The 2023 Positively Osceola High School Football Preview

OSCEOLA KOWBOYS

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GATEWAY PANTHERS

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TOHOPEKALIGA TIGERS

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POINCIANA EAGLES

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ST. CLOUD BULLDOGS

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HARMONY LONGHORNS

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LIBERTY CHARGERS

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CELEBRATION STORM

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DESPITE MASSIVE TALENT DEPARTURE SAME LOFTY EXPECTATIONS REMAIN

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

This past season was a typical year for the Osceola Kowboys football team.

Osceola absolutely dominated district competition (3-0, outscoring opponents 150-10), they won six of nine regular season games against arguably the toughest schedule in the state, and then proceeded to win three postseason games and capture a regional championship before finally falling to eventual state champion Lakeland – in a game where they took the lead into the fourth quarter.

About the only thing unusual about Osceola’s season was that for the first time in recent memory the vast majority of its best players were seniors. A record five of them -- Jamarion McCrimon (East Carolina), John Walker (UCF), Bo Mascoe (Rutgers), Ja’Keem Jackson (Florida), and Derrick LeBlanc (UCF) – signed Division-1 football offers. Several others will play at smaller schools. QB David Buggs, WRs Terry Cruz and TJ Massey, nose tackle Elijah Palermo, LB Drevon Lee and DBs Lecory Walker and Jayden Bradford – all important starters – were among the more than dozen players departing via graduation.

At first glance, it would appear Osceola might be destined to take a step back – especially since they are once again playing the same brutal schedule

that includes seven 2022 playoff teams including state power Jones, Lakeland, Seminole, Mainland and West Orange.

Still you would be hard-pressed to find any opposing coaches or fans feeling sorry for the Kowboys.

Head Coach Eric Pinellas believes his team has the talent to not only compete against the best in the state but to also continue its dominance locally, and make another deep run in the post-season.

“One of the things is we never emphasize the regular season. Our goal every year is to play for a state championship. Sure, we could schedule nine or 10 wins every season, but if you are not playing the best teams, you will never be ready for the post-season. Our mindset is to always use the regular season to get ready for the playoffs.”

Despite the heavy losses to graduation, Osceola should field talented athletes at most positions. The strength of its offense should be on the offensive line, where the Kowboys return four of five starters. They include Antonio Cruz at center, seniors Joseph Green and Cameran Dekle at guard, and Thomas Gearity at right tacke. McCrimmon, who played left tackle last year, is being replaced by 6-6, 300-lb. sophomore Marcus Ferrer – a reserve last year that is already being offered by division one schools around the country.

“We feel real good about our offensive line, Coach (Jarrod) Atterberry does a great job with that group,” Pinellas said. “We played a lot of backups last year like Marcus, we return four starters, but we also developed some great depth on the line.”

One of the Kowboy starters returning is junior running back Taevion Swint. Although suffering a minor knee injury in the summer, he is expected to be back for the regular season as he continues to pile up mind-boggling and record setting numbers. As a freshman, he backed up his brother Ja’Randy and still piled up 1100 yards and 1t touchdowns. In his sophomore year, the UCF commit rushed for 1600 yards and scored 25 touchdowns. Sophomores Jeff Sinophant had an outstanding freshman season in a backup role.

Osceola will have explosive offensive players on the outside. Sophomore Alijah Jenkins is a home run threat as both a WR and a kick returner; while Notorious Reynolds is a versatile player who can be used all over the field.

With Buggs’ graduation and the decision of Gunner Holland to concentrate on wrestling for his senior season, Osceola is left without an experienced quarterback heading into the season. Although Reynolds played quarterback in the spring game, a pair of transfers -- Anthony Powers (Live Oak) and Cameron West (Tohopekaliga) – will battle in the preseason for the job. After summer workouts, Powers – a sophomore -- is the early leader to win the job. “Anthony is a big kid and has a good arm,” Pinellas noted. “But it’s not like you are going to see Osceola drop back and throw the ball 40 times a game anyways. We need one of those guys to come in, run our offense and occasionally make a play with their arm.”

