Mike Mullaney had one helluva football season in 2023. The Palm Harbor football coach couldn’t help but grin, even though he doesn’t give his smile away easily.
The Michigan native’s varsity football team won the first outright district title in Palm Harbor University history, dating back to the first varsity season in 1997. His JV program’s staff put its team in the Pinellas County title game. Mullaney’s favorite college team, the Michigan Wolverines, won the national title – and oh yeah, the Detroit Lions had the franchise’s best season since a talented guy named Barry Sanders once prowled the sidelines in the 1990s.
He had a ton to be proud of.
PHU FOOTBALL: 2024 SCHEDULE
But as a coach, he knows that whether it’s his PHU teams or his favorite teams up north, the record that matters right now in Aug. 2024 is 0-0. But at the same time? None of his favorite teams are starting from scratch and they all show tremendous promise heading into gridiron action in 2014.
Mullaney’s PHU varsity is unlike any group here in more than a decade, which was his first stint at the school when he was an assistant coach at PHU and his current defensive coordinator Matt Lepain was the head coach at the school. This varsity program has won more than it has lost in recent years, and only a few times has been blown out.
Over the quarter-century plus of PHU football, that’s rare.
The Hurricanes are very good at a lot of sports, though traditionally football hasn’t been one of them. But recently, the program has bucked that trend – just like it did from 2011-12 when it won 15 games in two seasons.
For the seniors? The team is 18-13 the past three seasons and the program is 14-7 with a playoff trip and a championship the past two.
That’s the good news.
The challenge is teaching a mostly new crop of players what it takes to sustain that success. They are new to this pressure. How will they respond? Two years ago, Mullaney told PalmHarborSports.com that his upcoming freshman class was very, very special. Those young men are now juniors – and they are talented, as proven by that county championship game appearance last year.
But how does that translate to the varsity? Time will tell, but many of them actually played on varsity last year or at least had a cup of coffee with the team, and then there is some senior leadership back that has seen action dating back to 2021.
It’s not a perfect scenario, as many normal public school programs deal with cycles such as these. But it’s a potential springboard that asks only for a buy-in in 2024 for the players with the new names and faces.
Do you want to carry this torch, or does it burn too much? Mullaney said it leans more to the carrying than the burning side of the equation, but anyone who has been around prep sports knows there are no answers with teenagers until they action “do it”.
OFFENSIVELY:
You can’t kick this off without mentioning that there is a three-year starting quarterback returning in Will Siebert. When you add in his freshman year of starting in the defensive secondary, this young man has been on the varsity roster for 31 games already, though he was injured at times.
Junior Jake Rennert is clearly the best skill-playing threat at PHU in half a decade at least, and maybe more. He scored two touchdowns against a loaded New Port Richey-Mitchell team last year and was instrumental in the season-opener last year in his sophomore debut. He can make plays, and he’s confident he can make more. He has a swagger that should translate to points when it comes to the receiving game and special teams, and maybe even the secondary if he gets a few reps there. Rennert is joined by fellow receivers Owen Kollar and Grahm Pitcock.
Senior Jaxon Wilson has been around awhile at running back but this will be his first full-time action back there. The offensive line has some studs returning but is dealing with serious injury issues, at least early on (remains to be seen). James Rowan and Emory Tipton will kick off the year at tackle, Zach Horner and Asher Heflin will man the guard positions, and Jacob Pham will be at center. When returnees like Braden Dam and Hayden Turley return, they’ll also be a big part of things on the O-line, but Cort Stricker is out with injury this year.
Fullback Tyler Somerfield is back, also, and the No. 2 rushing threat should be Ben Sathaporn.
DEFENSIVELY:
Collectively, Lepain’s defense has holes but may be better off than the offense coming into 2024. The former head coach and UCF standout is well-respected locally and has a track record to prove it.
Linebacker Ryan Fuelling may just end up being the “next guy”. Lepain’s defense has revolved around outstanding play the past couple of seasons, coming from the proverbial coach on the field in the middle of the linebacking corps. He had Gunner Fodor the past couple of years, and Ian Siebert – the current quarterback’s big brother – before that.
They were angry in a good way, and made countless plays as the leader on defense. The coaches see Fuelling as the next one, potentially, but he has big shoes to fill if he’s ready to be that kind of leader. Time will tell if that’s the case, and the coaches are ready to anoint him in that role until he has earned it.
Other LB types will be Cameron Green will serve as an edge type LB/DE, along with Logan Rapp and Cardino Rowan. The safety spots will feature a bit of a “by committee” feel with Pitcock, Joey Silvestro, Khyree Dean, Maddox Marquez and Siebert also playing key roles. Chris Estep and Jackson Taylor will man the corners.
On the D-line, Brady Messick is the top returning player on the defense, but will be sidelined a bit by injury early in the year. Michael Willock, Jack Streber, and Curtis Fisher will all play key roles.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Senior Mitchell Stricker is one of the top placekickers returning in Tampa Bay, and has the potential to become the most accomplished kicker in PHU history if his teammates can put him in position to kick field goals in 2024. PHU has been well-known for kicking and punting during its history, and Strick is the next one. He also will handle punting duties, etc.
OVERALL:
The schedule is tougher than it’s been in years at PHU. Non-district and non-PCAC teams weren’t as fired up about playing an 8-3 PHU team as they were the old-school 3-7 type PHU teams that had become common years ago. The ‘Canes decided to play up a bit outside of the required games, and it will be a challenge.
Two years ago, the schedule was conducive to a young team going 6-4 when it was full mostly of new names. The junior class is the key in 2024. If they rise up to support a talented but small senior class? This could be a good year and set up an even better one in 2025 – but some new names need to emerge.
