This is our fifth installment of the FHSAA season preview.  We kept track of teams and players around the state, spoke to coaches, and watched some fall ball and think we have a pretty good handle on who is who in each district.  So here we go! See Districts 3 & 4 See Districts 5 & 6 See Districts 7 & 8 See Districts 9 & 10 See Districts 11 & 12 District 1 This is a growing district which is now up to six teams with Pensacola Catholic joining.

Maclay won this district in 2014 and made it to the third round where they lost to eventual final four Ponte Vedra.  The have had a coaching change with new head coach, Tyler Hardy replacing Mike Jones.   We expect the mature and talented Marauders to adapt to the change and win this district again this season. They return a ton of talent;  Stephen Chase (Notre Dame) returns to headline the attack unit along with Luke Langford (W&L.) Chad Minter (JU,)  Garritt Schwarz,and Lewis Langford bring a ton of experience a talent to the midfield.  Teddy Transou (Duke) and Jimmy Wheeler make an imposing defense in front of goalie Austin Cook. A key roster loss for Maclay is Andrew Killinger (Vasser.)

Maclay is a talented team that deserves more statewide recognition.  However, due to the fact that District 1 teams play each other twice, ten regular season games are played against other teams in a growing Panhandle district.  A necessity due to travel for most teams in District 1. Going 19-4 in 2014 their only losses were certainly against quality opponents, Ponte Vedra (2,) Vero Beach, and LHP. Ponte Vedra again highlights the Marauders out of district schedule along with games against IMG Academy, Vero Beach, and Oak Hall.  The team will also be working hard, once again this season, to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Chiles had a solid outing in 2014 with a 10-4 overall record.  Three of those four losses came at the hands of Maclay.  There was a good sized gap between Maclay and Chiles last year as the spread in those loses was 8, 14, and 5 goals.  That’s a lot of ground to make up on a Maclay team that returns a ton of scoring.  Look for Chiles to be lead by a pari of seniors, Chris Shipe on defense and Michael Clifford running the midfield.  Junior Middie Ray Spaulding will have a break out year and freshman attackman Logan Short should is a newcomer that will have people talking. Chris Anders has taken over the reigns as head coach replacing Jim Sparazza who has been at the helm for the last seven years.  The Timberwolves will need to overcome the loss of Big Bend Player of the Year goalie Ryan Kearney to graduation. Lincoln returns some solid senior talent in Middie Zach Sespico, Defenseman Tyler Palmer, and Goalie Ryan Thomas. Head Coach Mark Williams said of his team, “I believe that we should be competitive and hopefully be someone to watch in the district.” He will have to replace a defensive group that played together for two straight years but we think this team may surprise a few people and improve on their 6-11 2014 record.

Gulf Breeze should continue to improve overall but will struggle to overcome the graduation of Jon Dorf and Chris Beck. Dorf was a very talented defender and “do it all” athlete for this squad while Beck was the leading scorer and they shared the face off duties.  This is a well coached team that performs well at all facets of the game but is still on the rise.   This year’s team is lead by Senior Goalie Zachary Mathews, and Senior Defenseman Blake Callahan.  Both have committed to play Lacrosse for Birmingham Southern for their 2016 season. The Offensively, this young team will be   lead by Clark Couget, Harold Hill and TJ Durst.  The Dolphins are committed this year and have a very obtainable goal of making it to the district playoffs.  With only four of the six teams making the playoffs it is going to be pretty competitive. Leon begins this year with a new coach for the second time in two years.  Marko White takes over a team that graduated a large senior group  last year and will be looking for players from the JV Roster last year to step up. Pensacola Catholic is new to district play this year.  They are a program on the rise and will bring a new dynamic to the district as they leave the independent league.

Additional Note – Escambia County (Pensacola) is getting busy! In addition to Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Catholic, Pensacola High School is a third year program while West Florida High School and and Booker T. Washington are also slated to have programs this season. District 2 Oak Hall ran through this district last year winning the championship game by a score of 15-5 over Buchholz.  But things could be very different this season.  New Head Coach, Jonathan Montes returns only one senior from last year’s team.   Senior night should be a fairly short ceremony this year as defensman Logan Wright is the lone 2015 on the team.  Coach Montes is going to have to look hard to replace the scoring of Tyler Baggett (NJIT) and Jake Kirschner (BYU.) Oak Hall will get solid face off work out of junior Evan Moorehouse and Alek Kirshner should have a break out junior season.  Look for sophomore Kelly Thigpen and junior Justis Ebling to anchor the defense with Wright.  Junior Matt Davis will be between the pipes this season. Oak Hall has a good early season test at the Moe’s Southwest Grill Classic against Martin County on Feb 16th and will have a big district game against Buchholz on March 19th. Buchholz graduated a large senior class last year (16 seniors) but will return more seniors than Oak Hall.  Kyle Hunziker (Brevard) and  Jackson McKaig (Brevard) are a pair of senior attackmen who have been working hard over the summer and are leading a team that is looking to finally get over the hump and into the state tournament.  Senior Austin Kirby is another returner with great field vision and a solid shot and senior Zachary Jones (Captain) is a team leader for Buchholz. Look for junior Chandler Coons (LSM) to anchor the defense with Kyle Horner running a tough midfield with guys that can play solid at both ends of the field.  On the midfield Finn Swanson had 91 points in 2014 and is not the career point record holder for Buchholz and is still only in his junior year. Some key losses for Buchholz include Max Troha (Lindenwold,) Adam Millinoff, and goalie Ilie Tomlin. Eastside was a very respectable 10-4 last season and only lost to Oak Hall and Buchholz in district play.  That’s a big turn around from a 6-11 outing in 2013.  Defense should be strong, lead by returning senior starters; Akis Pardalos, Ed Deumens, and Will Robinson along with Sophomore Elijah Williamson on midfield/defense.  The Attack returns starters,  Jonathan Jacobs (Senior Captain) along with junior Het Patel and senior, Jordi Vasquez.  The Midfield will be led by Landon Rogers (Senior Captain,) and a pair of juniors Jose Cuevas and Hunter Hintenlang. Gainesville has been steadily improving the last several years and has a very good senior class this year.  Attackmen Jonah Whitford and Evan Milch, Middie Ken Donskey, and Defenseman Ethan Williamson should provide needed leadership.  Overall the team is returning a core of kids that have played together for several years. P. K. Yonge and Trinity Catholic round out this district and are likely to be the two teams missing the district playoffs in this six team district. Sign up to get our nightly email updates! Don’t miss a thing this season.  Click here!