Friday Night Lights: A Preview of Middletown Islanders' Football Season Kick-Off

In the dog days of summer when most high schoolers were curled up on couches playing video games with air conditioning frosting their face, the Middletown Islanders football team were sweating on the grid iron in hopes of returning to the state super bowl for a third straight year.

During preseason camp, the Islander's looked motivated and organized. Head coach Andrew Leys barked at players to fix their alignment, bring their hips when they tackled and to be precise and disciplined in everything they do.

Ley's favorite target of mentoring seemed to be first year quarterback and senior, Dylan Gracia. Coach Leys constantly critiqued and communicated with Gracia about his footwork and reads on passing plays. Gracia, a versatile athlete is making the transition from linebacker to quarterback this season with the loss of former quarterback Zack Yates.

Gracia shed some light on coach Leys's teaching philosophy, "He always preaches that we work hard and play together as a team. He always talks about how the little things make a difference."

With the Islanders running the spread offense, the offense will only go as far as Gracia will take them. He will be responsible for making accurate reads and throws in the passing game and quick decisions on the staple of the spread offense: the zone read run play.

Gracia seems up for the task. When asked about the zone read play he said, "I'd rather run the ball and try and make a linebacker miss then drop back in the pocket all day."

While Gracia holds the keys to the Cadillac on offense, senior middle linebacker Ricardo Mccray will anchor the defense.

Mccray is built like a house and is the vocal point of the Islander's 4-3 defense. Mccray makes the call in the huddle and does his best to relay assignments and calls on behalf of Defensive coordinator, Art Bell. "Our defensive mission is simple: 11 helmets to the ball, every play," said Mccray.

Although Mccray is the voice of the defense, he is also the strong arm of the offense. A bruising running back, Mccray ran for over a 1,000 yards last season and looks to duplicate that effort this season.

The Islanders move up from Division Four to Division Three this season, but after reaching the state's Division Four Super Bowl the last two seasons, the Middletown players remain confident.

"As long as we eliminate stupid mistakes and mentalities in the playoffs, we are going to get back to the super bowl," Mccray predicted. Seniors Gracia and Mccray both point to experience, motivation and unity as the keys to having a successful season.

After speaking with the two seniors, Gracia and Mccray, it was clear that Coach Leys has prepared these young men not only for the Friday night lights, but for adulthood as well. When asked what motivates them to come out and practice when they are exhausted and bruised up, Mccray and Gracia responded in similar fashion, "We don't want to let the team or the coaches down." On a lighter note, Gracia also joked that his motivation was so he didn't have to run extra sprints.

Key Players: Quarterback, Dylan Gracia. Linebacker/Running back, Ricardo Mccray. Cornerback, Terrell Hunter. Offensive lineman, Frank Wiley. Offensive Lineman, Matthew Goff. Tight End, Joshua Flynn.

Strengths: The team returns a plethora of skill position players excluding last season's quarterback, Zack Yates. Furthermore, the Islander defense is virtually the same as last season, a devastating and consistent defense that only allowed 196 points throughout the entire year, including a four game span in which they allowed a total of only 33 points.

Weaknesses: While Gracia is a tough runner and versatile athlete, he is inexperienced behind center and running the spread offense could be a daunting task. Another area of concern is the Islander offensive line that lost two key players from last year's squad.

2009-2010 Season Statistics

State Rank: 9

Record: 10-2 (Runners up in division four state super bowl)

Points allowed: 196

Points forced: 385

Leading Rusher: Ricardo Mccray, 126 yards per game.

Leading Tackler: Kevin Brown, 6.5 per game

Leading Receiver: Anthony Riley, 16.7 yards per game