“We just had to play our game at that’s what we did,” Griffey said afterwards.

The daughter of former major leaguer Ken Griffey, Jr. put Dr. Philips (31-2) ahead 51-39 with four minutes to go in regulation after taking a steal the other way for an easy layup.

The Rams (30-3) responded by closing out the quarter on a 14-2 run behind baskets from Morgan Jones, Sarah Taylor, Alexis Fitts and Peggy Smith, who hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining to tie the game. But the game-winning shot in the final seconds came up short for the Rams from atop the arc.

Lake Mary outscored Dr. Phillips 23-14 in the final period but were unable to carry that momentum over.

In overtime, Arianna Cumbie and Griffey each knocked down shots to put Dr. Phillips up by four points before Jones and Taylor tied the game up on trips to the free throw line. Following Griffey’s free throw to put the Panthers ahead for the final time, the last two shots of the game came up empty for Lake Mary.

The win gives Dr. Phillips its first state title since 1992 and the program’s second win of the season over last year’s champion.

The game was tied at 20-20 at the break. Dr. Phillips took a 39-30 lead after three quarters.

“Once we knew how to break their press and break their defense it was easy from then on,” Griffey said. She finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-15 attempts and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Hannah Schaible grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for Dr. Phillips while classmate Sydnei McCaskill led all players with six assists. McCaskill also finished with eight points and seven rebounds. The Panthers played with just one junior and one senior throughout the season.

Jones, one of four senior starters for Lake Mary, finished with a game-high 20 points (7-of-26) and seven rebounds. She will play her college ball at Northwestern next year. Taylor finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

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

On Friday, Lake Mary (29-2) takes on Miami Dr. Krop at 4 p.m. followed by Dr. Phillips (29-2) against Hollywood South Broward at 8:30 p.m. in semifinal games.

The Panthers were the only local team to defeat Lake Mary this season when they won 62-51 on Dec. 11. The Rams only other loss came by one point against Hollywood Christian.

Dr. Phillips suffered losses lost to Olympia and Edgewater this season.

Also still in the hunt for state titles are Port Orange Atlantic in Class 3A and Leesburg in Class 4A. Atlantic (21-7) plays Tampa Catholic tonight at 8:30 p.m. while Leesburg (23-6) faces St. Petersburg Lakewood on Friday at 10 a.m.

Ronni Williams averages 21.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for Atlantic. Leesburg has gotten 13.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game from Ashley Perry and 13.2 points from Baylie Bridges this season.

Lake Mary senior Morgan Jones leads the defending 6A state champs with 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Senior Sarah Taylor is averaging 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 steals.

The young squad at Dr. Phillips has been led by freshman Taryn Griffey, the daughter of former Major League Baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr., along with Sydnei McCaskill and Hannah Schaible. Griffey averages over 15 points and 7 rebounds per game.

The Panthers lost in the state semifinals last year 46-42 to Miami Lourdes, the team Lake Mary beat by nine points in the title game. Lake Mary lost 27-25 to Miami Norland in the 2009 state finals.

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

Oviedo (25-3-1) defeated Vero Beach (22-4-2) on penalty kicks 3-2 in the Class 6A title game at the University of Tampa’s Pepin Stadium.

The match was as close as the final score would indicate.

Sarah Buckley was the first to connect on a penalty kick for Oviedo, but the Lions trailed 2-1 with each team down to its final two attempts.

Meagan Borger and Morgan Campbell converted for the Lions from there. But it ultimately came down to freshman goalkeeper Lindsay Preston, who dove to her left to make the final save of the game.

“She’s a great keeper,” Campbell said of Preston afterwards. “She’s been practicing those PK’s all season. She’s been diving left and right and saving them the whole time, so I believed in her.”

Oviedo trailed 1-0 when Vero Beach got a goal with 26 minutes remaining in the first half. And despite coming close to repeatedly tying things up, the Lions would not do so until just 10 minutes were left in regulation.

That’s when Campbell took possession of the ball in the left side of the box and sent a shot to the back of the far corner of the net. The goal was all the Lions would need to extend the game.

