In just three school years, Seaforth has already seen championship-level success across many sports.
Its 2023-24 2A Wells Fargo Cup title took major contributions from its wrestling, track, golf, swimming and girls’ basketball teams, just to name a few. However, football is one of the few teams that hasn’t yet claimed its share of the glory.
Starting at the varsity level one year behind most of the sports at Seaforth, the gridiron Hawks are looking to be the next team to make the step into playoff contention in 2024.
With a team of older, more experienced players, head coach Terrance Gary said the key to making the jump will be “attention to detail.”
“All those small things add up,” Gary said.
And this fall, the Hawks hope the sum is more wins and a better overall season than last year.
Last Year
Following the Hawks’ 0-2 start against non-conference opponents, Seaforth dominated Graham, 23-2, but it got the deed returned to it in a 44-0 loss to Cummings the next week. Seaforth bounced back with a blowout win over Chatham Central, but its season took a steep fall with three straight blowout losses to conference title contenders.
The Hawks won their last two games of the season to finish 4-6 and miss the playoffs.
Changes and Newcomers
One of the more visible changes for Seaforth football this year will be its new offensive system.
Gary said changing the Hawks’ offensive scheme was a “life lesson” for him as going away from what he knew and taking the wrong advice contributed to lackluster results on the field in 2023.
“Last year, I was trying to do some stuff that other people were saying that I should do, and I didn’t really know it like that.” Gary said. “I’m just going back to my roots, and we’re just going to be physical, fly around, do our thing and get the ball into our playmakers’ hands in all kinds of ways.”
Said junior safety and wide receiver Patrick Miller, “I think we’re a lot more versatile. We’re a lot faster. We have more things we can do out of similar formations, and over the summer, I’ve seen more people buy into the offense.”
The offense may also look different in the backfield as junior Duffy Palmer and sophomore Duncan Parker are in competition for the starting spot. Palmer started a few games for the Hawks last season and saw much more varsity time than Parker, however, with both proving their value to the offense this offseason, it hasn’t been an easy decision for Gary.
“Duffy’s aggressive,” Gary said. “He’s like a little linebacker at quarterback or whatever, but he likes getting physical. He’s smart. He won’t make too many mistakes. Duncan is very athletic, and he can freaking throw the freaking ball.”
Said Gary, “I wish I could put them both together. Then, I wouldn’t have this issue. But, I mean, you may see them both in the backfield at the same time.”
Players to watch
Seaforth is returning playmakers that can make impacts on both sides of the ball, including junior wide receiver and corner Nick Gregory and senior linebacker and tight end Alex Hinchman.
Gregory, who grabbed six interceptions last year despite missing multiple games, is looking to build on his breakout season by just focusing on being in the right place at the right time while Hinchman, a veteran leader for the team, is aiming for 100 tackles.
Junior running back and linebacker Evan Minor could also have a big year on the ground for the Hawks as he looks to lead the rushing attack in the new offense.
Outlook
The Hawks are entering 2024 with a purpose of building bonds between players and coaches which is one of the little, yet, important things that they hope will make a difference this season.
Seaforth went to a team camp, participated in a leadership program and came together for other team-building activities this offseason to help the team move more as a unit.
Gary said the efforts to build those bonds have come out on the field in the form of his players holding each other accountable and better communication.
“It’s a lot easier to talk to people that you know than people you don’t know,” Hinchman said. “If we know everybody and we all come together as a team, I think we’re going to be really great.”
With a squad highly locked into improving itself, the Hawks seem to be on the right track towards a better record this fall. Coming into this season with a different approach, this team could surprise people with more competitive games and maybe an upset for better playoff positioning.
