As much as ever, the deck appears to be stacked against the Strawberry Crest Chargers.
Crest was more competitive in 2018 than a 1-9 (0-6 district) record, a one-point home win over King and nothing else is the “W” column, would suggest. The Chargers had two losses (12-7 at Spoto and 13-3 against Riverview) decided by 10 points or fewer. They trailed Durant by just one point at halftime in a game that was closer than the 24-6 score would suggest, though that was related in large part to a torrential downpour of penalty flags.
This offseason was like an exercise in Murphy’s Law. Most of the team’s top contributors graduated. Its starting quarterback, Makenzie Kennedy, left for the teal-er pastures of Plant City High School. Ron Hawn, the head coach of the past three seasons, retired from coaching football in June. Though the coaching staff itself wasn’t hit with a massive turnover, the Chargers have had very little time to work with new head coach Phillip Prior. Crest looked every bit like a team trying to find itself in its 37-0 preseason loss to Palm Harbor University. All things considered, though, you almost have to expect that of a team that’s had such bad luck in the last nine months.
“I told the guys (July 29),” Prior said, “‘It doesn’t matter what has happened in this football program. The decisions that you make from here on out and the sacrifices you’re willing to make, the amount of work you’re willing to put in, that’s gonna determine our success moving forward.’”
All you can do is play through it all, work on fixing things as need fixed and never quit. Prior knows that as well as anyone. That’s why he’s not about to set any goals or make any predictions for 2019 that you could put a number on. What’s most important is setting up the players for the best possible chance of success in the near and distant futures.
“I want to set the expectation and the standards for this football program,” Prior said.
It starts with the foundation. “Win each rep.” “Fail, don’t quit.” Winning begins with the brain and finishes with the game. Players seem to be responding well to Prior’s approach thus far and such buy-in will be crucial for the future. It will make the full transition to Prior’s preferred offensive and defensive schemes easier. It will, in turn, help Prior and the coaching staff build Crest into the tough, physical squad they want it to one day be known as.
“I think that’s the thing I’m most anxious about,” Prior said. “What type of physicality and toughness are we going to bring each week? That translates to all positions… I believe you can coach toughness. I believe you can coach physicality. We’re going to put our kids into situations where they’re going to have to be tough. They’re going to have to learn how to play physical football.”
On offense, Prior wants to establish a gap scheme attack with “efficient” passing. The run-pass balance might look a lot like it did in the preseason game, where pass plays were called sparingly. The team hopes that once the offensive line gets more settled in, 6-foot-9 Jose Gonzalez and his teammates can blast open gaps for backs like Andre James-Williams and Ethan Calaway to slip through. What they need is for the o-line to perfect blocking away from the gaps the running backs are supposed to hit and pulling from the back side of plays to help lead the way.
Caleb Goodson, who mostly played wide receiver in 2018, is moving back to quarterback full-time for the first time since 2017.
“Caleb’s got a strong arm and can throw the deep ball really well,” Prior said. “I’m looking for him to be a good game manager for our offense. I think he’s really understanding a lot of the concepts we’re trying to implement.”
Defensively, the team is working out of a 3-4 base led by senior linebacker Jake Craig. Though this side of the ball was hurt worse by player departures, it will benefit from having players like 2018 sacks and forced fumbles leader Joe Witherington and two-way lineman Sebastian Fernandes return. Hunter Wilkinson and Kadin Durgan, also two-way players, will lead the way at defensive back and also play at wide receiver.
“We’ve got to do three things better than anybody. We’ve got to tackle well. We’ve got to pursue to the football and we have to create turnovers,” Prior said. “Those are the things that we’re going to emphasize on our defense.”
The Chargers will also need to establish consistency in the special teams department now that Josh Young, as true a utility man as there was in Hillsborough County, has graduated and holes in the kicking and punting areas opened up. Goodson handled punting duties in the preseason game but the Chargers did not get a chance to attempt a field goal or PAT. Senior return man Jhadin McKinnie flashed some potential during the preseason game, notably on a first-quarter kickoff return in which he shook and slipped past several Palm Harbor defenders and got Crest out to midfield to start a drive with great field position.
No matter what the win-loss column looks like when the regular season wraps up in early November, it is possible for Crest to look back and call 2019 successful in some regard. The most important thing Prior and the team can do this year is lay down a foundation and, if that’s solid enough, improvement in the next couple of years could very well come. One thing must happen, though: everyone has to be all-in and show it.
“I think my biggest goals for this year,” Prior said, “are… did our kids compete? Did we buy in to what we want to be about as a football program? Did we sell out on trying to win each rep or did we lose sight of that?”
THE RUNDOWN
Location: 4691 Gallagher Road, Dover
Established: 2009
Head Coach: Phillip Prior (1st season with team)
Offense: Gap scheme
Defense: 3-4
2018 Record: 1-9 (0-6 district)
SCHEDULE
Note: All games scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. District games marked with *.
8/23: @ Leto
8/30: @ King
9/6: BYE
9/13: vs. Kathleen*
9/20: vs. Riverview
9/27: @ Lakeland*
10/4: @ Wharton
10/11: vs. Plant City*
10/18: vs. Durant*
10/25: @ Bloomingdale*
11/1: vs. Brandon
THREE TO SEE
Jonah Spivey, OL
How’s the team coming together after the coaching change and everything that’s happened this offseason?
We all like him… we all think he knows what he’s doing and it makes being at practice fun.
What are your expectations for the season?
I just hope we get things done, win some games and give it everything we’ve got.
What’s something you’re committed to doing out on the field this year?
Just keep the work ethic good, give it all I’ve got and give it 110 percent on every play.
Jake Craig, LB
What would you be satisfied with in 2019?
I would be very satisfied with recognition of plays and just being very fluid with how we operate on the field.
What’s something you’ve learned in the last three years with the team that’s helped you become the player you are today?
I’ve really learned that we need other people. We need teammates. If your teammates aren’t as good, then you’re not gonna be a very good player yourself. You can’t be the star — you have to have other people to back you up.
So as a leader who has to pick his teammates up like that, what’s your approach? How do you set a good example?
I think it’s really encouraging them and showing them what to do, not just yelling at them about what they need to do. It’s showing them how to do the techniques and stuff like that.
Caleb Goodson, QB
You’re the next man up at QB. How do you feel, going into the season?
I feel pretty strong. We’ve gotten down all our new plays very quickly. More than we have in the past. Everything seems like it’s clicking better, so I’m happy with that.
How have you grown as a quarterback since you’ve been here, seeing playing time at both quarterback and wide receiver?
Well, starting out, I wasn’t very intelligent about the offense on the field. When I moved to wide receiver, I got a feel for what I needed to do as a quarterback, being a leader and where I needed to put the ball. I think it helped me out. Feeling for my wide receivers, setting them up with better passes and stuff.
What do you bring to the table, in your opinion, whenever you step onto the field?
I try to be the best leader possible. Help people out with plays and make sure everybody knows their assignments. I go out and try to play all four quarters giving it everything I’ve got.