FOOTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Welcome home, Levi Pavlikovic.
The Wesley Chapel quarterback, who attended Cypress Creek for a season before playing last year at New Tampa’s Freedom, set a school record with 311 passing yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 34-28 win over Bradenton Southeast. Pavlikovic broke the previous record of 304 yards set by Jacob Thomas in a 2015 loss to Zephyrhills.
Pavlikovic, who also ran for a touchdown and a two-point conversion, averaged 18.3 yards a completion while carving up the Seminoles. Friday’s performance tops Pavlikovic’s top outing from a year ago, when he threw for 291 yards against Fivay, the week after throwing four touchdowns against King.
ALMOST PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Darian Borden will be in the discussion for Player of the Year come December, and the Wesley Chapel athlete showed why in the opener, catching six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. While his specialty may be defense, Borden is definitely one to watch on both sides of the ball.
Jonah Gonzalez, the Wiregrass Ranch wide receiver, picked up where he left off last year, with nine catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns from new quarterback Ryan Browning in a 24-21 loss to South Sumter. Gonzalez eclipsed his previous high for catches which was five, and dating back to last season he now has at least 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns in three straight games.
Wiregrass Ranch middle linebacker Michael Harris (6-foot-2, 205) had 12 tackles, including 11 solo and a sack, in the Bulls loss. Harris was a Bull as a freshman before playing last year at Freedom, but coach Mark Kantor expects him to be a force in the middle of his defense this year. “He’s a football player,” the coach said. “All over the field last week, and he’s dynamic.”
KEEP AN EYE ON
Wesley Chapel coach Bruce Patterson was high on Belleview transfer Noah Daye in the preseason, and he turned in a six-catch, 117-yard performance with two touchdowns, all career highs.
Wiregrass Ranch wide receiver Kamoni Dotson only had three catches for 9 yards, but the 1,000-yard receiver from a year ago may have a big bounce back game in his bag, with a week to prepare for the Bulls game against Berkeley Prep.
MOST PAINFULL LOSS
Cypress Creek’s 13-10 loss to Citrus will leave a mark. The Coyotes, now just 1-21 in their past 22 games, had a chance to start the season on a high note against a team riding a 12-game losing streak, and despite holding it to a little over 200 yards, came up short.
UNSUNG HERO
Wesley Chapel’s Bryce Flemming has been touted by coach Bruce Patterson as one of the team’s best wide receivers. But he went the first game with zero catches. However, Flemming delivered the key blocks on a pair of touchdowns — one receiving, another on the ground — and added a team-high eight tackles. “He’s what we ask everyone to be, a selfless leader,” Patterson said.
TOP PLAYS
With roughly five minutes remaining, Daye went up over a defender for a catch, dodged a few defenders and then picked up blocks from Flemming and Borden to score the clinching touchdown in the Wildcats win.
Cypress Creek linebacker Deuce McAllister broke through to block a punt deep in Citrus territory late in the fourth quarter, leading to Cannon Herrington’s touchdown that tied the game at 10-all. But the Hurricanes drove down the field and kicked a 45-yard field goal in the waning moments to pull out a win.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Wesley Chapel High will be the place to be Friday night. Not only are Cypress Creek and Wiregrass Ranch off this week, and not only is the press box being named for the program’s first and winningest coach ever John Castelamare, not only are the Wildcats coming off a season-opening win, but the mighty Zephyrhills Bulldogs are coming to town.
The Bulldogs, regarded by many as the best team in the county coming into this season, lost their season opener to The Villages Charter 31-14. But they are doing a little rebuilding this year after losing their quarterback, top three rushers and leader in tackles and sacks. However, Zephyrhills still returns athlete Sanyiin Black, arguably the best player in the county, and is one of the best coached teams in the area. And, the Bulldogs have dominated this series, winning 14 straight dating back to 2010.
“We know the number of years it’s been,” said Patterson, who lost his first game in the series last year 42-3. “And we know what winning could do for our program. Since I’ve been here we’ve beaten who we should but we haven’t had that big win, so we’re looking for that first win over a (great) opponent. The boys are hungry.”
THE SERIES
Wesley Chapel results versus Zephyrhills
2025: Lost 42-32024: Lost 29-02023: Lost 40-02022: Lost 42-02021: Lost 34-92019: Lost 44-282018: Lost 48-02017: Lost 28-62016: Lost 28-202015: Lost 40-282014: Lost 45-92013: Lost 26-62012: Lost 42-192011: Lost 38-162010: Won 29-11
FUN FACT
The last time Wesley Chapel won in the series, the two teams combined to complete 11 of 48 passes and threw five interceptions. Luckily for the Wildcats, Devin Henry returned one of those picks 65 yards for a touchdown, and threw a touchdown pass to Patrick Jackson in the win.
Got any interesting or fun facts and stats from Friday’s games? Any unsung heroes or standouts we should be including? Help us out. Shoot an email to jcotey@tampabeacon.com