St. Petersburg, Shorecrest Prep Eye Boy's Basketball State Playoffs

Two teams not known for being basketball powers have a chance to make school history Saturday. A win by either school in their respective region final games will result in a state semifinal appearance.

In a county rich in basketball tradition, it is two non-traditional basketball programs that are on the cusp of school history. Fort Myers Evangelical Christian (22-8) at Shorecrest Prep (22-8), 7pm For 17 years, the Chargers couldn't scrape together a winning season. Shorecrest wasn't an afterthought on the local high school basketball landscape, the Chargers weren't thought of at all. That began to change when, in a pinch, Daryl Blume took over the program when an opening popped up. His son, Luke Blume, was on the team. Suddenly a coach that wasn't supposed to be the coach turned around the program and is now one win from an improbable state tournament. The Chargers host Fort Myers Evangelical Christian Saturday in a Class 3A region …

• Photos (7)

World Day of Peace Inspires Art

Shorecrest Prep students in St. Petersburg convey their expressions of peace through a giant peace sign and heart displayed on the campus lawn.

ST. PETERSBURG – Today is the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Peace, and students at Shorecrest Prep showed their support for global harmony. "Make Your Voice Heard" is the theme of the 2011 global Peace Day. Shorecrest students in Grades 5-8 created "Pinwheels for Peace," under the direction of art teacher Cindy Williams. Students in kindergarten-4th grades did a separate project with art teacher Sue Rowe, creating individual peace signs. They also sang with Valerie Diaz Leroy. Fittingly, the song was a folk classic: "If I had a Hammer," by Pete Seeger. The school uploaded photos of their two projects to an International Day of Peace virtual map, where individuals and groups are encouraged to show how they are honoring the …

• Photos (9)

Touchdown!

High School Football Kicks Off

Here's a season-opener look at gridiron teams for St. Pete High, Northeast, Shorecrest and Canterbury.

Here's a look at what to expect as Patch-area high schools take the field as the regular fall season kicks off all across Florida. Canterbury There a lot of change at Canterbury but despite the change, there is a lot of consistency as well. The Crusaders had a change in coaching staff when Steve Dudley left the school this spring to take over St. Petersburg Catholic. Despite Dudley moving cross-town, his offensive coordinator, Bill Jones, decided to stay put. Good thing for Canterbury and good thing for Brent O'Neal. The Canterbury bruising running back, O'Neal is expected to be the school's first Division-I football recruit. O'Neal is getting interest from Florida International, Florida Atlantic and Furman. But the key for O'Neal may be …

• Photos (3)

Phil Hayford Not Upset With Shorecrest's Loss

The long-time Chargers coach believes only a handful of plays kept his team from winning. Plays that can be corrected by the time the regular season begins this fall.

It's hard for many football coaches to come away smiling after a 41-28 loss but that is exactly what Shorecrest Prep football coach Phil Hayford did when his Chargers lost to Bradenton Christian. Rather than look at the score, he looked at the game. A spring game is a scrimmage to see how new starters are able to cope with another opponent and how those same players handle things they may not have seen in practice before. "We had a one-possession game going into the last four minutes," Hayford said, dismissing what looks to be a lopsided margin at face value.  "I think we had a couple of breakdowns defensively, correctable mistakes. We had three plays where we gave up 120 yards rushing. You take those away; we held them to three yards per …

• Photos (2)

Bad Pitch and a Warning From the Ump Dooms Shorecrest

The Chargers unraveled with one out in the bottom of the fourth. It was enough to doom their season.

The Chargers year-long quest to return to the Class 2A state championship baseball game blew up in one inning Friday night. It all started with a harmless pitch. Shorecrest Prep lost to Brooks-DeBartalo 4-2 in the Class 2A region final held at Freedom High School in Tampa. With the Chargers leading 2-0 and ace Marc Brakeman mowing down Brooks-DeBartalo in the bottom of the fourth, it appeared Shorecrest was on the verge of yet another trip to the state tournament. That notion began to unravel when Brakeman nailed Brooks-DeBartalo pitcher Javier Reynoso with a pitch, the second time in as many at-bats. Instantly, the plate umpire ran from behind the plate and issued a warning to both teams: next time a batter comes close to getting hit, the…

• Photos (6)

Shorecrest Prep Inches One Step Closer to State Title

The Chargers' offense does a number on the Community School of Naples Saturday afternoon in a Class 2A region semifinal.

