To say the relationship between Coach Anthony Candelino and his players has worked out tremendously would be an understatement.
Having been an assistant coach at Bishop Kenny, UNF, and at Bolles since 2005, it was a no-brainer for Candelino to be promoted to be the next Bolles head boys basketball coach when it came time.
Since taking over in 2010, Candelino has been able to take a program that fell on hard times for nearly 30 years and quickly put them back on the statewide map again.
After years of first-round playoff exits, Candelino and his team finally were able to put it all together, capped off with several playoff wins and a State Championship this season.
In his sixth year, he guided the Bulldogs (30-3) to their fourth overall state title with a 46-39 win over Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy on Feb. 25 at the Lakeland Civic Center.
Senior Jonathan DeWane led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while fellow senior Collin Smith added 10 points and nine rebounds in the title game.
In a game of back-and-forth runs, Holy Trinity led early 17-11, but Bolles answered back with a 13-0 run to take a 26-24 lead into the half.
Holy Trinity took a 31-30 lead going into the final quarter of the game, but Bolles closed it out with a 16-8 run to pull away and win its first state title since 1989.
The title is the first under Candelino and the 120th overall state title for the Bolles athletic program.
Candelino told the fans and media after the game, “The last seven minutes of the game, we won as a team. We played some great defense, hit our free throws and won a state championship. It’s a great feeling and I’m just so proud of these young men and so happy for them. They’ve worked so hard. They are a bunch of great kids on and off the court.”
The win is especially meaningful for the seniors as they leave a lasting legacy. Austin Williams, Lorenzo Lawrence, Nick Strawter, Joe King, Zac Crosby, Jonathan DeWane, and Collin Smith all helped bring the program to a benchmark not achieved in over 25 years.
Over the last three years, the group of seniors guided the Bulldogs to an 80-7 record, a state championship, and its first Finals appearance since 1993.
From 1939 to 1952, Bolles advanced to the Final Four eight out of 14 years, winning its first state title in 1952. It would be another 30 years before the Bulldogs would get back to the Final Four.
Under legendary coach Buddy Ward, from 1981-1993, Bolles advanced to nine Final Fours in 13 years, including eight in a row from 1982-1989, where Ward guided the Bulldogs to two state titles (1988, 1989) and three state runner-up finishes (1984, 1985, 1986) before taking them to the big show one final time in 1993.
However, after 1993, the once-proud program had fallen on hard times again and was back to being a run-of-the-mill program that couldn’t get past the first round.
But that changed with the hiring of Candelino, who won 22 games in his first season, guiding the Bulldogs to their first second-round playoff appearance since 2001 before losing to Episcopal.
Back-to-back years of subpar seasons were followed by back-to-back 24-win seasons, but still each year ended in a first-round playoff loss.
To get to the title game, Bolles first had to knock off sixth-ranked Tampa Catholic; the Bulldogs beat them handily 68-53 in the state semifinals.
With Collin Smith in serious foul trouble and holding a slim 47-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Bolles got big contributions from freshman Davey Crouch and senior Lorenzo Lawrence to push the lead up to nine with under five minutes to play.
Smith finished with a team high 31 points and 11 rebounds to go along with Austin Williams’ 12 points and Lawrence’s 11 points.
A day before competing in its own Final Four game, according to fans and media at the game, archrival Bishop Kenny was seen sitting in the stands and watching Bolles play in the title game and could be heard yelling “Duval” and cheering on its oldest rival in the Lakeland Center. That’s something you don’t always hear about. Later in the day, thanks to social media, former Atlanta Braves star and Bolles alumni Chipper Jones tweeted out a congratulations message to his old school.
The senior class accepts the Class 4A state title trophy moments after winning the school’s fourth overall state title. From left to right are Nick Strawter (13), Joseph King (5), Collin Smith (15), Austin Williams (14), and Zac Crosby (25). In the back row are Lorenzo Lawrence (00) and Jonathan DeWane (33).
Special Feature / North Florida / April-May 2016
Coach Anthony Candelino / Collin Smith
The Bolles School
Jacksonville, Florida
Corey Davis
Bolles back on the map after winning fourth state title
