No Pinellas County football team has ever won a state championship. Twelve have played for one since 1963. They all lost.
St. Petersburg Catholic thinks it can be the 13th to try and the first to finish.
“We talk about that every day,” second-year coach Jesse Chinchar said. “That’s our goal.”
The Barons have more than optimism working for them. The teams that could stop them are gone.
St. Petersburg Catholic went 12-1 last season, won its first district title in 20 years and reached the Class 1A region final before losing 42-13 to Cardinal Newman. Two weeks later the West Palm Beach school won the state title.
That won’t be the problem this fall. The Florida High School Athletic Association trimmed from seven classes to six, and Cardinal Newman moved up to Class 2A. So did Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, which won four straight 1A titles before Cardinal Newman beat the powerhouse program 17-14 in December. So did Clearwater Central Catholic, the Pinellas program that lost three consecutive finals to the Lions.
The Barons stayed in 1A.
They also kept most of last year’s team, with five starters back on each side of the ball. Quarterback Chase Burrill threw 53 touchdown passes against four interceptions, a Pinellas County record. Running back Larry Christian III ran for more than 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. Left tackle Quinston Howard, a four-star junior with a Florida State offer, anchors the line.
“We’re not just trying to go,” Burrill said of the state championship game. “We’re trying to win it all.”
In June they added a target for him. Receiver Shrodderick Pritchett Jr. transferred from Lakewood, where he caught 66 passes for 1,020 yards and nine touchdowns last season and led the Spartans in all three.
He is one of many. Chinchar rebuilt the roster largely through transfers, at least two dozen over two years, enough that Pinellas County Schools has barred its public high schools from scheduling the Barons in any sport this year. A team that spent last fall learning one another is doing some of it again.
The clearest obstacle is across the bay and in the Barons’ district. Carrollwood Day also finished 12-1 last season and lost to Cardinal Newman in the state semifinals. Only one of the two gets the district’s automatic playoff berth.
For 63 years, Pinellas teams lost these games to somebody from somewhere else — Jacksonville, Lakeland, Hollywood, West Palm Beach.
If the Barons fall short this time, the team that stops them will probably be from Tampa.
St. Petersburg Catholic
Coach: Jesse Chinchar, second season
Last season: 12-1
District: 1A-8
Schedule: Aug. 21 vs. Gibbs; Aug. 28 at Tampa Catholic; Sept. 4 vs. Lennard; Sept. 11 TBA; Sept. 18 vs. Clearwater Central Catholic; Oct. 2 at Zephyrhills Christian; Oct. 9 vs. Northside Christian; Oct. 16 vs. Alonso; Oct. 23 at Carrollwood Day; Oct. 30 vs. SFA