Nease may have lost to rival Ponte Vedra on Friday night in the season opener for both teams, but the Panthers still have plenty of reason for optimism for the 2018 season.
Nease has returned nearly all of its starting offensive line and senior quarterback Preston Staples is returning as starter with a strong work ethic and dedication that impressed his coaches in the offseason.
“He played really well in the spring and played a solid game (against Yulee),” Nease coach Tim Krause said of Staples. “He’s done a really good job this year and through the offseason and worked really hard, and did all the things we expected of him, so we’re really excited for his senior year.”
The Panthers still have some big shoes to fill in their run game. Standout running back Jareem Westcott, who rushed for 1,519 last season, is now at Stetson University.
“Jareem obviously did a great job for us last year,” Krause said. “This year is a little bit more ‘running back by committee,’ but we have a couple guys that we really like in that group. And I think the best, having the success running the ball that we did last year, is that we return four of the five starters on the offensive line, and the fifth one played a lot of football for us, too, so that’s always good to have. Running backs have done a really good job and run the ball physically and our offensive line is a group that I think will lead us this year also.”
Krause said while there are gaps to fill this year, he’s proud of the team culture and his players’ willingness to learn and work together.
“We have a really good group of seniors, and kids that have played a lot of football together, and kids that have been in our program for a long time,” Krause said. “We really just worked on that and challenged them as a group and they did a great job and really rose to the challenge.”
Nease will try to bounce back after its 35-14 loss to Ponte Vedra last Friday, but Krause said playing against other St. Johns County schools provides an exciting challenge.
“It’s a really great atmosphere when we play each other,” Krause said of playing county opponents, which include Ponte Vedra, Creekside (Sept. 21), St. Augustine (Oct. 19) and Bartram Trail (Nov. 2). “Those games are always really fun and games our kids look forward to.”
Krause also said matchups in Class 6A District 4 are also increasingly difficult. The Panthers’ district games this season are against White (Sept. 14), Middleburg (Oct. 12), St. Augustine and Englewood (Oct. 25).
“We have a really challenging district,” he said. “I think our district has gotten a lot better from top to bottom, so those four games will be really big.”
The Panthers finished 5-5 last season, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. Making it to the postseason is always a goal for any high school team, and, while Nease is no exception, Krause just wants the Panthers to play to their potential.
“I think every year, you just want to maximize yourself,” Krause said. “Whatever ability we have, we want to get the most out of it. I feel like you can do that when you have a good culture in place, and kids are gonna work really hard and care about each other. That’s what I think we have this year. We have a good group of kids who I think really value football and want to be a part of it and want to do things that their coaches ask of them, and that’s always fun and rewarding as a coach when you have a group like that. Whatever that means for this team, we’ll see. I just hope we can maximize our ability.”
Nease’s next game is 7 p.m. Friday at Orange Park.
