Tour of Brevard: Viera Hawks 2023 football
At the end of a long, tough 2022 regular season, the Viera High football team gave Merritt Island quite a struggle in Week 11, leading but finally falling by a point.
When the Hawks lined up for their spring game at Bayside in May, they looked like a different team: crisp and effective.
Head coach Shane Staples had used his first year to mold the program his own way. His entry to the job had come with a shortened offseason when there was late turnover in the head-coaching position.
"I think we benefitted, for sure, from a year with the guys," he said. "I just think the crew we have now has bought in. We don't have any 'me' guys. What I noticed the most about the spring game wasn't the score; it was the sideline, the atmosphere on the sideline."
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Plan your season: 2023 Week-by-Week Brevard HS football schedule
Staples estimated 75 percent of the contributors for 2023 are players who've been in the program.
"Yes, we went 0-10, but we didn't get dismantled," Staples said. "Some teams got dismantled by the transfers. We kept our base crew."
Outlook: The offense has a chance to be productive in the mold of the teams under coach Kevin Mays, with an open, quick-strike attack defenses will have to prepare for specifically.
"We're not going to line up and just pound people," Staples said. "We've got to get our guys outside and get yards that way, but don't discount our running game. It's going to be a good little mix for us this year."
Junior quarterback Chase Cromartie has shown he is a solid pocket passer and can read defenses effectively. Staples also likes his receiving corps, which he compared to those of the best Viera playoff teams, though "maybe not as explosive as them. We have six or seven guys we can run out there and be comfortable with them. It's pretty fun. The offense is way, way ahead of last year."
Head coach: Shane Staples enters his second season leading the Hawks.
Returning stat leaders: Cromartie, Jr., 68-114 passing, 676 yards, 5 TDs, 6 INTs; Zack Pillow, Jr., 29 rec.-288 yards; Michael Schmidt, Sr., 16 rec.-134 yards, 2 TDs; James Olson, Soph., 45 tackles; Isaac Hungerbuhler, Jr., 5 sacks; Cooper Keith, Jr., 3 INTs.
Postseason history: Viera made the postseason eight years in a row. Playoff seasons: ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, '19, '20, '21. Playoff record: 9-8. State final: 2015 (Coach Kevin Mays, 7A runner-up to St. Thomas Aquinas, 45-10, Citrus Bowl).
2023 Viera Schedule
Aug. 25 at South Fork, 7
Sep. 1 at Satellite, 7
Sep. 8 Rockledge, 7
Sep. 15 MCC, 7
Sep. 22 at Baker County, 7
Sep. 29 Heritage, 7
Oct. 6 Bayside, 7
Oct. 12 at Harmony, 7
Oct. 27 Melbourne, 7
Nov. 3 Titusville, 7
2022 Hawks Results
at Creekside L, 49-0
Satellite L, 21-7
at Rockledge L, 41-0
Bishop Moore L, 31-12
Baker County L, 34-14
at Bayside L, 21-14
Harmony L, 38-13
Heritage L, 42-9
at Melbourne L, 49-7
Merritt Island L, 28-27
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Tour of Brevard: 2023 Viera High Hawks football
