New coach, new mentality, new outlook
By Kyle LoJacono
Freedom football has known nothing but change in its nine-year history.
The Patriots have had five coaches since 2006 and have made the playoffs only once in that stretch, a first-round exit in 2009. The program has a 17-32 record in that time, 6-13 in district.
Consistency has been lacking at all levels of the program, but changes by new coach Todd Donohoe have brought fresh confidence this spring.
“Our goal is to make states this fall,” Donohoe said. “I think we have the players and coaches to get there. We’re not just going to accept average or OK or even good. We’re striving to be great.”
Donohoe, who played inside linebacker at Dunedin, spent four years as an assistant at perennial powerhouse and defending Class 6A state champion Armwood before starting Strawberry Crest’s program.
“We’ve had some good coaches, but coach Donohoe has changed this into a legit program,” said junior running back/cornerback Nate Godwin. “Everything we do is building the program, and we’re doing more fundraising too. He’s kind of bringing that Armwood swagger to Freedom.”
Donohoe said that building starts before kids see a high school field.
“It’s about developing the varsity, the junior varsity and working with the youth football programs,” Donohoe said. “That’s how you make a program.”
Along with a new attitude, the players have seen major changes in the structure.
“Everything is a lot more together,” said junior outside linebacker/tight end Isaac Tanner. “Practices are a lot more efficient. I won’t say they’re better, but we get a lot more done. Last year we basically had one coach, so it was harder to get all the reps in and correct.”
Sophomore offensive tackle/inside linebacker Dillon Browne added, “I see us coming together a lot more as a family. We’re more as a brotherhood, and I’m seeing a lot more competition, which is fun. … We’ll be talking to each other on Facebook and Twitter about who’s going to dominate in practice. We hit each other and see who the best of the best is, but after practice we all come together again.”
That togetherness and organization is evident before the Patriots hit the field. Prepractice workouts, which were unheard of last season, are done in unison.
“We work out as a team and we practice as a team,” Godwin said.
The defense was Freedom’s strength last season, and that side of the ball has the potential to be stronger with several big additions to the line.
“Defense wins championships, and our defense is looking great,” said Tanner, who had 75 tackles and a team-high seven sacks last season. “We got some guys who just grew and we got some new kids transferring in. We’ve got some giants out there. Both of our ends are 6-foot-4 or taller; one’s a freshman (Scott Patchan) and one’s a sophomore (Malik Robinson). It makes my job easier.”
Donohoe has changed the base defense to get more linebackers on the field and is happy with how fast the players have picked up the system.
“I’m really excited about all three levels of our defense,” Donohoe said. “We’re going to let our big and fast defensive ends work around the edge and let the linebackers come from different places to confuse the offense.”
Donohoe said he believes in keeping players on one side of the ball to let them fully understand the position and plays. The exception is with Browne, Godwin and Tanner.
“Thank goodness they’re smart kids and have been around for a while,” Donohoe said. “We can count on them to do both and they make everyone better.”
The offense lost its leading rusher and top-two receivers, but has continuity at quarterback with 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore Taylor King. He has gotten playing time since his freshman year and became the starter in Week 5 last season. He completed 46-of-98 passes for 526 yards and one score in 2011.
“The whole offense has been working hard to learn the new playbook,” King said. “Everything has been coming together fast because we’re much more organized. … If our offense keeps learning the plays like we are now I think we’ll be good. We’re ahead of where we were at last year. We’re good on the physical side, but we need to get a little better with the mental side.”
Donohoe has seen changes in King in just the last few weeks.
“He’s showing more poise, leadership and attitude,” Donohoe said. “That’s one thing we preach in everything we do is we’re developing leaders.”
The Patriots play at King High for their spring jamboree May 24 starting at 6:30 p.m.
–Stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches
