Countdown To Kickoff: GHS Hurricanes

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -After winning a district title last fall, there is once again a Hurricane Warning in North Central Florida. GHS is out to prove last year’s 8-3 record is only the start of things to come.

“That team definitely had the buy-in,” said GHS Director of Football Administration Christian Badics. “It was so much easier for everybody to buy-in, because we had lost a lot of players, had three tough seasons, and to compete in the games we did and win district championship, everybody knows hard work and coach Pollard’s philosophy leads to success.”

In season three under Dock Pollard, the Hurricanes will have to demonstrate that youth and weakness are not synonymous. Several FBS-bound college players have departed, but those who inherit the reigns saw what it takes to win, and believe the program will keep on delivering results.

“You have to pick out, it’s not always going to be seniors or juniors,” said GHS sophomore tight end / linebacker Nick Tisher. “It might be a freshman or two, someone who loves football and has the ability to lead people. We’re definitely inexperienced, but we have a lot of skill, a lot of speed, a lot of strength.”

“We’ve really built a bigger bond,” said GHS senior running back / wide receiver John Cooper. “We’re motivating each other, getting each other in the weight room every day, working hard, and coming to practice every day.

One player who’ll be under the microscope is new quarterback Mason Zwilling. The sophomore embodies the attitude of this season’s Hurricanes.

“I’ve never played a varsity snap, so I definitely want to see how I can do on the field,” said Zwilling. “I definitely have something to prove out there, but having fun is the main thing.”

“You have to know who to protect, your main man, the quarterback,” said GHS offensive and defensive lineman Taylor Richardson. “You have to build a good relationship with him, because without the line, there’s no game.”

GHS now plays in Class 3A-Suburban District 4 against Clay, Matanzas, Menendez, and St. Augustine. But the Hurricanes are only looking inward.

“They have been leaders with their peers, we have accountability groups that we’ve built in, and everybody checks on certain players,” said Badics.

Game one for the Hurricanes is home against Vanguard on Aug. 26. And GHS hopes this system of checks and balances can produce a well-oiled machine when it matters.

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