Tampa Catholic Names Mike Gregory New Head Football Coach

The announcement was made last week.

Tampa Catholic's Football Coach Steps Down

Bob Henriquez's departure is effective today.

From Bart Cobb, Advancement Director at Tampa Catholic High School: Tampa Catholic High School Principal Thomas Reidy announced this morning that Bob Henriquez is leaving his position as head football coach at the school, effective immediately. Henriquez cited the need to devote his time to his new position as Hillsborough County Property Appraiser as the reason for his resignation.  Henriquez, who was elected as Hillsborough County Property Appraiser in November, coached at the school for 17 seasons. He served two stints as the Crusaders’ head coach and leaves with an overall record of 128-71.  Henriquez coached the Crusaders to 13 playoff appearances in 16 years, won 7 district titles and twice advanced to the state championship game.  …

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Tampa Catholic Student Receives Scholarship from Rollins College

Brittany Betts signed her letter today.

In a ceremony on the Tampa Catholic campus, girls basketball standout Brittany Betts signed a scholarship with Rollins College in Winter Park. Betts is a four-year varsity player for the Crusaders, and leads the team in scoring, steals, and assists. “We are thrilled for Brittany," said Head Coach Matthew Rocha. "Rollins is a phenomenal fit for her. She is a great kid with a special game.” Betts, who is averaging 16 points per game and will likely eclipse the 1,000 point mark, is the only member of the Tampa Catholic team to hold two rings that commemorate the school’s state championships. “We are an extremely young, but talented program and we lean on Brittany for her experience and leadership. The lessons she learns at Tampa Catholic will…

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A Blessing On Your Pet: Muzzle Tov, Muzzle Tov

Tampa Catholic blessed pets last week.

A pet blessing was held at Tampa Catholic, 4630 N. Rome Avenue, last week. Here's a rundown of the event and some photos from Michael Groff: On October 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, the Tampa Catholic Campus Ministry Team once again hosted the annual “Blessing of the Pets," as a crowd of 150 parents and students mingled with their beloved furry friends. Brother Chris Burns intoned the opening words of the prayer service, “The Lord be with you," above the whines, pants, barks and embarrassed whispers of "sit," "stay," and "good boy." Deacon John Iadanza, proclaimed the reading from the book of Genesis. “God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of …

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Tampa Catholic Hires Softball Coach

Mark Braddy steps into the head coaching position for the Lady Crusaders softball team, Bright House Sports Network reports.

Tampa Catholic has a new softball coach. Mark Braddy, a 1985 TC graduate, will replace Vernon Tatum, Bright House Sports Network reports. Tatum resigned in March and had been replaced by interim coach Cindy Deters. Braddy played on the school's 1985 state runner-up baseball team, which also included former Major Leaguers Tino Martinez and Lance McCullers, Sr., BHSN reports. The Lady Crusaders softball team went 13-3 last year, losing to Berkeley Prep in district playoffs.

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Tampa Catholic Girls Basketball Heating Up at Right Time

The Crusaders struggled early on this season but are coming together under their new leadership.

Weathering the storm seems to a theme for the Tampa Catholic girls basketball team this season. Following their second straight state title in 2011 and three consecutive years of reaching the State Final Four, the Crusaders (14-9) have set the bar high for themselves. However, after losing their leading scorer and primary ball handler from last year to graduation, the team got off to a slow start as coach Nancy Kroll's stepdaughter, Micah Kroll, took the reins. "It's been a tough challenge for me to step into that role this season," Micah Kroll said. "Thankfully we had good team captains last year that I've been able to look at see how they got the team motivated. I have off and on games, but this is a good team around me, so I just focus …

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Free NFL Camp Helps Develop High School Football Players

Tampa Catholic High School is partnering with the NFL to stage a Character Development Program for high school players.

Tampa Catholic High School has partnered with the National Football League's High School Player Development program to stage a three-day character development camp this week. The camp, which began Thursday and ends Saturday, focused on player safety, concussion awareness, character development and life skills on its first day to go along with a regiment of football fundamentals in the following days. "We want to focus on athletic skill but our main focus is to make these kids better men and better students," NFL HSPD representative Marshall McDuffie said. "We bring in an athletic advisor from USF to talk them and they get lessons from doctors about concussions and hydration so it's helping them be smarter athletes." The event is sponsored …

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Tampa Catholic High School's Baseball Coach Resigns After Two Seasons

Pat Russo coached the Crusaders to with an overall record of 32-26.

  Tampa Catholic High School Principal Thomas Reidy announced Wednesday that he has accepted the resignation of head baseball Coach Pat Russo. Russo coached the Crusaders the past two seasons and had an overall record of 33-26 at the school. Under his leadership, the team reached the FHSAA Class 3A State Semi-Finals in 2010 and the FHSAA Regional Finals in 2011. “Unfortunately, we were not able to offer Coach Russo a full-time position at the school," Reidy said in a news release. "I want to thank him for his contributions to Tampa Catholic High School and its student athletes.” The school also announced that a search for a new baseball coach would begin immediately. Interested candidates should contact Crusader Athletic Director Freddie …

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Tampa Catholic's Cameron Alford Swings Heavy Bat

The Crusaders' right fielder fuels success with his offense and demeanor.

Cameron Alford is quiet, but his bat isn't. High school athletes rarely come more reserved than Alford. The senior right fielder has provided a major offensive spark for Tampa Catholic High School's Crusaders this season, as well as quiet leadership. "He doesn't have to say much, the others can tell by the look on his face when he's being serious," assistant coach Tab Joiner said. "They all get quiet when he does talk because you know he's going to say something." Alford currently sits fifth on the team's roster in terms of batting average at .426, but his 3 home runs and 24 runs batted in lead the team. Most recently, Alford helped beat Clearwater Central Catholic in the regional semifinal with a three run home run and drove in seven runs…

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Crusaders Cruise to Baseball Regional Semifinal Victory Behind Martin and Alford

Tampa Catholic moves one win from state baseball tournament with convincing 8-2 thrashing against rival Clearwater Central Catholic.

Maybe the fifth time is the charm. For the second consecutive year, visiting Tampa Catholic High School baseball team made the most important of five games against nemesis Clearwater Central Catholic the last one, thumping CCC 8-2 in their Class 3A regional semifinal Friday. The Crusaders (14-13) prevailed behind strong pitching from Derek Martin and Nick Sucarichi, and the scorching bat of Cam Alford, whose three-run first-inning homer provided all the runs needed to send CCC (19-10) packing. TC hosts Bishop Verot of Fort Myers in the regional final Friday at 4 p.m. The victor advances to the 3A state semifinals at Port St. Lucie. TC lost three times in four games against CCC this season, but two were by one run and the third by two runs…

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