Oviedo maintained its aggressive play from there, getting five more solid shots on goal before going back on the attack in the two overtime periods.

“It was just the will to win,” Oviedo coach Scott Waisanen said. “Our girls wanted it so bad, more than anything else.”

On Friday the Lions earned a 2-1 win over Miami Palmetto to advance to the championship when Katie O’ Kennedy scored with only seconds to spare in double overtime. Campbell also scored on a free kick earlier in the match.

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

Oviedo (19-3-1) hosts the region title game on Friday against Port Orange Spruce Creek, who defeated Duncan Fletcher 1-0. The winner advances to the state final four.

O’Kennedy’s goal came after she followed up on a loose ball off a free kick by Morgan Campbell that was stopped by Hagerty goalkeeper Kait Briggs. O’Kennedy gained possession in front of the goal box, spun from a defender and drove home the goal with her right foot to put the Lions ahead.

“Those two seniors have been leading us all season,” Oviedo coach Scott Waisanen said. “They did it just as we drew it up and we were lucky enough to get the rebound and find the back of the net with it.”

The late attempts by Hagerty (18-4-4) to answer went for not, despite plenty of good looks on goal. Oviedo freshman keeper Lindsay Preston was impressive throughout, finishing with 11 saves in all.

Hagerty tied the game midway through the second half on a goal by sophomore Amaya Banks. She took a pass from Darbi Filliben over the middle of the penalty box and found the open net after Preston was pulled out of position with 24 minutes left.

Oviedo took a 1-0 lead with three minutes remaining in the first half when sophomore Mary Bozzacco rushed the goal box and followed up on a save made by Briggs, who dove to her right to stop a close-range shot from the left foot of O’Kennedy.

The goal capped a furious rally for the Lions, who opened the match a bit complacent compared to a Hagerty team who kept busy by swarming the ball and controlling possession.

“They came out playing a great game and that’s what we expected, but it all comes down to heart and we had more of it,” O’Kennedy said.

The win gave Oviedo its third in four games against Hagerty this season.

– More Girls Soccer Results –

Apopka lost its first game of the season 2-1 against Vero Beach in Class 6A… Seminole defeated East Lake 2-0 and Melbourne got past Viera 2-1 in Class 5A… Harmony defeated Eustis for the third time this season 2-1 in Class 4A… Lake Highland Prep moves on with a 3-1 win over Satellite Beach in Class 3A… Master’s Academy had its season come to a close with a 4-1 loss to St. John’s Country Day and Trinity Prep defeated Lakeland Christian 4-0 in Class 2A.

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

Hagerty (18-3-4) got a goal from freshman Sydney Schilling early in the extra period to defeat Timber Creek 2-1 in overtime. The Huskies will take on Oviedo on Tuesday for the fourth time this season in a Class 6A region semifinal.

Sophomore Amaya Banks scored her 21st goal of the season to give Hagerty an early lead in the first half before Timber Creek’s Carla Nazario knotted things up with a goal of her own before the break.

A stalemate ensued from there despite the aggressive play of the visiting team.

The Huskies were on the attack throughout the night as they took 23 shots in all, of which 13 were on goal.

“When we saw the problems we were having with some matchups, we made some changes and that’s what helped us hold on,” Hagerty coach Rodney Kenney said.

Hagerty began overtime in Timber Creek (13-7-2) territory and never gave the Wolves a chance to counter. Timber Creek’s goalkeeper turned away shots on goal by the Huskies, but the frantic play in the penalty area ended with the final strike of the ball by Schilling.

Oviedo (18-3-2) defeated Freedom 6-0 to set up a rematch of the District 3 title game, won by the Lions 2-0. The teams split their first two meetings of the year as Oviedo got a 3-2 win early in the season and Hagerty followed that up with a 1-0 win on the road.

Timber Creek defeated Freedom last week on a goal by Amy Planeta in double-overtime to claim back-to-back District 4 titles with a 2-1 win. It was a rematch of last year’s district championship matchup.

The Oviedo Lions have had to overcome a number of injuries this season but advance to the playoffs under coach Scott Waisanen for the fifth-straight time. Megan Heil and Lindsay Preston have shared time in goal for Oviedo while Katie O’Kennedy and Morgan Campbell lead the team offensively.

