High School

Spring jamboree at Sickles: Gaither cruises past Steinbrenner & Alonso wins on controversial field goal

Jayce Nixon looked sharp in one half of play for the Cowboys

Andy Villamarzo

TAMPA, FLORIDA- It might be just spring football, but you really couldn’t tell that was the case by the end of the night at Sickles High School. 

By the conclusion of it all, it seemed like the ending of a regular season contest. In a spring jamboree including Alonso, Gaither, Sickles, Steinbrenner, the schools all played one half of play. 

SBLive Sports Florida was on the scene for the spring jamboree and we have the recap of each half along with interviews post-game. 

Gaither 20, Steinbrenner 0

The first half of play on the evening was between Gaither and Steinbrenner, which looked on paper to seemingly be a pretty good matchup. 

Both teams qualified for the FHSAA playoffs in 2022 and had plenty of talent returning. It would be the Cowboys that looked like they were in mid-season form, however. 

Gaither quarterback Jayce Nixon was smooth in his spring football showing as the sophomore signal caller completed 12-of-15 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. 

The first of Nixon’s first two touchdowns went to junior wideout Latrell Taylor on a 8-yard touchdown pass with 4:42 left in the opening quarter. Gaither extended its lead late in the first quarter when freshman running back Elija Mason scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge run with 45 seconds left. 

In the second quarter, the only touchdown scored was when Nixon connected with wide receiver Silas Tenenblatt on a 26-yard TD strike to give them a 20-0 lead. 

Name you should get to know - Silas Tenenblatt, wide receiver, Gaither: A lot of the attention last season was all around Eugene Wilson III, Ladainian Ferrell and Latrell Taylor but a player to watch for will be Tenenblatt. The sophomore was Nixon’s favorite target on the evening, catching five passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. 

Alonso 30, Sickles 28 

Though the game wasn’t packed out like it probably would be in a regular season contest, it certainly didn’t lack for the theatrics. 

In one of the highest scoring games of the spring so far, the Ravens defeated rival on controversial time-expiring field goal by Adam Tahiri. 

With the teams combining for nearly 60 points in just two quarters of play, the offenses reigned supreme throughout the evening. Starting off the scoring was Alonso midway through the period as quarterback Dom Paulin punched it in on a 14-yard dash to the endzone. 

Sickles answered right back to tie things up at 6-6, but on the following Alonso possession, the Ravens reclaimed the lead on a 2-yard strike from Paulin to wide receiver Ben Cole. 

Alonso went ahead 20-13 in the second period, but Sickles wouldn’t go away as quarterback Brandon connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to wideout Isaiah Hudson to knot the game at 20-all. 

Royal scored on what looked like the go-ahead score on a 4-yard scamper, but the Ravens would have different plans. Alonso got within field goal range and Tahiri came out onto the field and the rest became embroiled with controversy. 

Tahiri’s kick initially looked to have gone wide left but after a brief officials gathering, the referees said the kick was good. Sickles head coach Kyle Jolley spoke to the head official on his way out to no avail. 

Name you should get to know - Dom Paulin, quarterback, Alonso: With last year’s starter Terrell Russell Jr. moving to Alabama, Paulin has become the new starting quarterback for the Ravens. Paulin only threw seven passes all last season and showcased what Alonso fans can look forward to. Paulin threw for 97 yards and rushed for another 50 on the ground. 

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo. 

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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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