A month before spring practice began, standing on the sideline of a girls flag football game, newly hired Orange Park coach Tom MacPherson glanced up at the scoreboard and couldn’t help but crack a joke with his new athletic director.
Hanging just underneath the scoreboard is a newly added sign with the school’s all-time district titles. MacPherson realized in over 60 years the Raiders have won only 5 district titles, “So I guess that means, I have 10 years to win a title.”
MacPherson wasn’t serious but his message to the program was: don’t expect him to win one in year one. He has a solid track record of building a program brick-by-brick so give him some time.
Days before the 2015 kickoff classic, starting quarterback Bailey Cate decided to change positions and concentrate on just kicking, leaving the Raiders without a quarterback. Without a true signal caller, the coaches did their best to put together an offense.
Finding a quarterback was a top priority for MacPherson and he inherits a dynamic playmaker in senior Demarae Byrd. Byrd, who played primarily tailback, was put into quarterback after the departure of Cate and into a single wing offense.
With a spring and summer under MacPherson, Byrd has adapted to the change of a spread offense and should thrive in a more suitable offense for the Raiders.
The talent isn’t bare as MacPherson also returns several returnees including: Kris Thomas (Sr., LB), Darrius Portis (Sr., DB), Kameron Thomas (Sr., WR), Melvin Perry (Sr., ATH), Mike Oakley (Sr., SS/LB), Twain Newton (Sr., LB) and Zion John (Sr., DE).
As bad as things were last season, the Raiders were a win over Menendez away from forcing a district tiebreaker and earning a potential playoff spot.
Standing in the way of another possible playoff run is nemesis Clay, Menendez, Palatka and Baker County.
It’s only a matter of time before the Raiders are consistently knocking on the playoff door again and competing for state titles.
Orange Park Raiders
Building Brick-By-Brick Key For New Raiders Coach
Written by Corey Davis
Photo by OPRaiders.com
