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School Remembers Former Student

Photo from Connie Pike.

Taylor Pike relaxes on the bench during his playing days with the Cambridge Lancers. The football team at the Cambridge Christian School in Tampa chose to dedicate their 2007-08 season to Pike, who was killed in a single-vehicle motorcycle accident in May. Pike threw the first touchdown pass in school history.

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By JOHN CEBALLOS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

APOLLO BEACH - From the time he arrived as a fourth-grader until he graduated high school in 2004, Taylor Pike was one of the more popular students at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa.

He was prom king, quarterback of the football team, was active in band and choir, played three instruments - guitar was his favorite - and appeared in several of the school's theatrical productions.

On May 14, the 21-year-old Apollo Beach resident was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home.

'It had been Mother's Day night, and we had all gone to sleep,' said Connie Pike, Taylor's mother. 'He had gone mountain biking with some friends who were sleeping over and, at around two in the morning, Taylor decided to go for a little joyride near our house.

'He was wearing his helmet, but he was still probably going faster than he should have been.'

Taylor was killed instantly in the single-vehicle accident on Golf and Sea Boulevard north of Signet Drive, leaving behind his parents, Connie and Bob, his sister, Megan, and many friends who admired his passion for living life to the fullest.

Some of those friends hope to honor one aspect of Taylor's life this fall.

The Cambridge Lancers, Taylor's former football team, have decided to dedicate their 2007-08 season to his memory.

'He was just a fantastic kid, academically and athletically,' said Rick Shears, head coach of the Cambridge Lancers. 'I only coached him for the one year, but I could tell he was very smart and he was a great football player.'

Taylor distinguished himself during his only football season - he threw the first touchdown pass in school history during its inaugural 2003-04 season.

Because there was no football team for much of his tenure at the school, Taylor learned the game during a three-year stint with the Temple Terrace Lions of the West Coast Youth Football Conference.

'It was funny because he'd been thinking about switching schools, and during his junior year he decided he'd rather stay at Cambridge,' Connie said. 'They added their football team the very next year.'

After graduating from Cambridge, Taylor attended Florida State for one year, Hillsborough Community College the following year and was majoring in psychology at the University of South Florida at the time of his death.

'He was a modern-day Renaissance man, and he lived life on the edge,' Connie said. 'He liked to go jet skiing, wake boarding, and his bicycle, of course.'

The Pikes attended a memorial before Cambridge's contest against Santa Fe Catholic on Sept. 14, which the Lancers lost 28-10. Bob was presented with Taylor's No. 11 jersey, and Connie received a bouquet before the game.

'The school called us about a week before the first game to tell us what they wanted to do,' Connie said. 'We thought about it and discussed it as a family and, even though it's still difficult, what we want to do more than anything is keep him in our hearts and honor his memory.'

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555 or jceballos@tampatrib.com.

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