“Each game has been fairly close,” Kenney said of the matchup against Oviedo. “We’ll just need to change some things up going in.”

Hagerty now has 75 goals on the season. Sophomore Samantha Collin and junior Mikaela Renfro have each scored 14 goals.

– More Girls High School Soccer –

Regional semifinal games are scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Games featuring local teams include: Apopka (20-0-2) at Vero Beach in 6A; East Lake at Seminole and Viera at Melbourne in 5A; Eustis at Harmony in 4A; Satellite Beach at Lake Highland Prep (18-4-2) in 3A; St. John’s Country Day at Master’s Academy and Trinity Prep at Lakeland Christian in 2A.

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

After beginning a 40-year coaching career in Indiana, Kershner moved to Florida in 1980 where he built upon a 761-329 record during coaching stops at Kissimmee Osceola, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce Westwood. He is now 314-104 at Oviedo since taking over there in 1996.

Kershner is one of six coaches in Florida’s high school boys basketball history to win 700 games. The late Don Wallen, who won 219 games in Kentucky, retired from Stuart Martin County in 1989 with a 760-192 mark.

The record was tied last week when Oviedo defeated Bartow at the Great Florida Shootout in Kissimmee, the very tournament Kershner originated in 1981 after taking over at Osceola. He led the Kowboys to its only state title in 1983 during a 37-0 season.

In a twist of irony, the Lions had a chance to give Kershner the state record the very next day against his former team, but were bounced from the tournament by Osceola 70-59 in the consolation semifinal.

With the attention focused squarely on the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame coach entering the season, a relatively young Oviedo team has seemingly weathered the added pressure.

“I have never said anything about it to them,” acknowledged Kershner after tying the record. “I’m proud of them and their improvement and have been just trying to get them better.”

With Oviedo now 9-6 on the year, Kershner would prefer to quietly add to his win total from here on out.

“Everybody else talks about it but me,” he said of the milestone. “I’ve probably been asked about it 50 times. It’s just something that you’ve got to go through and I’m just blessed to be able to answer it.”

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

Presented by the Rotary Club of Kissimmee, the four-day tournament features 16 of the top high school basketball teams from across the nation.

The lineup also features Division I recruits and teams with state tournament experience. Some of the top college and NBA recruiters are expected to be on hand to evaluate talent.

Teams taking part at the event from around the state of Florida include Plantation American Heritage, Ft. Meyers Bishop Verot, Ft. Myers High School, Bartow High School and Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.

Among the local teams taking part are Class 6A state runners-up Dr. Phillips, Osceola High School, Oviedo, Poinciana, Wekiva and Lake Highland Prep.

Out-of-state teams scheduled to participate are Bishop McNamara of Forestville, MD; Christian County High School out of Hopkinsville, KY; Ball High School from Galveston, TX; Hoover High School from San Diego, CA; and Lexington High of Lexington, SC.

The tournament gets underway at 10 a.m. Monday with Christian County (KY) taking on Holy Trinity.

Tickets for the event are available through Ticketmaster and the Silver Spurs Arena Box Office.

Single day tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Kids under the age of 4 are admitted for free. Tournament packages are available for $30 for adults and $15 for students.

Visit GFLSO for a full schedule and detailed info on participating teams.

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

Kiaree Daniels

– Daniels Brothers In Humanitarian Bowl –

Brothers Kiaree and Akeem Daniels out of Osceola High School played bit parts in a 40-17 win for Northern Illinois on Saturday in the Humanitarian Bowl against Fresno State.

Kiaree, a senior defensive back, was in on a tackle while freshman Akeem took one carry for two yards in the win.

Kiaree finished the season with 31 tackles and an interception in 14 games. He recorded a career-high eight tackles against Minnesota on Sept. 25. Akeem scored three touchdowns and gained 87 yards on 10 carries for the 11-3 Huskies.