Although the Kowboys lost a ton of talent on the defense, there is little concern side of the ball will be a liability. “Even though we lost our top three off the DL, coach Rob Vansickle rotated eight guys on the line last year. We have players like Jaquille Knox, Daniel Morales and Oniel Morel that are ready to step in. Blaze Jones is a sophomore who has the potential to be a big-time player and we are moving junior Elijah VanSickle (6-2, 240) to the defensive line.”

At linebacker, the Kowboys return leading tackler Robert Lee and are expecting big things from junior Elijah Melendez in the middle. Although three starters depart in the backfield, Osceola does return Jeff Banks. Youngsters Kyri Watson, Ja’Mario Bradford, and Larenz Walker could factor in the backfield. But it is senior Jalen Bell that Pinellas says is one of the main reasons he is not worried about his defense. Although listed as a safety, the Kowboys will line Bell up as outside linebacker or even defensive end, where he used his speed to create havoc when rushing the quarterback, providing run support or covering receivers.

“Jalen always had a lot of talent but didn’t have a lot of drive in his first two seasons,” Pinellas said. “He worked his tail off and came to me before the start of last year and said ‘you are not going to be able to keep me off the field’ and he then delivered on that promise. Going into this year, he is going to be the heart and soul of this defense.”

That difficult schedule includes two tough road games to open the season, five consecutive home games in the middle and three road contests the back end. Must see home games include back-to-back games against 5A state power Jones (Sept. 9) and defending state champion Lakeland (9/15). The Kowboys will also host St. Cloud in the 100th edition of The Game, on Sept. 29.

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

TOP TEN GAMES TO ATTEND IN ‘23

High school football returns this week with Pre-season Kickoff Classics. These exhibition games are tune-ups for what promises to be an exciting year for Osceola County football teams. Regardless of which team you support, or whether you just love sports, we picked out 10 “Don’t Miss” games being played in-county for 2023.

#10 Tohopekaliga at St. Cloud, 7:30 p.m., Week 4, Sept. 15

This is a game that is a potential budding rivalry for both teams, especially since they are now in the same district. Led by a senior dominated team, Tohopekaliga dominated the game last year 47-6. It was a game, that St. Cloud coach Mike Short felt should have been a lot closer had it not been for turnovers. Roles could be reversed this year, as St. Cloud has the more experienced team after most of Tohopekaliga’s offense graduated. With Osceola favored to repeat as district champions, the winner of this game would possibly get a leg-up on the race for at-large playoff berth. One other note of interest – Julian Nasco – Toho’s leading returning receiver began his high school career at St. Cloud.

#9 St. Cloud at Celebration, 7:30 p.m., Week 10, Oct. 27

Celebration will field a super young team in 2023 and will enter this game as the underdog. Storm coach Jeremy Palmer has stressed the importance to his team of being competitive and this late season game will give him an idea of how well his team has focused on that concept. Perhaps not the most

important district game, but a great test for the Storm and an important game for St. Cloud’s playoff hopes.

#8 Gateway at St. Cloud, 7:30 p.m., Week 7, Oct. 6

Regardless of records of either team, this is always a highly spirited and competitive game featuring teams where the St. Cloud AD and Gateway coach are close friends. With Gateway playing possibly playing their first eight games on the road because of school construction, this is a game that could go a long way to making the Panthers season with a win.

#7 Tohopekaliga at Harmony, 7 p.m., Week 9, Oct. 20

Tiger coach Anthony Paradiso is a proponent of playing in-county opponents and this is a match-up of two contrasting styles. “Air” Paradiso’s offense, led by sophomore quarterback Sabby Meassick, could throw on practically every play; while a rugged running game has been Harmony’s bread and butter for almost a decade. Both teams lost a lot of playmakers from last year due to graduation but with Meassick returning and Harmony having a reputation for toughness this should be a great matchup. Harmony won big last year, 40-7.

