By Rod Gipson
MaxPreps.com
For Jarvis Giles, Volunteer orange ultimately didn’t look as good as Carolina red and black.
Giles, a standout running back at Tampa Gaither, opted out of his verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee after coach Phil Fulmer resigned. Despite a hard last-minute push from new Volunteer coach Lane Kiffin, who still wanted Giles, University of South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was a little more convincing.
Giles said it was Spurrier’s closeness with his players that ultimately was one of the deciding factors. Giles had also visited Nebraska.
Despite a leg injury that kept him out of Gaither’s first two regular season games this season, Giles still managed 907 yards and 13 touchdowns. Giles finished his three-season Gaither career with more than 4,000 rushing yards.
At South Carolina, Giles will have a chance to play with quarterback Stephen Garcia, another Tampa native who was Giles’ teammate as a freshman when he played at Tampa Jefferson.
Volleyball: Tampa Plant Crowned Again
The Tampa Plant volleyball dynasty doesn’t appear to be fading.
Despite a few hiccups in tournament play this season, the Panthers remain the best in Class 5A in Florida, taking their third straight crown after a 3-0 (25-22, 22-15, 25-23) victory against Orlando Lake Howell.
Plant (28-3) had losses during the season at the Nike Challenge tournament in Chicago and locally at the Berkeley Prep Premier event. But the Panthers finished strong, ending the season with 14 straight wins.
During that winning streak, Plant amazingly dropped only two games and swept opponents 12 times, including seven times in the playoffs.
In the championship match, junior hitter Maddie Martin had 14 kills while senior outside hitter Danielle Erb collected 13 kills. Senior hitter Ariel Ley added 10 kills. Junior setter Becca Howard guided the offense with 42 assists and junior libero Ali McCurdy added 15 digs.
In addition to its third straight state championship, Plant finished the season ranked 11th nationally.
Meanwhile, Tampa Berkeley Prep’s talented and young squad finished just short of a state title.
Berkeley Prep’s quest for its 13th volleyball state championship (and first since 2003) will have to wait until next season after the Buccaneers lost 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 25-11) to Orlando Lake Highland Prep.
The Buccaneers, whose lineup includes only one senior (setter Christina Theofilos), finished the season 27-3.
Theofilos led the Bucs in the final, posting 29 assists and 18 digs. Freshman outside hitter Jordan Burgess had a team-best 20 kills while junior middle blocker Lindsay Young and freshman hitter Mackenzie Dagostino had 10 kills each.
Cross Country: State Highlights
Tampa Bay was well represented at the state cross country finals, although its best shot at a state title came up a little short.
Tampa Jesuit placed second in the Class 2A boys’ race, behind favored Miami Belen Jesuit.
Connor Revord and Jordan Schilit led five Tampa Jesuit runners in the top 17. Revord placed sixth individually with a 15:52 finish while Schilit was seventh at 15:55.
In the Class 3A race, Lithia Newsome was fifth while Tampa Plant placed sixth, mainly on the strength of John Wilkins’ sixth-place finish of 15:54.
In Class 4A, Tampa Sickles’ Derek Wehunt couldn’t overcome a serious cold, placing 84th. A three-time district individual champion, Wehunt finished in 17:27. Sickles placed ninth as a team. Also, Plant City Durant’s John Mitchell ran the 3-mile course in 15:59, placing eighth individually.
Meanwhile, Tampa Berkeley Prep and St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep placed fourth and tenth, respectively, in the Class 1A race.
On the girls’ side, St. Petersburg Northside Christian and St. Petersburg Keswick Christian placed seventh and ninth, respectively in Class 1A. And in the Class 3A race, Tampa Wharton finished fourth as a team while Lithia Newsome was fifth.
Football: Tech’s Culpepper Earns Coaching Honor
After leading Tampa Bay Tech to its first playoff appearance since 2001 as well as changing the culture of a program that was 0-20 as recently as the 2005-2006 seasons, C.C. Culpepper has been named 2008 Coach of the Year by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
In just his second season at a job that was less than desirable a couple seasons ago, Culpepper led the Titans to a 10-2 mark and the state playoffs. The Titans scored a key upset during the regular season, upending district rival and perennial playoff participant Tampa Hillsborough 26-20.
Culpepper is 16-6 in his two seasons at Tech.
