Lakewood Ranch High hopes 2022 season a turning point in football

With Head Coach Rashad West's system fully in place, the Mustangs look to turn the corner.

By Ryan Kohn
| 1:40 p.m. August 17, 2022

Lakewood Ranch High senior receiver Isaac Ashley is primed for a big 2022 after catching 38 passes for 587 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. (Photo by Ryan Kohn.)

East County
Sports

Now headed into his fourth year as Lakewood Ranch High's head football coach, Rashad West wants to turn the corner when it comes to his team's win-loss record.

The Mustangs only have posted one winning season in his first three campaigns, but West now has his system fully implemented.

"We have a better bond overall," West said. "I also think we're better on the line of scrimmage, both sides of it, which is where games are won and lost most of the time. I'm excited about seeing that."

All four grades of players have entered the football program understanding West's expectations and coaching style. West said he's thankful for the players he inherited who decided to stick around, but he's also looking forward to see what can be done this year and beyond.

Immediately success, however, could be determined by the current quarterback competition. At this point, West isn't sure who his starter is going to be.

Lakewood Ranch High junior quarterback Sebastian Mejia is one of the contenders in the team's quarterback competition. The competition could continue until the team's Preseason Classic Aug. 19. (Photo by Ryan Kohn.)

He said juniors Sebastian Mejia, Caleb Rhodes and Carter Edwards have shown positive signs during training camp, but none has risen above to win the job.

West expects to name his starter when the team travels to play Dunedin High in the Preseason Classic 7:30 p.m., Aug. 19.

No matter who ends up behind center, don't expect the Mustangs to be overly pass-heavy in 2022.

That's because Lakewood Ranch has one of the top running backs in the region in senior Kevin Everhart, who ran for 931 yards (103.4 yards per game) and 13 touchdowns in 2021. He was also the team's second-leading receiver, hauling in 32 catches for 319 yards and a touchdown.

When asked at an Aug. 12 practice how Everhart, who is 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, looked this offseason, all West could do was laugh.

"Kevin is Kevin, man," West said. "He's been the least of our concerns. We have been trying to find guys to play next to him. That's been the focus."

The Mustangs also have talent returning at wide receiver. Isaac Ashley, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior, caught 38 passes for 587 yards and four touchdowns last season. In the team's spring game against Osceola High, the Mustangs used Ashley in the slot, tossing him screens and generally having him work the middle of the field, where Osceola's linebackers had a tough time catching up to him.

He finished with six catches for 61 yards and a near touchdown — he was tackled inside the 5-yard line on a 20-yard catch.

Other than Ashley and Everhart, the rest of Lakewood Ranch's weapons are unproven. Like Ashley, junior receiver Connor Anthony has ideal size — he stands 6-foot-3, 190 pounds — but had just 17 catches for 189 yards as a sophomore. If Anthony has improved his route-running skills, he could turn into a solid option in the Mustangs' passing game.

On defense, West said the Mustangs have made positive strides.

They return junior cornerback Jayden Munoz, who despite his 5-foot-7, 130-pound frame plays big. He had three interceptions in a 38-16 win against Seminole High last season in addition to other big plays. Defensive tackle Nathan Smith, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound junior, transferred to the Mustangs from Sallisaw Central High in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and could make an instant impact in the middle of the line.

West said he is also expecting big things from the team's linebacker corps, including senior middle linebacker James Buttari, who is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds.

Under the Florida High School Athletic Association's new Metro/Suburban classification system, the Mustangs are in the Suburban 4 Class, which is the highest Suburban classification. They are in a three-team district with Manatee High and Palmetto High.

Lakewood Ranch has a brutal schedule. An opening home game Aug. 25 against Lemon Bay High, which went 9-1 in 2021, leads into a home contest against Cardinal Mooney, which went 7-4 and is projected to improve on that record in 2022. Then comes a home contest against rival Braden River High, which has dominated the Mustangs for years.

The season ends with games against Gibbs High, Bayshore High and Booker High. Bayshore and Booker had losing records in 2021 and while Gibbs went 8-4, it also played in a relatively weak division.

In between the season's three opening and closing games are toss-up games against Celebration High, Lyman High, Manatee High and Palmetto High.

New Football Classification Structure

In March, the Florida High School Athletic Association voted in favor of a proposal to change its football classification system. Instead of basing the classes mainly on size, the classes will now initially be split into two umbrellas: Metro and Suburban.

The Metro classes — four of them — consist of teams from the eight most densely populated counties in the state: Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Seminole. Those counties contain 228 of the FHSAA's 495 member schools.

The majority of schools in the remaining counties make up four Suburban classes. There is also one Rural classification containing a handful of schools with 600 or less students located in areas designated rural by the FHSAA.

Both the Metro and Suburban divisions have four classes each, determined by enrollment size. Lakewood Ranch High has been designated a Suburban 4 school — the biggest Suburban class — while Braden River is a Suburban 3 school.

The changes mostly affect the postseason. Teams can still schedule whichever opponents they want for the regular season, including opponents across Metro/Suburban lines. But a team like Braden River will no longer have to worry about facing national power Tampa Jesuit, who was in its district in 2021, in the postseason; Jesuit has been deemed a Metro 3 school. The Pirates will also be able to avoid past playoff rival Vencie High, which is a Suburban 4 school.

Each class has four regions, and each region has eight playoff spots available within it. Automatic spots are given to the four district champions in a given region, while the other four spots are determined by the FHSAA's power rankings.

The Out-of-Door Academy is unaffected by these changes entirely. The Thunder will still play in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference, in the 15-team South division.

author

Ryan Kohn

Ryan Kohn is the sports editor for Sarasota and East County and a Missouri School of Journalism graduate. He was born and raised in Olney, Maryland. His biggest inspirations are Wright Thompson and Alex Ovechkin. His strongest belief is that mint chip ice cream is unbeatable.