paul joins two other Utah players (DB Eric Weddle, Sept. 24, 2006 and DE Derrick Shelby, Oct. 16, 2011) to earn Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors since 2004.

Athlon Sports considered Paul one of the 15 Best College Football Players No One is Talking About in 2015 prior to Week 10. Paul’s play on Saturday and throughout the season (team leading 84 tackles and 12.0 tackles for a loss) is at least not going unnoticed by one national outlet.

Posted by Hasani Harper (@H2_PolkCoFB)

Scoreboard - Week 11, 2015 Season

 

Week 11 of the 2015 Season is in the books and here are the final scores from games involving Polk County teams.

Mulberry 17, Frostproof 6 (Friday #GOWPolk)
Tenoroc 20, Lake Region 13
Cornerstone Charter 34, Jordan Christian Prep 0
Ridge Community 33, Auburndale 28
Fort Meade 50, George Jenkins 14
Victory Christian 55, Father Lopez 23
Santa Fe Catholic 56, Berean Christian 35
Lakeland Christian 35, Agape Christian 0
Bartow 28, Lake Wales 19
Winter Haven 46, Haines City 20

Florida State Defensive Back Derwin James named Top College Football Freshman

 

Link: Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus recently released their mid-season report on the nation’s best true freshman and earning the top spot was Florida State defensive back Derwin James (Haines City alum).

Pro Football Focus had this to say about James performance so far this season:

“One of the hottest players in the country, James has been a force on the FSU defense since taking over as starter in Week 6. His +17.0 overall grade ranks third among all safeties, including a +7.4 mark against the run that ranks 10th and a strong +2.8 grade against the run. James has also been a menace when rushing the passer, picking up two sacks, two hits, and six hurries on only 15 rushes.”

Through 8 games this season, James currently ranks third on the team in total tackles (39), third in pass break-ups (3) and is tied for first in forced fumbles (2). Against Syracuse (James’ third consecutive start of the season) on Oct 31, James led the team in tackles with 12 with a career high in solo tackles (7) and unassisted tackles (5).

Lakeland's James Robinson receives offer from Alabama

Lakeland junior wide receiver James Robinson continues to add to his impressive list of college verbal offers. After his performance last Friday night against cross-town rival Kathleen (4 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TDs), Robinson received a verbal offer from the Alabama Crimson Tide the next day.

I'm blessed to receive an offer from Alabama Crimson Tide , Making momma Proud 💯💪✊🏈🏈⚓⚓⚓ pic.twitter.com/kzC3kAmQZc

— RELENTLESS ⚓️✊ (@_StunnaJayy_) October 31, 2015

2015 Season, Week 11 Team Power Rankings

2015 Season, Week Eleven Team Power Rankings

Large Classification (Class 5A-8A)

  1 Lakeland (7-2) (won 35-13 vs. Kathleen)
  2 Kathleen (9-1) (lost 13-35 at Lakeland)
  3 Winter Haven (6-3) (won 14-0 at Bartow)
  4 Lake Gibson (7-3) (won 24-20 vs. Sebring)
  5 Bartow (4-5) (lost 0-14 at Winter Haven)
  6 Auburndale (3-6) (won 42-21 at Lake Wales)
  7 Lake Wales (3-5) (lost 21-42 vs. Auburndale)
  8 Ridge Community (3-6) (won 2-0 vs. Haines City via forfeit)
  9 George Jenkins (2-7) (lost 9-46 vs. Kissimmee Osceola)
10 Lake Region (2-7) (BYE WEEK)
11 Haines City (0-8) (lost 0-2 vs. Ridge Community via forfeit)


Small Classification (Class 1A-4A)
 
