Matanzas running back Wiley Conner runs for a touchdown at spring football practice on May 14. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas quarterback Cole Hardy (center). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas quarterback Cole Hardy (left). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas running back Antoine Jenkins at spring practice on May 14. Photo by Brent Woronoff
With 46 rising freshmen and 34 rising sophomores participating in Matanzas football practice this spring, the future appears to be bright for the Pirates.
“Just with the influx of youth and the way our program is moving along, this is the most excited I’ve been at spring practice since I've been here,” head coach Matt Forrest said. “I can't think of a spring where I've had more fun coaching football.”
The Pirates will compete in the Pine Ridge spring jamboree at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21, against Eustis and the host Panthers. The 46 eighth graders are not allowed to participate in drills or games with players already in high school, but Forrest expects at least a few of them to challenge for spots on the varsity team when they become freshmen this fall.
Overall, the Pirates have 122 players on their roster. Forrest said the number of incoming freshmen was such a surprise they've had to borrow helmets from another school. But the varsity team won't be bustling with veterans this fall.
Matanzas is losing 23 seniors who helped lead the Pirates last season to a 7-4 record and a bid to the new Florida Invitational Tournament. But while many of the rising juniors and seniors have not received that much playing time, they’ve shown this spring that they are invested in the program, Forrest said.
It's always scary when you replace that many seniors, but for this group to be as committed as they have been this spring, it's a real positive for our program going forward.
— MATT FORREST, Matanzas football coach
“I've been pleasantly surprised at the retention they’ve had in our offense and defense, even though they were in backup roles and weren’t playing very much,” Forrest said. “It's always scary when you replace that many seniors, but for this group to be as committed as they have been this spring, it's a real positive for our program going forward.”
Quarterback Cole Walker set school passing records last year with 2,387 yards and 22 touchdowns. Walker is graduating this month along with his top four receivers — Ladarien Baker, Jordan Schendorf, Andrew Bass and Thomas Larywon — who caught a total of 200 passes for 2,174 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.
"Basically, every offensive yard through the air, graduated," Forrest said.
Rising junior Cole Hardy, who threw just three passes last year as Walker’s backup, and rising sophomore Mari Arneaud will be the two quarterbacks on the field at Pine Ridge. Rising senior Brady Putis and sophomore Lukas De Freitas have been stepping up at receiver, Forrest said.
But the offense this fall will largely be generated by rising senior running back Wiley Conner behind an experienced offensive line that lost only St. Thomas University signee Kenneth Roberts. Conner rushed for 1,108 yards and nine touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 144 yards and two more TDs last season.
Several experienced defensive players are also returning, but the holes will be filled by last year’s JV players or some select freshmen.
“We have a lot of talent in our ninth grade class — they are going to be sophomores,” Forrest said. “I also believe that there are some eighth graders that I've seen practice over the last two and a half weeks that are going to be fighting for some playing time on a Friday night, too. Since I've been here, these are by far the two biggest freshman classes that we've had, and the numbers are not even close. And they look like really good football players.”
The eighth graders have been coming to practice throughout the past month of spring drills, Forrest said. Despite the large numbers, the JV staff, led by coach Dell Arneaud, has kept everybody engaged.
“It's easy to get frustrated when you come out with that many,” Forrest said. “I think that's a great job by our JV staff of getting everybody coached and everybody participating, so there is no standing around. They're all learning our offense, our defense. [Our graduating seniors] did really well for us, and to be able to have a class to come in behind them of 46 right now, is unbelievable. It’s obviously a really positive time over here for Pirate football.”
