Original article by Kevin Weiss, The Laker/Lutz News
With the 2019 high school football season almost here — preseason classics begin Aug. 16 and regular season kicks off Aug. 23 — we take a look at how Pasco County teams in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area stack up.
Pasco County Schools in Laker/Lutz News coverage area (and their 2018 records)
- Academy at the Lakes Wildcats (eight-man): (10-0 overall, 7-0 district)
- Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School Hurricanes: (4-5 overall, 3-1 district)
- Cypress Creek Middle High School Coyotes: (3-7 overall, 1-0 region)
- Land O’ Lakes High School Gators: (7-3 overall, 2-2 district)
- Pasco High School Pirates: (2-8 overall, 0-4 district)
- Sunlake High School Seahawks: (4-6 overall, 1-3 district)
- Wesley Chapel High School Wildcats: (5-5 overall, 4-2 district)
- Wiregrass Ranch High School Bulls: (7-4 overall, 4-2 district)
- Zephyrhills Christian Academy Warriors: (7-4 overall, 0-1 region)
- Zephyrhills High School Bulldogs: (11-1 overall, 6-0 district)
Players to watch
- Jalen Brown, Academy at the Lakes, junior quarterback
- Adam Berry, Bishop McLaughlin, senior tailback
- Jalen Warren, Cypress Creek, senior athlete
- Ethan Forrester, Land O’ Lakes, senior quarterback
- Darrion Robinson, Pasco, junior receiver
- Jonathan Wallace, Sunlake, junior defensive end
- Jelani Vassell, Wesley Chapel, senior athlete
- Dylan Ridolph, Wiregrass Ranch, senior linebacker
- Zyre Roundtree, Zephyrhills, junior tailback
- Malik Jones, Zephyrhills Christian, senior lineman
Five teams to watch
Academy at the Lakes Wildcats: Eight-man: 10-0 Overall, 7-0 District (File)
Academy at the Lakes Wildcats
Coach: Shawn Brown (sixth year)
The back-to-back eight-man state champions will look to three-peat with a team that again returns head coach Shawn Brown and his son, standout junior quarterback Jalen Brown.
In addition to its fourth-year starting signal-caller, Academy at the Lakes returns All-Conference standouts in center Dwight Downing and defensive end Elijah Freedman, along with several other key contributors on both sides of the ball.
The Wildcats enter the season on a 20-game winning streak (including a win by forfeit) that dates back to September 2017. They outscored opponents last season by a combined margin 309-90.