Leesburg Teams Keep Building On Tradition

It's No Surprise That The Boys And Girls Teams Are Ranked Among The State's Best As They Roll Toward Postseason Play.

February 06, 2000|By Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff

LEESBURG - The banners that hang from the rafters in Ray Hayes Gymnasium at Leesburg High School speak to basketball tradition.

To state championships won.

To state runner-up seasons.

To 20-victory seasons.

Leesburg's basketball tradition is impressive.

And this season could be another one for the rafters.

Leesburg's boys team entered Friday night's game with Inverness Citrus in position to clinch the top spot in the Class 4A, District 5 tournament, which begins Feb. 15 at Lake Weir.

The Yellow Jackets (21-4) have clinched their seventh consecutive 20th-victory season and are ranked No.1 in the Sentinel Super 6 poll for Central Florida teams and No.4 in the Class 4A Florida Sports Writers Association poll.

Leesburg's girls (15-5) already have secured the No. 1 seeding in the Class 4A, District 5 tournament, which begins Wednesday night at Ocala Forest. The Yellow Jackets are ranked seventh in the Class 4A Florida Sports Writers Association poll.

Leesburg made it to the regional final last year before a loss to St. Augustine Nease, the eventual state champion.

No other school in the Lake and Sumter counties area can boast the kind of success that Leesburg's boys and girls programs have enjoyed this season.

Sure, Tavares' boys have spent almost the entire season ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A state poll and regularly make the Sentinel Super 6, but its girls team is about .500.

South Sumter's girls are ranked No.3 in the Super 6 and No.7 in the Class 3A state poll, but the Raiders boys have slumped somewhat recently and are also just a couple of games over .500.

``A lot of people look for a lot of reasons as to why we have been so successful,'' said Pat Todd, Leesburg's boys basketball coach. ``I think we just have good players. I think good players make coaches look a lot better than they are. I think [former coach) Mike Semanchik did a great job of getting this thing rolling and we have a great coaching staff.''

And chances of Leesburg's success ending any time soon are unlikely.

The Yellow Jackets' freshman team is 19-3 and its junior varsity team is 15-0. The jayvee team last year finished 15-1.

``The kids come onto the varsity team expecting to win,'' Todd said. ``It has been nice. The toughest thing, though, is can we keep it there? With the success we have, we have to make sure that the players keep on working to get better. We can't let them get to be complacent.

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Joe Williams 

The Sentinel Staff

Orlando Sentinel

February 06, 2000

Article provided by:
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Carver Heights Quarterback Club
www.leesburgyellowjacketsfootball.com

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