- April 26, 2024
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Seniors Maurice Headen (defense) and Denzel Houston (offense) won Daytona Beach Quarterback Club's Player of the Year Award for both sides of the ball. Courtesy photo
Senior C.J. Wilson, ran for over 600 yards and six touchdowns, will be missed as the feature running back for the Bucs.
Senior Jason Colubiale scored over 10 touchdowns this season.
Senior Cyrus Fagan is headed to Florida State. Photos by Jeff Dawsey
The Bucs have fallen to a Miami-based team in four straight seasons.
Denzel Houston left the game early with a leg injury.
Mainland began the game with its customary eventful introduction.
Brian Jenkins, one of Mainland's biggest playmakers, will be returning for another season.
Dennis Shorter celebrates a big hit he made on one of Carol City's ball carriers.
Senior R.J. Stokes celebrates a pass break up that forced a Carol City punt.
This was suppose to be the year Mainland would finally overcome its playoff nemesis, Miami Central, to advance to the Class 6A state title game for the first time since winning it all in 2004. Though the Bucs missed Central, which didn't make the playoffs, another Miami team — Carol City — dashed their championship aspirations.
The Bucs suffered their worst loss (33-7) in four years and may have concluded their best opportunity to win a state title for a while. Their senior class has finished two of last four regular seasons undefeated, and they went 35-8 over their high school careers.
Some of Mainland's top seniors included Maurice Headen, Jason Colubiale, C.J. Wilson, Chad Davis, R.J. Stokes, Keylon Kennedy and Roman Mack. Star quarterback Denzel Houston and star safety Cyrus Fagan will be create the biggest holes for the Bucs to replace going forward.
Houston has statistically led the area in all major statistics for the last three years, going over 8,000 total yards and accounting for 124 touchdowns.
"Houston is one of the best players that has ever played in this county," head coach Scott Wilson said. "He's going to be very tough to replace. We plan on making another playoff run, and we will need to develop a solid varsity QB to do so." Houston is headed to Western Michigan.
Teams feared Fagan's size and speed on defense, so they often passed to the opposite side of the field. He showed his ball hawking skills against Matanzas, when he returned a 104-interception — tied for Mainland's longest play ever — for a touchdown as time expired.
'We don't rebuild'
After last season's playoff loss, Wilson stressed that Mainland doesn't rebuild; they reload. While losing important starters, the Bucs will be returning a myriad of key players who will keep them in position to dominate the area.
Dennis Shorter, Nathaniel Dell, Kevon McCrary, James McCloskey, D'Marucs Adams, Brian Jenkins and Raymond Horton are among the top starters set to return for at least another season.
But, no matter who's returning, the Buccaneers have to figure out the Miami riddle, if they want to win another state title.
DID YOU KNOW? Denzel Houston accounted for at least two touchdowns in every game over the last three seasons except his final game, when he was taken out with a leg injury in the first quarter.
