COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 88 Aucilla Christian Warriors — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

Aucilla Christian enters Matt Wheeler’s second season with a roster caught between two realities. The Warriors have enough returning production to remain dangerous, particularly with Cooper Wiles at the center of almost everything, but several of the players who powered last year’s offense are gone. This season will test whether Wheeler has built a program or merely enjoyed one strong veteran class.

AUCILLA CHRISTIAN WARRIORS (MONTICELLO)

Head Coach: Matt Wheeler, second year District: SSAA 11-Man-North 2024 Record: 10-1 2025 Record: 8-2 2025 Final FPRI Rating: 67.35 2025 Final State Rank: No. 60 2026 Preseason Rating: 62.40 2026 Preseason Rank: No. 88 2026 Class Rank: No. 3 2025 Playoff / FIT Finish: SSAA 11-Man Regional Finalist

Aucilla Christian’s 8-2 season was built on balance and explosiveness. The Warriors averaged 368 yards per game, scored 52 touchdowns and produced 14 interceptions on defense. Landon La Rosa drove the attack with 2,444 combined passing and rushing yards, while Wiles supplied 965 total yards, 16 touchdowns and a staggering 160 tackles. The record was strong. The underlying production was stronger.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

Category Value Average Opponent Rating 31.48 Opponent 2025 Record 56-49 Opponent 2025 Win Percentage .533 Hardest Opponent Maclay (Tallahassee) District Games 0

This is not a punishing schedule from top to bottom, but it has enough sharp edges to expose an unfinished team. Aucilla should find breathing room in the middle, while the opening month and the Oak Hall finale will demand something closer to a finished product.

2026 FULL SCHEDULE

Week Date Time Opponent 2025 Record 2026 Rank (Overall | Class) Preseason Rating 0 8/14 7:00 PM Branford 7-4 No. 187 | No. 7 (SSAA Atlantic) 48.54 1 8/21 7:00 PM Sneads 7-3 No. 307 | No. 16 (SSAA Atlantic) 34.88 2 8/28 7:00 PM CT @ Holmes County (Bonifay) 6-6 No. 291 | No. 30 (1A) 36.78 3 9/4 7:00 PM Maclay (Tallahassee) 8-4 No. 186 | No. 8 (SSAA 11-Man) 48.54 4 9/11 7:00 PM CT @ Rocky Bayou Christian (Niceville) 6-5 No. 320 | No. 17 (SSAA 11-Man) 33.58 5 9/18 7:00 PM @ Baconton Charter (GA) 4-5 — 31.03 6 9/25 7:00 PM Cornerstone Classical (Jacksonville) 0-6 No. 558 | No. 34 (SSAA 11-Man) -6.78 7 10/2 — BYE — — — 8 10/9 7:00 PM @ Hilliard 3-7 No. 474 | No. 23 (IND B) 11.22 9 10/16 7:00 PM @ Franklin County (Eastpoint) 6-5 No. 317 | No. 20 (SSAA Atlantic) 33.95 10 10/23 7:00 PM Oak Hall (Gainesville) 9-4 No. 233 | No. 8 (IND B) 43.03

*District game

KEY LOSSES

The largest vacancy is impossible to disguise. Landon La Rosa completed 67.1% of his passes for 1,833 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 611 rushing yards and nine more scores. He accounted for roughly two-thirds of Aucilla’s offensive yardage. Replacing the quarterback is only part of the job; the Warriors must replace the structure he gave the offense.

Matthew Paul is also absent from the 2026 roster after rushing for 532 yards and contributing 135 receiving yards as a freshman. Bryson Mills graduated after catching 30 passes for 500 yards and five touchdowns while intercepting six passes on defense. That is a large chunk of reliable backfield, receiving and secondary production leaving at once.

The line takes a serious hit, too. Ben Faglie, Garrett Lundell, Dmitrey Davis, Rhett Jacobs and Tanner Baggett have moved on, taking experience, size and a combined 12 sacks or quarterback pressures off the board. The Warriors are not simply replacing names. They are replacing the infrastructure of an 8-2 team.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player Position Class 2025 Production Cooper Wiles LB/QB Senior 488 rushing yards, 456 receiving yards, 16 total TDs, 160 tackles, 15 TFL and four sacks Dalton McCormick OLB/WR Sophomore 48 tackles, seven TFL, four sacks and three quarterback hurries Tuff Hardee LB/TE Junior 179 rushing yards, two TDs, 90 tackles, six TFL and two forced fumbles Wyatt Wellman WR/DB Junior 20 receptions, 256 yards, seven TDs and 66 tackles Luke Kimmell OL/DL Senior Team-high 21 pancake blocks, 48 tackles, four TFL and three sacks Ryan Williams OL/LB Junior 29 tackles, three TFL, one sack, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble River Sasser OL/DL Junior 13 pancake blocks in eight games Lawton Rowell OL/DL Sophomore 17 pancake blocks in seven games Boogie Kimmell TE/LB Junior 20 tackles, two TFL, two fumble recoveries and one receiving TD David Lekberg III WR/DB Junior Appeared in four games with one tackle and a successful conversion reception

Wiles is the headline, but the season may turn on the less glamorous names. A rebuilt offensive line must become functional quickly, and McCormick must turn freshman flashes into consistent disruption.

