By FRANCIS FEDOR
The calendar has turned the page to August, and high school football is upon us again. Friday night lights went on in stadiums all across Florida, and right here in the South Shore last Friday night. The Stingrays played in a Kickoff Classic game vs. Jesuit on Friday, Aug. 16, at Jesuit, losing 36-14. The game was a good chance for the teams to see live action before jumping into the regular season. Both teams projected starters played sparingly as the teams got to see their depth get some snaps in game situations, more on this game later in this write-up.
The Sumner Stingrays are looking to build upon the success of last season where they lost a tough game to Durant, which was suspended because of weather and played the next morning at the home of the Cougars. The ’Rays held the lead before the rains and lightning entered the area and lost the next morning on a late Durant score to keep alive the Cougars hold over the Stingrays in a resumption that didn’t have the full complement of officials. The Stingrays avenged their only loss of the season, and, finally, defeated Durant for the first time in program history in the playoffs.
Sumner had a strong playoff run that saw them defeat the Riverview Sharks 33-28, the Durant Cougars 40-25 and come up just short vs. Plant, losing 24-20. Sumner ended a very successful season that closed with an 11-2 record.
The Stingrays will see some changes coming into this season. The biggest change is former defensive coordinator and USF All-American George Selvie taking over the head coaching reins. Coach Selvie becomes only the second head coach in Sumner history, succeeding Alonzo Ashwood who put the ’Rays on a path to success. Coach Ashwood leaves the program compiling a 31-13 record and is now on the coaching staff of Tampa Catholic. The Stingrays will also lose the dynamic combo of QB Greg Smith III and WR Tyler Williams. Tyler ended his season in the playoff win against Durant, going down with an injury. The ’Rays also lose WR Malik Brown who complimented Tyler Willams on the other side of the field, creating match-up problems for opposing defensive coordinators.
The Stingrays will turn to Senior Layton Kennison to take the snaps at QB. Layton filled in admirably during a middle of the season stint where Greg Smith was out with an injury. The running game will look to Ronald Wilson Jr., who came on towards the end of the season to add another dimension to the Sumner offense. Wilson impressed in an inter-squad scrimmage on August 10th with nine carries for 60 yards and a rushing average of about 6 yards a carry.
The Stingray starters saw limited action in the 36-14 loss to Jesuit. Ronald Wilson rushed for 36 yards on eight carries in the Kickoff Classic against Jesuit. Kennison also saw limited action at QB, going 4 for 5 with 32 yards passing. Sumner sophomore QB Antonio Balaguer hooked up with junior wide receiver Taesean Robinson for two touchdowns, creating all the excitement for the Stingrays. Balaguer finished with 161 yards passing and Robinson hauled in 109 yards receiving.
On defense, the Stingrays look to continue their domination, returning seven starters and fielding nine seniors in the starting defense. The defense is expected to be led by Senior Jaheim Hudson, who converted from RB to LB last year and finished with 63 tackles in only six games. Hudson will be joined by Makhi Foster to create havoc for opponent offenses.
Jaidon Walker and Isaiah Shuler will man the secondary.
Sumner opens its regular season schedule on Friday, Aug. 23, traveling to Bartram Trail. For the first time since the inception of the program, the Stingrays will not play Durant in the regular season. They play their home opener on Aug. 30 vs. Armwood. Sumner will travel to Plant to face the Panthers on the 20th of September for a rematch with the team that ended its playoff run. The team will not play any South Shore rivals during the regular season. And many of the South Shore teams have an in-season bye week, but Sumner will take its bye week in the final week of the season, which could be helpful in giving the team an extra week to prepare for any potential playoff game.
The George Selvie head-coaching era is about to enter prime time, and he takes over a team with a proud history. Coach Selvie has led passionate and productive defenses since the program’s inception, which has been a big part of the success of the program. Starting August 23, the slate is blank and ready for the new head coach to make his mark on the program from the head-coaching position.