By Brian McLaughlin (follow on Twitter @BrianMacWriter)
Palm Harbor Sports
Folks, this isn’t your older brother’s Tampa Sickles team.
Sure, the Gryphons have struggled of late. They’ve won just 14 of their last 42 football games and went 1-9 last year. That included a 10-0 loss at Palm Harbor’s Hurricane Field.
But this year, the Gryphons (2-3) are four points and an OT loss away from 5-0, they are scoring points in bunches, have a near 6,000-yard career passer under center, and they’re not afraid to play host to the 4-1 Hurricanes on Friday night.
Game on, ‘Canes, and this one counts.
Last year, both teams were young when they played. This year? Almost all the names are the same as they were a year ago when they met in Palm Harbor and the local team won 10-0.
“They were kind of in the same mode we were with the younger players (last year),” PHU coach Mike Mullaney told PalmHarborSports.com. “Now they’re older, and there’s no shame in the losses they’ve had and the way they’ve happened. They’re close to 5-0. Their quarterback (Brandon Royal) is probably the best QB we’ve faced this year. He can run and throw the ball real well. And No. 4 (receiver Isaiah Hudson) is one heck of an athlete.”
Sickles coach Kyle Jolly was an All-ACC offensive lineman at North Carolina and most recently was a member of VMI’s Southern Conference championship coaching staff as the run-game coordinator in the FCS ranks of Division I football. Last year was his first one with Sickles, and he couldn’t agree more with Mullaney.
“Both teams are well-matched,” Jolly told PalmHarborSports.com. “Last year it was one of those deals where maybe two or three guys were seniors, but beyond that, it’s the same core group of guys for me, and for (Mullaney) as well.”
PALM HARBOR FOOTBALL HISTORY: A year-by-year breakdown of the program’s history
Each year, four Tampa Bay area teams battle for an automatic state playoff berth in what is known as 4M-District 6. PHU, Sickles, Steinbrenner, and East Lake are vying for that automatic berth. After that, you have to cross your fingers and hope for an at-large berth, which relies on many dynamics that ultimately? You really don’t want to “rely” on to make the postseason.
Last year, there were two distinct “tiers” in 4M-6: Steinbrenner and East Lake hammered both PHU and Sickles. This year, PHU and Sickles have the more experienced lineups, but younger groups at Steinbrenner and East Lake are still extremely dangerous opponents. Both coaches said that.
Translation: The team that comes away empty-handed on Friday may have to rely on computer rankings for its postseason hopes and an at-large playoff berth. And computers are squirrely — so neither team wants to go down that road.
PHU would like to make the playoffs. Sickles would like to, also. The key battle? It seems to be Sickles’ offense versus Palm Harbor’s defense — specifically containing the Gryphons’ passing game, which has averaged 235 yards per game over the first five weeks, with 13 touchdown passes. Mullaney was concerned with the PHU secondary after it gave up 200+ yards to Countryside last week, but Jolly said PHU’s defense can be quite a challenge to prepare for.
“They do a lot of things,” Jolly said. “They show multiple fronts, they change coverage, they change pressures. It’s a lot to cover in one week for an O-lineman or a quarterback. They do a great job at simplifying what they do, too. It seems like they can change one word and it changes how they line up. A lot of times it’s hard to dial up what they’re going to do.”
This should be a good one, folks.
See you at the field.
THE YARDSTICK BREAKDOWN
PALM HARBOR UNIVERSITY AT TAMPA SICKLES, 7:30 PM
CAMPUS STADIUM: 7950 Gunn Highway – Citrus Park, Florida 33626
GAME TICKETS: Purchase online only – https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/athletics (NOTE: Search for Sickles HS in the list, and the PHU game’s tickets are available under Sickles HS)
2022 RECORDS: Palm Harbor– 4-1 (6-4 in 2022); Tampa Sickles 2-3 (1-9 in 2022)
FIRST YEARS OF VARSITY FOOTBALL: Palm Harbor 1997 (27th season – PHU played JV only in 1996); Tampa Sickles: 1997 (27th season);
LAST WEEK Palm Harbor defeated Clearwater Countryside 24-6; Tarpon Springs defeated Tampa King 41-7
HEAD COACHES: Palm Harbor– Mike Mullaney (25-27, 6th year at PHU); Tarpon Springs– Kyle Jolly (3-12, 2nd year at Sickles; Division I college assistant prior to that)
LAST YEAR: Palm Harbor beat Tampa Sickles 10-0
2022 GAME RECAP: PHU quarterback Will Seibert rushed for 110 yards and a TD and threw for 60 more, while Alex Malyszko rushed for 77 yards and had 12 tackles on defense. Sickles’ Brandon Royal threw for 159 with 1 INT, with PHU’s Jason Ice nabbing the pick. PHU’s Mitchell Stricker had a 33-yard field goal, also. The Hurricanes scored all of their points in the first half and pitched only the eighth shutout in school history.
NOTEWORTHY: PHU has scored 142 points this year in 5 games, after scoring 170 all of 2022 … PHU senior Gunner Fodor has 224 career tackles, which is fourth all-time in PHU history — soon to be third — behind Matt Tauber (301), Quentin Cumings (279), and Ian Seibert (230) … Tampa Sickles QB Brandon Royal has thrown for 5,770 yards in his four-year career on varsity.
TOP 2023 STATISTICAL LEADERS (5 weeks)
PALM HARBOR– No. 3 Gunner Fodor, Sr./LB-RB (48 tackles); No. 10 Mykehl Boebert, Sr./RB (433 rushing yds, 3 TDs); No. 13 Jake Rennart, Soph./WR-DB (125 yards receiving, 2 TDs; 1 INT on defense); No. 8 Will Seibert, Jr./QB-DB (322 passing yards, 4 TDs); No. 40 Patrick Iaconis, Sr./LB (38 tackles, 3 TFLs); No. 18 Jason Ice, Sr./DB (2 INTs, 2 passes defended, 12 tackles); No. 44 Sr./DE Zavion Roberts (3 sacks, 15 tackles); No. 6 Sr./LB Logan Givens (16 tackles).
TAMPA SICKLES– No. 3 Brandon Royal, Sr./QB (1,159 yds pass, 12 TD, 2 INT; 174 yds rush, 6 TDs); No. 23 Sr./FB Gabe Laing (205 yds rush, 1 TD); No. 4 Isaiah Hudson, Sr./WR (512 yds receive, 34 catches, 7 TDs); No. 9 Will Page III, Jr./WR (372 yds receive, 19 catches, 2 TDs); No. 53 Elijah Rich, Jr/DL (4 sacks, 18 tackles); No. 1 Angelo Amador, Sr./DB (3 INTs).
SERIES RECORD: Palm Harbor leads all-time 3-0-0 (first game, 1997 — the first year of both varsities)
DID YOU KNOW?: Sickles High School is named after Dr. Walter J. Sickles, who retired in 1996 as superintendent of Hillsborough Schools after a 40-year career in education. One year after his retirement, in 1997, Sickles opened its doors … Ray-Ray McCloud, who led the NFL in punt returns two years ago and who also catches passes as a receiver, played his high school football at Sickles before signing to play college football for Clemson. He currently plays for the San Francisco 49ers.
