We tell you everything you need to know about the 2022 Beachside football team in this preview. We take a look at roster changes and what fans can expect from the team this season.
2021 Stats
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Key Losses
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Who’s Back
The Jacksonville area’s newest high school, located in neighboring St. Johns County, is Beachside High. The school’s first-year football team (school mascot: Barracudas) is led by Head Coach Pete Duffy, who singled out a few players for their performance so far in spring and summer workouts.
One is Will Dudley, who Duffy said is “a really good football player who has already stood out as a team leader, and will be a team captain.” Dudley likely will play H-back and receiver on offense, will be the team’s punter, and will line up at defensive end on defense, according to Duffy.
Other players Duffy will count on in year one include Cohen Beebe (a relative of former NFL great receiver Don Beebe) and Bryce Gee, who Duffy says is athletic and fast. Two other players who have looked impressive on defense are DE Riley Hofrichter and junior Ben Davenport, who Duffy says will likely play linebacker, and has stood out for his play and leadership abilities this offseason. “Ben has been a vocal leader for us on defense this spring and summer,” said Duffy.
What To Expect
The school may be new, but the head coach is not. Duffy coached 21 seasons in California before moving to the Sunshine State to take the new position at Beachside. He will have a roster of around 65 players in year one, and the team will be considered a freelance program, with no affiliation to a specific classification.
Duffy says he will be the primary play-caller, and his team will run variations of the spread offense. “We want to be balanced with the run and pass,” he says. Defensively, the Barracudas will run a traditional “40” defense, with four defensive linemen, two linebackers and five DBs.
As for expectations, Duffy says it’s too early to tell what to expect in terms of wins and losses for his new team. “I will mostly measure our success this first season in how well we competed, and how well did we do the basics, like how well did we tackle?” he says. Duffy did add that he hopes the incoming freshmen class will be competitive with any opponent when they are seniors. “That is a realistic expectation for our team,” he said.
Beachside’s first game will be against Tocoi Creek, which is starting its second season after opening as a new school and a new football program in 2021.
Prediction
No pressure for a team Duffy says is mostly made up of first-year varsity players. If they can somehow win a game or two, the first Beachside team will have plenty to celebrate.
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