By Kyle LoJacono
The 2010 Sunlake football team set a program record by winning eight games and the current Seahawks have no interest in taking a step back in 2011.
“We expect to be in the thick of things in the fall,” said Sunlake coach Bill Browning. “The only way we know how to do that is work our tails off. It was a good year in 2010, but we need to only look at 2011.”
The Seahawks will have to work through losing some key players while moving into a new district if they are to make the first playoff appearance in program history.
One of the biggest losses is quarterback Jacob Jackson, who had 1,258 passing yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 1,058 rushing yards and another 12 scores last year. His 2,316 total yards and 30 touchdowns are both season records for the fourth-year program.
Browning said no starting quarterback has been named for 2011, but the likely successor is junior Cameron Stoltz.
“Right now I’m the only unknown quarterback in Pasco,” Stoltz said. “In a way that’s good because no one will know what to expect, but it means I need to work very hard to take us to higher levels. I have big shoes to fill.”
Stoltz completed four of nine passes in 2011 for 86 yards and one touchdown. He hasn’t ever led a varsity offense before, but he has most of his top weapons returning for the fall.
Sophomore Eddie Burgos had 270 passing yards and three scores last year, while junior Jamal Jones had 685 total yards and eight touchdowns.
Also returning is junior Rashaud Daniels, who led the squad with 24 catches for 426 yards and five touchdowns, while adding another 543 rushing yards and 11 scores.
“The main goal is to get this team to our first playoffs in the fall,” Daniels said. “A lot of us older players want to play in college too, but the most important thing is getting us to the playoffs.”
Daniels said hard work, especially in the weight room, is what will help get the team to that goal. The Seahawks know something about hitting the iron in the gym as Sunlake had three lifters place in the top six of their weight division in the Class 1A state weightlifting meet this year.
Dean Bui, who missed last football season with a broken arm, came in second in the 129-pound class, while heavyweight Nate McCoole and 154-pounder Kyle Fraser came in fourth and sixth respectively.
“We know we’re the strongest team in Pasco County,” Stoltz said. “We’re working every single day in the weight room and our linemen; I wouldn’t want to go against them.”
Browning said Fraser will be one of the leaders on the defense at linebacker, but will also see time on offense. He had 41 tackles, five sacks and one interception while playing linebacker in 2010.
“I’m working to improve on all the fundamentals here in the spring,” Fraser said. “That will let me do more complicated things and make me better as a whole.”
Sunlake went 8-2 in 2011, good enough to make the postseason in most districts. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, it put them third in Class 3A-District 7 behind Pasco (11-1) and Land O’ Lakes (9-2).
Sunlake moves into 6A-6 with Land O’ Lakes, Mitchell, River Ridge, Central, Hernando, Nature Coast and Springstead. The Seahawks have yet to play any of those Hernando County schools, but Browning said he is going to focus on his team before looking at those unknowns.
“We just want to find some football players,” Browning said. “Basically the spring is all about finding who the football players are and what works best.”
Sunlake plays its spring game at Mitchell on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m.
–All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