Correy Johnson

– Johnson Plays For D-I Volleyball Title –

Lake Howell High School alum Correy Johnson ended her sophomore season in the NCAA Division I National Championship on Saturday with the University of California volleyball team. Cal (30-4) lost 25-20, 27-25, 25-20 to Penn State, who won its fourth title in a row in Kansas City, Mo.

Johnson finished with four kills and a dig in the loss. She was selected to the 2009 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team after ranking fourth on the team in kills with 202. In her sophomore season, the middle hitter was third on the team in kills (233) and added 90 blocks.

Chase Rodgers

– Rodgers Competes for D-I Soccer Title –

The unbeaten NCAA Division I soccer season for Lake Mary alum Chase Rodgers ended in the College Cup final as his Louisville Cardinals (20-1-3) lost 1-0 to Akron in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Rodgers became a defensive starter as a redshirt freshman last season. He helped Louisville shut out eight opponents, allow just 19 goals and go unbeaten against eight ranked teams in 2010.

In the semifinals, Louisville defeated a North Carolina team featuring senior midfielder Dustin McCarty of Winter Park, who spent the 2007 season playing at UCF.

Antonio Turner

– Turner Plays In NAIA Title Game –

Former all-state football player Antonio Turner out of Edgewater High School had two tackles for Sioux Falls against Carroll College on Saturday in the NAIA National Championship.

The 42-game win streak for Sioux Falls (13-1) ended in a 10-7 loss in Rome, Ga.

Turner, a three-year letter winner while at Ole Miss before transferring his senior year, led the team with six sacks this season and finished with 24 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble through 13 games.

Check back for more updates on local alumni making marks in college.

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

Despite losing four starters early in the year to a number of injuries, including a fractured wrist, a torn anterior cruciate ligament and multiple foot injuries, the Lions are out to an 11-0-1 start.

That’s even as the team also had other girls miss time due to illness. All but one of the injured is expected to return at some point.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” Oviedo Coach Scott Waisanen said.

Oviedo entered the year without half of its roster from a season ago and has since had to find ways to piece it all together on the fly with underclassman.

Just four seniors and one junior starter from 2009 returned. But it seems not even the constant shuffling of the roster has been able to slow them down.

“Our younger players have had to step up to fill some spots that they normally wouldn’t play at,” said Waisanen. “Trying to get some consistency has been the struggle.”

Twin sisters Katie and Colleen O’Kennedy are playing in their final high school seasons and have been a big part of the early success.

Katie has notched 12 goals and seven assists while Colleen has added five goals and 10 assists through 11 games. Classmate Morgan Campbell has registered seven goals and six assists for the Lions.

While the seniors take care of pushing the ball on offense, Oviedo has relied on two underclassmen at goalkeeper to combine for eight shutouts. Junior Megan Heil and freshman Lindsay Preston have allowed just six goals combined thus far.

As good as things have gone for the Lions in terms of wins and losses, we’ll soon find out just how good this team really is once at full strength.

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

In case you missed it, the Tuskers lost the UFL title game against the Las Vegas Locomotives 23-20 while the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-18 for the CFL title.

Former UCF football player Keith Shologan finished out his season with Saskatchewan at defensive tackle, making 30 tackles and recording three sacks. Former Florida State quarterback Adrian McPherson and former Florida quarterback Chris Leak saw playing time this season for Montreal.

– Rollins Soccer Caught In Snowstorm –

The most surprising thing about the Rollins College men’s soccer team playing in the Division II National Championship game this past Saturday was not that they qualified in the first place, but rather the weather conditions they were forced to play in. If you’ve yet to see it, check out the video highlights at NCAA. The Tars lost 3-2 to Northern Kentucky in weather more suitable for a football game, of the American kind.

The Rollins College roster featured several local high school alumni, including seniors Chris Cummings (Ocala St. John Lutheran), Stephen Wright (Winter Park), Bradley Welch (Cypress Creek) and Blade Zych (Lake Brantley). Plenty of local talent returns for next season. View the Tars roster at Rollins Sports.

– High School Football Finals Take Shape –

The high school football state finals begin this weekend at the Citrus Bowl with four games taking place between teams in the lower classifications.

Friday’s finals include Warner Christian Academy vs. Glades Day in Class 1B at 1 p.m., and Trinity Christian Academy vs. American Heritage in Class 1A at 7 p.m. On Saturday it’s Trinity Catholic vs. University School of NSU in Class 2B at 1 p.m., and Cocoa vs. Glades Central in Class 2A at 7 p.m.

The marquee prep football game of the weekend, though, is the Class 6A semifinal between favored Dr. Phillips at Seminole on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The state title games for classes 3A-6A take place Dec. 17-18.

A complete lineup is available at FHSAA.

– College Football Bowl Games Announced –

On Sunday the NCAA announced this season’s bowl game matchups, including the opponent for UCF at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. and the matchups for both contests in Orlando at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

UCF (10-3) is ranked No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and will take on Georgia (6-6) on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. The Knights faced the Bulldogs just once before, losing 24-23 in Athens during a regular season game in 1999. UCF Coach George O’Leary previously faced Georgia on seven different occasions as head coach at Georgia Tech. UCF lost its only trip to the Liberty Bowl against Mississippi State 10-3 following the 2007 season.

Florida Citrus Sports chose to pair West Virginia (9-3) against N.C. State (8-4) in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m., and Alabama (9-3) against Michigan State (11-1) in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m.

Check back for plenty more coverage of the upcoming bowl season.

– Magic’s Dwight Howard Best In November –

You see where Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for November?

He finished fifth in the Conference in scoring (21.8 points per game) and third in the league with a .594 shooting percentage. Howard also ranked fourth in the league in rebounds (12.1) while helping get the Magic off to a 13-4 start. It’s the fifth time in Howard’s career that he’s earned the league’s Eastern Conference monthly honor, also doing do in April 2006, November 2006, November 2007 and December 2007.

Among the highlights for Howard last month were:

Nov. 3 vs. Minnesota: Recorded 18 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high eight blocks in a 128-86 win over the Timberwolves.

Nov. 5 vs. New Jersey: Tallied 30 points and 16 rebounds in a 105-90 victory over the Nets.

Nov. 24 vs. Miami: Registered 24 points to go along with 18 rebounds in a 111-100 victory over the Heat.

Nov. 27 @ Washington: Compiled a season-high 32 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and hit the game-winning  shot to defeat the Wizards by a score of 100-99.

– UCF Men’s Basketball Out To Fast Start –

The UCF men’s basketball team is out to a 7-0 start for the first time at the Division I level, meaning the Knights have yet to lose under new head coach Donnie Jones. For their efforts, UCF has received votes in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls for the first time since 2006.

On Saturday, following the football team’s Conference USA championship win, the hoops team did away with Southeastern Louisiana 74-49.

Sophomore Keith Clanton tied the school record for blocks in a game when he turned away eight shots in the win. Clanton also finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, which ties his career high. Tony Davis also blocked eight shots on Dec. 1, 2007 against USF. John Friday blocked seven shots in a game twice in January 1987.

The Knights play again on Saturday, Dec. 11 at UCF Arena against Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m.

– Edgewater & Timber Creek Alumni In D-II Title Game –

Edgewater High School alum Kaleigh Cunningham finished her collegiate volleyball career as an outside hitter with Tampa in the Division II National Championship on Saturday in Louisville.

Tampa (31-4), who went 15-1 in the Sunshine State Conference, dropped the title match 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-10 to four-time defending champion Concordia-St. Paul (32-4). (See footage at NCAA)

Cunningham finished the season with 313 kills, 220 digs and 12 service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Yingling (Timber Creek) finished with 266 kills, 369 digs, 25 aces and 24 blocks for Tampa.

– Former UCF Women’s Soccer Player In D-III Title Game –

Former UCF women’s soccer player Alex Brandt finished her sophomore season at Messiah College with an appearance in the Division III National Championship.

Messiah (24-1) lost 2-1 to Hardin-Simmons (24-0-1). Brandt was credited with her 13th assist on the season with 15 minutes to play, when she set up Alicia Frey just outside the box for a goal. (See footage at NCAA)

Brandt, who was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2009, started in all 25 games this season and scored eight goals as a midfielder. She started 23 games for UCF while finishing the year with two goals and three assists.

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