Tigers aiming for new heights

DUNNELLON - Over the past three seasons, Dunnellon coach Frank Beasley has learned what his program needs to do from a schematic point of view in order to make the postseason.

In each of the past three years, the Tigers have been on the doorstep of the postseason, only to come up short. A year ago, Dunnellon suffered its second consecutive upset loss to West Port. It dropped the Tigers to compete in a three-way tiebreaker for the district runner-up spot, which they lost to Williston.

"It's a very tough district and in each of the past three years the same two teams have made the playoffs," Beasley said. "It's time for one of the other (three) teams to step up. Last year, we made it a little bit further going to the tiebreaker, but everyone gets up to play in this district.

"You've got us and West Port, us and North Marion and then you have Williston, which is always athletic. It makes for some real tough games."

This time around, Dunnellon has made sweeping changes in its bid for a first playoff berth since 2003.

The Tigers have switched to the Wing-T on offense and have a 4-2-5 set on defense.

The Wing-T allows Dunnellon to keep opposing blitz-happy defenses across the district honest, forcing them instead to watch for the misdirection and trap plays that will define the Tiger offense.

Last season, the Tigers struggled to run the ball, but with a quicker and more athletic offensive line, Beasley is hoping that will change.

"We've got only one lineman that runs over a 5.0 in the 40 (yard dash)," said Beasley, who is 19-11 in three seasons as Dunnellon's head coach. "The whole offense fits our kids. This group (of lineman) is a lot more aggressive and they will get out on the perimeter and block."

The chief beneficiaries of this will be an impressive backfield group headlined by Bubba Black, Angelo Cabrera, Terrance Brooks and Belleview transfer Levon Vereen.

Black had a 200-plus yard rushing effort against Forest in last year's regular season finale, while Brooks and Cabrera are the fastest players on Dunnellon's roster.

Throw in UCF commit D.J. Brown at tight end and the Tigers have a very athletic offense.

The quarterback spot, meanwhile, will feature a battle in camp between Derick Milam and Cody Underwood. Both signal-callers saw time in the spring, as Dunnellon moved the ball well against Newberry and Gainesville High.

On defense, the 4-2-5 set will enable the Tigers to take advantage of their speed and quickness.

"It just fits us a lot better," said Beasley, who moved Aaron Richardson to offensive coordinator and Patrick Carty to defensive coordinator. "It allows us to play our athletes who can fly around and get to the ball."

Brooks, Dunnellon's lone two-way starter, heads the unit from the secondary, while newcomers Joey Kasper (LB) and Patrick Lavan (DE) look to help shore up a unit that graduated University of Florida freshman linebacker Lerentee McCray.

"As a staff, we left no stone unturned during the offseason," Beasley said. "Our kids worked as hard as they possibly could. They've done everything they possibly could have done. I am really looking forward to the season and overall am just real excited about what we have here."