By Kyle LoJacono
The Pasco football team took its first major steps toward the program’s second state championship when the Pirates hit the field for their first spring football practice on May 2.
Pasco went 11-1 last year and won the program’s fourth straight district championship. The squad’s only loss was in the Class 3A regional semifinals 41-14 to eventual state champion Jefferson.
Pirates coach Tom McHugh will need to find replacements for the large number of graduating seniors, including nine scholarship players, if the program is to take that next step.
“We have a lot of things to figure out,” McHugh said. “We had 26 kids graduate, so we have a lot of places we need to fill in. There are big shoes to fill at a lot of positions. Right now we’re just trying to figure out what we have.”
Two big losses for the Pirates are Jamie Byrd and Hakeeme Ishmar, who signed with Texas Christian and Florida Atlantic universities respectively. Byrd had a team-high 73 tackles and added two interceptions playing defensive back in 2010. Ishmar made contributions as a defensive end, running back and receiver.
Junior Trey Dudley-Giles started at defensive back and wide receiver last year and will need to take on an even bigger load in 2011.
“I have to fill Jamie’s shoes,” Dudley-Giles said. “He always sparked our defense by hitting somebody and making a big play. I need to step up and help fill that hole.”
One position that is set is quarterback. Junior Jacob Guy was under center for Pasco last season, where he racked up 2,014 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.
“Coming in last year there was a big jump between varsity and junior varsity,” Guy said. “It was the first time I was a full-time starter at varsity. I was able to find some holes in defenses in the secondary and see what the linebackers do in situations. This year I hope to continue that and find more holes in the secondary to beat the defense.”
Running back is another position with key returners, including sophomores David Emmanuel and Janarion Grant. The duo combined to score 30 total touchdowns and gain 1,480 rushing yards in 2010.
“My goal is to get stronger and faster,” Grant said. “Last year was tough getting used to playing a lot. Now I’m just working to make myself a better athlete, because I know a lot of the plays.”
Grant was as much of a threat as a receiver as he was a runner last year. He caught 29 passes for 523 yards in 2011 and hopes that will only improve in his second full year in the offense.
“It’s easier because Jacob and I have known each other for so long,” Grant said. “He knows the kind of route I’m going to run and I know where the ball is going to be.”
Pasco will play at Zephyrhills on May 26 at 7 p.m. in its spring game. Pasco County schools did not play an actual spring game for 19 years, but the school district brought back the contest last year. McHugh said the game is a carrot to keep the players going during the month of spring practice.
“You teach in the classroom and put these guys through the workouts and practices, but having that event at the end helps keep them going,” McHugh said. “You have 20 days of football practice, you need to have that activity that everyone looks forward to. It’s a test just like in school. We study and get ready to see what we have at the end of the month. We’ll have an intrasquad game on May 20, so we also have that to look forward to.”
If the season does end in a title, it will have started with that first day of sweat on May 2.
“We have players who come out here and want to work hard, and that pushes everyone to get better,” Grant said. “We all want to win a state championship and it starts with practice.”
–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
