FRIDAY NIGHT MEMORIES
1991
MARTIN COUNTY TIGERS 9-3
Why it was special: Martin County won the District 12-4A championship and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. By the numbers: The Tigers won eight consecutive games after a 1-2 start.
Playmakers: Running back Genaris Haston rushed for 1,148 yards and 19 touchdowns. Mark Spears added 606 yards and four touchdowns, while Robert Dillard had 489 and two scores. Quarterback Terry Cook passed for 854 yards and seven TDs. Haston had a team-high 16 catches for 285 yards and three TDs. The
defense was led by Brian Connelly (140 tackles) and Ryan Padgett (109 tackles, five takeaways). Etc.: Martin County had a flair for the dramatic in district play. The Tigers outlasted Boca Raton 14-7, scored with five seconds left to beat Atlantic and blocked an extra point with 30 seconds to go to beat Port St. Lucie 7-6.
SCHEDULE
August 31 South Fork September 7 Vero Beach 14 at Eau Gallie 21 Clewiston 28 at Okeechobee October 5 at Port St. Lucie 12 Fort Pierce Westwood 19 at Fort Pierce Central* November 2 Viera 9 at Jensen Beach
STRENGTHS EXPERIENCE
7
Despite losing an outstanding senior class led by Justin Simmons and Treyvon Johnson, coach Chuck Kenyon said experience, plus the number of returning starters and players, will carry the Tigers this year. Some, such as linebacker Sam Backer, were in the lineup by the end of 2011. Many of the younger players that emerged as starters got valuable game time in the playoff game last year at Charlotte.
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
*Played at Lawnwood Stadium
DEPTH CHART
WEAKNESSES
OFFENSE Pos Name TE Nolan Shepherd LT Matt Kenney LG Scott Husnander C Austin Mulvanerton RG Brandon Simpson RT Jac-Quan Davis WR Fito Andre FB Herschel Hester WB Nate Simmons WB Mitchell Patterson QB Nolan Mullen
No 11 74 52 72 73 75 17 4 14 9 6
Cl Ht Wt Sr. 6-2 190 Sr. 6-0 230 Jr. 5-10 245 Sr. 6-2 225 Sr. 6-3 266 Sr. 6-4 305 Sr. 6-3 185 Sr. 5-8 170 Jr. 5-9 155 Sr. 5-11 145 Sr. 6-1 165
PASSING GAME
DEFENSE Pos Name NT Brian Spute DT Clifton Holden DT Chris Taylor LB Sam Backer LB Nolan Shepherd LB Paul Jones LB Chris Carvelli CB Nick Borowick CB Joel Tomei FS Fito Fito SS Nate Simmons
No 66 54 57 30 11 55 25 2 13 17 14
Cl Ht Wt Sr. 5-8 215 Sr. 6-3 230 Jr. 5-10 185 Jr. 6-0 197 Sr. 6-2 190 Jr. 6-0 190 Jr. 5-11 185 Jr. 5-9 155 So. 5-10 170 Sr. 6-3 185 Jr. 5-9 155
SPECIAL TEAMS Pos Name No Cl Ht Wt K Connor Gropp 23 Jr. 5-8 140 P Mitchell Patterson 9 Sr. 5-11 145
RESERVES Dan Fillhaber (3, So., RB), Colton Haggerty (7, Jr., QB), Bryan McGlynn (12, So. QB), Clayton Kidwell (16, So., WR), Jake Bakkedahl (18, So., WR/DB), Trenton Von Seelen (Jr., WR/DB), Oshane Bromfield (21, Sr. RB) Tanner Lee (24, WR/ DB), Janarie Jones (33, So., DB), Alex Zaroski (35, Jr., LB), Kareem Davis (40, So., LB), Andrew Bartuska (44, Sr., LB), Nate White (46, Sr., TE/ DE); Anthony Goldburg (53, So., LB), Bryce Miranda (56, Jr., DL), Daniel Cox (58, Sr., OL/DL); Christian McCarthy (61, Jr., DL), Brad Luettchau (62, Jr., OL), Calen Allgood (64, Jr., OL), James McIntyre (65, So., DL), Matt Peterson (76, Jr., OL), Jay Hoover (88, Sr., WR).
COACHING STAFF
Coach: Chuck Kenyon (seventh year) Record: 35-29 with Martin County; 35-29 overall 2011: 8-4, 2-1 District 12-7A Assistant coaches: Tom Overton (offensive line/ offensive coordinator), Juan Kalb (receivers/quarterebacks), Chris Gracia (running backs/head JV), Matt Desiderio (special teams/ assistant offensive line), Butch Dusharm (assistant), Antwan Blatch (defensive coordinator), Melvin Phillips (defensive line), Joe Simpson (JV defensive coordinator), Zach Grant (JV offensive line), Colin Grover (strength/conditioning).
STADIUM BOB COLLINS STADIUM (3,500)
Playing surface: Grass Address: 2801 S. Kanner Highway, Stuart Directions: From U.S. 1, go west at State Road 76 (Kanner Highway). The school is on the left, one block past the Monterey Road intersection Main office: 772-219-1800 On the Web: mchs.martinschool. org/
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
ALEX BOERNER/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Receiver Mitchell Patterson is one of a few returning starters for the Tigers on offense. “I see it as a challenge,” Patterson said of jump-starting the offense with new players.