#6 Jones at Osceola, 7 p.m., Week 3, Sept. 8

Playing perhaps the toughest schedule in the state, Osceola appears several times in this top 10 list. Jones plays in Class 3 Metro, District 3 and is annually one of the best teams in the state. They are one of only three teams to beat Osceola last year, taking advantage of three Kowboy turnovers to win 18-7. Jones is 54-11 in the last five years and has made deep playoff runs in each of those years. Although they are not in the same division or district, an Osceola win would provide incredible rating point capital.

#5 Osceola at Tohopekaliga, 7:30 p.m., Week 10, Oct. 27

Although Tohopekaliga could almost match Osceola on offensive playmakers last season, they simply were no match on the offensive and defensive lines where the Kowboys dominated in a running clock mercy rule win last year. Tigers coach Anthony Paradiso said improvements in the weight room were necessary for his team to compete with the Kowboys and said those strength numbers have improved greatly from last year to this season. This will be a good test to see where the Tigers stand.

#4 Liberty at Poinciana, 7 p.m., Week 11, Nov, 3

For the first 15 years, the Chargers have dominated the Battle of the Boulevard – winning all 15 games and outscoring the Eagles 668 to186 in the process. Poinciana ended that streak with a vengeance recording a 56-0 win last year. It’s doubtful that the Eagles will be satisfied with one win, given that it came in an 0-10 Liberty season. For the Chargers, new coach Dee Hart has vowed to bring Liberty back to respectability and this remains a huge game for both schools.

#3 Harmony at St. Cloud, 7:30 p.m., Week 11, Nov. 3

The “Soldier City Classic” and the battle for the Brass Bugle is our number 3 can’t miss game of the 2023 season. This will be the 19th edition of the game, with each team having won eight games. Although Harmony won big last year, 44-0, a lot of the games have been extremely close and competitive –

including St. Cloud’s 31-30 upset in 2021 that was dubbed Game of the Year. For reasons that will be explained later, this contest usually ranks higher in our Top 10 List of “Must See” games.

#2 Lakeland at Osceola, 7 p.m., Week 4, Sept. 15

These two teams faced off twice last year, with Lakeland barely winning both times – taking a 25-22 decision in Week 3 and dispatching the Kowboys, 147, in the Suburban Class 3 State Semifinal game. Both contests were played in Lakeland. as the Dreadnaughts went on to win the state championship the following week after the second win over the Kowboys. Both teams have a rich history of great seasons, deep runs in the post-season and each have been to and won state championship games. This should be one of the best regular season games in the state this season, regardless of class.

#1 St. Cloud at Osceola, 7 p.m., Week 6, Sept. 29

Counting a 2012 forfeit, Osceola has won 17 straight games in this season -mostly in dominating fashion – including a 42-3 win last year. St. Cloud has actually stated that its game with Harmony (#3 on our list of Games Not Miss) is the more important rivalry to them. So why is this edition of “The Game” our number one “can’t miss” selection in ’23? History—pure and simply because of history. This will be the 100th meeting between the two schools and it is the fifth oldest rivalry in the state and plans are being made to bring back former players and coaches of this long-standing rivalry. A large crowd is expected at Markus Paul Field for this historical game.

GATEWAY PANTHERS

ROAD WARRIOR PANTHERS TO FACE TOUGH HURDLES

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

In face of some obstacles that have presented some serious challenges, Marlin Roberts is trying to remain positive as he heads into his 24th season overall and 15th year as head coach of the Gateway Panthers.

“We have had more than our fair share of problems the last couple of seasons and this year may be the most difficult of them all,” Roberts says. “You really don’t want to say we are in survival mode, but that’s sort of where we are.”

For more than a year, the Gateway campus has been under total reconstruction and expansion, but with the work nearing completion, the school will soon be a welcome part of the solution to the rapidly growing school district. On the football field, no area school has suffered more devastating injuries to key players in the last couple of years (Gateway went through four quarterbacks last season); while the open transfer rule and discipline issues have also seen key players depart. Still, Roberts says that Gateway will fight their way through the season.

