Davis looks to build on Bucs' success

STEVENSVILLE — Zach Davis has always been a builder.

“I was one of those guys, ‘Oh, they went 0-10? Let me give a shot at that thing,’” Davis said. “That was kind of my thing.”

As Kent Island High’s new head football coach, Davis has been busy building relationships with coaches, players and the community since June. And though he looks to build another winning season, Davis knows he has taken over one of the Bayside Conference’s better-built programs.

“I’ve been a program builder ‘til here,” Davis said prior to Thursday afternoon’s practice. “I really want to see what we can do at a place that’s been traditionally pretty good.”

After three consecutive three-year stints at schools in West Virginia — Riverside, Nitro and most recently Buckhannon-Upshur — the 39-year-old Davis begins his 10th season as a head coach in a place that hasn’t had a losing season since 2006.

“We’ve been coming to the Shore since 2008,” said Davis, whose wife Emily (Gorin) is an Easton High graduate. “We’ve been trying to come back here. Had a couple of opportunities to come back, but they just didn’t feel right. This one felt right.

“The thing about high school football is what works at one program can be different at another program,” Davis added. “So when I come here, I have taken a lot of what Kent Island’s been good at and just said, ‘Hey, let’s continue to do that.’ My big thing is I try to remember the heartbeat.”

Davis continues a family legacy of coaching. His grandfather was a coach, and his father, Storm Davis, who pitched for 13 seasons in the major leagues and was part of the 1983 World Series-winning Baltimore Orioles, coached football at Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, where Zach was an all-state center.

“I got cut from my middle school baseball team in seventh grade,” Zach Davis said. “That was the last time I played baseball. Kind of got to do my own thing.”

Davis went to East Carolina before transferring to Liberty University, where he played every offensive line position at one point over three years, and started at left tackle in 2008, his senior year.

“I was in the film room all the time, which prepared me to be a coach,” Davis said.

He got into the high school coaching ranks, spending three years at Riverside and three at Nitro before moving onto Buckhannon-Upshur, which is about the size of Kent Island, but played in the state’s largest classification against schools from more urban areas like Morgantown and Charleston.

“We always improved it from what it was,” Davis said of the programs he coached.

He now becomes only the fourth different head coach in the history of Kent Island’s program, succeeding Bryon Sofinowski, who compiled a 118-64 record over 16 seasons (2001-2014, 2022-23), which included leading the Buccaneers to their first and only state championship appearance two years ago. Sofinowski retired after last season.

“I’ve got coach Sof’s keys and I’m going to keep these,” Davis said. “It says Sofinowski on it. It’s a good reminder where we came from, where we want to go, and how we want to do it.”

How the Bucs’ new head coach wants to do it is similar to how his predecessor did it, though there may be a few new wrinkles.

“A lot of it is similar but some of the vernacular has changed,” said Davis, who plans to keep it on the ground, but likes play action, and also has a two-minute spread package he can use. “Just trying to keep it as similar as possible. If that’s what works here, it’s good for us.

“As you can imagine, most people are like, ‘Who is this guy?’” Davis continued. “I said, ‘Guys, I’m here to assimilate into you and then just bring some new ideas. Not that it’s better. Some of it’s just different.”

Senior quarterback Gavan Henry figures to help the transition process, though Kent Island graduated the bulk of its offense from a year ago, including its entire starting offensive line, backs Shane Bogardus and Austin Holland, and top receiving threats Tucker Claxton and Lloyd Price.

The defense also graduated big names, including Bayside Defensive Player of the Year Giuseppe Mellinger. While names will be different, what doesn’t figure to change is the unit’s base look, which is again under the direction of longtime defensive coordinator Tim Goodrich.

“He tells me all the time if I can score 14 points we’ll win a lot of games,” Davis said of Goodrich.

As for pressure, Davis said he doesn’t feel any added weight taking over a winning program compared to those that struggled before he took the reins.

“I think every good coach should feel pressure,” Davis said. “And that should come from yourself, that you’re going to do it the best way you can do it. My big thing is win the day. I got that from (current UCLA head coach) Chip Kelly years ago when he was at Oregon. Just be better today than you were yesterday.

“I’m really looking forward to just being here and getting to know everybody, and trying to just keep this program going the way it has been,” Davis said.