Among the tournament hosts in Class 6A are Apopka, Lake Mary and Freedom, a team hoping to bury the memory of a lopsided title-game loss last year against Timber Creek.

The revamped Patriots should be a little more prepared this time around, though.

Despite fielding a relatively young team, top-seeded Freedom finished the regular season 16-2-1 overall and unbeaten in District 4. That included wins over Winter Park and Timber Creek, the second and third seeds in the event this week, and a tie against University. Freedom’s only losses came against Bishop Moore and Apopka.

Junior Soraya “YaYa” Martinez entered the last two games of the season with a team-high 16 goals and 10 assists, while sophomore Mora Johnson had contributed 14 goals and 11 assists for the Pats. Freshman midfielders Victoria Covas and Nicole Doolittle have evolved into the other big scoring threats.

Junior Dani Gomez and freshman goalkeeper Zoe Myatt anchor the defense of a team mature beyond its age.

“They’ve worked very hard towards bringing home a district title,” Freedom coach Bobby Sauer said. “Our older girls have pushed their younger teammates all year in practice and they’ve really picked up the pace. It’s invaluable to have that.”

It was just a year back that the Patriots capped off the best season in program history. They had qualified for regionals for the first time. There was a sense that they’d finally arrived. Then they lost to Oviedo in the opening round of the state tournament.

There’s not a returning player that’s forgotten how that felt. And there’s not a new teammate that hasn’t heard all about it.

But can they parlay a successful regular season into some tournament success?

“Districts is a whole new ballgame,” Sauer said of the postseason. “They’re going to have to really step up.”

The top-two teams in each district tournament advances to the regional round next week.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

Lake Nona’s Kyle Herrera booted a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the East a 20-17 come-from-behind win. Herrera also kicked a 32-yarder to close out the first half.

“I was already real nervous coming into it, then they tried to ice me twice,” Herrera said afterward. “I just threw my career on the line and put everything I had into it.”

East seniors watch as the ball clears the uprights. (Photo by Tim Citek)

Despite outgaining the West in total yards (326-207) the East seniors were forced to overcome six turnovers and a 17-7 deficit late in the second quarter before eventually pulling out the win.

The West built its lead by turning three of those turnovers into scores.

While trailing 7-0 early in the second quarter Edgewater’s Kelvon Davis forced a fumble, which put the West in position to tie the game. It wasn’t long before Bishop Moore quarterback Mike Calabro tucked the football and took off on a 30-yard touchdown run.

West Orange’s Marcus Isom went on to recover a fumble on a bad snap once the East regained possession, setting up a 27-yard field goal by Wekiva’s Kyle McGee. The West extended its lead with less than a minute to play in the second quarter when Wekiva’s Josh West jumped on a loose ball in the end zone following yet another fumble.

But while the West relied on the mistakes of its opponent, the East continued dusting itself off and feeding the ball to Lake Nona’s Jarius Pace and Winter Park’s Brandon Brown-Dukes out of the backfield.

The duo combined for eight carries of more than 10 yards on the night. When they weren’t fighting for extra yardage by making defenders miss by way of shifty moves, they were finding extra room to run thanks to an aggressive offensive line.

“It’s been a long time since I was able to get back in my groove and I felt like I was able to do that tonight,” said Pace, who missed much of the regular season due to injury. “God came through for me. The team came through. I’d like to give all the credit to the o-line for the outstanding blocking they did.”

Pace brushed off two fumbles to finish with 126 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also had a 45-yard reception late in the fourth quarter. Brown-Dukes took 12 carries for 61 yards and caught three passes for 30 yards and a touchdown in the win.

The celebration gets underway for the East seniors. (Photo by Tim Citek)

“It’s a great experience to play with and against all these guys from throughout Orange County, because some of these guys we’ve never had the chance to play against (during the regular season),” said Brown-Dukes.

It was his catch-and-run for a touchdown with 8:31 to go in the third quarter that tied the game at 17-17. Following a 31-yard reception by Winter Park’s Lee Dunnam, on a throw from East River quarterback Josh Jones, Brown-Dukes hauled in a pass while alone in the flat and reached the end zone on a 22-yard gain after sidestepping a defender inside the five-yard line.