“We have about 40 kids out for varsity and they are navigating the construction and other issues,” Roberts said. “We have mostly freshmen and sophomores so it will be a young team this year that will hopefully stay together and fight their way through.”

LB Tristan Martinez and OL Gustavo Gallardo are among the few veteran players Roberts will rely on to provide leadership to his team. Although the team is young, his running back group of Chris Charity, Joshua Fuller and Dashawn Reese is solid. Track standout Darius Young could be a factor at wide receiver. Sophomores Jandel Diaz and Markis Hill are competing for the quarterback job, with Diaz holding a lead going into the final week of training camp. Sophomore safety Moise Joseph is the most experienced defensive back, with Young expected to be a two-way player and help at corner. Tristan Martinez is the top linebacker.

With a young team facing at least eight and possible 10 regular season road games, Roberts knows a winning season would be a huge “ask” and his expectations are more tempered. “We need to stay healthy, stay together and stay focused,” he said. “This is going to be a difficult season to get through.”

TOHOPEKALIGA TIGERS

INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS TAKES PRIORITY FOR PARADISO’S TIGERS

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

While many sports fans count success by the number of wins at the end of the season, Tohopekaliga’s second-year football coach says the victory total at the end of any year is simply not as important as the other things that high

school sports should be about.

“At the end of the day, yes, we all want to win. But I always believed that when you teach the right things and convince players to do things the right way the wins will take care of themselves. Victories are still secondary to the mission of high school coaches,” Paradiso said. “To me, putting the athlete in position to showcase their skills is important. But it also is important to help them become the best person they can become. The truth is few will even ever play college athletics, but if we can get all these kids to become the best student, the best soldier, the best first responder, the best tradesman, the best teacher, the best parent –whatever they decide to do with their lives – that’s the real mission of what we do.”

Paradiso’s theory has merit.

Taking over a program that won just two games the year that saw morale at an all-time low, the Tigers won six games last season and saw several players sign college scholarship offers. But more importantly, there was a major change in culture that saw a record number of players come out for the team and better attitudes and pride instilled into the program.

It’s those positive attributes that Paradiso would like to see continue as he begins his second season at the school. “I feel really blessed to be at a school where are principal and our athletic director fully support the direction we are going and the culture we are trying to build,” the former long-time Lake Nona coach said. “We have the facilities, coaches and athletes to build something special here, not just in football but all sports.”

The 2023 Tigers will be led by sophomore quarterback Sabby Meassick, who started a true freshman last season and threw for a county high 3000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Meassick, who measured 5-9 last year, grew a couple of inches and is now close to six foot tall. Paradiso says with a year experience, his young quarterback has a lot more confidence and should continue to excel.

Although Tohopekaliga lost some talented players to graduation, Meassick will have plenty of weapons around him. Churandy Duval is a big-play back that combined for 1200 receiving and rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last year. WR Julian Nasco caught 66 passes for 823 yards and 12 scores last year and transfer Eli Azize and veterans Tre Punter and Jayden Oliver could also factor in.

One area where Tohopekaliga struggled last season against better opponents was on the offensive and defensive lines where both strength and depth proved to be an issue. “We had to play a lot guys both ways and they would wear out against the better teams, but that was only part of the issue. Teams like Osceola, Bishop Moore and Harmony were just physically stronger than us,” Paradiso noted. “We had to get stronger in the weight room and also deeper, and I think we have.”

Paradiso noted that at the start of pre-season camp, he had 12 offensive linemen and 10 defensive linemen competing for varsity positions. “If we

can platoon some of these guys and only make them play one way, it would certainly help,” he added.

The defense should be led Punter, a two-way player (WR/LB), linebacker Rashaud James, LB/DE Jediah Wetherington, OLB/DE Anthony Paradiso Jr.

