Mount Dora (FL) leaning on a strong offensive line in 2022

Hurricanes are competing of all phases of the off-season in order to be their best in the regular season

MOUNT DORA, FL – The goal for the Mount Dora Hurricanes’ football team is simple and that’s to compete in everything in which they take part.

That’s not just limited to games, but to 7-on-7’s, the weight room and beyond as the Hurricanes are coming off a down year, going 3-7 in 2021. Though Mount Dora had the below .500 campaign, first-year Hurricanes’ head coach Luke Hutchinson wants his team to get after it everyday.

“At Mount Dora our goal is to compete in everything,” Hutchinson said. “That’s our standard, we are going to compete in the classroom, weight room and the practice field and every Friday night.

“We have been busy this summer. It’s been a complete change to what our boys were used to in the past with implementing two a day practices, lifting and conditioning so hard. The boys and our coaching staff bought into it and it’s been a tremendous summer so far.“

Hutchinson points to the team’s offensive line being the strength of the club heading into the 2022 campaign, with Ethan Eubanks, Ayden Mendoza, John Goff and Juan Zavala all leading the way. Along with 1,500-yard rusher Johnson Turner coming back on offense, the Hurricanes have a cohesive unit when it comes to the rushing attack. Defensively, Mount Dora’s linebacking core of Russell Fickett, Cohen O’Hara and EJ Balderas will set the tone for the Hurricanes.

“We have some guys that haven’t received the recognition they deserve,” Hutchinson said. “The heart and soul of our team is our offensive line. Four of five are returning starters. They are all high academic, high football IQ guys and on the field they are mean.”

Mount Dora fell into the suburban classification when the Florida High School Athletic Association’s redistricting, with the Hurricanes getting paired up with some local rivals. The Hurricanes are going to be apart of Class 2A-Suburban, District 10 with Eustis, Umatilla and The Villages. Now apart of the new district, Mount Dora will be prepared to renew local rivalries and be able to compete for a potential playoff spot.

“For us the metro/suburban split isn’t going to change how we prepare, practice or play,” Hutchinson added. “Regardless if it’s a metro or suburban team we are going to do everything as coaches and players to be successful.”

“From a personal standpoint, I would like to see a system based on true competitive equity. Get rid of classifications based on enrollment and use the last two years to place teams based on performance. There are multiple other states that use a similar system.”

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.