Congratulations to Italy Gladiator Football’s, TaMarcus Sheppard, and, Darol Mayberry, who have both been selected to participate in the 6th Annual Super Centex FCA Victory Bowl to be played at Waco ISD Stadium on Saturday June 14. Both players will be members on the Red Squad.

A senior, Sheppard was a quarterback on offense and an outside linebacker on defense this past season. He was also a punter and a kick returner on special teams. For his efforts, Sheppard was named the District 6-1AD1 Most Valuable Player.

Mayberry, also a senior, played left tackle on offensive and was an interior tackle on defense. Mayberry made his biggest impact on offense while leading the way for Italy’s backfield earning 1st team All-District honors. He will be appearing in the bowl game as did his brother, Larry Mayberry, Jr., who participated in the 4th annual FCA Victory Bowl back in 2012.

Past notable Gladiators that participated in the FCA Victory Bowl are, Jasenio Anderson, who played in the 3rd annual bowl game back in 2011 and Ryheem Walker, who competed in the 5th annual bowl game in 2013.

Local players, Jacobe Essary of Milford High School and Graham Davis of Avalon High School, will also be participating in this summer’s Victory Bowl.

Also congratulations to Shad Newman and Zain Byers who have both been selected to participate in the 3rd Annual North Texas Bowl DFW East/West Classic All-Star game being held on Saturday, June 14, at Pennington Field in Bedford. Both players will be members on the West Squad.

As a senior, Newman played fullback on offense and inside linebacker on defense for the Gladiators. He was a 1st team All-Disitrict linebacker and an Honorable Mention All-Disitrict fullback in District 6-1AD1.

Byers, also a senior, was the District 6-1AD1 Defensive MVP as a defensive end and a 1st team All-Disitrict right guard on offense. Byers was also selected as a 2nd team All-State defensive end by the Associated Press for 2013.

Both Newman and Byers will be following the trail blazed by 2012 graduate Jalarnce Jamal Lewis who represented Italy Gladiator Football during last summer’s North Texas Bowl.

Good luck, TaMarcus, Darol, Shad and Zain. We know you will each make us proud!

Donations:

Players competing in the FCA Bowl require a minimum of $500 each with supporters being acknowledged in the game’s full color program.

Players competing in the North Texas Bowl will need to raise $400 each. Bowl game program ads can be purchased at the following price breakdowns by Thursday, April 3:

• $100 for a quarter-page ad
• $200 for a half-page ad
• $250 for a full-page ad

Also the North Texas Bowl players are selling ESPN magazine subscriptions at the price of $40 for a two-year subscription.

The cost of these bowl games ranges from $25,000 to $35,000 to produce the event and allow the players to keep their all-star jerseys, etc.

If you wish to help support our all-stars and ensure their participation in their respective bowl games, please submit donations to:

AD/HFC Charles Tindol
Italy High School
Office: (972) 483-7411
Cell: (325) 260-6815
[email protected]

or

Contact Barry Byers at:
Cell: (972) 921-1231
[email protected]

Please make checks payable to: Italy ISD.

We appreciate everyone’s interest in helping to support our players!

Go Italy!