Pine Forest football team brings another year of experience into spring season
Pine Forest football head coach Tony Carter said the football field, to him, is his sanctuary.
Even the practice field tucked behind Pine Forest High School, it’s his “peaceful place.” But with the way the Eagles are operating their spring practices, it’s anything but. It’s in a good sense, however, preaching more physicality as the team gets ready for the second season under the tutelage of Carter.
“The biggest thing is just our physicality, effort and attitude. The last two are things we can’t coach, just getting in that success mindset,” Carter said. “Be relentless in everything that you do. Those are things we’re trying to instill. … We’ve just got to execute better than the other team. That’s up to them. We don’t run on the field, as coaches.”
It’s not like Carter wasn’t known before taking over the Pine Forest program last season. He was a longtime assistant at Navarre before jumping over to Escambia County. Of course, all of his sons played running back at the collegiate level and one son, Michael, is currently with the Arizona Cardinals.
But even still, in his second season at Pine Forest, there’s more of a comfort level with the players.
“They’re definitely more comfortable with me, not just in the football aspects of it, but in their personal lives,” Carter said. “They can share their goals and dreams with me, helping them develop plans for life after football and beyond school. That comfort level is really good. That’s what we do it for.”
“I feel like we have more of a bond than just when we all just met last year,” receiver Zion Legree said. “We’ve been grinding and have been with each other all spring and will be together all summer, getting better.”
Another year older, another year wiser
The Eagles were a fairly young team in 2023, with only a handful of seniors. But those upperclassmen made an impact that’s hard to replace with just one person.
More of a run-heavy team, the Eagles graduated Miequle Brock, who posted 1,405 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. He also caught 225 yards on nine receptions with three touchdowns. Quarterback James Clark threw for 991 yards with 12 touchdowns.
Namely, the Eagles also lost some key linemen, like Jonathan Daniels, who is now at Florida State, and Rocsavian McWilliams, for example. Daniels, recruited for his offensive lineman abilities, recorded 37 tackles on the defensive side with 7.5 sacks and two caused fumbles. McWilliams had 50 tackles with two sacks.
But a majority of the defense is back for Pine Forest, including a lot of the strong secondary core from a year ago.
“Defensively, we’re going to be big,” said CJ Floyd, who had 48 tackles last year. “With our DB core, everyone has experience now. There aren’t any first-year players. Everybody knows their job.”
“I’ve got the fullest confidence in what (defensive coordinator) Kadetrix Marcus is teaching. The proof is in the pudding,” Carter said. “He’s coached the best DBs Pensacola has ever had. We’ve got something good in the back half of that defense.”
Offensively, there’s some more holes to fill. There’s Legree, a rising junior, leading the wide receiver core. He led Pine Forest receivers with 557 yards and five touchdowns. A couple other now-rising seniors are also returning, like Phillip DeFelice (160 yards, 1 touchdown) and Jalen Rawls (155 yards, 1 touchdown).
“Experience is key. These young guys keep coming back, and that means we did something right when we first got exposure to them,” Carter said. “You want to coach them to make them better athletes and better men. They want to keep coming back to learn tells me we’re doing something right. We want to impact their lives in a positive way.”
“Just trying to build the chemistry with my team, making sure all the receivers are on the same level,” Legree said, “and making sure we’re on the same page with the QB.”
That quarterback, who is going into his sophomore year, is Zakavius Andrews. He played in a few games at the varsity level last year, going 2-for-4 in the air with 173 yards on the ground. But Carter was proud of the work the young Eagle put in during the offseason, between the weight room, film sessions and extra individual skill work.
And Pine Forest’s players all have confidence in him, Carter noted.
“(Andrews) really took the bull by the horns and worked hard to sharpen his skills. Right now, he’s looking the part,” Carter said, mentioning there’s still a quarterback battle between a few players. “. If the team can believe in this guy and can feel confident in following him, then you’ve got something. Right now, the team has the confidence in him. For a young guy who’s going to be a sophomore, to have the confidence of the team, is huge. He’s earned that right.”
“I’m very excited because we’re both young and we’ve got a lot in store for our careers. Me and him, we’ve got to work,” Legree said. “We’re just working to make sure we have a better season.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pine Forest football brings more experience in second year with Tony Carter
