MONTICELLO, Fla. (WTXL) - Aucilla Christian is working hard for the upcoming season, and after graduating ten of 19 kids, they have some shoes to fill. Among the ten gone, Aucilla's quarterback, who set the single season passing record, and their top receiver, who is the receiving record holder at the school.
Head coach Colby Roberts not intimidated, but encouraged, as losing a lot of kids is nothing new to the program. Roberts said ACA's strong point this season is their line, as he has a lot of big kids with experience coming back.
He said while the low numbers mean more time in the trenches, it is something the Warriors don't mind a bit.
"Our guys have to go both ways. We really say it's three ways because we have special teams too," he laughed. "It's nothing new for us. Last year we had 19 and we didn't know what to do with that many. It's just ironman football at it's best and it's finest and we tell our guys that and that's what we expect them to do. They seem to be buying in, and hopefully we can achieve what we want to do."
Aucilla is independent when it comes to competition in the Florida High School Athletic Association, meaning, they can't compete in the FHSAA postseason. However, the Warriors to play in the nine team North Florida Football Conference, and Roberts said there is still plenty to play for.
The Warriors are at Jacksonville Cedar Creek Christian on Friday for preseason action. They host Branford on August 28th to open up the regular season.
