This past Monday kicked off the first day of high school football spring practices and every team all across Hernando County joined in on the action back on the gridiron. We went ahead and compiled a notebook of quotes and insight from head coaches all over Hernando County from the Day 1 action. From players’ participation numbers to standouts on the practice field to head coaches’ thoughts, we’ve got you covered here at the Hernando Sun and away we go.
Nature Coast: The Sharks are coming off another solid season and head coach Cory Johns has wasted no time getting right to it. Nature Coast’s player numbers were between 35-40 participants according to Johns and he was happy with the way the players worked in the first practice. “We had a great day of practice,” Johns said. “One of the most-crisp first days I have had here. Good leadership too which is nice. We practiced late because our quarterback (Jackson Hoyt) is a freshmen stud pitcher committed to Florida and we have to wait for him to get out of baseball practice.”
Springstead: It’s all about building off of off-season workouts and into Day 1 of practice. That’s exactly what the Springstead Eagles did. Head coach Mike Garofano touched on the first day, welcoming back signal-caller Ayden Ferguson. “It was a good day,” Garofano said. “Great having rising senior Ayden Ferguson back at Qb after being sidelined 9 games last season due to a broken collar bone. Rising senior RB/DB Luca Garguilo has had a great off-season and will see lots of reps in both sides of the ball. Rising junior running back Derrick Chiarella will make a huge impact offensively. Also rising sophomore Conor McCazzio will share the load of carries after a stellar junior varsity freshmen campaign. Defensively, Madden Buratzcuk is a top returner as well as Roman Strat, Craig Corbett, Tucker Watson, and PJ Class.”
Weeki Wachee: New Weeki Wachee head coach Jon Malandrucco just welcomed a newborn to his family recently combined with becoming the new Hornets’ lead man. The first-year head coach pointed out that he has a very young squad, with 30-31 players being freshmen that will be sophomores this fall. Malandrucco said the numbers on Day 1 were around 45-46 players.
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
