Lane DeGregory: CLEARWATER
They were anchored about 38 miles offshore Saturday afternoon when high waves flipped their small boat.
The four football players, who had been fishing for amberjack, were thrown into the frothy Gulf of Mexico. Frigid, 6-foot seas crashed over their heads.
Struggling in their life jackets, they somehow managed to make it back to the boat. But the 21-foot Everglades fishing craft was upside-down. And though the men were in their 20s and strong — two played for the NFL and the others had played for USF — they couldn't right the boat.
So the four friends clung to the slick, white hull.
Hours passed. Gusts of 10, then 20 mph slapped their faces. Darkness descended.
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