TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

First-Year Coach Feels AP's On The Right Path

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Avon Park sophomore receiver Alonzo Robertson will be a big target for whoever is leading the Red Devil offense next season.

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: November 28, 2008

AVON PARK - Andy Bonjokian had little time to digest his first season as head coach of the Avon Park football team before questions flooded him about next year.

"My first season as head coach was full of ups and downs, and I felt that we really started putting things together at the end of the season," Bonjokian said. "That gives me hope for the future. The Braden River loss really rallied us as a team and it showed in our games against LaBelle and Bartow, where I thought everything was clicking on the field and in the locker room.

"We're losing a lot of key position guys, but I'm really optimistic that we'll be able to find those diamonds in the rough before we take the field next season."

The biggest question marks for Bonjokian heading into next season is what kind of team will be on the field for the Red Devils and who will be under center when they take the field next fall.

Avon Park, who finished the season 2-8, found its identity on offense during mid-season when senior Virgil Cooper and junior Teddy Allen became the powerhouse duo in the backfield that many predicted they would be in '07.

But with the graduation of Cooper, it looks as though Allen, who rushed for 821 yards this season, will be the workhorse for the offense, and Devil fans will count on him handling the rigors of being the feature back.

"Teddy is a tough kid and I wouldn't bet against him," Bonjokian said. "He takes his share of hits, but he also delivers his share on offense and defense. We always have runners to share the load, but it's to be determined which of our underclassman will step up to join Allen in the backfield."

The big question mark is who will lead the Red Devil offense under center next season after the graduation of Albert Moses.

Freshman JD Hardy got the start in the season finale against Palmetto and went 6 for 11 for 43 yards and three interceptions, which wasn't bad considering the former JV standout had only three hours of practice before his big audition.

Sophomore Avierre Conner started the first two games of the season and looked good at times, but was pressured by a pair of intense defenses in Ridge Community and Okeechobee.

"Who the quarterback is going to be next year is still to be determined," Bonjokian said. "We'll let the competitive nature of the position dictate to me who is going to step up and become a leader during the offseason.

"I want someone who's tough and competitive that can set an example on and off the field. You want someone who can handle the pressure of being the starting quarterback. I'm excited to see who's going to rise to the occasion."

Whoever the starting quarterback will be, they'll have one fine target to throw to in sophomore Alonzo Robertson, who at 6-foot-5 can make life easy for a new QB.

"Alonzo really came on this season and I think has yet to see his best games as a Red Devil," Bonjokian said. "He has all the attributes you look for in a top-flight receiver - speed, agility, good hands and great leaping ability. He made some of those acrobatic catches of his look easy at times."

Defensively, linebacker Dwayne Council Jr. believes that his Red Devils have the perfect blend of strength and speed coming back next season and have already laid the groundwork to be even more explosive next season.

"This was our first year with a new coach and I think we really improved overall on defense by just sheer hard work," Council said. "We want to become better and we're not satisfied with just being competitive anymore. We want to win and to win we've got to sacrifice in the weight room."

With the districts set to be realigned this summer, Avon Park should be lowered to Class 2A and be slotted with similarly-sized schools like LaBelle and Clewiston. That could give the Devils a chance to be more competitive.

Improving on a 2-8 season is something that Bonjokian strives to do as he rebuilds not only the Avon Park football team, but also its fan base, which has had very little to cheer about in recent years, winning just three games over the past two seasons.

"This community deserves a team that it can be proud of," Bonjokian said. "We've made some strides in my first year and we'll continue to build on them, and we hope that we'll be able to one day bring a state championship back to Avon Park."

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5837 or choffman@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT