High School Football Kicks Off

Here's a look at what to expect as Patch-area high schools take the field as the regular fall season kicks off all across Florida.

Canterbury

There a lot of change at Canterbury but despite the change, there is a lot of consistency as well. The Crusaders had a change in coaching staff when Steve Dudley left the school this spring to take over St. Petersburg Catholic.

Despite Dudley moving cross-town, his offensive coordinator, Bill Jones, decided to stay put. Good thing for Canterbury and good thing for Brent O'Neal.

The Canterbury bruising running back, O'Neal is expected to be the school's first Division-I football recruit. O'Neal is getting interest from Florida International, Florida Atlantic and Furman.

But the key for O'Neal may be to spread the ball around. O'Neal took a lot of punishment last year as he ran the ball 130 times racking up 1,235 yards and 17 touchdowns. Teams will have a bulls-eye on O'Neal's back so the chance for other teammates to take advantage will be there.

That someone could be quarterback Jake Holsinger, who threw for two touchdowns last week in a 35-7 win over the Community School of Naples, or wide receiver Dasean Thomas, who caught both of Holsinger's touchdowns passes and also had a 20-yard return for a touchdown.

• Friday night, Canterbury overpowered Temple Christian, 51-22.

Northeast

Speaking of changes, nothing may have moved the earth in the offseason bigger than the coaching change at Northeast. For the first time in four decades, a person not named "Austin" is coaching the Vikings after Jay Austin was not brought back as the school's coach.

Jay Austin was preceded as Vikings coach by his father, Jerry Austin.

Mike Jalazo, formerly at Clearwater Central Catholic, has taken over and he and his offensive coordinator, Dan Mancuso (former head coach at St. Petersburg Catholic) have thrown out the Wing-T playbook that was a fixture with the Austins, and has brought the Vikings offense into the 21st century with a spread passing attack.

Running that offense is freshman Ryan Davis. Usually a freshman starting at quarterback is more disaster and novelty but what will be interesting here is that Davis is the younger brother of former Florida State and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Chris Davis.

While at St. Petersburg Catholic, the elder Davis tore apart opposing defenses and became one of the top high school players in the nation, named to the first team All-USA squad by USA Today and Parade All-American.

If Ryan Davis is anything like his brother, he could be a dynamic player.

But the Vikings may already have one on the roster. Augie Sanchez is a gifted tight and and defensive end/linebacker who Jalazo believes will be a high-level Division-I recruit.

• Friday night, the Vikings just barely won their home game against Dixie Hollins, 24-23.

St. Petersburg

The Green Devils are, well, green.

Last year St. Petersburg finished the regular season with an undefeated record using a senior-laden team. Problem with that is the Green Devils have few starters returning.

What St. Petersburg does have back is talent, a lot of talent, but inexperienced talent. Green Devils coach Joe Fabrizio hopes that talent can overcome the lack of playing experience on the varsity level.

"We lost a lot of great kids but fortunately, we have a lot of good kids coming back," Fabrizio said. "The work ethic has been outstanding. Young kids, sometimes, you wonder how they will react when they have to face the bullets.

"You hope the things they see in front of them, that they try to do and... they have the same kind of work ethic."

Fabrizio noted that, though not with many veterans, the Green Devils may be the most talented group he has had.

That talent showed up last week in a preseason game when the Green Devils walloped Wiregrass Ranch on the road 42-7. Maurice Hemingway led St. Petersburg with 16 carries and 107 yards while David Jones had an 81-yard punt return for a score.

• Friday night, St. Pete fell to Gibbs by a score of 12-5.

Shorecrest Prep

Phil Hayford enters his 32nd season with Shorecrest and just like when he first arrived on campus, Hayford will have a strong running game.

Enter Garrett Schulte and Alex Drexler. The duo will likely be the one-two punch that Hayford covets.

Schulte is a bruising fullback who could probably play offensive line. He towers over many defenders.

Hayford hopes his team avoids a collapse that led to a 43-28 loss in the kickoff class to Cambridge. In a game where the Chargers led 28-21 early in the second half, the Chargers had a pair of ugly turnovers turn into opposing scores.

"We never had stuff like that happen," Hayford said of the second half collapse. "That was something that manifested itself. We lost our focus."