With Hernando County kicking off football season later tonight with preseason action, it is time we take a look around the county and see what each team has to offer. Joining me again this year is Derek J. LaRiviere, who offers his take on who will be contenders and pretenders.
Power Rankings
LaRiviere - Nature Coast, Central, Springstead, Weeki Wachee, Hernando
Aiello Jr. - Nature Coast, Springstead, Central, Weeki Wachee, Hernando
Unanimous #1 - Nature Coast (12-1): Coming off of one of the best seasons in Hernando County history, the Sharks still have a lot to prove. The program is now without arguably the best high school player to ever come through this area in DeShawn Smith. After winning Mr. Football for the state of Florida and leading the Sharks to the region final, Smith graduated, leaving returning QB Brian Haygood as the most potent offensive talent on the roster. Defensively, Nature Coast should be strong yet again with Matthew Robinson honing in on a school record for career tackles.
LaRiviere #2 - Central (3-7): Overshadowed only by his cousin at Nature Coast, De’Vonta Smith rushed for over 2,000 yards for the Bears last year as a junior. He did so without good quarterback play after Sebastian Rivera passed away in a tragic early season traffic accident. The good news for the Bears and Smith is that Izzy Zena, the former Springstead JV standout, has transferred across the county to start under center.
Aiello #2 Springstead (4-5): Sure two-thirds of the Springstead option offense are gone with Dominique Walker (Central) and T.J. Owens (Nature Coast) transferring, but this is actually a good thing for the Eagles. Senior QB Jordan Wright is among the most talented in the county and an offensive change of style will allow him to show off. Wright’s skill set along with a healthy defense this year will allow Springstead to rise back into the mix for the county’s top spot.
LaRiviere #3 - Springstead (4-5): Even after losing leading rusher Dominique Walker in a transfer to Central, the Eagles look much improved. More freedom has been given to senior QB Jordan Wright, and with his tools and a more diverse offense, Springstead has an opportunity to surprise some people. Mike Garofano continues to head up the team, and with his background as a defensive coach, look for that side of the ball to improve dramatically as well.
Aiello #3 - Central (3-7): With the graduation of Deshawn Smith, his cousin De’Vonta becomes the county’s best back and a legitimate threat to score on every touch. The Bears have a new QB in Izzy Zena that can boost the Central offense, but the question remains will their defense be consistent enough to get stops. The Bears graduated a lot of defensive talent, but the underclassmen seem poised to step in.
Unanimous #4 - Weeki Wachee (4-6):
LaRiviere - Alec Cromie is entering his final season as the starter for the Hornets, and to put it mildly, he’s under the gun. Huge expectations were hoisted onto his shoulders after he showed signs of brilliance as an underclassman, but a lack of consistency has hurt him. Cromie has the perfect system to put up big numbers, and with some help on the defensive side, Weeki Wachee could make some waves.
Aiello - The tale of the Hornets is a tale of a team that could not stop shooting themselves in the foot. Despite a talented QB in Alec Cromie and the now-graduated ATH Shawn O’Gorman, Weeki Wachee had penalty and turnover issues. An inconsistent defense complicated things, but this could be the year the Hornets make some noise. Cromie, now a senior, has the tools to air it out and if the defense can get stops long enough to allow the offense to be on the field, Weeki Wachee can sneak up on a few teams.
Unanimous #5 - Hernando (3-7):
LaRiviere - The biggest bright spot for the Leopards last year was the sudden emergence of senior RB Christian Dowdell, who ran for over 1,000 yards in Bill Vonada’s triple option attack. Without Dowdell, the Leopards will need to find another home run hitter to keep defenses honest. Senior QB Scott Bierwiler returns under center, but unlike most of Vonada’s previous signal callers, he doesn’t own much in the way of running ability, putting even more pressure on his backfield companions.
Aiello - This season might be a long one for the Leopard faithful as Hernando graduated a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Coach Bill Vonada will be searching for a new running back for his option offense with the departure of Christian Dowdell, and the defense loses Bruce Warren who helped lead one of the counties most productive units. Hernando will need to find some diamonds in the rough to match their win total of three last season.
Player of the Year Candidates
De’Vonta Smith, RB, Central:
LaRiviere - The senior tailback rushed for over 2,000 yards last season and could legitimately have been the second-best running back in the state. However, he wasn’t even the best running back in his family with DeShawn Smith rushing for nearly 4,000 yards and winning Mr. Florida Football over at Nature Coast. With a better all-around offensive system around him, we could some amazing feats out of this Smith in 2016.
Aiello - Smith is by far the most explosive player in the county, but the question will be if he gets to carry the ball as often as Chris Sands would like. The defense will have to keep opposing offenses from using the clock and scoring, forcing Central to abandon the run. Make no mistake though, Smith is the early favorite for Player of the Year.
