Hometown Heroes | Southeast High School alum Brian Poole shines with the Florida Gators football team
A huge play went for naught for Southeast alum Brian Poole. The senior defensive back made a bone-crunching hit in the first quarter of Florida's SEC showdown with Tennessee that yielded a fumble at first glance. However, the play was nullified as an incomplete pass after an instant replay booth review. Poole finished with one pass breakup as the Gators edged the Vols, 28-27, in the Swamp to stay unbeaten.
Adrian McPherson
The former Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball from Southeast is back in the Canadian Football League. Following five seasons in Montreal, where he mostly was a backup, McPherson tallied impressive numbers in the Arena Football League with Tampa Bay. Now back in the CFL, the quarterback has played in three games with Toronto and has two rushing touchdowns.
D. Rodgers-Cromartie
After suffering a concussion in Week 2, the New York Giants cornerback returned to practice this week. The Lakewood Ranch alum missed last week's game, a victory, against the Washington Redskins.
Cord Sandberg
The former heralded Manatee quarterback that chose baseball over Division I football picked up some postseason accolades when he earned a 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The 2013 third-round Philadelphia Phillies draft pick recorded 13 assists and a .983 fielding percentage in 120 games at Class A Lakewood this year.
Luke Sears
The Lakewood Ranch alum has seven tackles (one for a loss) in three games for the University of Charleston this season. A sophomore linebacker, Sears is also joined on the Golden Eagles team with
redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Michael Farhat, a fellow Lakewood Ranch alum.
Kristin Zarrella
A distance runner, the former Lakewood Ranch standout posted the best time for Southern Mississippi's cross-country team at the Azalea City Classic in Mobile, Ala., earlier this month. Her ninth-place overall finish with a time of 22:50.8 led the Golden Eagles to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.
Shelby Walker
A former volleyball standout at Lakewood Ranch, Walker posted 10 kills and three digs in Ohio University's first two Mid-American Conference matches. The Bobcats defeated both Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio) as they are off to a 12-3 start this season.
Troy Gatling
The Braden River alum is averaging 16.8 yards per catch for New Mexico Military Institute this season. Gatling has three touchdowns out of his eight receptions. The wide receiver is joined at the junior college by Bradenton Christian alum Sinclair Laskett, who is second on the team with 10 receptions.
This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Hometown Heroes | Southeast High School alum Brian Poole shines with the Florida Gators football team ."