It is kind of a rebuilding year but, in the same sense, it’s not. We don’t hurt as much as you might think. It’s not brand-new kids going into the spots.”
KEY GAME
Chuck Kenyon, Martin County coach
Not dwelling on past Tigers focus on players they have, not the ones they lost
Aimee Ford Foster Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
STUART — Just about anywhere you look on the field, the Martin County High School football team is missing a proven player, a team leader and a statistical monster who helped power the team into the second round of the state playoffs last season. But coach Chuck Kenyon is tired of talking about what his Tigers have lost. “It is kind of a rebuilding year but, in the same sense, it’s not,” he said. “We don’t hurt as much as you might think. It’s not brandnew kids going into the spots.” So even though it might be nice to have players like Reshawd Fyne, Treyvon Johnson, Austin Mobley, Joey Pessolano and Justin Simmons back for another year, Kenyon and his team are not dwelling on the past. “I like it when I hear their names,” senior wingback/punter Mitchell Patterson said. “I see it as a challenge. “It’s kind of like my sophomore year, when we had younger guys stepping in. The young guys we have now are really taking on their roles well. They step up and do what they’re told.” There are six starters back on
NOLAN SHEPHERD
offense, led by quarterback Nolan Mullen and offensive linemen JacQuan Davis, Scott Husnander and Brandon Simpson. Patterson got plenty of playing time last year and Nate Simmons, who started at cornerback in 2011 and will be one of the safeties, is stepping in at wingback. He is a junior, like Nick Borowick, another DB/WB who will go both ways at least part time. Borowick played last year, too. Kenyon said he also expects experience to pay off for tailback Herschel Hester, who is back as a starter. Hester gained 268 yards on 51 carries last year, which makes him Martin County’s top returning rusher. “In the weight room, no one outworks (Hester),” Kenyon said. “He runs hard. He’s there every day to work. If he can have a breakout year, then defenses won’t be able to focus on the quarterback or commit totally to the sweep.” The one true newcomer on offense is senior tight end Nolan Shepherd. He relocated from the Charlotte, N.C., area during spring break and will start at linebacker. “In some ways, coming in for your senior season is hard,” Shepherd said. “But the team is kind
Senior linebacker/tight end 2011 stats: 38 tackles at Clover, S.C. Coach Kenyon: “He can play both sides of the ball. He reminds me a lot of a bigger version of Joey (Pessolano, who led team in tackles last year).”
of young. There aren’t a lot of seniors at linebacker, and I already have a lot of experience. So it’s been a good transition.” There are six starters back on defense. Clifton Holden is the lone starter back on the defensive line, but Paul Jones is a returning starter at linebacker, Chris Carvelli played extensively and Sam Backer played varsity at the end of the season. Shepherd started for his old team. Simmons and Fito Andre, both returning starters, anchor the middle at the safety spots. “We’ve improved a lot since spring,” Kenyon said. “It’s just kids making plays … This isn’t their first rodeo. That’s how it was Justin and Treyvon’s junior year. “That class got some time as sophomores and then stepped in as juniors.” Youth got the Tigers to the playoffs that season. Last year, an experienced squad landed its second consecutive playoff appearance. Getting back for a third is all the motivation the Tigers need to grow up fast. “The playoffs are the standard,” Patterson said. “We definitely want to live up to that.”
NATE SIMMONS
Junior safety/slot 2011 stats: 60 tackles Coach Kenyon: “He just makes plays on both sides of the ball. And he’s a very astute football player.”
The Tigers had 68 pass receptions in 2011 — but most of the players who caught those passes have graduated. Only Mitchell Patterson, with six catches for 56 yards, and Fito Andre, three for 32, have caught a pass in a varsity game. That makes the passing game questionable in Martin County’s jet sweep offense which features misdirection and a mix of the pass and run. The defensive front also is inexperienced. Senior defensive tackle Clifton Holden is the only returning starter on the line.
OCT. 5: AT PORT ST. LUCIE
The Tigers likely will be 3-2 heading into their first District 12-7A game at Port St. Lucie. Martin County ran away with a win in last year’s meeting, but PSL had its first winning season in 18 years and returns one of the best players in the area in quarterback D.J. Juste. With defending district champ Fort Pierce Central on the schedule two weeks later, this is a must win for Martin County.
PREDICTION 7-3, 2-1 DISTRICT 12-7A
Until someone in this district beats Fort Pierce Central, it is the odds-on favorite to keep winning. Martin County, despite some new faces, returns talent on both sides of the ball and has a big offensive line anchored by three returning starters. And, keep in mind, one of the new faces is a senior named Nolan Shepherd, who moved from North Carolina. He will start both ways. The Tigers lost some great players, but should have a solid, if not spectacular, season.
RIVALS
■■ South Fork ■■ Jensen Beach ■■ Fort Pierce Central
MITCHELL PATTERSON
Senior wingback/punter 2011 stats: 12 rushes, 47 yards; 43.1 yards per punt, with a long of 60 yards Coach Kenyon: “He was the allarea punter. He can play defensive back if we need him to.”