We tell you everything you need to know about the 2023 Bartram Trail football team, including roster changes and what fans can expect from the Bears this season.
2022 Stats
- Overall Record: 12-1
- Points Scored: 457
- Points Allowed: 210
Key Losses
Bartram Trail can count among the key personnel not returning in 2023 their longtime leader, Darrell Sutherland, who retired after 23 seasons as the only head coach in Bears football program history. (Cory Johns has been hired from Nature Coast High to replace Sutherland.)
As for players not returning in 2023, that group includes MLBs Davis Houk and Zeke Cromwell. Houk takes his talents to Keiser University, while Cromwell leaves for the University of West Georgia after collecting 170 tackles over his final two seasons with the Bears. DT Arion Stith also leaves the Bears after a senior season that saw him make 67 tackles and 3 sacks. Stith is now at Pittsburg State.
Slotback Taylor Rhodes graduates after a career in which he tallied 657 receiving yards and 9 TDs. DE Marcos Ramos’ presence will be missed on the defensive front following his graduation.
Who’s Back
A solid group of returning seniors will greet new head coach Cory Johns in 2023. They include QB Riley Trujillo, who threw for 1,910 yards and ran for another 710 last season, with 20 TDs combined. After receiving more than 20 collegiate offers, the Bartram Trail senior signal caller has verbally committed to Central Florida.
Joining Trujillo in the offensive backfield will be versatile senior RB Laython Biddle, who rushed for 1,515 yards and 30 TDs last season while averaging 8 yards per carry. He is committed to Navy. Johns told ITG Next that he also is excited to have senior C Zach Marshall and OLB Michael Matos returning to the program, along with LB Caden Baldwin, who has 74 tackles over the last two seasons.
What to Expect
Johns may be only the second head coach in Bartram Trail football history, but he’s no stranger to First Coast football. He was a quarterback at Interlachen High before going on to play the position with the Dolphins at Jacksonville University. Johns is also no stranger to coaching winning football teams, as he led Nature Coast to the playoffs for six straight seasons. He favors a running style of offense, so with a back like Biddle and a dual-threat QB like Trujillo, that should suit the Bears new coach just fine.
Prediction
The Bears will be tough once again. 12-2 record in 2023.
Game to Watch
At Buchholz on October 19 – the 2023 Bartram Trail football team will be eager to beat the squad that ended its 2022 season.
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