Alonzo Ashwood dismissed at Sumner after four seasons per report

Coach led the Stingrays to great success from the moment the school doors opened in 2020

RIVERVIEW, Fla. – Sumner will be searching for a new head coach going into the 2024 season with the only head coach in program history being dismissed according to reports posted.

As first reported by SBLive Florida reporter Andy Villamarzo, Ashwood was dismissed per close sources to the team Villamarzo reported which comes on the heels of the spring football season coming to a close which Ashwood had led the team through those practices.

With the reason for dismissal not being released yet, it puts the Stingrays in a position to find a new head coach rather quickly with just a little over two-months before fall practices commence at the end of July.

The school in southern Hillsborough County which opened in 2020 during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashwood instantly brought success to the program which went 7-1 as an independent program. The next three seasons following that inaugural year would see the Stingrays reach the playoffs with a regional semifinal appearance in 2021 and a regional quarterfinal appearance in 2022 while the greatest success came in the 2023 season with a 11-2 overall record and a trip to the regional finals. 

Ashwood’s time at Sumner also saw the team forfeit eight wins from the 2022 season after it was found that the team had used an ineligible athlete. Even with the forfeiture of the games, Sumner was Ashwood’s greatest success as a head coach leaving the team with a record of 27-17 after his first head coaching position from 2011-2013 at Middleton (Tampa) finished with a 4-26 overall record that eventually saw his dismissal.