Replacing last year's seniors a key challenge for Mainland High

By Observer Staff
| 10:49 a.m. May 20, 2013

Ormond Beach Observer
Sports

Mainland lost several of last season's leaders. But the program is designed to reload, not rebuild, coaches say.

BY MATT MENCARINI | SPORTS EDITOR

This spring, just like previous springs, Mainland's football coaching staff has been faced with one big question.

How do we replace last year's seniors?

“For the past three springs, it has been the same thing: How many guys have we lost?” head coach Scott Wilson said. “Two years ago, they wrote us off completely, and that’s the year we went to the (state semifinals). ... The younger guys have worked so hard under the guys that have had experience ... And that’s how they’re groomed. We put them to the fire right away.”

Spring practices, and the spring scrimmage held May 18, gave the coaching staff a chance to see who can play and who can do what.

“We try to give them the best opportunities and build up gradually as we go, starting with fundamentals,” Wilson said. “And we stick with fundamentals and work on the basics as we go through.”

But when you lose players like Quinton Powell, a linebacker who signed a scholarship with the University of Southern California, a game-changing quarterback like Cameron Hadley, or Stephen Bostick and Jontey Byrd, it’s a question that needs to be asked.

“We just have to work hard and go with who we have,” defensive coordinator Travis Roland said. “We have a lot of kids that are young, but they’re athletic and they can play.”

Kevin McCrary was a freshman in 2012 and Phil Haire was a sophomore. Roland said both players will have even bigger impacts in 2013.

Welcome aboard

Treyvaughn Rodriguez ran for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, but he did it playing for Mainland’s rival, Seabreeze. Rodriguez will play 2013 with the Buccaneers, and after watching him for three seasons, Wilson knows exactly what kind of player he’s getting.

“It’s a good feeling to have him on our side now,” he said. “The expectation is the kid’s going to be throwing the ball out of the backfield, and he’s going to run out of the backfield and we’re going to put him at slot and we’re going to put him at quarterback (in a wildcat formation). ... He’s just phenomenal.”

Quarterback battle

Hadley was key to the Buccaneers’ success last season, especially in a road playoff win at Winter Haven. The competition to replace him includes three players: Javon Wright, Anthony Williams and Deontre Bellamy.

“Terry Anthony is their coach,” Wilson said. “And he’s been here for 17 years, and he knows how to groom them. So you have three guys that are really going at it, and all three are doing a pretty good job.”

Wilson said that through spring practices, and as of the day before the Blue and Gold scrimmage, the competition was still wide open.

2013 schedule

Date

Opponent

Location

Time

Aug. 23

Lake Mary

AWAY