Sports Notebook: Carrollwood High School Football

Gaither:

The Cowboys (6-2, 4-0 Class 7A-District 7) have done the improbable. They are on the precipice of the impossible. The Cowboys clinched a 2011 playoff spot with a 27-20 win over Chamberlain (2-7, 1-3) last Friday. It has been a long time since there have been meaningful games in November for Gaither football. Head coach Jason Stokes and staff deserve credit for turning the ship around.

"After the Chamberlain game, there was a quick sense of accomplishment, having met one of our goals, but it turned very quickly to the district championship," Stokes said.

Defensive efforts from senior Josh Scarberry, junior Logan Marshall, and sophomore Matt Williams have led the way for the Cowboys. They are one, two, and three in tackles for Gaither.

Sophomore Alex McGough and junior Shug Oyegunle lead the offensive game. They account for 700 of the Cowboy's 900 yards of offense so far.

The Cowboys travel to Tampa Bay Tech (5-3, 4-0) to battle for the district title this Friday.

Carrollwood Day:

The Patriots (5-4, 4-4 Class 2A-District 5) head into their final game of the 2011 season with a home game against Calvary Christian (4-4, 3-4).

There's a different tone around Patriot camp this week.

"We try to have more fun with this last week of practice," said head coach Lane McLaughlin. "We let the seniors make the Wednesday practice schedule and decide what we're gonna do the rest of the week."

CDS would love to get a win to end the season. It would send the seniors off in a positive way and set the stage for next season, when many athletes return for their senior years.

"These last games can get emotional," McLaughlin said. "You have to go from coach to counselor pretty quick after the game."

McLaughlin was quick to point out that this crop of graduating seniors "brought this program from a six-man to a winning program" and that the Patriots are 22-7 in the last three years.