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Highlands Today

Bulls Rampage Hits Home

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

From left: Larry Scott and his uncle Andrew Ames are diehard USF fans and have been since their football program started.

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By Bill Rettew Jr. | Highlands Today

Published: October 16, 2007

SEBRING — Not everyone is surprised by the meteoric success of the University of South Florida Bulls football team, ranked second nationally in the AP poll that came out Sunday.

Longtime Highlands County Bulls fans are cheering all the way, hopefully to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

They remember the modest beginnings, cheering the team from bleacher seats at the "Big Sombrero" during the team's inaugural 1997 season, when less than 30,000 fans typically attended home games.

As an upstart member of the Big East Conference, USF now sells out games at the 65,657 seat state-of-the-art Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sister and brother, Helen Sourini and Charles Devlin, both lived in Avon Park (he still does) and graduated from USF.

Together, they share eight season tickets on the 50-yard line at Raymond James Stadium. They have been to nearly every game since the football program started 11 years ago.

"Nobody really knew who we were or what we are about," Sourini said. "At the start, it was almost surreal that we had a team.

"Amazingly, people are talking about our team; before it was all about the other teams."

Former Sebring High School football players and brothers, Larry and LaVar Scott, both played big-time college football – Larry for USF and LaVar for University of Miami.

Larry Scott is now a USF assistant football coach. The winning streak is not a surprise to him.

"We're seeing it all come together like we expected it to," he said.

LaVar Scott, a dean at Sebring High School, talked about the difference since the program began, and how USF games differ from those at the Orange Bowl where he a player with University of Miami.

"The atmosphere might be better than at Miami," said LaVar Scott. "It's crazy (at USF) and different
than any other place – the atmosphere – and student and fan support for a new program.

"They're getting into the games."

Debbie Wood graduated from USF with a master's degree in educational leadership in 1997.

Wood was filled with mixed emotions when USF recently beat her daughter's school, University of Central Florida.

"It was a killer," said the mother and USF graduate, torn in two directions.

"There were all those skeptics...but it was exciting to think that USF might be able to go all the way."

The Scotts' uncle, Andrew Ames of Sebring, is a big USF fan and has been attending games since the inaugural 1997 season. He witnessed a major change in attitude.

"No one paid attention to them while they were building, said Ames. "It was always a pretty good team. Everybody was sleeping on them. One day I expected it, but not this soon."

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