Paradiso noted that because several teams backed out of their contracts, the Tigers struggled to put together a schedule for 2023. Fort Meade (Polk County), Foundation Academy (Winter Garden, FL), Gulf Breeze (Florida Panhandle) and Melbourne are all new opponents this year; while the Tigers are scheduled to compete in 4 Suburban, District 10 with St. Cloud, Osceola and Celebration. PositivelyOsceola.com

POINCIANA EAGLES

BEEKEN SAYS TRANSFER HIGH SHOULD BE CALLED HOMECOMING HIGH

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

Last year several outstanding football players transferred to Poinciana High, including Perry Garrett and Donald Cummings. Those athletes played a major role in the Eagles recording an 8-2 record – a school record for wins and just the second winning record in the two-plus decades since the school opened.

Head Coach Randy Beeken will be counting on several more incoming transfers in 2023, as the Eagles look to duplicate or exceed last year’s win total. Yet the fifth-year coach doesn’t consider the influx of talent as transfers but rather a homecoming.

“Over the years, particularly before the current staff arrived, we had a lot of great athletes leave the school for winning programs. A lot of the guys now transferring in were originally zoned to go to school here in the first place. I consider these guys as coming home and not transferring in.”

One of those players originally zoned for Poinciana is junior Cameron Brown, who is expected to take over at quarterback for graduated senior De’Kwan Bradley. Brown played his freshman season at Osceola, before transferring to Cypress Creek where he went 7-3 as a starter.

He will have a talented bevy of wide receivers and running backs at his disposal as he takes over the Poinciana offense. Those players include Osceola transfer and senior Akeem Knox, who will be the featured running back this year after playing behind Kowboys superstar Taevion Swint. Ernest Nunn (WR), Jaeden Gerard (WR), Wil Nezius (RB), Nathaniel Jeanninton (WR-transfer) and Amir Alli (WR-Transfer) are all explosive players who will contribute to the Eagles offense in 2023.

“We had our best season last year and a lot of it had to do with our seniors like Bradley, Garrett, Cummings, and Mike Centeno,” Beeken said. “But I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I wasn’t more excited about the players we have in camp right now. This is the most talented roster, especially on offense, since I have been here and most likely the best in school history.”

Defensively, the Eagles are talented but perhaps a little thin in the depth category. Linebacker Noah Otero is a four-year starter and the heart and soul of the Eagles defense. Bowser and Nunn are two-way stars that will shore up the defensive backfield; while Taurence Boland and Jason Batista are edge rushers who are coming off good seasons.

“Our depth on the offensive and defensive lines is my biggest concern entering the season,” Beeken says. “Our starters are solid, but right now we are only a few injuries away from it being a potential problem.”

A few scheduling problems resulted in the Eagles only having three home games in 2023. Still, Beeken believes every game on the schedule is winnable. Poinciana will open on the road with Nature Coast, a list-minute replacement for Celebration. They are the highest ranked team on Poinciana’s schedule but the Eagles will also face tough opposition from Horizon (Winter Garden) and Foundation Academy (Winter Haven) during the year.

As an independent, Poinciana was able to create and select all 10 of its opponents. “Our philosophy was to divide the schedule into thirds – a third of games we should win, a third of games that would be considered toss-ups and a third of games where we would have to play really well to win. I think it played out that way last year and this is a very similar schedule,’ Beeken said.

Poinciana is in its second year of independent status and will soon have to declare its status for the next two seasons. Beeken believes that as long as participation increases and team does well, the Eagles may very well return to District play next year. “A few years ago the program was about as low as it could be and going independent was the right choice for us,” he said. “If we can continue to build on the momentum of last season, there’s no reason to believe we can’t rejoin district play for next year.” PositivelyOsceola.com

ST. CLOUD BULLDOGS

THE TIME IS NOW FOR ST. CLOUD

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

Prior to the opening of fall training camp, St. Cloud head coach Michael Short publicly said he was entering the season with “quiet optimism.” But when you

talk in depth to the second year coach, his “quiet optimism” really sounds a lot more like confidence as he looks to improve on last year’s 7-3 record.

