Bulldogs stick with plan
For high school football teams, the rewards of continuing hard work and dedication aren’t always realized in the standings immediately.
The first two years of varsity football at Ida Baker are an example, when they went 0-20. If only there were another column tabulating patience and perseverance.
The Bulldogs have continued to stick with the plan since their early struggles and have seen better results the past two seasons, going 6-4 in 2007 and 5-5 in 2008.
The Bulldogs contended for the district playoffs last season before losing their final district game in double overtime to North Fort Myers in November.
“The way our progression has been going, the playoffs would be next,” Bulldogs coach Brian Conn said. “We definitely want to improve upon what we’ve done the past few years.”
Spring practice mainly has been status quo. The Bulldogs have a good number of players participating and are trying to bring along new players to provide depth and versatility.
They’ll get a chance to evaluate their progress when they host Riverdale in a spring scrimmage on May 29.
The Bulldogs had their best season in terms of the district race last season, going 2-2 and defeating the eventual champion Fort Myers for the first time.
They will share the new District 4A-12 with Cape Coral, Palmetto Ridge and Gulf Coast.
The Bulldogs open the regular season Sept. 4 at Lehigh, then host North Fort Myers (Sept. 11) in what figures to be a dandy given last year’s late-season battle.
The Bulldogs host Island Coast on Sept. 17 and play their other Cape rivals at the end of the season – visiting Cape Coral Nov. 6 and Mariner Nov. 13.
In their short history, the Bulldogs are 0-4 against Cape, which becomes obvious motivation since they also are district rivals.
“With the new district I believe all four teams have to believe they can be champions,” Conn said.
The Bulldogs had a quarterback competition heading into last year’s spring game against Evangelical Christian. Junior-to-be Sean Francis flashed his potential in that game and ultimately became the team’s starting signal-caller. He suffered a broken collarbone prior to the seventh game of the season, but is healed up now.
After Francis’ injury, the Bulldogs had a variety of players take snaps. Senior Jake York still brings that potential and his versatility should be key on both sides of the ball.
The Bulldogs welcome the return of running back Joseph Byrd after an injury-plagued junior season. He led the team with 762 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore and showed his speed in track this spring, finishing second in the state in the 100 and 200 meters.
“We know what he can do,” Conn said, “and we’re looking forward to having him healthy.”
Two of the Bulldogs’ top returning players are senior safety/running back Andrew Haynes and senior defensive end/tight end Jonathan Garcia.
Haynes is an active player in the secondary, tallying 81 tackles and three interceptions last year. The 6-foot-4 Garcia is expected to lead the defensive front and provide a big target for Francis on the offensive side.