  1 Fort Meade (7-1) (won 34-0 at Frostproof)
  2 Lakeland Christian (8-1) (lost 14-25 at Tampa Catholix)
  3 Santa Fe Catholic (9-0) (won 56-13 vs. Orangewood Christian)
  4 Tenoroc (5-4) (lost 33-34 vs. Bishop Verot)
  5 Victory Christian (4-5) (won 49-0 vs. Cornerstone Charter)
  6 Jordan Christian Prep Prep (3-5) (BYE WEEK)
  7 Frostproof (2-6) (lost 0-34 vs. Fort Meade)
  8 Mulberry (2-6) (won 41-15 vs. Gateway Charter)
  9 All Saints' Academy (1-7) (BYE WEEK)
10 Landmark Christian (0-6) (BYE WEEK)

2015 SSAC All-Conference Teams Announced

 

Link: Sunshine State Athletic Conference

The 2015 SSAC All-Conference football teams were announced on Saturday, Oct 31 and headlining the Coral League was Santa Fe Catholic head coach Billy Dickerson who was honored as Coach of the Year. Dickerson and his staff helped lead the Crimson Hawks to their first undefeated season in school history. The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season at 8-0 and outscored their regular season opponents 288-36.

Congratulations to the Coral League Coach of the Year: Santa Fe Catholic Head Coach Billy Dickerson! SFC is 9-0! @SFCHawks @SSACFootball

— SSAC Athletics (@SSACFootball) October 31, 2015

The following list includes All-Conference First and Second Team players and Honorable Mention players from Santa Fe Catholic.

Coach of the Year - Coral League
Billy Dickerson (Santa Fe Catholic)

First Team
Henry Perry IV - Cornerbacks
Tyree Rodman - Punt Returner/Kick Returner

Second Team
Henry Perry IV - Wide Receivers
John Littlejohn - Defensive Line
Walker Richards - Safeties

Honorable Mention
David Tomkow
JJ Stone
John Kromer
John McIntire
Kenard King
Demario Vanover
Tyler Hancock

2015 FHSAA Playoffs Central - Round 01 Preview

 

The 2015 FHSAA Playoffs kickoff on Friday, Nov. 13 and six Polk County teams will begin the long journey of trying to win each week for an eventual spot in the state championship games held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

7A
Sickles at Lakeland
Kathleen at Tampa Plant
Full Bracket: Click Here

6A
Brandon at Lake Gibson
Full Bracket: Click Here 

3A
Lakeland Christian at Trinity Catholic
Full Bracket: Click Here

2A
Victory Christian at Deltona Trinity Christian
Full Bracket: Click Here

1A
Fort Meade at Trenton
Full Bracket: Click Here

2015 SSAC Playoffs Central - Quarterfinals Recap

 

Link: Sunshine State Athletics Conference

2015 Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoffs scoreboard

Recap
Quarterfinals
Santa Fe Catholic 56, Orangewood Christian 13
Berean Christian 46, Christ Church Academy 18
Saint Stephen's Episcopal 56, Seven Rivers Christian 37
Boca Raton Christian 20, Orlando Christian Prep 14

Looking Ahead
Semi-finals
Santa Fe Catholic at Berean Christian, 7PM
Saint Stephen's Episcopal at Boca Raton Christian, 7PM

Consolation Games
Orlando Christian Prep at Seven Rivers Christian, 7PM
Christ Church Academy at Orlando Christian Prep, 7PM

Scoreboard - Week 10, 2015 Season

Week 10 of the 2015 Season is in the books and here are the final scores from games involving Polk County teams.

Lakeland 35, Kathleen 13 (Friday #GOWPolk)

Victory Christian 49, Cornerstone Charter 0

Lake Gibson 24, Sebring 20

Auburndale 42, Lake Wales 21

Winter Haven 14, Bartow 0

Santa Fe Catholic 56, Orangewood Christian 13

Tampa Catholic 25, Lakeland Christian 14

Bishop Verot 34, Tenoroc 33

Mulberry 41, Gateway Charter 15

Ridge Community 2, Haines City 0 (Haines City Forfeit)

Kissimmee Osceola 46, George Jenkins 9

Fort Meade 34, Frostproof 0