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Kuba, Letson Lead Freedom To Win

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2007

Ed Kuba scored a pair of goals and Chance Letson had three assists as Freedom beat Wharton 4-2 in the Hillsborough High School Hockey League on Saturday.

Freedom took a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, Conor Murphy also finding the net in addition to Kuba's pair, but the Wildcats came back to reduce the deficit to one goal on scores by George Prieto and Jared Bishop.

Wharton was unable to complete the comeback, however, as Shaun Dickinson added a fourth goal for the Patriots.

The Wolves eased to a 7-2 win against George Jenkins as Tom Kowalski had a five-point game, scoring twice. Jenkins took the lead thanks to Jason Jensen after just 15 seconds, but the Wolves rallied quickly and dominated. Kowalski is now tied for the league lead with 23 points alongside T.J. Johnson of Wesley Chapel and Kowalski's teammate, Mike Semago. Semago had two goals and an assist for the Wolves against the Eagles, while Scott Vargas also had three points (goal, two assists).

The Tigers earned a 6-1 win against Bloomingdale as Kyle and Erik Kortum each had two goals and an assist.

Ryan Romerson also scored twice for the Tigers, while Mike Woods scored the only goal for the Bulls.

Wesley Chapel was without Johnson for its game against Newsome White, but it didn't matter as the Ice Cats won 6-2. Chris Lifreiri had a goal and two assists for the Ice Cats, giving him 17 points for the season. Jacob Stevens, Erin Hamilton, Dan Kwitko, Matt Sarginger and Jim Wheatley also scored for the Ice Cats, who moved into sixth place in the standings. Jesse Macginnis scored twice for Newsome White.

Joey Heyer added to his league-leading goals total, but it wasn't enough as Plant won its second straight game, 7-3, against the combined team.

Alex Siegman and Mikel Amias each scored twice for the Panthers and each added an assist. Justin Bramm, Parker Armstrong and Richard DeArmas also scored for the Panthers.
Heyer has 17 goals on the season, two more than Johnson, and is tied for fourth in points with 21 overall. Nick Feira scored twice for the combined team against the Panthers, his fifth and sixth of the season, giving him 18 points total.

Local Players Represent Florida Rugby All-Stars

Six local rugby players represented the state of Florida on Saturday at the 2007 USA All-Star Challenge, held in Sanford. All members of the Pelican Rugby Club - Steven Gonzalez, Robbie Cribbs, Nick Pombo De Erezcano, Jake McFadden, Allen Gancar and Andrew McNeal - played in an exhibition game against a team from the Potomac area.

The Pelican Club is one of the longest standing in the state, having celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, but only recently did it begin fielding a youth team. McFadden, who had been playing lacrosse with the Citrus Park Geckos, got the ball rolling when he met a group of rugby players online through the social networking site Myspace.com.

"He came running out of the room saying 'We need to start a rugby team'" father and Pelicans coach Dave McFadden said. "It was really his idea."

At that point there were nine teams in the league, but in the past year the sport has hit a large growth spurt. Another 11 teams are joining the league this season, including the Tampa Barbarians, which are based in New Tampa, and the Pinellas Athletic Club, based in Largo. The Pelicans will play both sides in their nine-game regular-season schedule.

The growth in the sport mirrors the growth in the past of hockey and lacrosse in the Tampa Bay area, although in rugby's case the transplants are coming from farther afield. De Erezcano and Cribbs grew up in Argentina and the Cayman Islands, respectively, and began playing the sport at a young age. They are impressed with how quickly the game has progressed, and think with the athletes that are taking up the sport it can continue its growth.

"I started playing in Argentina when I was 4 years old," De Erezcano said. "I came here when I was 10, and what I see here is that there are great athletes, and the programs are going up really fast. My brother played for the Argentina under-19, and when he came over here it was five years ago, and it wasn't really that good. My brother says what we're going through right now is amazing."

The sport has also begun attracting players from football, with four of the six players having suited up for Sickles this season. Gancar, who plays offensive line for the Gryphons and prop forward for the Pelicans, says while the game looks complicated at first, it is easy to pick up the rules and skills quickly.

"Once you start practicing, you get into it," Gancar said. "And once you start playing it, it gets easier and easier as you go."

Gancar was one who caught the eye of the U.S. Eagles under-19 scouts at the weekend, and there is the possibility he could get called up to the national program.

With the number of new players coming into the game, Florida Rugby and the clubs themselves are setting up opportunities for newcomers to learn the game in a hands-on manner with camps such as the one in Sarasota today giving players a chance to learn the skills necessary.

Dave McFadden says he's expecting there to be players from around the state attending, and it will act in part as a large gathering of the state's rugby players before the season starts with the Pelicans facing the Barbarians on Jan. 12.

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or nmurray@tampatrib.com.

Keyword: Youth Sports, for more news and notes. Keyword: Youth Sports, for more news and notes.

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