Alonso
2025 record: 6-4
Coach: Hayden Cantrell
Returning players: QB Michael Pyne, TE Kamar Findlay, WR Amare Daniels, LB John Carrothers, DB Genesis Jones, S Benjamin Rose, DE Carter Hand
Outlook: The Ravens were young last year and will rely on a rising junior class this season for continued success, according to coach Hayden Cantrell. A change in district competition will help, too. For the past two seasons, Alonso struggled against Sumner and Plant City, both consistent playoff contenders. Now, the Ravens face Steinbrenner, Strawberry Crest and Palm Harbor in their new district. “We’re going to be playing for the district championship and the postseason and looking to make a dent in the playoff bracket with 2-3 wins,” Cantrell said. Michael Pyne, who threw for 1,714 yards and scored 18 total touchdowns, returns and is receiving high praise from Cantrell. “To me, hands down, he’s the best quarterback in the state.” Payne’s top weapons, Kamar Findlay and Amare Daniels “make my life easier and make me look smart (at playcalling),” Cantrell adds. On defense, John Carrothers, who had a team-leading 76 tackles, to go along with 18 tackles for loss and three sacks, is the leader. Carter Hand also had three sacks and Benjamin Rose had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Spring Game: Intersquad game on May 20
Carrollwood Day
2025 record: 12-1
Coach: Marshall McDuffie
Returning players: QB Myles McDonald, RB Kameron Battle, WR Brooklyn Maxey, DL Zylen Little, DE Antonio Thomas, LB Zion Garrett, DB James Allen
Outlook: Last season was the best in program history. The Patriots fell just short of reaching the Class 1A state championship game, falling to eventual state champion West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman 48-33. There is plenty of excitement with Carrollwood Day returning its top offensive playmakers. Quarterback Myles McDonald, a rising senior, has more than 2,900 total yards and 20 total touchdowns. Running backs Kameron Battle and Antonio Thomas combined for 2,900 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns. Brooklyn Maxey, who had seven touchdown receptions last season, is McDonald’s top target. Antonio Thomas returns a two-way stud on defense who led the team with 11.5 sacks. Fellow defensive lineman Zylen Little is back after recording a team-high 61 tackles and had 9.5 sacks. Last season, the Patriots cleared a major hurdle by beating nemesis Clearwater Central Catholic in the region final round. The Marauders knocked Carrollwood Day out of the postseason the previous three seasons.
Spring Game: N/A
Gaither
2025 record: 10-2
Coach: Kirk Karsen
Returning players: DB Tarmarkus Young, QB Ryan Browning, WR Eli Evans, WR WR Sean Hamilton Green, OL Lawson Warriner, WR Daryl Moment
Outlook: The Cowboys goal every season is a state title. Easier said than done since they are in, arguably, the toughest region in the state. “Our last four playoff losses are to Jesuit, St. Thomas Aquinas and Lakeland, and there are two state titles and two state runner ups in those four,” said coach Kirk Karsen, now in his 10th season. “The region is brutal, but it is what it is, and you play who is on our schedule and you have to make fewer mistakes to win.” Gaither will be led by junior quarterback Ryan Browning, who passed for 1,883 yards, 21 touchdowns and had just three interceptions in 2025. His top returning receiver is sophomore Eli Evans, who had four touchdowns on just six catches last year. The top six receivers graduated, but Karsen said the team is deep at the position. Browning will be protected by lineman Lawson Warriner. There was also quite a bit of turnover on defense. “The number that graduate and move on is about the same every year,” Karsen said. The Cowboys need newcomers and holdovers to step up. Improvement could come in time with the roster always evolving, Karsen added. Last season, the defense allowed just 114 points and had a combined 41 sacks and 12 interceptions.
Spring Game: Intersquad game on May 15.
Sickles
2025 record: 1-9
Coach: Xavier Bolden
Returning players: DB Rhys Williams, QB Brayden Himelright, WR/DB Omar Nicholson, WR Dreshaun House, WR Joseph Naylor
Outlook: Coach Xavier Bolden called the 2025 season “a domino (that fell) in the progress of change” explaining that installing a new culture meant growing pains for the Gryphons. Sickles has won a combined three games the past two seasons, but is showing signs of improvement, as evidenced by the expanding roster, consistent competitive, hard work, all led by a dedicated coaching staff. That’s crucial for a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2018. “Our culture is shifting in the direction I’d like to see it go,” Bolden said. “This fall, I expect to see the fruits of the labor of the last two years. I compare it to turning a large ship. The change in direction is slow and this fall we’ll start to see that new direction.” The Gryphons return senior quarterback Brayden Himelright, who threw for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for three more, impressive considering Sickles only scored 71 points last season. His top receivers are back in Dreshaun House, Omar Nicholson and Joseph Naylor. On defense, Rhys Williams is a four-year starter who led the Gryphons in tackles (57) and interceptions (3) a year ago. “We’ve gotten major contributors for having an old-school coach,” Bolden said. “There are high expectations of how the players execute what we coach, and I feel good in our ability to compete.”
Spring Game: at Freedom on May 21, 6:30 p.m.