“We don’t talk about it,” Shorecrest’s Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Anthony McCall said after being asked about the Varsity Football Team’s potential four-peat. McCall feels the possibility of winning a state championship four years in a row should not be prioritized this early in the season. After an impressive, undefeated start, he believes that the team still has things to work on.

     The football team has won the state championship three years in a row. The 2024-2025 season is the team’s opportunity to defend their title as “eight-man state champions of Florida.” 

     This year’s team is relatively new, having lost multiple skill position players and linemen due to graduation and transfers, including Ben Worman ‘24, Cooper Phillips ‘24, and Enrique Negron. Senior Ahmad Crumity, who plays wide receiver, defensive back, and linebacker, said, “I personally think we are better than last year, but I feel like with more practice and more improvement, we could be better than we were two years ago.” Crumity feels that the team is doing a good job of developing new players.

     According to McCall, the mental side of football is the most important. The football team practices three times a week after school and two times a week in the weight room before school.

     McCall feels that this practice schedule is enough for the team to fully develop their physical and mental skill sets. The team focuses on small goals, like succeeding individually first so that they can then succeed as a team.

     This year, the Chargers traveled to Georgia to play the neighboring defending state champions, Westminster Schools of Augusta. They have won state titles in 2019 and 2024 and have been runners-up in 2021 and 2023.

     When asked how he feels about playing the Georgia team, senior Nick Bearden, quarterback and defensive back, said, “I feel pretty good about it. This is the first time I’ve had to go…out of state for any type of sports event. It is going to be a different type of challenge for us.”

     Getting to the state championship isn’t easy. First, the team must make the playoffs. Then, they play in the state tournament, where they must win the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then the championship game.

     The journey to become four-time state champions is long and hard, so the support from fellow students is a key component of getting there. Senior Wes Ryan, tight end and defensive end, said, “[Support gives] you, as a player, a lot more energy and just helps us out. The other team has trouble when there’s a bigger crowd.” 

     McCall thinks that the team’s biggest competitor is themselves. He said, “We are not defending champions. We’re not the same team, just a totally different team. This team has things that it has to prove. It has to measure itself and set its own standards.”