“When I turned my head and looked up it was wide open,” Brown-Dukes said. “It’s all natural instinct from there. I just decided to take a jab-step inside and come back out.”

Pace scored the opening points of the night when he took a handoff up the middle and went four yards for the touchdown with 1:18 to go in the first quarter.

He got the scoring drive started on a pitch-out to the right, where he stiff-armed a defender and raced 52 yards down the West sideline. Positive gains by Brown-Dukes, Central Florida Christian Academy’s Karl Bourne and East River’s Michael Elder continued to move the chains before Pace punched it in for the score.

– More Orange County Senior Bowl Highlights –

– Lake Nona’s Chris Compton caught a 23-yard pass from University’s Kyle Sellers with 24 seconds left in the second quarter… Sellers and Josh Jones combined to go 9-of-21 for 139 yards passing for the East.

– Edgewater’s Kelvin Gunning and Wekiva’s Demarius Daniels each intercepted a pass… Olympia’s Josh Cunningham got to the quarterback for a sack during the final seconds of the first half… West Orange’s Diego Quintanar recovered a fumble with two minutes left in the game, but the West replied by going three-and-out.

– Gunning, Ocoee’s Darien Oliver and Edgewater’s Kelvon Davis were among those breaking up passes while West Orange’s Kellen Williams made multiple timely tackles.

– Bishop Moore quarterback Mike Calabro led the West in rushing with 65 yards on four carries… Calabro, Wekiva’s Greg Arnheim and Evans quarterback Dominique Tarver combined to go 7-of-20 for 63 yards passing… Ocoee’s Robenson Roche caught three passes for 18 yards.

– University’s Shane Berry made a clutch interception near the sideline on a pass inside the 10-yard line with a minute left in the second quarter… Winter Park’s Dominique Albert and Timber Creek’s Lavon Moten recorded sacks for the East.

– Stepping up to make big tackles for the East were Winter Park’s Matthew Moody, Lake Nona’s Alex Scott, Timber Creek’s Brandon Tyras, Freedom’s Colin Burke and Kavaris Green, and Colonial’s Larry McNeil and Chad Tajudeen… Colonial’s Ricky Gordon, Freedom’s David Gadson and Cypress Creek’s Nick Gonzalez broke up passes.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

With no real history of success to speak of, few would have noticed had the team simply ran through the motions with that kind of weight on their collective hearts.

“Last year soccer was kind of secondary to our squad,” Freedom Coach Bobby Sauer said. “When something like that happens everyone sort of puts their priorities in place.”

The least important thing on anyone’s mind in 2009 was the high school soccer season. Yet the Patriots came together and rallied around McMahon, finishing second in their district and qualifying for the postseason for the first time in program history.

This season Freedom has picked up where it left off by turning in a number of impressive efforts. Since losing to Oviedo in the region playoffs, the Patriots have regrouped with 10 returning players and four freshman contributors.

Freedom is out to a 7-1-1 start to the season behind the play of junior Soraya Martinez (8 goals, 4 assists through six games) and sophomore Mora Johnson (7 goals, 5 assists). Freshman goalkeeper Zoe Myatt has shut out six opponents in her first nine varsity games.

“Our girls are really looking at the season differently this year,” said Sauer, who is in his fourth season with the team. “They can focus on soccer once again.”

Sauer has transformed the program since taking over in 2007, when the Patriots earned their first-ever mark above .500 at 10-9. With plenty of young talent on the roster, there seems to be plenty to look forward to on the field for years to come.

“The hope is that by the end of the season they’re all playing much better and the supporting staff steps up,” said Sauer.

Much like they’ve proven to do in so many other ways.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com or follow @OrlandoSportsJC and Carnahan Chronicles) –

In the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, local baseball players began to be selected by big league clubs. Below is a look at who they were, where they were picked, and what team made the call.

– 2010 MLB Draft Top-10 Local Picks –

– LHP Justin Nicolino (University) selected No. 80 overall by Toronto in 2nd round. WESH Video

– RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo) selected No. 116 overall by Washington in 4th round.

