Coral Shores had plans to test their young team against a pair of opponents in their annual spring jamboree. Scheduled to play were St. Brendan School and Miami Beach High, but a last-minute change of plans from Miami Beach gave the ’Canes exactly the sort of work coach Ed Holly was looking for. St. Brendan and Coral Shores spent one half of football playing in the typical style, then the teams turned the second half, in which they would have played Miami Beach, into a situational scrimmage.
“We wanted to find out who we are as a team this spring, and we did that,” Holly said. “We wanted to get reps, get experience and get playing time. The spring is for getting the guys excited about playing football.”
If anything gets a team fired up about the season, it’s playing in front of a charged crowd. The annual senior parade preceded the ’Canes’ spring jamboree, making for packed stands and spectators lining the fences. The Hurricanes lost a majority of their starters from 2024, and many of the younger team members spent the spring learning new positions. The team kept it basic this spring, focusing on a smaller number of base plays to build from later.
Their numbers looked good, according to Holly, and the team has a lot of fresh talent from which to draw come fall. Holly praised rising junior Sterling Keefe, who will take over as quarterback for the Hurricanes. Joining Keefe on the gridiron as likely starters in fall will be Ekon Edwards, Austin Vogt, Glade Harrelson, Nick Calveron and Casey Konrad, who Holly said all stepped up and had fantastic springs. Defensive standouts included Marco Gudino, William Roberts and Andres Alvarado.
Now that the Hurricanes’ spring is complete and the team knows who will fill which roles, the real work begins. “We will work this summer so we have what it takes to compete in fall,” said Holly. “Now’s the time to get stronger and faster.”
When asked what the team’s goals are this fall, Holly was clear: “Scheme up and put it all together,” he said. “Our goal is the same as it is every year: be FIFC conference champions.” Coral Shores met that goal in 2024 by earning a Florida Independent Football Conference championship after a stellar 8-2 season.
KEY WEST
Key West’s long-standing tradition of playing an intrasquad scrimmage each spring was put on pause this year. For years, the Conchs’ spring season culminated in a red versus white scrimmage, at which spectators were asked to bring laundry detergent to stock the team for the coming season. This fall, the Conchs will need to hit the sales for their laundry needs, as the team answered the call of Somerset South Homestead, who lost their spring opponent.
Key West traveled to the mainland to play against the Hurricanes in four quarters of modified football. Each team was able to test their offense and defense, but no special teams play was included.
Key West head coach Johnny Hughes said his team’s goal for the spring was “to see what we have.” After losing key players to graduation, the Conchs’ top priority was to see who stepped up to try and fill the gaps. The largest gap was left by Jaden Fox, whose relentless power runs were such a destructive and disruptive force that the Conchs had portions of their offense molded around him.
In his absence, the team made some modifications and ran enough plays to find out that the talent was there, as Jeff Dejean and Walson Morin ran all over the Hurricanes. “Those two can score any time they touch the ball. They just have to stay healthy,” said Hughes.
Key West must take special care of their athletes, as most players, like all Keys teams, need to play both ways. “I was surprised how many guys Somerset dressed,” said Hughes, who went on to say that the Hurricanes had separate crews for offense and defense. Key West, on the other hand, played their best athletes on both sides, something Hughes admits is not ideal but, rather, a necessity.
One of those top athletes for the Conchs is Chase Gaertner, who took turns taking snaps with Roman Van Loon at quarterback. Just which athlete will be QB1 is still up in the air, but Gaertner’s performance on defense likely sealed him a starting spot there, for now. At free safety, Gaertner picked off a pass and ran it in for a touchdown.
At quarterback, Gaetner showed strong athleticism but Van Loon had an edge with the experience he got last season while filling in for an injury. Also making the list of standouts was Jakobe Williamson, who took care of the team’s load-blocking and showed a lot of promise as a rising sophomore at H-back.
Hughes had plenty of praise for his experienced offensive line, which is loaded with high-caliber athletes including Noah Mercer and Josh Johnson – both fresh off medals at the track and field state meet. The pair hold school records in throwing events – Mercer in discus and Johnson in shot – demonstrating the fortitude of the Conchs’ offensive line.
“Our O line did great,” said Hughes. “They can carry us far this year. They rolled people all day.”
With many of the questions the Conchs’ coaching staff had about the upcoming season answered, several things will still need attention.
“We need to work on the backfield,” said Hughes. “We need to work on our depth chart, too. We have to get the number twos ready to play.”
Hughes also listed open-field tackling as an opportunity to improve. The Conchs’ depth chart, at least, may have a partial answer in the team’s youngest athletes. Fresh from the Horace O’Bryant team, the rising freshmen will be tasked with stepping up on at least special teams to give the two-way crew some breaks.
