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Francis Parker senior running back Kenny Brookins rushed for 1,108 yards and 18 touchdowns last season
With back-to-back Division V titles under their belt, it would be easy for Francis Parker to coast into this season. The Lancers, however, are ready to work for a three-peat.
“We don’t take for granted the championships that we won,” said senior running back/defensive back Kenny Brookins. “We know we’ve been working hard to achieve them and it’s just an honor to be a part of this.”
In addition to consecutive crowns and a state bowl appearance last season, Francis Parker has won three section titles in the past five years. The Lancers have spent the past half-decade quietly building a small school dynasty.
“It feeds upon itself,” said head coach John Morrison. “The kids get in here as freshmen, they see what’s going on with the older guys and I think they understand what it’s like to play for a winning program and they want to continue that.”
With Francis Parker’s program growing by 20 players in the offseason, it appears they are going to continue building. Morrison said most of those players are freshmen, some of whom will be able to contribute right away on the varsity level.
“Any time you can grow the program that’s really encouraging, especially at a small school,” Morrison said.
The 2010 Lancers face a big challenge in replacing Deon Randall, who is now at Yale. Last season at quarterback, Randall threw for 1,481 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 1,983 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also started at free safety, finishing the season with 60 tackles and five interceptions.
“Apart from Deon being a great athlete, he was a three-year starter a quarterback,” Morrison said. “He could not only make plays on his own, but he knew the offensive inside and out.”
Through camp, senior Warren Brody is expected to take the reigns at quarterback. Brody started at receiver and defensive back last year and saw quarterback action while on junior varsity as a sophomore.
“He’s a very good athlete and he throws a nice ball,” Morrison said. “He doesn’t have Deon’s quickness, but he has good speed and he will be a threat both throwing and running. For our style of play, it’s imperative our quarterback be a threat with both his feet and his arm.”
While their offense is still adjusting, Morrison said he is excited about the Lancers’ defense and what he has seen from that unit so far. In the offseason, Francis Parker switched to a 3-3 stack defense, with a base formation of three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.
“We’ve changed our scheme a little bit and we’ve tweaked some things,” Morrison said. “We love our speed and we’ve got good size up front. We’re going to be very fast to the ball.”
Returning defensive starters include the team’s leading tackler from a year ago, senior linebacker Enrique Espinosa-Da Silva, and junior outside linebacker Brian Levett. Seniors Brody and Brookins along with junior Rochon Taylor will anchor the secondary.
“If you want to make a three-peat and be the top dog year after year, then you have to come and practice and work hard,” Espinosa-Da Silva said. “It’s tough work but at the end of the day we want to be champions.”
Francis Parker’s special teams will be anchored by kicker/punter Matt Wile. Morrison said Wile is one of the best kickers in the section, if not the nation.
“That is a huge weapon for us, to be able to kick the ball in the endzone every time after we score and to be able to punt out of trouble,” Morrison said. “That’s something we have that not a lot of teams have.”
Even with filling the now vacant roles of Randall and massive lineman Wes Gavin, the Lancers have more returning starters this season than they did on a squad last that nearly captured a state title. Camp started Aug. 11 and Morrison said the tempo has been high since the first whistle.
“That is part of having the number of kids back that we have back – they understand the tempo we expect them to practice at,” Morrison said. “We go fast and we run a no-huddle offense, so we expect a lot of repetitions in a short amount of time.”
The Lancers begin their pursuit of a third-straight section title Friday, Sept. 3 at Hoover at 4 p.m. Despite some new personnel, the expectations appear just as high this season at Francis Parker.
“Looking at our team before the season started, we’ve got a lot of potential where it’s favored for us to come back and win the title again,” Brookins said. “So it’s all just about us playing to our potential and pulling even more than we thought we had out of ourselves.”
Division V Teams to Watch: Bishop’s, Christian, La Jolla Country Day
Francis Parker senior running back Kenny Brookins rushed for 1,108 yards and 18 touchdowns last season
With back-to-back Division V titles under their belt, it would be easy for Francis Parker to coast into this season. The Lancers, however, are ready to work for a three-peat.
“We don’t take for granted the championships that we won,” said senior running back/defensive back Kenny Brookins. “We know we’ve been working hard to achieve them and it’s just an honor to be a part of this.”
In addition to consecutive crowns and a state bowl appearance last season, Francis Parker has won three section titles in the past five years. The Lancers have spent the past half-decade quietly building a small school dynasty.
“It feeds upon itself,” said head coach John Morrison. “The kids get in here as freshmen, they see what’s going on with the older guys and I think they understand what it’s like to play for a winning program and they want to continue that.”
With Francis Parker’s program growing by 20 players in the offseason, it appears they are going to continue building. Morrison said most of those players are freshmen, some of whom will be able to contribute right away on the varsity level.
“Any time you can grow the program that’s really encouraging, especially at a small school,” Morrison said.
The 2010 Lancers face a big challenge in replacing Deon Randall, who is now at Yale. Last season at quarterback, Randall threw for 1,481 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 1,983 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also started at free safety, finishing the season with 60 tackles and five interceptions.
“Apart from Deon being a great athlete, he was a three-year starter a quarterback,” Morrison said. “He could not only make plays on his own, but he knew the offensive inside and out.”
Through camp, senior Warren Brody is expected to take the reigns at quarterback. Brody started at receiver and defensive back last year and saw quarterback action while on junior varsity as a sophomore.
“He’s a very good athlete and he throws a nice ball,” Morrison said. “He doesn’t have Deon’s quickness, but he has good speed and he will be a threat both throwing and running. For our style of play, it’s imperative our quarterback be a threat with both his feet and his arm.”
While their offense is still adjusting, Morrison said he is excited about the Lancers’ defense and what he has seen from that unit so far. In the offseason, Francis Parker switched to a 3-3 stack defense, with a base formation of three linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.
“We’ve changed our scheme a little bit and we’ve tweaked some things,” Morrison said. “We love our speed and we’ve got good size up front. We’re going to be very fast to the ball.”
Returning defensive starters include the team’s leading tackler from a year ago, senior linebacker Enrique Espinosa-Da Silva, and junior outside linebacker Brian Levett. Seniors Brody and Brookins along with junior Rochon Taylor will anchor the secondary.
“If you want to make a three-peat and be the top dog year after year, then you have to come and practice and work hard,” Espinosa-Da Silva said. “It’s tough work but at the end of the day we want to be champions.”
Francis Parker’s special teams will be anchored by kicker/punter Matt Wile. Morrison said Wile is one of the best kickers in the section, if not the nation.
“That is a huge weapon for us, to be able to kick the ball in the endzone every time after we score and to be able to punt out of trouble,” Morrison said. “That’s something we have that not a lot of teams have.”
Even with filling the now vacant roles of Randall and massive lineman Wes Gavin, the Lancers have more returning starters this season than they did on a squad last that nearly captured a state title. Camp started Aug. 11 and Morrison said the tempo has been high since the first whistle.
“That is part of having the number of kids back that we have back – they understand the tempo we expect them to practice at,” Morrison said. “We go fast and we run a no-huddle offense, so we expect a lot of repetitions in a short amount of time.”
The Lancers begin their pursuit of a third-straight section title Friday, Sept. 3 at Hoover at 4 p.m. Despite some new personnel, the expectations appear just as high this season at Francis Parker.
“Looking at our team before the season started, we’ve got a lot of potential where it’s favored for us to come back and win the title again,” Brookins said. “So it’s all just about us playing to our potential and pulling even more than we thought we had out of ourselves.”
Division V Teams to Watch: Bishop’s, Christian, La Jolla Country Day