Sunshine State 25: Preseason No. 4 – Mainland

Team: Mainland Buccaneers
Sunshine State 25 Preseason Ranking: No. 4
Head Coach: Scott Wilson
2014 Record: 13-1

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Look Back On 2014

Another year, another trip to the state semifinals for the Buccaneers as they fell to eventual Class 6A State Champion Miami Central for the second straight year.

Players To Watch

QB Denzel Houston, Jr.; RB Adrian Killins, Sr.; WR Randy Baker, Sr.; WR Nakevin Atkins, Jr.; OT Marcus Tatum, Sr.; DL Jachai Polite, Sr.; FS Cyrus Fagan, Jr.; LB Kevin Gilliard, Sr.; DL Kevin McCrary, Sr.; WR Johnny Barkley, Sr.; DE CJ Williams, Sr.; WR Brant Williams, Sr.; OL Omar Calderon, Sr.; WR CJ Wilson, Jr.; LB Jerric Harris, Sr.; ATH Deryl Buch, Jr.

The Outlook

The bar is at the all-time highest high for the Mainland Buccaneers after two consecutive trips to the state semifinals with three overall appearances in the state semifinals in the last four seasons.

And that bar is not coming down at all, at least not anytime soon.

Offensively, the Buccaneers will be lead by junior quarterback Denzel Houston who threw for nearly 3,000 yards last season as a sophomore and threw for 34 touchdowns in the process while rushing for 12 more touchdowns. He will have targets like running back Adrian Killins and wide receivers in Randy Baker, Nakevin Atkins, Johnny Barkley, CJ Wilson and several others to throw to this, giving Houston a chance to eclipse the 3,000 yard mark this season.

The defense is going to be locked and loaded like the offense will be. Jachai Polite will anchor the defensive line for the Buccaneers while Cyrus Fagan, Kevin Gilliard and Kevin McCrary will all help protect the backfield for the team. With the addition of several big transfers to the defense, teams will find it hard to get past the Buccaneers this season once again.

With Mainland in the same region now as Miami Central, the bar is higher to get past the regional finals this season and reach the state semifinals for the fourth time in five years.

The District

District 6A-9 moved to become District 13-6A and is now in Region IV of Class 6A. As such, all the same teams remain as the district has been for the last few years, but will now add in Matanzas as the sixth team in the district. Mainland is still the clear cut leader to win the district this year with several teams with possibly the rest trying to battle each other out for the runner-up spot.

Three Games To Watch

Friday 9/25 at Dr. Phillips – This game will settle a major debate in who should be the best along the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. Mainland however will be the better team on paper to win this game given that it has more senior talent than Dr. Phillips at this point, Both teams will likely enter this game undefeated and someone is going to have to lose unfortunately.

Saturday 10/10 at St. Edward, OH – Mainland will get a very strong test taking one one of the national powerhouses from Ohio in St. Edward. Although this game is not going to be shown on TV, this game has a potential either help Mainland or hurt them. A win here, will help them going into the backstretch of the schedule.

Friday 10/30 vs. Seabreeze – Not only a rivalry game, this game could likely be for the District 13-6A championship. With so much at stake, Daytona Beach Municipal stadium will be packed with fans hoping their team comes out on top. This game is worth the price of admission.

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Previous Sunshine State 25 Countdown Stories
No. 5: Jacksonville Trinity Christian
No. 6: Cocoa
No. 7: Booker T. Washington
No. 8: Plantation American Heritage
No. 9: Apopka
N0. 10: Kissimmee Osceola
No. 11: Columbus
No. 12: Oakleaf
No. 13: Dr. Phillips
No. 14: Manatee
No. 15: Armwood
No. 16: Lakeland
No. 17: Niceville
No. 18: Delray American Heritage
No. 19: Dwyer
No. 20: Wakulla
No. 21: Naples
No. 22: Lake Gibson
No. 23: North Marion
No. 24: Palm Bay Heritage
No. 25: Bishop Moore