SEBASTIAN — Sebastian Coach Randy Bethel is starting his 13th year as Sharks head coach with a veteran team that is ready to compete for the District 13-4A title.
Despite an injury-riddled 2008, the Sharks squad pulled together and compiled a 6-4 record. This is a hungry football team, and they have senior leadership in all the right places this year.
Leading rusher Fred Macon (822 yards) returns this year, and all eyes are on the senior to lead the offense. “I expect Fred to do more of the same of what he did last year,” said Bethel. “He put in hard work in the off-season and we’ll depend on him.”
Senior Cortez Ash returns as the starting quarterback and safety, but like last year, he’ll see action all over the field.
“We’ll use him the same way we did last year,” said Bethel.
Two other key offensive weapons are both 6-foot-5, but the similarities end there. One is senior offensive tackle John Carter, and the other is junior wide receiver Stephan Davis. Carter is the big man on campus at almost 300 pounds, and Davis has the speed, body control, and build of a college receiver. To be sure, the offense will have some serious weapons in 2009.
The Sharks bring back a hard-tackling linebacker unit, which features seniors Daniel Lee, Jake Smith, and Emmanuel Relford.
They will be backing up a “defensive line by committee,” says Bethel. “We’ll rotate several guys on that defensive line and find a rotation that works.”
The secondary brings back Calvin Christian and his four interceptions from 2008. Ash will give support here as well, as the Sharks look to have another good year on defense.
Bethel has built this team around having many interchangeable parts and there is no one injury, or even two, that could cost the Sharks a chance to have a competitive season and perhaps even compete for a 13-4A District title.
