About Joe Williams

Joe Williams is the dean of sports in Lake County. In November, he’ll celebrate his 30th anniversary at the paper, and all those years were spent writing about athletes, coaches and sports in Lake. A native of Long Island, N.Y., Williams delivered papers as a boy for Newsday and the Long Island Press. He moved the New Port Richey, where he became a sports writer at the New Port Richey Press the summer he graduated from high school. In his prime, Williams was a feared (and beloved) softball player. Today he’s a proud father of four and still breaking stories for us.

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the wildman

Each week, our Asher Wildman -- aka "The Wildman" -- visits a different game, searching for the best high school football fans in Central Florida? Do you think you have what it takes? Do you want to be on TV and show off your fan spirit? If so, email wildman@varsitygridiron.com. Watch Orlando Sentinel Varsity Sports every Sunday at noon (WRDQ-Ch. 27) and midnight (WFTV-Ch. 9) to see where the Wildman is this week.

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Cup of Joe

Wildwood makes special use of special teams

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Written by Joe Williams   

Special teams were indeed special for Wildwood Friday night in a 28-19 victory over Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in a first round game of the Class 2B playoffs. Two of Wildwood’s touchdowns came as a result of special teams play which helped the Wildcats get past a Cardinal Mooney team that was led by Stephen Ierulli.

Ierulli, a running back who has committed to Purdue, scored three TDs – two on runs of more than 30 yards -- and rushed for 256 yards. But, it was Wildwood who came out a winner thanks to problems Cardinal Mooney had on two punts.

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Winter Park-East Ridge's turning point?

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Written by Joe Williams   

The turning point in the Winter Park-Clermont East Ridge game may have come in the first six minutes of the game.

Friday night's opening round Class 6A playoff game between Winter Park and East Ridge was pretty one-sided, but you have to wonder whether East Ridge's 23-7 victory might have been a little tougher if not for an illegal motion penalty that nullified a touchdown by the Wildcats with 8:39 remaining in the first quarter and then a holding penalty three plays later further sealed the Wildcats' fate.

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Mount Dora's Ozerities, Eustis' Gaines have big nights

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Written by Joe Williams   

Mount Dora junior wide receiver Jordan Ozerities had a big night for the Hurricanes, even though they lost to Eustis in the season finale Friday night.

Hurricanes quarterback Jason Davis completed complete nine passes on the night -- six of those went to Ozerities for 106 yards and a 28-yard touchdown pass.

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Eustis era ends

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Written by Joe Williams   

It was about 10 or 15 minutes after Eustis had won its final game of the season, beating rival Mount Dora 29-14 at Hurricanes Field Friday night to finish the season with a 2-8 recrd.

Eustis Coach Steve Moser had finished talking to his team, telling him how proud he was of the effort they mustered, and had dismissed all the players with the exception of the seniors.

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Thompson proud of his Wildcats

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Written by Joe Williams   

Wildwood's field house had emptied of its players. All that remained were a few Wildcat coaches still reflecting on their team's victory 42-35 victory over The Villages to give Wildwood the district championship.

It has been quite a season.

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Buddy's Breaking News 

Buddy Collings is a senior sports writer for the Orlando Sentinel. He has covered high school sports since the 1970s, when you had to get fouled to manage a 3-point play in basketball. Collings graduated from Melbourne High and the University of Florida, then worked for the Gainesville Sun for 12 years before coming to the Sentinel in 1998. In college he began tracking Florida high school sports record and later  published record books. For more than 20 years he has been a clearing house for state records. He is married with three children. You can e-mail Buddy by clicking here.

The Lyon's Den

Austin Lyon began covering high school sports at the age of 15 as a correspondent for the Orlando Sentinel. He has also worked in radio and television, including handling play-by-play for numerous football and basketball state championship broadcasts. He was teh play-by-play voice for Friday Night Football, a weekly high school game of the week in Central Florida. He has lived in Orlando since he was 8 and is a graduate of Bishop Moore and UCF.

Cup of Joe

Joe Williams is the dean of sports in Lake County. In November, he’ll celebrate his 30th anniversary at the paper, and all those years were spent writing about athletes, coaches and sports in Lake. A native of Long Island, N.Y., Williams delivered papers as a boy for Newsday and the Long Island Press. He moved the New Port Richey, where he became a sports writer at the New Port Richey Press the summer he graduated from high school. In his prime, Williams was a feared softball player. He’s a proud father of four and still breaking stories for us. You can e-mail Joe by clicking here.

Gridiron Guru

Ty Ensor hasn't been a football coach all his life. It just seems that way. Ensor, a former football and baseball player at Baker High School (Class of '91), was a high school football coach in Central Florida from 1999-2007. Most of his experience is on the offensive side of the ball, and he served as a position coach Cypress Creek and Apopka, as co-offensive coordinator at Dr. Phillips, as offensive coordinator and Osceola. He was also Apopka's head coach from 2003-05. He is married with twin sons.

The Stat King

Charles King is the producer of the weekly Orlando Sentinel Varsity Sports television show. Before that, he created and ran his own high school football Web site, FridayNightFootball.net, from 2002-07. He also developed, produced and co-hosted Friday Night Football, a radio show that broadcast a high school game every week and followed up with a post-game show. The show broadcast more than 90 games, including six state championships. In 2004 he created and produced FNF-TV, a half-hour weekly TV show dedicated to high school football in Central Florida. You can e-mail Charles by clicking here.

Chip's Recruiting Tips

Chip Humble has more than 15 years of experience connecting athletes with coaches and colleges. He is director of scouting for Collegiate Sports of America PrepStar and co-founder of Next Level, a non-profit group that assists athletes in securing scholarships to college. He is also chairman of the Central Florida All-Star Game. Humble was born in Ohio, is a graduate of Florida Southern and lives in Lake Mary. He can be reached at chumble@csaprepstar.com