Major turnaround, Arnold football eying playoffs

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – The Arnold football team has transitioned from one of the worst teams in Florida to a true playoff contender in less than 365 days.

The Marlins did not score a single touchdown in the 2023 season but head into week nine with a record of 6-2, one season after going 0-9 and being outscored by 464 points.

This is the first winning season since 2014 for this program after experiencing a full decade of losing seasons.

First-year head coach Jason Griffin and his very experienced staff came in and told the players their intentions were to have a winning season and to make the playoffs.

Fast forward from January to mid-October, the Marlins are currently the 7th-ranked team in the region, making the postseason a true possibility.

Quarterback Will Cotter explained how much it means to his team.

“We wanted to show people how much we have worked on and how much better we can get” Said Cotter.

Cornerback Darin Elder explains the team trusts Griffin and his staff and it has changed a lot of the culture of the program.

“I thought maybe we would come back and, like, win a couple of games, but now we’re playoff contenders and we’re hanging with these bigger teams,” Elder said. “Coach Pettis told us the whole time that this could work. And I believe that. But at the time I didn’t know we could go this far.”

Not many coaches would be interested in taking over the winless program, especially coming from a final-four team at Bozeman, last fall.

However, Coach Griffin said part of his motivation is the nostalgia of repeating his own history.

“I had a similar experience in high school. The first three years of high school, we were we were one of the worst teams, in the state of Florida, and I had a really good coach come in and and turn our program around almost immediately.” Griffin said. “We were able to win this championship and make the playoffs in that first year, you know, it changed my life.”

Griffin came into this program with the belief he could give this team an opportunity.

“Not that I’m the greatest coach in the world. But I really felt like I could give these guys an opportunity to have a little bit of experience or maybe, get back some of that things that I experienced.”Griffin said.

The Marlins will head across town, tomorrow, Friday, October 18 to visit the undefeated Mosley Dolphins. Kickoff is at Tommy Oliver Stadium at 7 pm.

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