“It’s kind of hard not to be excited about the coming year. We return a lot of starters on both sides of the ball. They had a solid season last year and they are all a year older, a year stronger and a year more experienced,” Short said. “I absolutely believe we have a chance to be a pretty good football team.”

That optimism starts on offense, where the Bulldogs return a veteran offensive line, a three-year starter at quarterback, and both their top returning receiver and rusher.

Junior Logan King returns at quarterback after throwing for 1900 yards and 18 touchdowns a year ago. Short says King assumed leadership of the offense a year ago and has the ability to be one of the top quarterbacks in the area. “He throws and incredible deep ball, definitely as good as any player I have coached in the past,” Short said. “He did a pretty good job at taking care of the ball (just seven interceptions) and has a really good grasp of what we aretrying to do offensively.”

Two-way star TJ Griffin (WR/DB, 5-8, Junior) split time at running back as a sophomore but led the team in rushing (496 yards), yards per carry (6.5) and rushing touchdowns (9). He can catch the ball out of the backfield and might be used on kick returns this season. “He’s simply electric with the ball in his hands and just keeps getting better and better,” Short said. “I tend to ride him pretty hard and he used to resent that but he now understands why. When I give him hard time it’s because I know he can be great and I want him to realize that.”

King’s favorite target is Owen Conner, who almost eclipsed the 1000 yard mark in receiving a year ago (43-854-6 TD). Short says finding a complimentary receiver to play on the other side of Conner would be a concern in training camp. “We have some solid candidates, just waiting for someone to step up and take the job,” Short said.

The offensive line will be strength of the Bulldog offense this year. Division-1 prospect Conner Howes (OT, 6-6, 300) anchors a line that includes Daniel Torres (Center), Shawn Eplin (G), and transfer Omar Perez.

St. Cloud suffered the majority of their graduation losses on the defensive line and linebacker, but Shorts says the Bulldogs have a lot of talent to replace those losses. The Bulldogs will switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 this season and believe Jayden Woods, Rylan Taromino, and Kareem Eglin will give them a solid defensive front.

Junior Landon Millman moves to inside linebacker from the outside. As a sophomore, he piled up 37 tackles, including six for loss. Short is so high on him, he says Millman will wear the #2 jersey – an honor reserved for St. Cloud ‘s defensive leader.

St. Cloud returns its entire starting secondary, including Tyler Green, Griffin, Bryce Williamson and Malcom Senono. Tashard Smith, who is playing his first year of football, has shown tremendous potential as a defensive back. “We’re pretty stacked back there,” Short said. “TJ is so solid, most teams won’t even challenge him and that makes it easier on the rest of the defense.”

Two years ago, then head coach and current Athletics Director Bryan Smart talked about how St. Cloud has good front line players but depth was a major concern as they could not overcome significant injuries. That has changed the last couple of years under Short, who had 75+ players in when training camp opened. “We had something like 28 freshmen come out this year and a lot of those guys are really good athletes – especially on defense,” Short said. “If I have to move some players from defense to offense, I’ll be able to do that and I really believe we have some freshmen that can play if we need them.”

HARMONY LONGHORNS

NEW ERA OF HARMONY FOOTBALL BEGINS BUT VALUES REMAIN THE SAME

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

When Don Simon stepped down from his position it ushered in a new era of Harmony football as the Longhorns program would be under a new head coach for the first time in almost a decade. But despite a new man in charge, don’t expect a ton of change in the program’s approach to the game as Simon’s long-time assistant Nick Lippert takes over.

First, Lippert has been a member of Simon’s staff for a long time – having moved with Simon from North Carolina when the veteran coach first took the job. He has been Simon’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the entire time and was heavily endorsed by Simon to be his replacement.

“Nick has been working for this opportunity all his life,” Simon told Positively Osceola last spring. “He’s qualified and ready to become a head coach.”

