Wiregrass Ranch vs. Tampa Catholic
WHERE: Wiregrass Ranch High School
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14
ABOUT THE BULLS: The Bulls will wrap up a good spring against the Crusaders, in what will roughly be a scrimmage with no special teams play. Wiregrass Ranch has been on a roll in recent years. It suffered a drop-off last season, starting 0-4 start before recovering in time to make the playoffs, only to lose a heartbreaking 42-41 overtime thriller to Palmetto in first round.
READY, SET, GO!: The playoff loss could prove to be a launching pad for the Bulls. Quarterback Daniel Terry threw for 382 yards and six touchdowns in the loss. He is back. Wide receivers Jonah Gonzalez and Cedric King both had more than 120 yards receiving and two touchdowns in that game, also return, along with Donteis Austin (513 yards, five touchdowns). Carson Kantor had a sack and a fumble recovery, and he is back to lead an experienced defensive line.
MAKING SPRING EASIER: The Bulls only had 11 seniors last year.
THIS SPRING: Because it wasn’t a big rebuild, coach Mark Kantor said the team focused on more mistake-free football and fine-tuning than scrambling to fill holes. The Bulls are, however, in search of a running back, a weakness they had last year. Freshman Lakai Johnson is among a pack of backs competing for starting honors. The linebacker group was hardest hit by graduation, but Kantor has some prospects there. The Bulls did have a key player in the defensive backfield transfer but picked up Wharton’s Rodney Jones (he has a USF offer among others) and CJ Stroud. Wiregrass Ranch also added 6-foot-4, 300-pounder Brandon Blue, another Wharton transfer, to an offensive line that returns nearly every starter.
NEW DISTRICT: Wiregrass Ranch will be mostly local in 2026, with a new district made up of Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake, Cypress Creek, Wesley Chapel and Wharton.