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Indians at ease under spotlight
Fort White gets preseason hype heading into ’08.
By CHRIS WHITE
cwhite@lakecityreporter.com
FORT WHITE — Arrowhead Stadium is hardly equipped for a
media frenzy.
The air-conditioned press box has just enough room for a a pair of radio personalities and Fort White’s
off-field coaching staff sets up shop on the roof.
Between the official timekeeper, announcer and a reporter or two, the
aluminum room is
typically full every other Friday through the spring.
But there may be a
battle for those chairs and for prime spots along the sidelines, as the media attention the team gets grows with each retelling of how this little school in the country, less than 10 years old, is playing like a big-city institution.
“It’s kind of exciting
getting more people to look at Fort White or the first time,” quarterback Alex Gilmer said. We’ve been working hard, and we have our own expectations and there are other people’s expectations, too, and
hopefully we can live up to all of them.”
After finishing the
regular season 4-6 overall and defeating Pensacola Catholic High for the team’s first-ever playoff victory, the Indians set their own bar.
But, like Gilmer said, there is a whole new set of expectations. Other teams picked up on the Indians when they battled into the playoffs.
The North Florida press took notice when Fort White held off a
Division I prospect’s pass attack in the postseason.
And online preps boards buzzed when the team won a 7-on-7 championship at the University of Florida.
But it’s important to
separate what the team needs to do and what fans and the press want, Gilmer said.
“We don’t want to get caught up in what other people want from us,” the returning starter said. “We want people to see us
succeed, but we’re just looking at what we want to do right now.”
Fort White receiver Jordan Dewhirst, an
honorable mention in last season’s 2A All-State team, went with coach Demetric Jackson and running back Xavier Blake to Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville just over a week ago for a high-school media day,
featuring players and coaches from most of the teams in North Florida.
The questions were pretty simple, Dewhirst said. Everyone just wanted to know what the Indians expected of themselves.
“All the reporters just asked us how we think we’ll do this season,” Dewhirst said. “They just wanted to know what we thought we did good.”
The event offered Fort White’s burgeoning
program some valuable publicity and gave the
players an opportunity to deal with more press than they were used to.
“I think it was something new for our guys and they handled it well,” Jackson said. “We’re used to just having (local press) cover us, but there were some other papers and television reporters there and other people asking them
questions.”
The increased attention and heightened reputation has its downsides, though. Blake said he noticed
players keying in on him near the end of last
season, which he finished with more than 1,700 rushing yards and a spot on the 2A second-team.
“It got to be real hard at the end of last year,” Blake said. “Guys started to know who I was and they were looking for me.”
The only way to escape from the pitfall of all the exposure is to improve faster than your reputation, the senior running back said.
“I know it’s going to be even harder this year, so I’m working harder,” Blake said. “I know I have to be better than last year now.”
media frenzy.
The air-conditioned press box has just enough room for a a pair of radio personalities and Fort White’s
off-field coaching staff sets up shop on the roof.
Between the official timekeeper, announcer and a reporter or two, the
aluminum room is
typically full every other Friday through the spring.
But there may be a
battle for those chairs and for prime spots along the sidelines, as the media attention the team gets grows with each retelling of how this little school in the country, less than 10 years old, is playing like a big-city institution.
“It’s kind of exciting
getting more people to look at Fort White or the first time,” quarterback Alex Gilmer said. We’ve been working hard, and we have our own expectations and there are other people’s expectations, too, and
hopefully we can live up to all of them.”
After finishing the
regular season 4-6 overall and defeating Pensacola Catholic High for the team’s first-ever playoff victory, the Indians set their own bar.
But, like Gilmer said, there is a whole new set of expectations. Other teams picked up on the Indians when they battled into the playoffs.
The North Florida press took notice when Fort White held off a
Division I prospect’s pass attack in the postseason.
And online preps boards buzzed when the team won a 7-on-7 championship at the University of Florida.
But it’s important to
separate what the team needs to do and what fans and the press want, Gilmer said.
“We don’t want to get caught up in what other people want from us,” the returning starter said. “We want people to see us
succeed, but we’re just looking at what we want to do right now.”
Fort White receiver Jordan Dewhirst, an
honorable mention in last season’s 2A All-State team, went with coach Demetric Jackson and running back Xavier Blake to Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville just over a week ago for a high-school media day,
featuring players and coaches from most of the teams in North Florida.
The questions were pretty simple, Dewhirst said. Everyone just wanted to know what the Indians expected of themselves.
“All the reporters just asked us how we think we’ll do this season,” Dewhirst said. “They just wanted to know what we thought we did good.”
The event offered Fort White’s burgeoning
program some valuable publicity and gave the
players an opportunity to deal with more press than they were used to.
“I think it was something new for our guys and they handled it well,” Jackson said. “We’re used to just having (local press) cover us, but there were some other papers and television reporters there and other people asking them
questions.”
The increased attention and heightened reputation has its downsides, though. Blake said he noticed
players keying in on him near the end of last
season, which he finished with more than 1,700 rushing yards and a spot on the 2A second-team.
“It got to be real hard at the end of last year,” Blake said. “Guys started to know who I was and they were looking for me.”
The only way to escape from the pitfall of all the exposure is to improve faster than your reputation, the senior running back said.
“I know it’s going to be even harder this year, so I’m working harder,” Blake said. “I know I have to be better than last year now.”
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