Every football team has its stars. But there are also players who fly under the radar, and they’re as important.
The Plant City Times & Observer asked each school’s head coach for three guys readers may not know about, but need to.
DURANT
Jake Ross
LB, Sr.
What do you bring to this team?
I just try to do my best and bring a lot of leadership. I try to do as much as I can because all the young guys and everybody is looking up to me, so I’ve got to do the right thing to make sure that they’re doing the right thing.
What advice do you give those young guys?
Just work hard, go 100% every play and leave everything on the field.
Steven Witchoskey
TE, Sr.
What are you hoping to accomplish this season?
Definitely get a better record than last year and stay healthy throughout the season. We kind of fell off the past couple of seasons. We need to stay on a high level and never go down, just keep rising up. The whole team.
What are you going to do to help make sure Durant doesn’t end this season like last season?
Stay healthy. Keep a high sense of urgency. Usually, the last couple of seasons, we’ve gone downhill. We really need to worry about the rest of the season and not just live on 4-0. We’ve got to live on 10-0.
Christian Valdez
OL, Sr.
What are your strengths?
I try to be a leader on the team. I try to make sure everyone does what they’re supposed to and keep everyone in check. I try to command the O-line, too, call the plays when they needed to be called out and try to point out all the mistakes that we'd make.
What do think this team brings to the table that might surprise some people?
We’ve got a lot of conditioning. I think we’re going to last a lot longer than a lot of the teams we’ll play this year. We’re going to try to outlast the teams and, hopefully, go 10-0.
PLANT CITY
Cody Cribbs
LB/SS, Jr.
How do you feel about the upcoming season?
I feel pretty good with coach Pax. I kind of miss Coach (Greg) Meyer, because he’s a great coach, but I feel good with all the people we have here.
What makes you a good player?
I lift everybody up, make sure they’re doing their job and make sure everything’s going good. That’s about it. Just keep chopping.
Tyreke Harrison
DB, So.
What game are you looking forward to the most?
This year, I’m looking forward to the Durant game. We’ve still got the (Redman Cup) trophy, and we’ve got to keep it here, where it belongs.
What was your favorite moment from last season?
When we were playing Freedom, and I got in on kickoff. It was my first game I actually played in. On the first play, when the man returned the ball and I was coming downfield, that was when I had my first hit. The crowd had actually seen it, and there was a good pop.
Xavier King
WR, Jr.
What’s it like, catching passes from your brother on the same high school team?
Right now, it’s back to little league. He (Corey King) was one of the first quarterbacks that ever threw me the ball. It’s just like back to little league all over again. The Turkey Creek Trojans. It was my first time ever playing football.
What are you looking forward to about this season?
Really, I’m looking forward to Armwood. Right now, everybody’s doubting us — Plant City’s not going to do this, Plant City’s not going to do that — now that we got a lot of people out. I’m just like, I don’t talk too much — just show up and play. I’m looking forward to our crowd because they always get us pumped up, especially the wide receivers.
STRAWBERRY CREST
Noah Hand
DE, Sr.
What do you bring to this team?
You’ve got to bring fire to practice, to the games — you’ve got to win everything you do.
You’ve been through three coaches. Is there anything different about this year?
The practices this spring have been a lot more physical, and it’s really carried over to summer.
Connor Smith
TE/LB, Sr.
What do you do before games to get hyped?
I guess I listen to music. Usually we’ve got speakers set up in the locker room.
What do you bring to this team?
I think I make a lot of plays … hype up other people … teach some younger guys some stuff.
Michael Acosta
LB/WR, Sr.
What do you bring to the team?
I bring the fire and effort out to this team. Physicality.
What are your expectations?
This team should definitely improve. We should win six to seven games this year. We have improved dramatically.