'Finish it!': Kwasie Kwaku Jr. leads Atlantic High School football team looking to finish
PORT ORANGE — At a practice earlier this week, Kwasie Kwaku Jr. took a shotgun snap and burst through the line of scrimmage. He juked a linebacker, and as he raced a defensive back to the end zone, his head coach started yelling.
“Finish it! Finish it! Finish it!” Jerrime Bell shouted.
That’s been Bell’s message to his entire team during the Atlantic Sharks’ fall camp.
“It’s all about finishing,” said Bell, who is entering his third season in charge. “I don’t care about what the elements are, what goes on. Finish everything. Finish the rep, finish the block, finish your work, finish your dinner.”
Last October, Atlantic had a chance to lock up an outright district championship against Crescent City. The Sharks held a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. A win would’ve guaranteed them a playoff spot.
Instead, the Raiders scored the game’s last 14 points and won 35-28. Atlantic missed the postseason via a three-team tiebreaker claimed by Crescent City.
The Sharks capped the season with back-to-back blowouts of Taylor and Pine Ridge, but it was too late. They ended with a 4-6 record.
So, the “finish” mantra is fitting.
“Completely different group,” Bell said. “This group is way more football process-oriented. Last year, they wanted game results without putting in work to win games.”
Here are three players to watch:
Kwasie Kwaku Jr.
Seemingly the only positions Kwaku hasn’t played in his first two seasons of high school football are on the offensive and defensive line.
Last year, he stuffed the stat sheet, passing for 287 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 723 yards and seven touchdowns, piling up 175 yards and a touchdown as a receiver, and recording 50 tackles, an interception and a sack on defense.
Got all that?
John Killingsworth quarterbacked Atlantic’s single-wing offense and sprinted to 1,465 rushing yards. He and Kwaku combined for more than 90% of the team’s production on the ground. But with Killingsworth’s graduation last spring, Kwaku will take over as full-time QB.
“He probably should’ve been our trigger man last year given the circumstances, but he had a dynamic running mate and we went with John because of the experience,” Bell said. “But Kwasie is our guy. We’re going to go as far as Kwasie takes us.”
The junior will mainly appear as a corner and safety on defense. Colleges want to see him at both, said Bell. Kwaku holds multiple Division I offers from schools like South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Pittsburgh.
“We’ve got young guys that are coming in, and they’ve never played high school football,” Kwaku said. “I’m just trying to set an example for them, so when they come out there, they know what to expect and what to do.”
Preston Kuznof
Last year, Preston Kuznof led the Sharks with 28 catches. This year, he might lead them in rushing.
The senior has transitioned to running back after adding around 15 pounds in the offseason, boosting his weight to 200 so he can carry a larger load.
“Preston is a downhill runner,” Bell said.
Kuznof will also play outside linebacker. In 2022, he racked up 59 tackles and an interception.
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“I just want to be able to hold my teammates accountable and make sure they don’t make some of the same mistakes I made or our seniors that just passed made,” he said. “Goals for our team, honestly, I believe we can go all the way. And for myself, 1,000 yards and over 100 tackles.”
He possesses a college football offer from Bethune-Cookman and a college track and field offer from Florida International. He won a 2A state championship in javelin throwing last spring.
Caleb Geathers
Bell laughs when asked what Seabreeze transfer Caleb Geathers brings to the Sharks.
“Attitude up front,” Bell said. “Offensive line and defensive line. He’s a kid who hates losing. When things go bad, he’s that guy that makes sure everything gets back on track. He is that leader we’ve been lacking on our O-line and truthfully the D-line.”
And Geathers will play a crucial role on both sides. The junior will serve as Atlantic’s left tackle and the O-line’s tone-setter in a run-heavy offense. On defense, he’ll line up at defensive tackle, looking to use his 6-foot-3, 255-pound frame to stop the run and chase the quarterback.
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During the offseason, Geathers worked with a personal trainer to get stronger, faster and more flexible. Bell loves the energy he’s bringing to practice.
“If the receiver is not catching the ball, he’ll look at me and go, ‘Coach, run the ball,’” Bell said. “He’s that guy.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Atlantic High School will lean on Kwasie Kwaku Jr., these two in 2023
