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Schools

Football Preview: Middleton High

After consecutive seasons with a .500 record, the Tigers have set their sights on winning ways under new coach Alonzo Ashwood.

Middleton High School has never lacked talent.

That's what anyone close to Hillsborough County's high school football scene will tell you despite the fact that the Tigers haven't put together a winning record in four out of the last five seasons. What they have lacked is discipline, something head coach Alonzo Ashwood has set his sights on changing.

"We hold these guys accountable for everything they do," Ashwood said at Friday's practice. "It comes down to little things like being on time. We tell them the only way to be on time is to be early. Participation is the toughest aspect for us as coaches because we're not going to be a big team numbers wise. We may get to add a few kids after school starts but right now we've only got about 47 kids on the team."

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In years past, eligibility issues surrounding key players has hurt Middleton. In their spring game (a 28-0 loss to Hillsborough), Middleton was missing several players due to problems with their grades, but since then Ashwood has been able to right the ship. On opening night, the Tigers will have their best team on the field.

"We've had starters missing from the lineup because of grades in the past but now we've got them straightened out," Ashwood said. "We've got guys that other teams don't know anything about that are going to shock some people now that they can play. If these kids just do what we tell them to, we're going to be hard to beat."

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The lack of depth in the team means that injuries could mar the Tigers season, but strength in key areas has Ashwood feeling confident no matter what may come his way.

"It's real important for us to stay healthy because we've got a lot of guys going both ways, but our deepest area is on defense," Ashwood said. "We're going to surprise everyone but ourselves."

The focal point of Middleton's attack is junior Richard Benjamin. The multi-faceted play maker is on the radar of college scouts throughout the country as well as every team in his district. Ashwood hopes to use that to unveil some of his other talented players, which will in turn free up opportunities to get their play maker the ball.

"Let them focus on him and we can dump it off to some of these guys they don't know anything about," Ashwood said. "What people don't realize is that we don't have just one guy you can shut down and we're done. You have to pick your poison. I tell all these other guys all the time that the scouts may be coming to watch Richard, but it's up to them to make sure they leave asking who they are."

Middleton faces a tough district that includes the likes of Jesuit and Robinson, but there is no game on their schedule that Ashwood is more excited for than their first regular season game, at home against the team he was an assistant coach for last season; Hillsborough.

"That first game against my old school? Who could have written that?" Ashwood said. "I think it was planned a long time ago to be honest. That game is very important because I feel it's a measuring stick for us to see where we're at. When they see the way play everybody else is going to know we're better than they thought we'd be this year."

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