BROOKSVILLE- In what could be dubbed as a stunner or obvious pick, Nature Coast nonetheless didn’t have to look too far for its next head football coach.
The Sharks have tabbed former Hernando High School head football coach Rob Kazmier as the seventh lead man in program history. Kazmier, a Nature Coast alum, coached the Leopards from 2018-2019, and he compiled a record of 12-9, with one playoff appearance.
When Nature Coast received the news that Cory Johns was leaving and heading to the East Coast of Florida to take the Bartram Trail job, the school immediately started the process of searching for its next lead man. Kazmier was a part of the search committee initially, but it became obvious he was a candidate himself.
Kazmier is no stranger at all to coaching within Hernando County, as he’s coached at Nature Coast before as an assistant, head coach at Hernando, and also for a short time at Weeki Wachee. Already at the school, it became a natural fit for Kazmier to take on the role.
He takes on a football program that’s coming off a 7-4 season in which they won the Class 2-Suburban, District 11 championship and reached the playoffs before falling to district rival Hudson 34-21 in the region quarterfinal round. The Sharks should be a contender once again in the district, and they have the pieces to repeat as district champions.
One of the biggest key pieces to the puzzle is running back/defensive end, Christian Cromer. Cromer, over the last two seasons, has rushed for nearly 3,000 yards, and though his yardage went down last season, his touchdown total went up. In the 2022 season, Cromer found paydirt 23 times and rushed for 1,147 yards.
Left-handed quarterback Jackson Hoyt, a Florida commit for baseball, had himself a solid first season starting under center. Hoyt last season completed 74-of-127 passes for 1,018 yards and eight touchdowns and also rushed for 638 and four scores.
The graduation of linebacker/tight end Brady Nowlan, defensive back/wide receiver Allan Ho, defensive lineman Gabriel Rios, and transferring of lineman Trenton Hayes to Springstead hurts, but early indications are that Nature Coast will be right back at the front of the pack come spring and fall. Nature Coast will face Lecanto in the spring. No date or time has been finalized as of yet.
