PORT CHARLOTTE — Precision was the order of the day during Port Charlotte High football practice on Wednesday afternoon.
At no point during the roughly 90-minute outside session were any players idle. If they weren’t in motion, they were receiving instruction. If they did neither, then it was probably their turn for a quick dash to the water stations.
Music blasted from the two large speakers on the track while a drone whirred above the field, recording the action.
It was only near the end of the frenetic outing that things appeared to slow down — emphasis on the word, “appeared.”
Two offensive units took turns running a hurry-up drill, the first unit motoring up the field and back down it, turning the ball over to the next unit to do the same.
As practice came to an end and the players surrounded head coach Jordan Ingman, he told them if they were gassed, if their muscles were aching, then mission accomplished. Spring practice was the time to set expectations and make hard work the routine, not the exception.
He told them if they were sore in the morning, then they should be proud of themselves.
This is where the Pirates program is in 2024: On the brink of historic success.
“We have power everywhere,” said rising senior Myron Charles, a consensus four-star defensive lineman with a dozen Power 5 programs on his list of potential college destinations.
“I feel like we don’t have a weakness,” Charles continued. “As these weeks go on and the O-line and D-line develop, we’re just getting better and better.”
Charles ticked off all the team’s various units and detailed how each appeared improved over the wildly successful 2023 squad that advanced to the Region 3S-4 semifinals. It was a brassy statement overall, considering the talent that graduated. Among the departed is Rutgers-bound running back, Edd Guerrier, who enrolled early at Rutgers and made an impression this past weekend by scoring a touchdown in the Scarlet Knights’ spring game.
Is it possible Guerrier’s successor could outperform the Pirates’ record-breaking graduate?
“It’s exciting to be the starter. I’ve got to set the tone for the team,” said Ike Perry, who assumes Guerrier’s mantle. Lest anyone think Perry has big shoes to fill, consider his play in 2023, when he averaged 9.4 yards per carry, just a tick below Guerrier’s 9.8.
“Being a senior and being the starting running back, we’ve got younger guys coming in and you’ve gotta help them out a little bit,” Perry continued. “You’ve got to develop for the years to come and it’s just great to be able to do that.”
Perry wrecked Gulf Coast for 132 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. In the regular season finale at Island Coast, Perry touched the ball five times, ripping off 74 yards and scoring three more times. He rushed for 19 touchdowns to Guerrier’s 18, and while Guerrier had a receiving score, Perry tacked on a pair of touchdown returns.
“You know what people don’t understand is Edd Guerrier was a great player and a great kid, but Ike didn’t run from that,” Ingman said. “What Ike did was he got so good that we actually had him on a pitch count last year. We made sure he touched the ball at least 10 times a game.
“The reason we did that is because he worked so hard that he earned those reps.”
That, in a nutshell, is why Port Charlotte is where it is right now: Reloading, never rebuilding.
In those few areas where the roster is a touch thin, a transfer or two has arrived as a patch. The most obvious new face in the Pirates camp this spring is Logan Flaherty, a rising sophomore quarterback who crossed over the bridge from Charlotte.
Already standing 6-3 and 185 pounds with an arm capable of making every throw in the route tree, Flaherty is an intriguing successor to the graduating Eli Manley, who excelled in his one year at the helm.
Aiding Flaherty in his transition to the red and black is long-time area coach Larry Marsh, whose 55 years of experience has already paid dividends with Flaherty’s footwork and release. Marsh works with Flaherty during the first 10 or so minutes of practice, then again once practice ends.
“Coach Marsh is a guy that I’ve admired and respected for many years,” Ingman said. “I mean, he’s going on his 55th season and I like to joke that I’m his GA, and I mean that. I pick his brain all the time and ask him what he would do.
“I joke when we put a new play in,” Ingman continued. “I said, ‘Hey, you probably ran this in 1970 or something, so tell me what’s gonna go bad.’ But he’s a great human, first off, the kids really enjoy him and he’s second-to-none as a football coach.”
Anything that Flaherty, Perry and the rest of the Pirates offense doesn’t pick up from coaching, they’ll likely learn from Charles and defensive line cohort, King Justice. Together, the duo creates perhaps the most formidable defensive bookends in Southwest Florida.
“They’re gonna get developed,” Charles said. “I don’t feel like they’re gonna come across anybody as good as me and King, truthfully speaking. Backfield-wise, we have a great, young quarterback. Amazing, fast, quick, great arm. He’ll have a lot of threats with him on offense.
“Ike is a dog. We’ve got receivers — the (Becerril) twins, Dallas Lambert — so I don’t feel we have a weakness,” Charles continued. “But they’re gonna get better against our D linemen. You’ve gotta be quick. I don’t think they’re gonna face another 300-pound lineman who runs a 4.8 40 and another who runs a 4.9.”
As great as the 2023 season was for Port Charlotte, it still ended on a somewhat sour note. When Naples ended the Pirates’ season with a 63-33 defeat, Ingman said it wasn’t so much that Naples was that much better — rather, Port Charlotte just committed too many mistakes.
“It definitely woke us up, getting knocked out by the same team twice in a row,” Charles said. “It gave us a reality check and we put our heads down and got back in the weight room, got back on the field and started working. We’re definitely better prepared for this season.”
The Pirates’ 2024 schedule is fraught with landmines, including a Week 4 date with area power Venice, which reached the state championship last fall, but the team isn’t shying away from the challenge.
“I feel like our work ethic stands out and everyone’s coming out here to eat,” Perry said. “Our motto is “Eat it off the floor’ and I feel like that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Charles took it a little further.
“I think we’re going undefeated,” he said. “I think we’ll have some battles, but I don’t think any team could mess with us. We just put in too much work, even now. We’ve been lifting like crazy, conditioning every day. I feel like no team should beat us for all four quarters.”
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