Courtesy: KHSFootball.com
Published: 07/13/2009

On Sunday the Championship Rounds of the USF Sling-n-Shoot Tournament began. Kathleen was riding high off of the emotions of Saturday's great performance and were expecting to start off on a high note. However, stalled drives by the offense and a comeback that was a little too late as time expired gave the Red Devils their first loss and an early reality check that every team would be taking Sunday very seriously. However, the tournament was set up as double elimination so the team wasn't out of the tournament entirely, but could not afford to lose another game.

In game one the Red Devils were up against the Lakewood Spartans. The offense didn't have problems moving the ball, but once they got inside the redzone they came up short of putting points on the board. The first possession ended on an interception thrown by Isaac O'Neal and the second possession ended on downs. The team was down by 9 points and managed to score a touchdown with about 5 minutes remaining in the contest, but another interception thrown by O'Neal on the extra point try gave an additonal 3 points to Lakewood giving the Spartans a 6 point lead. The defense came up with a final stop for Kathleen, but by the time the offense got the ball there was only one minute remaining. A couple of completions got the team within striking distance, but was unable to get a snap off as the final horn blowed. And the first upset of the tournament occurred.

As disappointing as the loss was, the team still had more games to play as they were still alive in the tournament, but couldn't afford to lose another game. In game two the Red Devils matched up against Brandon. Former Kathleen star, Tim Jones, was coaching on the sidelines for Brandon and was definitely hoping to get the win over his former high school. However, the Red Devils would bounce back from their previous loss and make sure that this would not be a short Sunday appearance for them. Big pass breakups and an interception by Julani Harper helped give momentum to the Red Devil offense that would eventually score two touchdowns and the team won the contest.

In game three the team was up against Boca Raton. After the defense gave up a quick touchdown they played solid for the remainder of the game not allowing any more points for the Bears. The offense would get 2 long touchdown passes thrown by Isaac O'Neal as the team won and moved on to the next round of the Elimination bracket.

In game four the team played Blake High School out of Tampa. The Jackets had just lost their previous contest against another opponent and came into the game against Kathleen a little dejected. Coach Strickland made the team aware of that and told them to take advantage. The defense stepped up and played their best peformance of the entire tourament shutting out Blake. The offense played so well that they were able to put Terrick Colston at quarterback to get some plays in.

In game five the team was matched up against North Marion. Kathleen found themselves down late in the contest but after a key interception by Victor Troutman and quick touchdown drives by the offense, the team managed to comeback and tie the contest and force an overtime. North Marion would score first, but failed to convert on their extra point attempt. On Kathleen's first pass attempt of overtime Isaac O'Neal would complete it for a quick touchdown and convert the extra point to win a thrilling game.

In game six the team would play Tampa Freedom. The offense had no troubles moving the football and the defense played well, but fatigue from the long day started settling in and the defense gave up some easy points late in the contest.

Game seven against Sebring would be the breaking point. With only 5 minutes to rest after the previous contest against Freedom the team showed signs of being worn out from the long day. The defense gave up a quick touchdown and O'Neal would throw an interception that would put the team down by 10 early. The defense would gather themselves and give the offense an opportunity to get back in the game. A touchdown toss to Terry Bentley, but a missed extra point conversion would keep the team down by 4, but still in the game. The defense would hold for another stop giving the ball back to the offense. However, another interception by Isaac and another touchdown given up by the defense crushed any hopes of a comeback. The offense did fight till the end of the game though as they went into hurry up mode trying to run some final plays to finish out the tournament on a high note.

Overall, Coach Strickland was proud of the way the team competed throughout the entire tournament. He said he is now even more excited about what could happen in the fall after watching his group compete during the tournament. He felt that he watched some of the younger players grow up and believed that they could really make an impact during the 2009 season with the amount of reps that they were able to get. He did mention that the long day took a toll not just on the players, but on the coaches as well. However, he was happy that the team still stayed competitive all day long.

Kathleen finished with an overall record of 9-2.