- April 16, 2024
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With 31 seniors on its roster, Lakewood Ranch should have one of its best teams in recent years this season.
The Mustangs finished 6-3 in 2014 and narrowly missed the playoffs last season after falling to Palmetto late in the season. Lakewood finished 2-2 in Class 7A-District 11 behind Palmetto and district champion Braden River.
Lakewood returns both of its running backs in Justin Fischer and Daron Lowery and six offensive linemen. That experience should provide a boost to the Mustangs offense, which averaged nearly 25 points a game last season.
Senior Grant Weisman, who backed up quarterback Chad Rex last season, and sophomore Justin Curtis are both battling for the quarterback job. The two both saw action in the Mustangs Kickoff Classic, in a 20-14 loss to Riverview, Aug. 21.
Defensively, Lakewood will be led by its linebackers, including seniors Tyree Rome, Zack Ben-Ghuzzi and Ronnie Cunningham and junior Chris Hadley.
Lakewood will face its first district test Sept. 18 when it travels to rival Braden River, which beat the Mustangs for the first time in five years last season.
Following a a home game versus Sunlake, a new addition to the schedule this season, the Mustangs will play their four remaining district games throughout October, including a trip to Venice Oct. 23.
Here's more on Lakewood Ranch and its goals for the upcoming season, as the Mustangs prepare to kickoff the regular season Aug. 28.
You’ll see how Lowery became the strongest player on the Mustangs roster and why coach Mick Koczersut believes a trip to Western Carolina University this summer helped set Lakewood up for the season.
*Denotes district game
**All games start at 7:30 p.m.
Mick Koczersut, second year
What would you say is the strength of this year’s team?
Our offensive line, running backs and linebackers. We have a lot of players with experience. We know what they can do in a game. We have a lot of good players who we’ve seen in game time situations.
What are your expectations for this season?
I would like us to be successful in the district, and I believe we can be if we work very hard. This is the most seniors we’ve had at one time. It makes a difference when you have kids who have been around a lot and believe in the things that you’re telling them.
Your district schedule got even tougher with the addition of Venice this season. How do you prepare your players for the grind of the season?
We know we have to play well every week. That’s why we play. It’s for the competition. We just have to believe in ourselves the entire game and the entire season. It’s easy to say a lot of things in the spring and summer, but it’s when the season starts that you start to see what’s going to happen. It’s a process that makes you stronger.
You held your team camp at Western Carolina University again this season. What was that experience like for your players?
It was a lot of work and we had a chance to see some things. It does a lot for the kids in bringing them together. Nothing they are going to experience during the season is going to be more physical than what they went through up there, so if you can get through that then it makes the other stuff easy. Aside from football, it’s important for team building. It’s a lot like life in the sense that you’re figuring out who you can trust and believe in.
Do you know who will replace Chad Rex at quarterback?
Grant Weisman, a senior, and Justin Curtis, a sophomore, are battling. It’s harder to replace a quarterback who started for three years. Chad did a lot of things to make bad plays into good plays. He was a competitor.