Shorecrest Prep is now three wins away from its ultimate goal of a Class 2A state title by blasting the Community School of Naples 11-1 Saturday at Shorecrest. Jason Kiracofe broke open what was a tight 1-0 game in the third when his two-run triple to right gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead and highlighted a five-run inning. That was just all the cushion starting pitcher Jordan Lindsey needed. The senior was still suffering the effects of food poisoning earlier in the week and coming off four days' rest after starting and pitching briefly in Shorecrest's region quarterfinal win over Fort Myers Evangelical. He gave up three hits while striking out five and walking six in 5 1/3 innings before he ran out of gas. "I was really dehydrated [Tuesday…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (7)

Lee Diekemper

12:18 pm on Sunday, May 8, 2011

Scott: Old Northeast Patch -- specifically, this reporter -- has written many stories on Canterbury sports. Old Northeast Patch has written extensively on Canterbury's softball team, which once again has advanced to the Class 1A state tournament and is one of the better softball teams in the area. No other media outlet has written more stories about Canterbury softball than Old Northeast Patch. …   more ›

Shorecrest Prep Begins Championship Quest on the Road

If the Chargers are able to win tonight, which will bring them three wins shy of a state championship game, they will have to overcome a lot of obstacles.

At the entrance to the home dugout at Shorecrest Prep's baseball field is a banner that features last season's squad adorned with the message, "2010 State Runner-up." To equal or better that feat this year will be a bit more difficult for the Chargers. Shorecrest Prep's squad will begin its postseason trek tonight; the team hopes that quest ends where last season did: in the Class 1A state championship game. If the Chargers make that goal, it will be a tougher road than last year. First, Shorecrest Prep will have to be road warriors. Thanks to a 1-0 loss to Sarasota Out-of-Door, the only time Out-of-Door scored a run in three games this season against Shorecrest, the Chargers will being postseason play at Fort Myers Evangelical Christian …

• Photos (1)

Shorecrest Prep Begins Long-awaited Chance at Redemption

The Crusaders baseball team has waited nearly a year for a chance to get back to the state championship game. That journey begins this afternoon.

Last year, the Shorecrest Prep baseball team came one step from winning the Class 2A state title, losing in the championship game. This season, the Crusaders have spent the entire year preparing to erase that mishap. The journey finally begins tonight. At the Class 2A-11 district at Sarasota Out-of-Door Academy, Shorecrest will host Northside Christian at 4 p.m. With a win this afternoon, Shorecrest will secure a berth in the Class 2A region, five wins from a state title. With another win Friday to secure a district title, Shorecrest will begin region play with a home game May 3. It's at this point of the season that Chargers coach Don Reed doesn't know if he is more excited than his players or not. "Oh, for sure," Reed said. "This is what…

• Photos (4)

Shorecrest Prep's Rasmussen Overcomes Severe Concussion to Deliver Big Hit

Brent Rasmussen had missed 24 days of games and practices due to complications from a concussion. In his first game back, he delivers a decisive blow in a Chargers win.

When Brent Rasmussen's three-run home run gave Shorecrest Prep a 5-3 lead in what turned out to be a 7-3 Chargers win, it capped a month that included a swing of emotions for the Shorecrest shortstop in which at one time he wasn't sure he would play again this season. On March 19 playing at Kissimmee Osceola, after the Chargers had batted, the team took the field for the bottom of a frame when a ball thrown by catch Spencer Heath to second after a few warm-up pitches hit the lip of the infield, bounced straight up and caught Rasmussen square in the face. The ball, despite ricocheting off the infield for a weird bounce, caught Rasmussen all too perfectly, half hitting him in the base of the nose, half hitting him in the forehead. The force …

• Photos (7)

2011 High School Football Schedules Released

Patch takes a look at what local high school football teams will face as the schedules were released by the FHSAA earlier this week.

Earlier this week, the Florida High School Athletic Association released its master football schedule for the 2011 fall football season. Patch decided to take a look at its four teams in the Patch coverage area. Canterbury The Crusaders have a formidable schedule with few breaks in sight. The lone chance for Canterbury to make some headway would be in late September and early October. Calvary Christian is not bad but will have an easy schedule and high school football players with confidence can be a dangerous blend for an opponent. Bradenton Christian is always good, Carrollwood Day has a certain assistant coach a few in the area may have heard of, some guy named Jon Gruden. Not too many teams can boast a coach who also coached an NFL …

• Photos (1)