Menendez football ready to build lasting foundation: 3 things to watch

For Menendez, it's become a pattern.

New coach arrives. Before too long, maybe a year or two, maybe less, new coach leaves.

Anthony Rivers is planning to be the exception, as the Falcons open another new chapter with another new coach on the high school football field in 2023.

Menendez enters District 4-3S in the Florida High School Athletic Association's Metro-Suburban system with one traditional rival to its north (St. Augustine) and one to its south (Matanzas), while Clay and Gainesville also occupy that district.

What's the outlook for 2023? The Falcons narrowly missed the playoffs with a 5-5 record last year in Class 3S, a good sign, although graduations and transfers have taken an offseason toll.

For now, Rivers is focusing on the basics in an effort to build a new foundation in southern St. Johns County — this time, one that will last.

"We're going to establish better character habits, caring for one another, trying to make things better," he said.

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REVOLVING DOOR

For much of St. Johns County, stability is the rule. Darrell Sutherland had led Bartram Trail since day one until stepping down last December. St. Augustine has had only two coaches, Joey Wiles and Brian Braddock, since 1996. Creekside's Sean McIntyre is entering his seventh year, and Nease's Collin Drafts is moving into his fifth.

Contrast that with Menendez, which has spun through roughly a coach per year since Patrick Turner, now in charge at Palatka, ended his head coaching tenure at the end of the 2017 season. The merry-go-round includes the abrupt exit of one coach (Kenny Sanchez) after only two games in 2020 and the departure of another (Ben White) after no games at all this March. Matt Potak coached Menendez the last two seasons, winning five games on both occasions.

Enter Rivers, making the move south from Ponte Vedra. A former defensive back who crossed the Atlantic to play football in Germany for a time, he served as defensive coordinator on Steve Price's Sharks staff.

"I've been blessed to be surrounded by men who do things the right way, who teach being servant leaders and leading by example from a character standpoint," Rivers said.

Despite the coaching turnover, Menendez has never dropped far from the playoff chase, tallying at least five victories in 10 consecutive seasons.

CALLING THE HOGS

If the Falcons are going to take the next step this year, the task begins with the offensive line.

Rivers calls them the Hogs, a throwback to the Joe Gibbs-coached Washington squads of NFL fame in the 1980s. Trey Pate, a 280-pound senior, anchors the unit from the inside, while Ransom Rhodes is a promising 250-pound sophomore to watch.

"The Hogs come in every day, they go to work, they're energetic, they push each other, they work hard and they want to compete… if they keep doing what they're doing, I think the offensive line can be really good," Rivers said.

Menendez will be leaning on that line early, because most of the contenders for playing time at the ball-handling positions are new starters. Sophomore Reeve Power and freshman Cash Downey entered the fall as early candidates to take over at quarterback, which cycled through four passers in 2022.

Despite the inexperience, Rivers is confident that the offense will develop well.

"[The surprise] is how good we can be offensively," Rivers said. "We haven't been in the past, but there's some kids on the offensive sides of the ball that can really go."

FORMIDABLE FOUR

Linebacker stands out as the strong point for Menendez on defense.

Junior Joseph Soto enters as the leading tackler among the returners, with 88 last year to go with a couple of picks and a fumble forced in addition to a number of carries on offense.

Along with sophomore Maddox Lehman, junior Liam Molloy and senior linebacker/safety Gideon Collins, the Falcons have a formidable pack of four players up the middle who can form a foundation.

"Every varsity LB is really talented, and we have a couple of guys who moved in from other positions to play LB," Rivers said.

Going by the numbers, defense was a success story for Menendez in 2022, with shutouts of Ridgeview and Pine Ridge and an overall scoring defense of 17.6 points allowed per game. Among St. Johns County's teams, only Bartram Trail gave up fewer.

"The older guys have done a great job of trying to model [winning habits] for the younger dudes," Rivers said. "As long as we're consistent in that, the football stuff will take care of itself."

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football 2023: Menendez seeks stability with Rivers