TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

AP, LP All Set For Spring Clash

DEVILS, DRAGONS LOOK TO SEASON YOUNG TALENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Highlands Today staff report

Published: May 22, 2008

SPRING FOOTBALL
Avon Park vs. Lake Placid
WHERE: Roger Scarborough Memorial Field, Lake Placid
WHEN: 7:30 Friday night
COST: $5

LAKE PLACID — For Lake Placid football coach Tim Grant, the rivalry between Lake Placid and Avon Park is like one between members of the same family.

"It's kind of like playing one of your cousins," Grant said. "You want to have those bragging rights at Thanksgiving dinner."

More than the biggest share of the bird will be at stake, however, when the Green Dragons and Red Devils meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field in each team's spring game: Both teams will be looking to get quality playing time for younger players, and in Avon Park's case, those players will be playing within a new system.

"We've got a lot of guys who haven't played football before, so we're trying to get them a lot of reps in our system," said first-year AP coach Andy Bonjokian. "We're really happy with the way our young kids have picked up what we're trying to do."

Grant, in his second year at the helm of the Green Dragons, is also instilling some changes in his team. The Wing-T offense he ran near the end of last season has marinated with his players during camp, and he's looking forward to seeing it in full display.

"They're having fun with it, hiding fakes and using deception and misdirection," Grant said. "We have a motto: A good fake is worth two good blocks.
"I'm getting anxious to see what we have to look forward to."

Bonjokian's Red Devils will be running their offense out of the I-formation with "a few wrinkles" thrown in. He said his team has made plenty of progress during spring camp, especially on the defensive side, where coordinator Lee Elder is seeing players buy into his defensive philosophy.

"We've got some hard-nosed kids who are putting a lot of effort in," Bonjokian said. "They've been really receptive to everything we're doing."

Both coaches agreed to play their younger players in the second quarter to give them quality experience before pressure of the game turns up a notch in the second half. That's the time, Grant said, when he'll see his team's true colors.

"They're a little bit nervous, but we always tell them to revert back to what they did at practice," he said. "Everyone wants to win, but we want to see how they do in the heat of battle — that's the key.
"We're tired of practice, and we're ready to play — they're chomping at the bit."

Bonjokian agreed.
"I'm really excited, but I'm more excited for the kids because I think they've put a lot of effort into what we've tried to do the past few weeks," Bonjokian said. "I'm interested to see how we played when we're tired and how we handle adversity."

NOTE: Sebring's spring game will be held on Friday, May 30 at Bartow. The Streaks' blue/white scrimmage will be at 7 p.m. Friday night at Firemen's Field. Admission is $2.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT