Winning the homecoming game is the focus of the Marathon High football team, which will be a full day of events on Friday, Sept. 27, highlighted by the Dolphins’ kings and queens during halftime of the matchup against Somerset South Homestead, which kicks off on the Middle Keys campus at 7 p.m.
“It’s a great day for the kids and a big week for us,” said Marathon coach Sean McDonald. “Everyone is rolling and everyone is excited, and a win will continue that joy at practice so we want to keep that going.”
Initially, the Homecoming Parade, which is the only one in the nation to take place on U.S. 1, was scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 26, but with potential high winds from Hurricane Helene expected in the Lower Keys that day, it has been shifted to Friday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m. with a pep rally in the school gymnasium starting the festivities at 11 a.m.
“The team is really good with distractions, we have them all the time and they do a great job with it,” said McDonald, noting the middle school is also expected to play on Thursday, Sept 26, against Somerset Silver Palms. “We’ve had a lot of practices interrupted because of rain or heat, so we have to go practice in the cafeteria with the middle school and cheer, and we are still getting good work in. Distractions is our middle name and it’s nice to have a veteran group, who don’t get distracted by the distractions.”
The homecoming game will close out a four-game homestand for Marathon, which has now won two straight while scoring 104 points in that span, but the Dolphins coach warned his team to stay hungry if they are to make the FHSAA playoffs.
“That’s the dangerous thing about Marathon, we are not allowed to feel good about anything because we have to play with a bit of fear in our team and complacency and confidence are always a recipe for disaster,” said McDonald. “It’s so different this year playing for a spot in the playoffs and the guys understand that wins are at a premium and every win brings us that much closer to going to the postseason.”
In order to claim a victory on Friday against SOHO, the Marathon coach expressed it will come down to execution which means, defensively lining up correctly, while offensively the Dolphins plan on “keeping it very simple.”
“Everybody has to do their job and execute, which is easier said than done,” said McDonald. “Sean Russin is one of our assistant coaches and during the games, we try to find where they are vulnerable and that advantage of it. When they correct it, somewhere else will be vulnerable so we don’t have anything crazy planned just continuing doing what we are doing on the ground.”
With a variety of players who can obtain large runs on any play, including the team’s leading rusher Fab Louis Jeune tossing a touchdown pass in its last game while Tanner Ross rushed for 100 yards for the first time this season, the coach stressed that he expects the offense to continue its high-scoring ways.
“Tanner really blew up last week and that’s the beauty of the single-wing that when it’s clicking there’s a lot of different guys,” said McDonald. “It still goes up and down and I’m old school, so I know we can’t get too high or too low and we have to keep working for that next win.”
At 3-2 currently ranked seven in Region 4-1A Rural — which includes the state-ranked No. 1 Hawthorne, No. 4 Chiefland and No. 5 Pahokee — the Dolphins coach also reminded his team this week that they must continue to win in order to seal that postseason berth, which would be the first for Marathon in more than a decade.
“I can’t describe it because I’ve been at Marathon for so long, so it’s a new feeling for me too and everybody is excited and we and to keep it going,” said McDonald about potentially garnering a berth in the FHSAA state tournament. “It’s a long season and as long as we keep winning we will move up, and at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to, and if we really want to make the playoffs, it will be up to the guys to go out there and perform.”
Local News
Comments / 0