Freedom
What happened
Freedom finished 0-10 in Chadd Wood’s first season. Considering Wood was the team’s third coach in six months, arrived too late to implement an offseason program, and inherited a program that had been completely abandoned by its former players, 0-10 is not a surprise. However, Wood turned around Chamberlain in one year, and the Patriots opened their season putting up 33 points in a 39-33 loss. So for a moment, there was a spark of hope. Week 2, it was quickly extinguished.
What went wrong
The Patriot quarterback and a top receiver left for Wesley Chapel and had good years, the team’s leading rusher, two of its top receivers and one of its best defenders transferred to Hillsborough and all played well, and others moved on as well. Wood tried to pick up the pieces. He said the average age of his players was 15 ½, and the program “was in shambles.” With no middle school tackle football feeder, Wood was forced to play several kids putting on pads for the first time.
After losing to Sickles in the opener, Freedom was outscored 471-14 the rest of the way.
What went right
Wood said what went right was a much shorter list, but the experience gained by his younger players may have a payoff. Freshman middle linebacker Gavin Jordan started most of the season and led the team in tackles, sophomore receiver Deriel Mitchell caught 10 passes, and 14-year-old freshman wideout Davion Boide caught a 38-yard touchdown pass and started at quarterback in the season finale. Regular starting quarterback Taj Leathers, only a sophomore, took his lumps but will get better, and left tackle Dynym Allison gives Wood hope for the future.
Looking ahead
Wood said he plans to return for a second season. He says his staff is top notch now that he has it in place, and players will be back in the weightroom on Jan. 5. He thinks he’ll have 30-35 kids mostly freshmen and sophomores who he says have been “incubated” from the bad “juju” of the past. With a whole year to work with his team, Wood may be in a better position to build on his reputation as a program saver.
“I start salivating when I get to January because I’ll put my off-season program up against anybody in the country, and I will get these kids a lot better,” Wood said. “They’re going to learn some football. They’re going to learn how to how to move around in this world, and you know, we’ll make it happen as it goes.”
Wharton
What happened
Wharton won its first three games, were putting up big numbers, and life was good. The rest of the season? Not so much, as the team stumbled to a 4-6 finish.
Coach Abner Smith III, asked to grade his team’s season, settled on a C. After the hot start, Sunlake pulled off a close 27-20 win over the Wildcats on a rainy night in the district opener, and the New Tampa squad never recovered.
What went wrong
The schedule got harder, and while the Wildcats beat the teams it was expected to, it never stepped up to the better competition. Three of the four wins were against teams that finished 1-9, 1-9 and 0-10. And they had trouble finishing this year. Smith III says the Wildcats left some winnable games on the table this season. “You’re not going to be able to turn the corner as a program if you’re not able to take advantage of those situations,” he said.
Smith III said failed redzone trips in a narrow 35-24 loss to Wiregrass Ranch, a squandered halftime lead at Steinbrenner in a 36-20 loss, and the nailbiter against Sunlake where it allowed only two yards passing but 300 yards on the ground, did not go the Wildcats’ way.
What went right
Smith III was really happy with the offense at the beginning of the year — “we made some cool things happen,” he said — and while it fizzled somewhat, the team did outscore the opposition for the first time since he was hired three years ago. Junior quarterback Ty Nesmith emerged as one of the area’s best, throwing for 1,481 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 845 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The defense was inexperienced and had some bright moments before petering out down the stretch. Smith III said he is really pleased with the coaching staff he has assembled and is confident the pieces are in place.
Looking ahead
If all the underclassmen return, including the top two passers, top four rushers, three of the top receivers and most of the defensive backfield, and some of the players in the freshman and sophomore class that Smith III is high on make the jump, Wharton has potential.
But when the team hits the weight room in January, the theme will be finishing. “That’s literally what we have to do,” Smith III said. After back-to-back 4-6 seasons, the coach is hungry for more. He compared the rebuild at Wharton to cooking in a crock pot: “The best meals take a while.”