BELLE ISLE, Fla. — Young football programs in Florida have normally needed a few seasons to find their footing before seeing success on the field come to fruition.
However, if the program is part of a private school, then most likely they will have enough money to buy nice facilities and a good coaching staff. The main issue for them is finding enough players. If it is a public school, then finding enough players is no problem, most of the time and the only concern becomes is finding nice facilities within the first few seasons and being able to keep the coaching position stable.
At a new charter school around the state, young football programs have both of the problems of having nice facilities and a good coaching staff.
A charter school is a public school that contains elements of a private school. This means they don’t cost any money but still have a wait list to get in like private schools. They’re considered public but do not have a formal school zone like traditional public schools do.
All of this means for charter schools that have football programs have it much tougher when starting from scratch.
Cornerstone Charter is no different.
For the Ducks, they are on their third head coach in three seasons this fall, after the winningest coach in program history, Justin Dottavio, left after the 2015 season and last year’s head coach Erik Monson took another job after the season.
However, Cornerstone hopes they have found the person to give the program some stability.
In steps former University (Orlando) head coach Jim Pusateri, who has brought in renewed energy to the football program. Pusateri, who came to Cornerstone after a 5-15 record over two seasons at University, says that he was attracted to Cornerstone because of the “small-town atmosphere.”
“It was something that I had been looking for,” Pusateri said. “We say that Friday nights aren’t just a football game, but a community event.”
In their first game under Pusateri, which was the preseason kickoff classic this past Friday, Cornerstone found themselves on the opposite of the scoreboard to Miami Christian, a new 11-man program in South Florida. The final result was 26-0.
The preseason scrimmage saw many young players with no game experience get their first taste of the game experience.
Among these players was junior quarterback Scotty Rashko, who is the third starting quarterback for the Ducks since 2015, after all-time passing leader Jack Johnson transferred to Boone High School and Cooper Van Dyke graduated.
“The first game I was nervous,” said Rashko. “I will be way more prepared this Friday”
When asked about what he was working hardest to improve on, Rashko said mainly footwork and not throwing off balance.
While he has a tough task being a first-year quarterback who has never played high school football, Rashko said he is prepared for the challenge.
“I’ll be ready, trust me.”
Despite the many disadvantages that Cornerstone faces, one big advantage that it has over large public schools is that students can start playing on the varsity team as early as 8th grade. Many Cornerstone players have played four or five years of varsity football by the time they graduate, and this year’s senior class features several of those ‘career’ Duck players.
Two of the key leaders are senior linemen and captains Drew Redmond and Connor Brannon.
Both Redmond and Brannon are going into their fourth year as starters on the offensive line and their experience is extremely valuable for a young Ducks offense.
“My main goals for this season are to encourage my team to play their best and help rebuild the program,” Redmond said.
Brannon added, “This year I want to help start a winning tradition at Cornerstone and help mold a good work ethic in the younger guys.”
Another key senior for Cornerstone this season will be wideout and safety Tyree Kenon. Kenon is in his second year with the program and says that he “will give it all day in and day out” in order to help lead the Ducks to success. Kenon led Cornerstone in receiving yards and touchdowns last season, as well as being a key defensive player at safety. He said that this season, he wants to help the team grow, and keep his attitude positive.
“Once you have the right mindset, nothing can stop you,” Kenon said.
Senior captain Michael Lockhart and junior Jacob Rabaja are two more players that the Central Florida region will need to keep an eye on this year at Cornerstone.
After a year of starting on the offensive and defensive lines, Rabaja has moved to outside linebacker and tight end to have a bigger impact on offense and defense. The move paid off in the kickoff classic, collecting 3.5 sacks against Miami Christian, unofficially breaking a school record, despite it being preseason.
When asked about his goals for this season, Rabaja said, “To be the best team and the most effective team that we can be.”
Lockhart will be entering his fourth and final year on the team and has been a steady presence in a program marred with transfers. The senior tight end and linebacker said that his main goal is to put everything on the field to get better and work hard together as a team.
Lockhart is coming off a season as leading tackler for Cornerstone with 55 tackles. He will be a key cog in the Cornerstone defense this season and will have to play well to improve upon last season’s 1-8 record.
The backfield for Cornerstone will be led by seniors Thomas Gibson and Angel De la Rosa.
Both Gibson and De la Rosa will split carries this season and will double as linebackers on defense.
Gibson is an imposing back at 6-0, 220, and is entering his fourth season playing for the Ducks and is looking to make an impact on the high school football state in Central Florida.
Gibson said his main goal is to do as much for the team as possible.
“My goal is to give my all during the games no matter what,” Gibson said.
The Ducks played an old rival from the Sunshine State Athletic Conference, Central Florida Christian Academy Week 1 to officially open the 2017 season.
Cornerstone lost to the CFCA 40-0 in the spring, but Pusateri was confident in the Duck’s chances against the Eagles, which showed up on the scoreboard in a 21-13 loss.
“The biggest obstacle is our own mindset,” Pusateri said. “Our guys have put in a lot of hard work over the last few weeks and have gotten a lot better.”
While the Ducks are once again taking on a new coach and young roster to start the season, Coach Pusateri has brought excitement into the program with a potentially solid senior class that could allow the Ducks for to forget about 2016 with a rebound year in 2017.
