Bay County high school football coaches share insights on upcoming season
Rutherford, Bay, Mosley, North Bay Haven, Bozeman and Arnold football coaches enthusiastic about the upcoming gridiron season.
If you know football, you know that football games are decided in the trenches. When you have the hogs up front driving their legs an offense is capable of a multitude of schemes and play types.
Each team takes pride in its offensive line and we now put it to the public to decide which of Bay County’s teams have the best offensive line unit.
Local Football Schedule 2024 Bay County high school football schedules: Team by team
Top Football Transfers The 7 most impactful transfers for Bay County high school football in 2024
Top Hogs: Tommy Robideaux, T.J. Crow, Elijah Horton.
Thomas Elliott was announced as the head coach of North Bay Haven just a few weeks ago and is gathering players and forming an identity quickly. The Buccaneers are traditionally a run-first program and Elliott said he aims to put out an offensive unit that can open holes and finish off drives in a physical manner.
“If you watch any state championship game, the most physical team wins 100-percent of the time,” Elliott said. “I am a physical football coach and I believe in it, we are going to run the football and play defense.”
Top Hogs: Cameron Colvin, Quinton Baker, Dylan Swearington, Logan McAlister.
Last season the Dolphins had nine rushing touchdowns on the backs of an offensive line which returns with another year of varsity experience.
Mosley has undeniable size upfront with McAlister measuring at 6-foot-3, Baker at 6-foot-2, Colvin at 6-foot-1 and Swearington at 6-foot.
“We have four starters returning on the offensive line and I have confidence in our running backs to find holes leading to a successful running game this year,” head coach Tommy Whiddon said.
Top Hogs: Asher Burris, Jacob Covey, Landon Holland.
The Bucks had a storied season a season ago totaling 2,108 rushing yards along with 19 rushing touchdowns. The new philosophy of ground-and-pound offense is something that offensive coordinator Derek Allen said only works if the guys up front are playing at their best.
“We have one of the best offensive line coaches in coach Sweatt and we are going to be pretty good up front on both sides of the ball,” Allen said. “He is a bit of a guru when it comes to the trenches and everything that goes on inside of there.”
Top Hogs: Elijah Peace, Christian Beard, Eric Jones.
Last season the Rams boasted an 800-yard, nine-touchdown rusher as the running game played an integral part in the team’s victories. Coach Albert Floyd has a background in strength and conditioning and he said he has seen the team improve leaps and bounds compared to seasons prior.
“We are big up front but were more explosive and quick compared to last year,” Floyd said. “It will be the strength of our program, our season and something we hang our hat on for some of the successes we will have this season.”
Top Hogs: Yazeed Abdelkader, Xion Miller, Rock Foreman, JJ Brown, Charles Grubbs, Ryan Bailey, Ken Pate.
Similar to the other offensive line units the Tornadoes have size up front led by 6-foot-5 senior Abdelkader and 6-foot-3 guard Miller. Bay is a team that thrives off a balanced offensive attack, but when push comes to shove will push the tempo with chopped feet and back-breaking blocks.
“One position we feel like we will be a lot better at is upfront just off sheer experience,” head coach Jeremy Brown said. “They all started games as 10th graders and come back this year with that experience and they will be special.”
Top Hogs: Malcolm Williams, Kameron Dniroux, Will Neely, Rocco Martucci, Forrest Allen.
The Marlins will look to score and score often as head coach Jason Griffin said he will run a spread offense with plenty of passing but will feature a good bit of zone schemes requiring guards and tackles to get out into open space and make key blocks.
“Our offensive line coach Trey Pettis is coaching our guys hard because we want them to be fast and physical,” Griffin said. “These guys are really coming on strong, playing well and will be a bright spot for us heading into the season.”
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
