Bloomingdale Bulls 2011 Summer Football Preview

All of the FHSAA teams got a little shake up this spring with the announcements of the re-alignments. It has to be done every few years to keep schools that grow and schools that shrink in the right classes. This year, Bloomingdale vaults up from Class 5A to Class 8A, the largest class.

The move to 8A puts them in District 6.

District 6 looks like this:

Team:          2010 record(district record)

Plant   12-3(3-0) *lost 5A state championship

Bloomingdale   2-9(1-3)

Wharton   4-7(1-2)

Alonso   4-7(2-1) *made playoffs

The Bulls find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Not one team from their old district made it up to 8A. It’s a trade-off that goes both ways. Sure, it’s nice to not have to deal with Newsome, Durant and Plant City every year but now Plant will stand in their way of a district title for the foreseeable future.

Plant is as much a fixture in the playoffs as referees or footballs. Thus, for now, the Bulls have to focus on getting that second spot in the district and getting in.

“We believe we can get one of those two spots,”  said Head Coach John Booth. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, there’s no doubt about that,”

It’s been dry years since Booth took over. Their last playoff appearance was under , now the skipper at Gaither. Since then, the Bulls are 2-19. They did progress from a winless season in 2009 to grabbing two victories in 2010 but they are hoping to turn the corner this year.

Luckily, they will not have a quarterback controversy like last year.

The Bulls started last season with David Dittfield at the helm. Dittfield threw for less that fifty percent completions over the first four games and nine picks. Booth made the move to Cody Crouse and has not looked back.

“He’s got arm strength, he’s cool in the pocket, he gets the ball out in a hurry, and he can stretch the field,” said Booth.

Obviously, Booth is pretty high on his junior signal caller.

“He’s got that, ‘we can win’ mentality.”

Crouse went on to throw for 737 yards down the last half of the season, throw six touchdowns and win two of the five games he started. The Bulls are hoping for a big year from Crouse.

At running back, Eugene Baker returns for his junior year after toting the rock 80 times last year for 485 yards. Complementing Baker will be Tampa Bay Tech transfer, Kameron Faile. Coaches are very excited about Faile who is in his first year of eligibility for Bloomingdale.

"He's got great vision, speed and strength," said Offensive Coordinator James Booth. "He leg pressed 800lbs. just the other day."

At wide receiver lies the heart of the team, in senior Sean Minnifield. Minnifield or "Mini" as he is called is coming of a 35 catch junior year behind graduated Donny Suchan. Suchan was more of the deep threat while Minnifield handled the underneath routes. 

The Bulls will use Minnifield all over the field this year but the main difference is that they will use him to stretch the field.

"He's worked on body positioning in the offseason and learned how to open up and maintain separation," said Booth.

Booth continued, "we want to get him at least ten touches per game, whether it's from the backfield the slot or outside".

Minnifield is definitely up to the challenge.

"I want to get at least 35-40 catches, 5-6 touchdowns and 600-plus yards," said Minnifield.

When asked how he had such concrete numbers in his head, he laughed and replied, "I have a bet going with Donny(Suchan) that I would top his numbers from last year".

Keeping Minnifield company at the position will be junior Adam Posateri, who can step in at quarterback if needed. Adam is a much bigger target that Minnifield and should prove effective if defenses try to bracket Minnifield.

Newcomers Kevin Click and Daniel Sedano should factor into the passing game also.

The offensive line is hiring if anyone is interested. Veterans Jacob Campoamor and Mitchell McDade, a senior and junior respectively bring a little bit of experience to the left side of the line. Jacob is described as a, strong, techincally sharp, and smart player by Booth and McDade as a hard worker.

The big dog up front is Dustin Bullara. According to Booth, he could play anywhere on the line. He's new to the mix on the offensive line but could be the strongest player on the team. He's drawing interest from Georgia Tech.

The left side of the line is up for grabs. The Bulls are hoping Chris Arroyo and Trey Curry  will take over spots or at least play roles on the offensive front.

"Our backs are really good, we just need our line to be disciplined and make dents in the defense, our skill guys should do the rest," said Booth.

On the defensive side, Jackson Smigiel returns for his senior year and will be looked to for captainship of the defensive line. Jackson is one of the bigger kids on the team at 6-foot-4 and north of 240lbs.

"He's a high motor guy, one of those guys you have to tell to stop," said Booth. "

At linebacker, the loss of Zach Vath to gradutaion was a huge hit. Vath finished last season with 108 total tackles. Those stops will have to come from somewhere this season.

Booth is hoping to platoon the position between senior James Wiley and sophomore John Hester.

"Hester is going to be a beast in two years," said Booth.

At outside linebacker, the Bulls have converted junior Christian Bennett from defensive back position, who, according to Booth is, "getting it". 

The strength of the defense is the secondary.

Corner backs, Teshawn Mitchell(sr.) and Gerard Trott(jr.) are as close to lock-down corners as the Bulls are going to get.

According to Booth, Teshawn is more of a technician while Trott is blazing fast with devastating technique. 

"He's ran a 4.45 second 40-yard dash this year," said Defensive Coordinator, Kevin Steinestel.

Manning the safety spots will likely be sophomore Allen Yearby who is, "athletic and knows how to find the football" and senior Brandon Godoski who is, "the smartest one in the group" and knows, "everyone's assignments", according to Steinestel.

The Bulls reached into the soccer roster to strengthen the kicking game. Matt Firestine steps off the pitch and onto the grid iron. Firestine will both place kick and punt for Bloomingdale and according to Booth, he's accurate inside the 40-yard line.

This is a major asset for the Bulls. Lacking a kicking game can be an achilles heel for many teams. Having someone that can give you three points from the 40-yard line is huge for a high school program. 

Kameron Faile and Adam Posateri will handle return duties.

If there's one thing that needs work going into July and August for the Bulls it's, the holes on the offensive line, according to Booth. 

"Also defense has a lot of new kids and they need to understand their assignments," said Booth.

If there's one good thing they have going for them, "it's the skill position players, the receiving corps and the defensive secondary" said Booth.