For his part, Lippert says not a whole lot will change, especially on defense –where Harmony had a reputation of being a physical team. “My new defensive coordinator has been with us for a long time too, and he knows what I like to do. We are going to continue to be a physical team.”

A team pretty much known as a run-first offense, one change you might see under Lippert is more of a willingness to throw the ball – at least more than they have in the past. “We have always been a ground-and-pound run oriented offense and we still plan on running the ball a lot but I could see us throwing the ball a little bit more that we have in previous years,” Lippert said.

Facing a difficult 4S, District 11 schedule -- as well as a seven-game nondistrict schedule where four of the seven teams posted winning records in 2022 – the Horns will have a lot of new faces at practically every position thanks to graduation.

Harmony’s entire starting backfield, including record setting running back Tyler Emans, quarterback Ayden Parks and electric running back/slot receiver Cooper Richards have departed. Still, with more than 90 players out this fall, Lippert says there is talent left on the squad. Junior Kai Amen, a former wide receiver, and sophomore Matt Davis are among the candidates battling for the quarterback job. Jeremy Hilliard is a talented running back that has been patiently waiting his turn at running back. Led by Michael Capranica (6-3, 300) and transfer Rick Sorano, the Longhorns do have some talent on the offensive line.

The strength of the defense will come in the backfield, where the Longhorns return Division-1 commit Alex Nash, Chase Adams and safety Conner Flaherty. That group combined for 109 tackles, six interceptions and 16 pass breakups last season.

On the defensive front, Clayton Williams (6 TFL, 8 QB hurries) returns, as does Mekhi Ealy – who saw significant playing time as a freshman last year. The departure of Dalton Phelan (transfer – Lake Nona) was a big loss, but senior Ian Brigham (5-9, 190) could help fill the void.

Harmony did lose all-county kicker/punter Alex Tuyo to graduation. A gifted athlete, Tuyo made all-county teams in football, soccer and track and will leave big shoes to fill. Freshman Brayden Buehler is another soccer player who could replace him.

Lippert points to the season opener with Eutis (8/25), as well as non-district games with Tohopekaliga and St. Cloud as important games for his young squad. “Obviously we want to get off to a fast start, so the season opener is going to be real big for us. Nothing needs to be said about the St. Cloud game and what that means to both teams, but Tohopekaliga has the makings of another big rivalry game for us – especially after Coach Simon moved their as athletics director.”

LIBERTY CHARGERS

LIBERTY HOPES HART IS THE RIGHT MAN AT THE RIGHT TIME

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

The disaster that was the Chargers 2022 season could be summed up in one scene. With a running clock that started at halftime, Poinciana tacked on two more quick touchdowns in their only two possessions of the half to complete a 56-0 rout of a down-trodden Liberty squad.

It marked the end of tough campaign, where the practices started in August without a head coach in place and little went right in a 0-10 season, where Liberty was outscored 453-12, and saw seven of their 10 games finish under the running clock mercy rule.

The last game was particularly painful, as the Chargers had never lost a game to the archrival Eagles, but they also had to endure the most lopsided loss in series history in doing so. Coach Antony Smith was dismissed at the end of the season.

Knowing a drastic change in culture was needed, the Chargers turned to former Dr. Phillips standout Dee Hart to turn their program around.

To date, the reviews have been positive and rival coaches have praised the hire. “Dee Hart is a good football man, who has a ton of passion for what he does. I learned that by just talking to him for a few minutes at media day” St. Cloud head coach Mike Short noted. “It may take him a year or two to turn it around, but I think they made a great hire.” Another county coach who did not want to be identified agreed. “He knows the game, he’s young enough to relate to the players and they are going to love playing for him,” the coach said. “He’s going to do a great job there.”

New Chargers athletic director Chad Springer, who came aboard just a few weeks ago, also gave a ringing endorsement to his coach. “In the few days I have been here, I’ve been incredibly impressed with his passion, commitment and desire. I am a former assistant football coach and after talking to him I almost asked him if he needed another assistant. His passion, his love of the game and dedication to his players is infectious.”

