ODA football benefits from brotherly love

LAKEWOOD RANCH — If you ask Out-of-Door Academy’s sibling superstars Brian and Chris Ragone to identify the better athlete in the family, expect a long answer.

“You see,” Brian begins. “We have different definitions of what athleticism is.”

“Yeah,” his brother interrupts. “I think it’s who can jump higher, who can run faster and who can lift more. That’s natural talent.”

And, just for good measure: “And that’s me.”

Brian smiles at his older brother, patiently waiting for the floor.

“To me, athleticism is having the ability to go from one sport to another and be successful,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, he does that basketball and track stuff too,” Chris admits.

He pauses for a second.

“But I can beat him in basketball, too,” he says, grinning.

However, semantics aside, it’s no secret that the Ragone brothers are a major component of ODA’s offensive attack. Even before the season began, coach Brett Timmons pegged them as two of his most important players. With Brian as his quarterback and Chris at wide receiver and safety, Timmons called their talent “special.”

And so far this season, the Ragones have proven the assessment accurate. This season, the duo has led the Thunder to a 2-2 start. In every contest, the Ragones flashed gridiron brilliance, relying on a chemistry that only a pair of siblings could cultivate.

Originally from Westwood, N.J., the Ragones moved to Sarasota when both were young boys. After watching Chris play with the Sun Devils, Brian also joined the team. Both played wide receiver until Sun Devils quarterback Grant Flessner (now a star at Venice) broke his arm. The Sun Devils needed a new quarterback, and Brian stepped up.

Now at complementary roles, the Ragones have become one of the best quarterback/receiver tandems in the East County.

“I know his personality,” Brian says. “He has this thing about how he’s going to beat me, so I know I can throw the deep ball to him. Our timing is pretty good.”

But make no mistake: That chemistry, although natural, didn’t come without a tireless work ethic and complete dedication to the sport. The Ragones, who live on Siesta Key, must juggle ODA’s intense coursework and long practices just to be a part of the squad.

“After practice, we get home around 6:30 or 7 p.m.,” Brian says. “Then, it’s dinner, homework and sleep.”
But, Chris adds, they wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We had a bye (two weeks ago), and we didn’t have practice,” he says. “I was out here in the parking lot for a half-hour. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

That commitment to football has paid off for the Thunder. In a season in which skeptics wrote off ODA early because of the loss of star running back AJ Strong to graduation, the Thunder is playing tough ball. ODA’s two losses were only by six points combined. Last week, district rival Evangelical Christian squeaked by ODA 28-24, but the Ragones are anxious to right the ship against Bradenton Christian this Friday.

“A lot of people said we couldn’t win without AJ, so we’ve been going out there and proving them wrong,” Chris says. “He’s gone, and we have to live with that. But we’re playing with a little chip on our shoulder.”

ODA returns to action at 7 p.m., Oct. 15, at Bradenton Christian.

Contact Michael Eng at [email protected].