LYNN HAVEN, Fla, (WMBB) – The Mosley football returns an incredibly young but talented roster, hoping to pick up the pieces from a disappointing 2022 season.
Last fall, the Dolphins entered with a senior-heavy roster and Final Four expectations but finished with a 5-5 record, missing the playoffs entirely.
This season, Mosley is much younger but returns starting quarterback, Sammy Freitas, who three for 2,087 yards and tallied 26 total touchdowns as a sophomore.
Mosley Head Coach Tommy Joe Whiddon said it’s a great feeling to have no concerns at the most important position on the field.
“There’s no question from him or the rest of the guys about who the leader of this football team is,” Whiddon said. “So when things get cleared up like that, everything else really just falls into place.”
Freitas was often a quarterback on the move, scrambling out of the pocket frequently last season. Although Mosley’s offensive line is younger than the year prior, they’re expected to be the team’s best overall unit.
“Those offensive linemen I’ve been playing with for a long time,” Freitas said. “Back in middle school, some of them in Little League, and just seeing them grow through the years, especially as freshmen into sophomores, now they’re juniors they’ve made a lot of progress and I’m proud of them.”
The offensive weapons are equally as young for the Dolphins. They will have two sophomore running backs, Ethan Kellum and MJ Wilkerson, splitting the carries to start the year.
A new weapon to the offense will be junior Raedyn Bruens, who dominated on the defensive line as a sophomore and will now receive passes from the tight end position.
“Any real football player that we’ve ever coached it’s like, ‘Hey you’re gonna play both sides of the ball,'” Whiddon said. “Because if you’re that talented, you can put your imprint on the game in a lot of different ways.”
Out wide, Mosley will have five to seven receivers all juniors or young, with the exception of two senior defensive backs who will play both sides of the back.
Those two defensive backs, Tashaun Kyle and Cameron Keys will lead virtually the only veteran unit on the Dolphins roster.
Keys committed to the University of Missouri this summer and will be tasked with locking down each opposing team’s best receiver. He said he is ready for the challenge.
“There’s really no pressure,” Keys said. “I’ve been a skillful DB since I got here. They know, teams know who I am and they know I’m capable of so, I’m up for the challenge.”
While one of the youngest teams in Bay County and one of the youngest Class 4S schools in Florida, Mosley stills expects to reach the playoffs and compete for a district title.
In year three at the helm of the program, Coach Whiddon (16-7 record overall) knows he will have to be patient with this bunch.
“I’d be real naive to think that they’re not going to have some growing pains in some things,” Whiddon said.” But I got all the confidence in these guys there that when we get to the tail end of the season, we’ll be exactly where we need to be. We just got to be able to go out there and prove it on Friday nights.”
Mosley opens its preseason on Friday, August 18, visiting Lincoln High School in Tallahassee. They will open the regular season against Rutherford in Tommy Oliver Stadium on Thursday, August 24.
