Preview: 2011 Thomas Jefferson Varsity Football Team

Team: Thomas Jefferson Colonials (Liberty District)

Coach: Ken Kincaid (2nd Year)

2010 Record: 1-9 (1-6 District)

Last Game: Lost 21-0 vs. Fairfax on Nov. 5, 2010

Key Returners: QB Kevin Karn, RB Patrick O’Connor, LB Dimitre Nitchev, WR Luke Birch

Key Games: Sept. 1 vs. Falls Church, Oct. 6 vs. Madison, Oct. 21 @ Marshall

Overview

It takes a special coach to win at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Unlike other schools in the Liberty District, Jefferson is a highly selective specialized magnet school which admits a limited number of students each year. U.S. News & World Report named Jefferson the nation’s best public school in ’07,’08,’09 and ’10. So it should come as no surprise that talent pool the school relies upon for athletics is much smaller than others.

Ken Kincaid led the Colonials to consecutive winning seasons nearly a decade ago during his first tour of duty which spanned from 1998-2001. In his inaugural season, he coached Jefferson to a 7-3 record. After coaching stops at Chantilly and W.T. Woodson, Kincaid retired from coaching seven years ago and worked as a high school football color analyst. However, seeing Jefferson continually struggle was enough to draw him back into the profession. Jefferson’s players and fans are hoping that Kincaid can return the program, which has won just seven games in the past five seasons, back to Liberty District relevance.

After going 1-9 last season, Kincaid dedicated this off-season to getting his players into the weight room and running a disciplined and strenuous strength training program. Kevin Karn holds the keys to Jefferson’s offense. Karn passed for nearly 1,000 yards and rushed for another 300 in Jefferson’s final six games of 2010. If his late season efforts serve as an indicator, Karn could emerge as the Liberty District’s premier signal caller. Karn will look to RB Patrick O’Connor (Jr.) to carry some of the load in the backfield. O’Connor led the team in rushing last season and is expected to produce more of the same results in 2011. Second Team All-Liberty District WR Luke Birch (Sr.) headlines Jefferson’s receiving corp, and became one of Karn’s favorite targets last season.

Linebackers Ed Cai (Sr.), Jack Brown (Jr.), Ian Ladner (Sr.) and Dimitre Nitchev (Sr.), lead the Colonial defense and bring experience to an already veteran laden unit. Defensive tackle Stas Schaller (Sr.) is joined by Alex Zaita (Sr.) and Mike Maccannon (Sr.), both of whom started at cornerback last year.

Breakdown

While last year’s record doesn’t openly suggest, the Colonials progressively got better throughout the season. Players played with more confidence not only individually, but collectively as a team.  This year’s roster is deep at many positions and players who received a large amount of playing time last year return. Karn ended last season as one of the hottest Liberty District quarterbacks and brings his leadership to an experienced offense. Thomas Jefferson’s defense is loaded at linebacker and in the secondary. The cornerback tandem of Zaita and Maccannon commands respect from opposing passing oriented quarterbacks, who will think twice before throwing to their sides of the field.

Kincaid has proven before that he knows what it takes to win at Jefferson. He believes he can do it again and is committed to providing his players with the best coaching possible. Many strides were made in the weight room this off-season and the Colonials have set out to prove that they are more than just an afterthought when compared to other Liberty District football programs.

Coach’s Corner

“These kids have always had a special place in my heart. With what little time our kids have, because of their outside academic commitments, it takes doing everything right. It takes an entire staff that is committed to a group of these young men. We’re in a very unique situation in a lot of ways, but it’s been very exciting,” said Kincaid.

“We are very pleased to have a nice nucleus returning. We really learned to compete in the second half of last season, so we’re hoping to take competing to the next level and learn to win.”