– CF Mason Williams (West Orange) selected No. 145 overall by NY Yankees in 4th round.

– LHP Alex Burgos (Osceola/State College of Florida) selected No. 163 overall by Detroit in 5th round.

– LHP John Gast (Lake Brantley/Florida State) selected No. 199 overall by St. Louis in 6th round.

– RF Jose Dore (The First Academy) selected No. 244 overall by San Diego in 8th round.

– SS Mike Freeman (Edgewater/Clemson) selected No. 331 overall by Arizona in 11th round.

– RHP Cody Allen (Boone/UCF/St. Petersburg JC) selected No. 480 overall by Cleveland in 16th round.

– RHP Owen Dew (UCF) selected No. 630 overall by Cleveland in 21st round.

– C Shane Brown (Winter Park/UCF) selected No. 715 overall by NY Yankees in 23rd round.

– More Local MLB Draft Picks –

LF Chris Duffy (Cypress Creek/UCF) at No. 801 overall to Philadelphia (26th round); CF Jay Gonzalez (Freedom) No. 833 overall to Boston (27th round); RHP Tim Griffin (Rollins College) No. 852 overall to Seattle (28th round); LHP Ronald Schreurs (Freedom) No. 1,296 overall to Toronto (43rd round); LHP Jimmy Hodgskin (Bishop Moore) No. 1,311 overall to Philadelphia (43rd round); OF Tyler Marincov (Timber Creek) No. 1,453 overall to Detroit (48th round).

– Draft Notes –

– The UCF Knights have had nine different players selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years, including Brown, who has now been drafted twice by the Yankees. Last season he was picked in the 47th round. In all, UCF has had its baseball players drafted by MLB organizations 73 times since 1979. Dew was taken in the 33rd round in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels. Duffy, who was selected in the 9th round out of high school, completed his four-year career as a finalist for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as one of the top amateur players in the nation.

– The Florida Collegiate Summer League had the highest number of current or former baseball players drafted over the three-day MLB selection process as 25 FCSL players were taken, including five in the first eight rounds. A complete list of draftees is available at Florida League.

On Friday night, Class 6A Coach of the Year Scott Grove leads the Wolves into the regional finals at Jacksonville Mandarin.

(Photo by Mike Dydo)

It was a 4-2 win at Freedom (26-5) last week, in a rematch of the District 4 title game won by the Patriots, which moved Timber Creek (23-7) along in the bracket.

With a 4-0 lead heading into the seventh inning senior Travis McPherson had held Freedom to just two hits on the night. The first against him came in the third inning when Alfredo D’Amelio singled. The second came in the sixth when Orlando Rivera singled to left field.

Grove stayed with McPherson in the seventh, though, even after he allowed singles to Jordan Scott, Jason Holland and D’Amelio to load the bases with two outs in the final frame.

Jay Gonzalez proceeded to drive in two runs on a pop-up to left field, which put the winning run at the plate. But McPherson held tough, getting Rivera to groundout to second for the final play of the game.

Then the dugout emptied in celebration.

McPherson struck out five in what became win No. 200 for Grove at Timber Creek. It marked the 15th win in the past 17 games for the Wolves.

The Wolves scored two runs in both the third and fifth innings while spending much of the night taking what they could get at the plate, against Freedom pitcher Michael Clark, and making the routine plays in the field to back up McPherson.

Three errors by the Patriots assisted the Timber Creek offense.

In the third, Tyler Marincov singled to right field and Spencer Angelis got on base with a grounder past third. Jason Anderson helped them reach home plate with a hit up the middle to centerfield, which was misplayed on a bounce, and gave TCHS an early advantage.

In the fifth, Marincov doubled on a grounder past shortstop then scored on a bad throw to the plate after Angelis hit a shot to right field. McPherson followed with a double to right field to plate Angelis and give the Wolves a comfortable cushion the rest of the way.

Timber Creek finished with nine hits in the game as both Marincov and Angelis got things started with bunts in the first inning. Freshman Eugene Vazquez singled on a line drive up the middle in the second and Branden Castro singled through a hole between shortstop and third base in the fourth.

