'It's go time': Mainland's improved passing attack adds another wrinkle during playoff run

DAYTONA BEACH — DJ Murray and Tyree Weatherspoon looked at each other for a brief moment before Murray snapped the ball last Friday. The quarterback’s eyes met his receiver’s.

What happened next is pigskin poetry.

Murray dropped back to pass and launched the ball 25 yards to the end zone. Weatherspoon sprinted straight down the sideline on a go route, navigating to the corner. He jumped, hands extended high above a defender, as Murray’s throw arrived. The 6-foot-5 Weatherspoon came down with the ball. Touchdown.

It was the Mainland Buccaneers’ last score in their 35-14 victory over Sebring in the Region 3-3S final.

“I think that’s just a quarterback and receiver thing,” Weatherspoon said of the pre-snap glance. “Like, ‘All right, it’s go time.’”

And for the Bucs, it’s a sign of what’s been happening lately.

Confidence has grown. Chemistry has developed.

After eclipsing 140 yards through the air just once during the regular season, Murray, Weatherspoon and Co. have done it in all three of their playoff contests.

“There’s way more trust in our passing game right now,” coach Travis Roland said. “I think you see it oozing from the quarterback. And last week, you heard our stands. When we caught those (touchdowns), our fans have been fiending for that. Last year, that’s all they saw.”

In 2022, Mainland relied on its passing attack. Damarcus Creecy led the area in yards and touchdowns while hitting All-Area receivers Ajai Harrell and James Randle on the way to the state title game. Then, Creecy and Harrell graduated and Randle transferred.

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Murray moved from Flagler Palm Coast to fill the quarterback role. Weatherspoon and senior Marquis McCants came over from Deltona and Seabreeze, respectively, joining the No. 3 receiver from last year, senior Clarence McCloud, and senior Emmanuel Yisrael.

“It had its ups and downs,” Murray said. “When I first got here, I was kind of feeling it a little bit. Then, we went into 7-on-7 season. It was a little rough for me, just trying to get used to the landmarks they’re being coached up and the landmarks I was getting coached up at FPC.”

Murray averaged 76 passing yards per game and tossed only one touchdown through the first four weeks of the fall.

There were flashes in the following weeks, highlighted by a 149-yard, two-score performance by Murray in a 31-28 win over Lake Minneola. But mostly, the Bucs used Murray’s legs and the running back trio of juniors Khamani Robinson and Corey Hill and senior Rodney Hill to bully opponents behind their big offensive line.

Mainland ended the regular season with nine passing touchdowns and less than 1,000 passing yards.

It certainly wasn’t due to lack of talent.

Murray earned an All-Area nod with the Bulldogs last year. McCloud holds Division I college offers, and Weatherspoon is being recruited by Power Five schools like Ole Miss and Miami.

They just needed to click.

Murray buried himself in the playbook and film and made a point of spending time with his receivers outside of football.

After transferring from Deltona, Weatherspoon struggled with drops, Roland said, which limited his chances. He cleaned that up during the second half of the regular season and into the playoffs, though.

“He’s turning into who we thought he was because he hurt us last year when he was at Deltona,” Roland said.

And during the postseason, the Bucs inserted 6-foot-3 junior Phillip Moore, normally a defensive back, into the receiving corps, giving Murray another imposing target.

All of Mainland’s receivers possess different, complementing styles.

“(Weatherspoon) is fast and big,” Roland said. “He has stuff you can’t teach. (McCloud’s) got the heart. Emmanuel’s got the knowledge. Marquis is explosive.”

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Roland has seen Satellite, Rockledge and Sebring adjust their defenses when Weatherspoon and Moore are on the field. The defenders back up, which opens up the middle for McCloud and running room for Robinson and Murray.

Murray threw for 146 yards and three touchdowns in a Round 1 blowout of Satellite. Weatherspoon, McCants and Moore grabbed scores.

Two weeks ago against Rockledge, a matchup Roland lists as the aerial attack’s turning point, Murray posted a season-best 154 passing yards with a touchdown apiece to McCloud and McCants.

Last Friday, Murray completed 9 of his 13 throws for 150 yards and two more scores — one to Moore and the go ball to Weatherspoon.

Weatherspoon wasn’t even sure he was going to play in the game earlier in the week. He wanted to. But during a practice drill Monday, he ruptured a tendon in his middle finger on his left hand. He received a splint — a “fake finger,” he called it — and was cleared by a doctor Wednesday.

The injury causes some pain, but Weatherspoon’s adrenaline masked that during the showdown with Sebring.

“He stepped it up and caught balls,” Roland said. “Best he’s caught all year, too.”

That’s dangerous for opponents, especially when Mainland’s other receivers are on the same roll.

The Bucs host Vanguard in the state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“Receivers started going out there and showing they could make plays when we needed them the most,” Murray said. “I’m just trying to trust those guys every day more and more. They’re coming out here and making plays like Mainland is known to do.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA football: Mainland Bucs' passing attack clicking at right time