Father Lopez: 'This year, it's playoffs'

Ormond Beach Observer
Sports

The Green Wave players and their coach have their sights set on the playoffs in 2013.

BY MATT MENCARINI | SPORTS EDITOR

The Father Lopez football program isn’t what it once was.

When Jason Dunlap was hired as head coach three years ago, he had seven players show up for the first day of spring football, just days after he had accepted the position.

“I recruited the school and found some kids that might want to play football,” Dunlap said, adding his first spring game had 13 players, and the Green Wave didn’t score a point.

When summer football camp starts this year, he expects 50 players as he continues to build.

“Our goal is to get into the playoffs this year,” he said. “Last year, it was to have a winning record. This year, it’s playoffs.”

Father Lopez, after playing in Class 2A, will play in the more competitive Class 3A in 2013 for the first time, in a district made up of Maclay (Tallahassee), P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), St. Francis Catholic (Gainesville) and Trinity Catholic (Ocala).

“Last year, I scheduled a bunch of 3A teams,” Dunlap said. “And they beat us, but it wasn’t bad bad. This year, now that we’re in 3A, I’m glad I did that, so that now we have a better handle on what we have to do.”

Father Lopez played Lake Mary Prep, a Class 3A school, May 18, in its spring game. The Green Wave looked strong, beating the Griffins 20-7.

Bright future

Juwan Ross is finishing up his freshman season but, pushing six feet, he’s as big as most seniors. Ross, Dunlap said he'll play both defensive line and wide receiver next season, and he's really starting to play to his potential.

“He didn’t understand football in the fall,” Dunlap said. “We couldn’t get him to click ... and then, all of a sudden, it clicked. And, I mean, he went from benching 140 lbs. (to) benching like 260 lbs. now.”

Ross has become "unblockable," despite battling a groin injury that has limited him in the spring, Dunlap said, adding he’ll probably receive multiple Division I scholarship offers in seasons to come.

Spring focus

When Father Lopez played Lake Mary Prep in the 2012 season, the Green Wave gave up just one touchdown, on a big play. That game was just one example of why Dunlap made tackling an emphasis in the spring.

Dunlap said he was pleased with the progress that has been made as his defense swarmed the ball most of the spring game.

“We felt that last year we just missed way too many tackles,” he said. “We really put an emphasis (on it), even more than running offense or running defense or anything.”