Building high school football programs brick by brick

Brick by brick.

That was the mantra Scott Paravicini, the head coach of the Lakewood Ranch High School football team, repeated throughout the year.

He said it to his team, day after day, and to himself as well, as a reminder that the Mustangs were building something. It was a mantra that needed repeating — in Paravicini’s second season as head coach, things weren’t perfect.

The Mustangs went 6-4 and defeated neighboring Braden River High School for the first time since 2013, but posted a meager 1-3 record against opponents within their district. Of their six wins, not one came against a team with an above .500 record. So no, the Mustangs’ season wasn’t a resounding success, but after posting a 4-7 record in 2023, it was progress. Brick by brick. 

For Paravicini, the Mustangs’ win-loss record is far from the only way to measure growth. He said building a culture takes time and patience. It takes an appreciation of what went right, even when the final outcome went wrong, like in Lakewood Ranch’s 21-14 loss to Seminole High School.

“I think for us, in terms of year one to year two, we would’ve struggled to battle back in a couple of the games that we were down early in this year. That Seminole game, for instance, we went down 21-0 at halftime. The final score was 21-14 and we had a shot with a minute left, but fumbled on the 4-yard line,” said Paravicini. “We showed some glimpses of okay, some bad stuff happened. How do we fight back? Do we band together or begin to pick at each other?”

Moving forward, the young talent on Lakewood Ranch’s roster keeps Paravicini optimistic about the future of his program.

Returning in 2025, Colton Dempsey and Cooper Orzel, who as juniors, led the Mustangs in rushing yards per game and receiving yards per game, respectively. Quarterback/long-snapper, Liam Fernandez, who threw four touchdown passes on the year, will return next season. Cornerback/wide receiver Ka’marion Jones, a rising junior, led the district in interceptions with six in 2024 looks to be a key part of the defense in 2025.

“It’s just an exciting group to be getting back. We started one senior on offense and just a handful on defense. So we're looking forward to everybody coming back and having a chance to compete again,” said Paravicini. 

There are challenges. The retainment of players remains dependent on culture as Lakewood Ranch has a slight disadvantage regarding enrollment — unlike some of their competition, only students who live in the district can attend Lakewood Ranch because their school's capacity is full. Players can — and have — left the school for other programs, rendering the talent pool from which Paravicini can draw from even smaller.

“I think the relationship and trust for us within our program has to be a little bit different than at other schools just based on our dynamic. The type of kid that we have, the structure of our school and how crowded we are in terms of school choice factors into it,” said Paravicini. “I think each school has to navigate that and build culture. For me, here, that’s about creating relationships and trust with the players.”

Braden River High School

There are things that happen in a football game that cannot be defined by the final score. Parts of a season that cannot be measured by the win-loss record. For the Braden River High School Pirates, such is the case for their 2024-25 season, in which the program went just 2-7 in their first season under Head Coach Jason Grain.

Typically, new coaches have the opportunity to build a culture within their program. For Grain and the Pirates, that culture had to be found in a hurry — Grain became Braden River’s head coach in June, just before the start of fall camp. It was the second coaching change of the year for Braden River. In December of 2023, longtime head coach Curt Bradley left to become Southeast High’s new head coach. His replacement, offensive coordinator Eric Sanders, left the program in May to lead Palmetto High. Grain, who was fresh off leading Oasis High School to its first winning season since 2018, wasn’t afforded a full off-season to get to know his players. Grain entered a program that was in crisis management and survival mode, he said.

“Of course, the kids’ morale is going to be down. Nobody likes change. Change is not comfortable — we were an entirely new staff coming in,” said Grain. “When you’re dealing with teenagers, they want consistency, so when everything flips upside down, it can be difficult.”

While Grain predicts that much of the culture he wants to instill in the program will be developed during the team’s rigorous off-season program — a program that will involve a hefty amount of time spent in the weight room and on the track — there were moments during the season that were indicative of the type of hustle and effort he looks for in his players. Take a play during Braden River’s 39-8 Senior Night victory over Robinson High. The Robinson quarterback broke contain defense and found an open receiver, who broke through three tackles and made it all the way to the Pirates’ 1-yard line before being brought down. The Pirates held fast, however, and prevented the touchdown with a goal line stand. 

Photo by Ryan Kohn

Grain, who praised his group of seniors, points to the fortitude of players like middle linebacker Aiden Rivera, who led the Pirates in tackles per game despite playing the majority of the season with a torn labrum in each shoulder. It doesn’t take talent to show effort, Grain said, and the grit, determination and resilience of his players throughout a tough year showed him that they have what it takes to turn the program around in 2025.

“I thought that this group had really good practice habits. They had a tremendous want to get better and I thought their effort was outstanding,” said Grain. 

Returning to Braden River in 2025 are key pieces like middle linebacker Storm Hense, offensive lineman Trevor Dutting-Morrell, defensive lineman David Louis and kicker Brandon Galloway.