1ST DOWN — THE GAUNTLET

The first five weeks will tell Aucilla what it actually has. Branford and Maclay carry the schedule’s highest preseason ratings, while road trips to Holmes County and Rocky Bayou Christian surround the Maclay game. That is four credible tests before the Warriors have a chance to exhale.

Wiles gives Aucilla a stabilizer. He can carry the ball, create explosive plays as a receiver, lead the defense and handle special teams. What the Warriors do not have is a proven returning featured running back after Paul’s departure. The offense cannot ask Wiles to serve as the solution to every question without eventually paying for it.

Defensively, McCormick’s development is critical. He recorded four sacks as a freshman and now becomes one of the few established pass-rush threats on a roster replacing several senior linemen. When Aucilla faces Maclay’s speed and Branford’s physicality, pressure must arrive without selling out the secondary.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT

Opponent Week/Location 2025 Record 2026 Rank (Overall | Class) Preseason Rating 2025 Finish Maclay (Tallahassee) Week 3/Home 8-4 No. 186 | No. 8 (SSAA 11-Man) 48.54 1A Regional Semifinalist Branford Week 0/Home 7-4 No. 187 | No. 7 (SSAA Atlantic) 48.54 Rural Regional Semifinalist

THE BOTTOM LINE: Aucilla does not receive a runway. The Warriors must rebuild the backfield and offensive line while playing two of their toughest opponents before the calendar reaches its second week of September.

2ND DOWN — STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The schedule is front-loaded, but not recklessly so. Branford and Maclay are the two highest-rated opponents, and both come to Monticello. That matters for a roster with 21 listed players and only four seniors. Home field will not solve the Warriors’ inexperience, but it removes one variable while the new offense finds its footing.

The quarterback situation deserves patience rather than projection. Aucilla’s 2026 roster lists Wiles as a quarterback option, but last season’s meaningful passing production belonged overwhelmingly to La Rosa. The Warriors need a competition, not an assumption. Whoever emerges must distribute the ball to Wellman, Lekberg and Boogie Kimmell without turning every possession into a Wiles rescue mission.

There is development space after the opening stretch. Baconton Charter, Cornerstone Classical and Hilliard give Wheeler opportunities to refine the offense and expand roles before Franklin County and Oak Hall close the regular season. Those games cannot become empty calories. They must become construction weeks.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The schedule offers Aucilla a second chance after its early exams. Whether the Warriors use the middle of the season to grow—or merely survive—will shape everything that follows.

3RD DOWN — THE PROVING GROUND

Sneads and Holmes County are the early swing games. Neither owns the rating of Branford or Maclay, but both won at least six games last season. These are the matchups in which a good team separates itself from a talented but incomplete one.

Sneads will test whether Aucilla can reset quickly after the preseason opener. Holmes County will test travel, depth and composure one week later. Wellman’s ability to become a steadier offensive focal point matters in both, while Hardee must give the Warriors a physical presence between the tackles and at linebacker.

The closing pair carries a different weight. Franklin County is a manageable road test, but Oak Hall arrives with a 9-4 record and the third-highest rating on the schedule. By then, Rowell, Sasser and Ryan Williams must look like a cohesive line rather than players occupying newly available jobs. Oak Hall will know the difference.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Sneads and Holmes County will reveal Aucilla’s floor. Franklin County and Oak Hall will reveal its ceiling.

4TH DOWN — PLAYOFF PICTURE

Aucilla competes in SSAA 11-Man, so there is no district championship or automatic district bid to chase. The postseason path runs through CCI positioning, with wins, strength of schedule and overall record all influencing qualification and seeding.

That makes the schedule’s strongest games valuable even when they are dangerous. Branford and Maclay offer the kind of résumé opportunities that can strengthen Aucilla’s profile, while losses in more manageable games would be particularly damaging. The Warriors cannot control every piece of the CCI picture, but they can avoid giving the system reasons to doubt them.

Wiles, McCormick and Hardee are central to that path. Wiles gives the Warriors a weekly advantage because he affects all three phases. McCormick provides the pass rush needed against stronger opponents. Hardee supplies tackling volume and physicality. For a thin roster, stars must play like stars and the supporting cast must avoid becoming a liability.

Aucilla reached the SSAA 11-Man regional final last season. Returning to that stage is realistic, but the margin is narrower without La Rosa, Mills, Paul and the veteran line. The Warriors’ postseason résumé will be built in August and September, not rescued in October.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Aucilla remains a postseason-caliber program, but CCI positioning will punish inconsistency. The Warriors need quality wins and cannot afford a casual loss against the schedule’s softer middle.

SEASON OUTLOOK

Difficulty Rating: 7/10

Aucilla has enough returning defensive production and enough Wiles-driven versatility to finish 7-3, with 8-2 attainable if the quarterback competition settles quickly and the rebuilt line holds up. The ceiling is another deep SSAA 11-Man run; the limiting factor is a small roster replacing too much offensive production to survive injuries or prolonged uncertainty.

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 88 Aucilla Christian Warriors — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

A proven senior centerpiece returns, but the Warriors must rebuild the machinery around him.

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COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: No. 88 Aucilla Christian Warriors — 2026 Season Preview, Schedule Analysis, Players to Watch and Playoff Outlook

A proven senior centerpiece returns, but the Warriors must rebuild the machinery around him.

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