Despite the setback for the Patriots, several big plays were made in the field.

Ronald Schreurs snagged a hart-hit line drive for an out along the first-base line and Scott laid-out to make a catch in right field for an out in the fifth. In the top of the seventh, Jeffrey Orvis fielded a grounder at third and fired a throw to second, where Rivera charged in to make the catch while all in one motion planting a foot on the base for a force-out. Orvis caught a liner on the very next play.

The Class 6A State Semifinals are scheduled for Friday, May 21 at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie with the championship game to follow on Saturday, May 22.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

Timber Creek quarterback Tyler Marincov looks downfield for a receiver.

Following last week’s 24-17 home loss to Oviedo, the Wolves could use some time off. This Friday the Timber Creek football team will sit and watch as local teams are in action while they get some rest during the bye week. That’s critical before heading on the road to face the Wildcats as last week starting running back Isiah Bolden left the game with a head injury after taking 16 carries for 124 yards in the loss.

Timber Creek’s overall mark dropped to 2-2 on the year. They’ve won big over Freedom (0-4), gave away a game to Boone (2-2) in triple overtime, held on for the win late against Wekiva (1-3) and were outdone by an Oviedo (3-1) team led by UCF recruit Blake Bortles at quarterback.

TCHS running back Isiah Bolden pushes forward for more yards.

Winter Park comes off its bye week to face Cypress Creek (3-1) as one of three unbeaten teams in the Metro Conference with a 3-0 mark. The others are Dr. Phillips (4-0) in District 6 and Apopka (4-0) in District 5. None of the three unbeaten teams are scheduled to play each other during the regular season.

Timber Creek vs. Oviedo – By The Numbers

Should Bolden be unable to go against Winter Park a mixture of Joe Haas (5.4 yards per carry on 14 attempts) and Cameron Smith (4.2 yards per carry on 10 attempts) could be in order. Against Oviedo they combined for 45 yards on nine carries while Smith found the end zone for a score. Smith also picked off a pass and had three tackles on defense.

Quarterback Tyler Marincov had his worst game of the young season as he finished 9 of 22 for 133 yards and two interceptions. He also ran for 38 yards and a touchdown, in the third quarter. Kyle Plaugher caught three passes for 63 yards and Jalil Byrd caught two for 29 yards.

Defensively for the Wolves, Colin Brown was in on 13 tackles while Jacob Wainwright totaled 10 tackles and picked off a pass. Michael Puckett recovered a fumble for Timber Creek.

Joe Haas attempts to avoid a tackle last week against Oviedo.

Cameron Smith eyes the end zone last week against Oviedo.

Timber Creek's defense forced three turnovers last week in the loss.

– Find more local high school football coverage and TCHS vs. Oviedo at:

High school football stats at Varsity Sports

High school football district standings at Varsity Sports

Video footage of Timber Creek vs. Oviedo at WFTV

Shannon Owens game recap of TCHS vs. Oviedo at Orlando Sentinel

Putting up points – TCHS

Timber Creek quarterback Tyler Marincov went 13 of 18 for 186 yards passing and three touchdowns. He connected with Kyle Plaugher (4 catches for 71 yards) for two scores and Jalil Byrd (4 catches for 33 yards) for another while Joe Haas caught three passes for 49 yards and rushed for another 24 yards on four carries. Isiah Bolden carried the load out of the backfield for the Wolves by averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He registered a run of 18 yards and finished with 52 yards on 12 carries.

Junior quarterback Jesse McNinch took over for Marincov midway through the third quarter and hooked up with Jerome Brown on a 29-yard touchdown pass for Timber Creek’s final score of the night. Jason Feeney also booted a 35-yard field goal.

It was a welcome relief for an offensive unit concerned with how well wide receivers would fair, and a new group on the offensive line would gel before the season started. As things unfold, look for several young running backs to earn carries this year after the team relied heavily on one individual most of the way in ’08.

