Thunder return to playoffs

SARASOTA — The end zone was seven yards away. The district championship was on the line. The chance to host a first-round playoff was at stake.

Yet, Out-Of-Door Academy’s drive stalled and the Thunder lost. ODA was forced to hit the road for the opening round of postseason play and lost.

The shortcomings have been a staining memory for the nine Thunder senior football players who have helped ODA (8-1) return to the playoffs this season as Class 1B-District 10 champions.

“That was our first playoff game for everybody on the team,” said defensive lineman Jaime Onufrak, who has verbally committed to Marshall. “The seniors, this year, we learned a lot from that. This year, it’s a whole new intensity level and a completely different game. It’s not like an old game for us. We have to step it up.”

The Thunder host St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut (5-3) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Sarasota’s Twin Lakes Park in the Class 1B-Region 3 semifinals.

Last season’s setback helped the seniors’ bond grow even stronger.

They’ve been together for four years and have lost some players along the way, but the core foundation of that 2006 freshmen class — A.J. Strong, Andrew McInnis, Brody Wiseman, Onufrak, Sam Logan, Jon Grathwohl, Charles Savidge, Spencer McKee and Lat Turner — is still intact.

But, more than that, the group has built the Thunder program into a winner.

ODA has a 25-13 record over the past four seasons, was a district runner-up last season and captured the school’s first district title this season.

ODA players grew right along with coach Brett Timmons.

Timmons won two state titles as a linebacker at Southeast in the mid-1990’s and helped anchor the defense of an undefeated Tulane team later that decade.

He performed at the highest level as a player, but he’d never been a head coach before assuming the role of the Thunder’s brand-new program in 2006.

Timmons said it was the unwavering efforts of the coaches and players that helped ODA get to this point.

“We felt the cornerstone of our program would be that freshmen class,” Timmons said. “Each year, the bar has been raised by each senior class. This class here, though, they wanted to set the bar higher and raise the expectation levels of our program. It’s a highly competitive group, and they strive for excellence on and off the field.”

And the hard work and dedication has allowed ODA to host its first playoff game.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Strong, who has rushed for 1,259 yards and 19 touchdowns. “It’s not like we had the talent like everybody else. We just came out and played the cards we were dealt for the past four years, and we got a good hand this season. We came and played and worked hard during the offseason, and it paid off.”