New faces, high expectations for Lake City football

They may be young, but that isn’t stopping the 2011 Lake City Panthers football team from setting lofty goals.

The Panthers are coming off a 10-3 season last year that ended with a loss in the third round of the Division 2A playoffs to Manning; however, this year’s squad is but a shadow of that 2010 group.

“We’re putting some new faces on the field this year,” head coach Jim Rowell said.

Lake City lost 18 of it’s starters from last season, most notably running back Shon Carson, who will attend the University of South Carolina this fall. Consequently, the Panthers will be relying on a sophomore quarterback and junior linebacker to lead this year’s young core.

What the team lacks in experience, Rowell says they are making up for in hard work during the off season.

“Thus far I’ve been extremely pleased with the work we’ve done over the summer,” he said. “We put on pads for the first time yesterday. We saw a lot of good things, but we saw a lot of mistakes that young kids make who haven’t played a lot. But it’s early in the season. If they’ll continue to work and be coached like they are and listen to their coach then I think we have a chance to be pretty good.”

The team does have several returning players with experience, led by standout junior linebacker Davaris Brunson. Brunson, a third year starter, said the more seasoned Panthers have led by example in summer practices, sharing their knowledge with young starters in the hopes of moving the team forward.

However, some of the new faces will be expected to fall into leadership roles quickly, none more so than sophomore quarterback Marquis Brown. The projected starter, Brown will lead the Panthers when they open the season on the road at Lee Central on Aug. 28.

He may not have that much experience, but that isn’t stopping the sophomore from setting lofty goals this year, already thinking winning the region and possibly making a run at a state championship.

“We just want to win a lot of games,” he said.

Rowell said coaches are expecting good things out of Brown this season, though he admits it is difficult to predict the learning curve for a young quarterback who is just getting his feet wet.

Senior John Brockington, a recent transfer to Lake City from North Carolina, will share snaps with Brown and is expected to play a supporting role at QB this year.

High expectations have been the norm around Lake City over the past several years. With their playoff run last year and an 11-2 season in 2009, Rowell said there is always pressure to perform here.

“If we get the same kind of effort during the season that we’ve gotten in the off season, you know, we have a chance to be successful,” he said. “I’m not sure what success means for this team. Expectations are high here in Lake City. We’ve had four or five years of good runs so far and we expect to continue that.”

Other players to watch out for this year include Alan Dixon, another first year varsity player, as well as some standouts at wide receiver and several freshmen Rowell said are picking things up rather quickly.