Brian Haygood, QB, Nature Coast:
LaRiviere - With DeShawn Smith gone, Haygood is the most explosive player on the Sharks roster. He broke off numerous long touchdown runs after taking over as the starting QB last year. We could see even more touches in both the pass game and on the ground. Time will only tell if the senior has what it takes to be main man for Nature Coast.
Aiello - While everyone payed attention to the Deshawn Smith show, Haygood was quietly the reason Nature Coast reached their potential last season. With Jamison Carnegie under center to start the year, the Sharks offense was indecisive due to his inability to make decisions. Haygood converted to QB and the offense looked smoother and he burned teams who payed too much attention to Smith with his feet and arm.
Jordan Wright, QB, Springstead:
LaRiviere - We saw glimpses of what Wright could do when given the opportunity to pass last season, but he was harnessed by a very conservative offensive game plan. If what we saw as the season wound down (averaging over 40 points per game) and in the spring game, the Eagles could be a juggernaut, led mostly by their senior field general.
Aiello - If anyone besides Smith wins POY, I think it will be Wright. A true dual-threat QB, Wright can keep a defense honest with his feet and has more than enough talent to air it out on opponents who stack the box. If he has the freedom he had in the spring game, the Eagles offense and Wright could run it up on a lot of opponents.
Alec Cromie, QB, Weeki Wachee:
LaRiviere - If it comes together for the Hornets, it will be because of the veteran quarterback. In his senior campaign, Cromie will need to make better decisions, both in the passing game and with his scrambling. No one has ever accused Cromie of being fleet of foot, but when the protection breaks down, he does have the ability to give himself some time.
Aiello - Cromie will throw the ball 20-30 times a game at bare minimum and with a little help from the wideouts, the Hornets can be a powerful offense. Cromie will need to avoid indecision that has cost him in the past, but has all the talent to be the county’s most productive player.
Montae Bostick, RB, Weeki Wachee:
LaRiviere - Going into last season, the expectation was that the top running back on the Hornets roster would be Shawn O’Gorman. After O’Gorman came into his own as a slot receiver, Bostick burst onto the scene as a game breaker at tailback. Rushing for 125 yards in the spring game, the senior showed exactly what kind of performance we can expect from him weekly.
Aiello - Bostick is an unusual runner in a way that you don’t expect to see that power at the varsity level. A downhill runner who’s legs never stop moving, the senior finds new ways to break through the defense before his speed takes over and allows him to get away.
Players to Watch
LaRiviere - Nathan Sims, WR/RB, Springstead: As the junior varsity QB last season, Sims showed a ton of promise, but with Wright firmly entrenched as the starter under center, Sims had to shift positions to find playing time. In the spring game, the athlete caught six passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns to go with a kickoff return touchdown and three carries for 33 yards. If he can do anywhere near that this season, we could be seeing the emergence of a star.
Aiello - Josh Rivera, LB, Central: Rivera endured a life-changing incident last season that would have understandably sunk most high schoolers. When Josh lost his brother Sebastian, the Central QB, in a motorcycle accident, he dressed for the team’s game days later. Without second guessing, Rivera emerged as the team’s captain and unquestioned leader on and off the field. If anyone can get the most of his teammates on the field, it will be Rivera, who will look to have the Bear’s defense make a statement this year.
Unanimous - Shaun Young, WR, Weeki Wachee: Young could be the top receiver in the county before this season is over. He caught nine passes for 141 yards and a touchdown during the spring game against Wesley Chapel, being targeted 11 times by Cromie. The junior will likely take the place of Shawn O’Gorman as Cromie’s new favorite target.
Unanimous - Izzy Zena, QB, Central: People tend to forget just how good the Bears looked last season prior to the loss of Sebastian Rivera. The young QB was the straw that stirred the drink on offense for Central. With De’Vonta Smith in the mix, the importance of a passing attack to take the pressure off cannot be understated. Zena provides that dimension. The Springstead transfer threw a touchdown for the Eagles last year, and showed off his arm at the Army All-American Combine in Texas last spring.
Unanimous - David Hale Bronson, RB, Hernando: As the fullback during the spring game, Bronson rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Leopards got dominated by Sunlake, 54-13. In only six games as a freshman last season, Bronson was third on the team in rushing with 265 yards and three touchdowns. He served mainly as a change-of-pace to Dowdell, but this year, the sophomore could find himself as the featured back.
Unanimous - T.J. Owens, ATH, Nature Coast: Owens turned in some of the most dominant offensive performances of 2015 when Springstead finally decided to allow the defensive maven to get some playing time on offense. His playmaking ability changed the fortunes of the Eagles, but Owens still decided to transfer to Nature Coast after the season ended. He was not on the roster in the spring, but with a real position battle taking place for the lead running back role for the Sharks, Owens could be the dark horse no one is paying attention to.
For Hernando County Football News, Follow Danny Aiello Jr and Derek J. LaRiviere on Twitter at @DannyAielloJr and @DerekJLaRiviere