Timber Creek's Matt Jones picked off a pass Friday night (Photo by Scott McCall)

Getting defensive – TCHS

Physical play by Timber Creek on defense, as well as special teams for that matter, played a big part in holding the Patriots from earning a first down throughout the entire first half.

Hard hits and tackles-for-losses were registered by the likes of Todd Heisman, Christian Marreo, Matt McCrary, Alex Fields and Matt Jones. Jones and Cameron Smith each picked off passes in the win.

Coaches point to a talented group of linebackers, including Jacob Wainwright and Colin Brown, as the key to that unit this season.

Freedom Patriots football –

After head coach Andy Johnson witnessed his team have it’s ups and downs in their preseason outing the week before, things started out tough for Freedom and didn’t get much better the rest of the night. From go-to senior running back Eric Cleveland (a 4-year letterman) not having a whole lot of room to operate, to a defense playing on their heels throughout, having to play catchup was just too much for the Pats.

Freedom running back Eric Cleveland (Photo by Scott McCall)

Among the highlights for Freedom though was the play of freshman wide receiver Lee Grant and sophomore quarterback Derek Abbot. Grant crossed the goal line for the Patriots near the end of the game on a screen pass from Abbot, who was in for senior Nick Obrzut, who missed last season due to illness and returns to the starting job he held as a sophomore.

Defensively, junior Colin Burke and senior John Morgan will be heard from as the season progresses. But on this night the big tackles were made by the likes of safety Jeremy Smith, linebacker Armando Ferreira, and linemen Kevin Gonzalez and Marcel Urena. Defensive end Jordan Jenkins picked off a pass in the second half in the loss.

More Timber Creek vs. Freedom coverage:

– Some 4th quarter highlights from WFTV Channel 9

– TCHS coach Jimmy Buckridge talks with WFTV Channel 9

– Short recap of the game at Orlando Sentinel

But that might actually be the best thing for them. On Friday night they entered the season opener at Freedom High School considered the night’s likely upset victim by some. Throughout the game they wore that badge like it might be the last time they’d ever take the field in a rousing 31-6 win.

Senior quarterback Tyler Marincov was nearly perfect through less than three quarters of work.

TCHS senior quarterback Tyler Marincov (Photo by Scott McCall)

“He threw the ball really well out there,” said Timber Creek Head Coach Jimmy Buckridge of his senior signal caller. “This is only one game. But he made some good decisions tonight.”

So much so that he started the night perfect on his first eight passes, two of which went for touchdown strikes of 17 and 33 yards. He would finish the night going 13 of 18 for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

Factor in just how precise his throws were delivered, and the four dropped passes by his receivers, and the night had all the makings of a career-best day for any TCHS quarterback. That was before he was pulled after taking a hard shot by a Freedom defender.

If this one outing is any indication, the maturation of Marincov has proven to be on the upswing as his calmness and confidence continues to build.

“Every year the game kind of slows down a little bit,” said Marincov. “You get older, you get stronger, you get bigger, and it makes it a little easier.”

The tall task for such a reserved individual such as himself is to carry an offensive unit that features the three-year starting quarterback as the only returning piece from last year’s district championship team.

On Friday night Timber Creek’s offensive line gave Marincov plenty of time to operate, while a shifty Isiah Bolden maneuvered his way around defenders from out of the backfield and seven different receivers hauled in passes.

TCHS wide receiver Kyle Plaugher (Photo by Scott McCall)

Marincov hooked up with Kyle Plaugher four times for 71 yards (2 TDs) and Jalil Byrd four times for 33 yards (1 TD) in the win.

“It’s been real easy to get moved along with these guys because we have such a good bond and we all trust each other,” said Marincov of his new surrounding cast.

Those new starters alongside him likely helped catapult Marincov, who is also an exceptional talent in baseball, into the discussion among the many other quarterbacks being talked about around the area this high school football season.

They have also been thrust into the position of helping a senior class take care of some unfinished business at TCHS should they advance to the postseason.

“We want to move forward every year,” said Marincov. “We got knocked out the past couple years in the first round and it kind of leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and I want to get rid of that. Our goal is to not just win one but win a couple playoff games this year.”