Hart played collegiately at Alabama and Colorado State, had a brief stint in the NFL and most recently was the junior varsity head coach at Frostproof in Polk County. The challenge of taking over the Liberty program fits his personality. “I like giving back to the community because I was brought up with a less fortunate background, just like many of the students here” Hart said. “We didn’t have many role models, and if there were role models, they were the bad role models leading you down the wrong path. I’ve always wanted to be that person who can offer the younger generation a chance to take a different path.”

It will start this season with his first head high school coaching job.

Hart will have some talent to build around, including senior quarterback Jeremiah Pierre-Louis and junior running back Jaylin “JJ” Vaughan on offense. Defensively, linebacker brothers Xae’dyn and Xae’Vez Brown return as does Emanuel Marreno. OL/DL Joshua Fabian and Amos Toussaint will anchor the lines.

“We do not have a lot of experience returning but what we do have is guys that want to be here and have accepted the responsibility of leading this team,” Hart noted.

After finishing the season with barely 30 players in uniform, Liberty listed about 50 players on its preseason roster, a tribute to the interest Coach Hart is stirring in the program. And while those numbers include a lot of freshman and sophomores, it should provide Liberty with the building blocks it needs to return to competitiveness.

Hart says that success this season will be not necessarily be defined in wins and losses but in changing the culture of the program. “When I first got here, I was sort of taken back by the lack of pride and lack of support for the program. We are going to change that and get back to where being a student athlete means something. We are going to work hard, we are going to be accountable to ourselves and each other and we are going to be a program our school, our students and our community can be proud of,” Hart said. “But don’t get me wrong, I am very competitive by nature. From day one, we will try to win every game we play.”

BUILDING STABILITY BIGGEST GOAL FOR CELEBRATION, PALMER

BY: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola

Success is not always measured by wins and losses.

For Celebration head coach Jeremy Palmer, that will most likely be the case for the upcoming 2023 season. Palmer opens his second season with a smallish-sized roster of 45 players. He has little experience returning as 19 seniors departed—which included more than 95% of his offensive and defensive production– including standouts Griffin Davis, Foster Searcy, O’Neil Senatus, and Chip McCuiston.

“To say we are going to be a young team is a massive understatement,” Palmer said. “We don’t have a lot of depth either, so a lot of these guys are going to have to play both ways.”

The few veterans returning include junior linemen Gavin Konopka (C/DL) and Anthony El dib (G/DL). Palmer will rely on those two to provide leadership for his young squad that includes 36 sophomores and freshmen.

It appears sophomore Landen Yaw, after a solid spring and summer, has emerged as the starting quarterback with junior Parker Halsey serving as a back-up. Halsey will most likely appear on the field in other positions. Freshman Phillipe Costa and Sean Nuzzi will be tasked with replacing Senatus –the school’s all-time rushing leader.

In addition to two-way players Konopka and El dib, the defensive should be bolstered by linebacker Justin Berry and defensive end Michael Couch. The secondary will most likely feature four new starters with no upperclassmen in the group.

Celebration is in a tough district with Osceola, Tohopekaliga and St. Cloud. They also have tough non-district matchups with Harmony and Flagler Palm Coast. Still, Palmer says he is optimistic as the season approaches. “This is a young team and we’re probably going to have some tough nights, but it is also going to be a great learning experience as we try to build a program. We’re going to be playing an awful lot of freshman and sophomores, but these kids are juniors and seniors, I believe they will form the base of a team that will start to turn the culture of Celebration football around.”

The Storm has had few football highlights in the school’s history. Rich Pringle left after that 8-4 season in 2022 and Dennis Thomas left after a 7-4 yearin 2015; the only two winning seasons in the school’s 20 seasons. It something Palmer would like to change under his watch.

“Our program has had little consistency over the years and that has started with the coaching staffs. I believe to establish a winning program you can’t be changing coaching staffs every year or two. I want to change that and I plan to be here for the long haul.”

UPCOMING GAMES THIS SEASON

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