If you've never met Frankie Telfort and just listened to what his coach and teammates say about him, you might mistake him for being a bit of a nerd instead of the team's star linebacker.

The 5-11, 205-pound chiseled senior not only takes a full course load of advanced placement and honors classes at Gulliver Prep, he takes joy in writing Shakespearean style sonnets for fun. His latest -- Graveyard Dreams -- is one he's hoping will get published soon.

''When you look at Frankie the last thing you think of is poetry,'' Gulliver quarterback Michael Strauss said. ``I've never read any of his poems, but if they are half as good as he is at playing football then they must be pretty good.''

Telfort is great at a lot of things when it comes to school. But it's only part of the reason why he had more than 35 college offers before his senior season even got rolling or why USC and Florida (which began recruiting him in the 10th grade) are both eagerly anticipating his college decision, which should be made in the next month.

The other reason everyone wants Frankie: the way he can level the playing field with his bone-jarring hits and smart defensive plays.

That's exactly what Gulliver coach Earl Sims is hoping Telfort can do again when the undersized, underdog Raiders (11-1) take on bigger, stronger and deeper Jacksonville Bolles (13-0) in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

The Under-Armour All-American has certainly done his part in helping the Raiders -- a team loaded with stars on offense, including running back Darian Mallary (FIU commitment) and receivers Conner Vernon (Duke) and Daniel Rodriguez (Northern Illinois) -- get this far.

IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS

In 12 games, Telfort has made 159 tackles, 36 more than anyone else on the team. While he still hasn't picked off a pass, he has recorded four sacks, forced four fumbles, recovered two and made one huge momentum changing play in a team huddle last week when he stood up to his coach.

''Basically, the game is over if they scored,'' said Telfort, whose team was trailing Tampa Catholic 17-12 late in the fourth quarter when it found itself trying to stop the Crusaders on fourth and goal from Gulliver 1-yard line.

'Coach Sims thought they were going to run a play-action pass. But I told him, `No way; they're going to run.' We pinched the linemen, they ran a quarterback sneak and we were able to stop them.''

Fourteen plays and 98 yards later, Strauss found Vernon on a 4-yard touchdown pass to lift Gulliver to their first state championship game since the late Sean Taylor led the Raiders to the Class 3A crown and set a state record for touchdowns in 2000.

Taylor wasn't far from the mind of the 29-year old Sims or his players in what turned out to be an emotional celebration Friday night. To say the Raiders have had to endure a lot in the past two years would be an understatement.

Last year's season started tragically when 15-year old junior Ralei Sealey drowned on a weekend out with his teammates. Then, a week after the season ended, Taylor (who had come back and spoken to the team a year prior) was shot and killed in his home.

This football season started with assistant head coach Ron Butler being arrested on charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. (The charge was later dropped.) Injuries followed, including a season-ending torn ACL to the team's top defensive back, Frank Crawford.

''After one of our games, I told the guys football is kind of like life. If you fight through it, you'll keep living. We're one of two still standing. We want to live through Saturday,'' Sims said.

TOUGH ASSIGNMENT

To do so, however, Gulliver will have to beat a Bolles program which has won more state titles (eight) than any other in the FHSAA's 45-year history.

The Bulldogs, who will own an advantage in size on both the offensive and defensive lines, have averaged 51.3 points a game this season and allowed just 20 points in three playoff games.

Bolles' offense, which can switch from the Wing-T to the spread, has two 1,000-yard running backs in 5-8, 186-pound junior Jawan Jamison and 6-foot, 197-pound senior Stephen Barnett. Bolles' two quarterbacks have combined for 26 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.

''We're going to need our front seven to play above and beyond,'' Sims said. ``Frankie is going to have to lead our guys, get Jorge [Sanz], Max [Fink] and Ralph [Williams] and the rest of them to play at that next level.''

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