Kathleen is trying to finish undefeated in the regular season for just the third time in its documented history since the program began playing football in 1942. Their first was in 1969 under the direction of Head Coach Tom Atwell and David Bowden was the QB, but the Red Devils finished tied in their district and were not chosen to play in the playoffs. That season ended with a Sentinel Bowl loss to Edgewater. They finished undefeated in the regular season in 2003 under Richard Tate (Strickland was the RB’s Coach), but didn’t play Lakeland due to cancellation and lost in the second round to eventual state champions, Monsignor Pace.
Coming off a 5-5 season in 2014, just one year removed from an 8-3 district championship season in 2013, the possibility of their downward trend looked to be a reality. Even though they entered last season arguably just as talented as that 2013 team and with several holdovers that were just sophomores when they tasted success, the Red Devils went through some tough times last year and needed to devote their attention to the details this season.
They’ve had chances to see their perfection go by the wayside this season with close calls out of district at home and on the road. Ironically, they’ve plowed through their district schedule winning their games against Winter Haven and Bartow by a combined score of 48-13. Many things are falling into place as the season progresses and their gigantic game at Bryant Stadium looms week ten with their hated rivals, the Lakeland Dreadnaughts. First, they must navigate a trip to South Fork down in Stuart in their quest of keeping that perfect season in tact against a team that’s 6-1 and
and will present some challenges to their defense.
Without the leadership that it takes to see this possible historical moment all the way through–and the ones that will fill those leadership roles next season that are taking notice, Kathleen Head Coach Irving Strickland wouldn’t be so excited about the journey. Evidently, he spotted this coming well before the rest of us did. Here is the coach in his own words about the team and their progression to this point, as well as his thoughts about a few of the young men that we could be talking about next season as the leaders on this team.
BCP: Coach, no other words to describe this season thus far, so we’re just going to ask–what’s going on with K-Leen?
Irving Strickland: “A lot of these seniors were sophomores two years ago, and we only had ten senior last year–so these kids have been through the battles–so when you’ve got a class like this one, you’ve got to guide them and trust them. That’s why I believe we’re-at-we’re-at–and that’s our senior leadership. It’s outstanding.”
BCP: Are there any comparisons to this team versus the 2013 team–aside from the roster?
Strickland: “Somebody asked me the other other day if I thought this team was better than the one two years ago–and I said no, talent-wise? no–they’re about even. But what separates this team from that one is we have the tools that are ready to play. Our back-ups two years ago weren’t ready to play, now they are ready to play.”
BCP: What was the mood like and the approach once the 5-5 season was over? What was the offseason like?
Strickland: “When the season was over last year–I gave them November and December off. We ramped back up the first of January and I told them look–people think there’s a magic formula when it comes to playing football. In reality, there’s not. You have to believe in what’s being coached, and you have to believe in the system. Tell me what you want from this upcoming season–and they said district champs–and I said okay here’s what you’ve got to do: First, you’ve gotta have great senior leadership. Second, you’ve gotta sacrifice and be dedicated. Third, you’ve gotta be willing to take the adversity–good or bad. And the fourth is simple–if you’re willing to do the first three–you’ll reap the rewards.”
BCP: Well, obviously it happened, didn’t it coach?
Strickland: “That’s what happened–those guys busted their butts from January till May. And busted their butts in spring ball at the ned of May. It was all gravy–we had some tough times. Then coming through the summer, they busted their butts. I can remember my quarterback coming up to the school to meet me every-single-day–we would work out at 7am to go over stuff that needed to be done to get a better understanding and grasp on the offense. I just remember those guys running three miles, three days-a-week and stuff just started to click.”
BCP: Was there a special moment you can point to at all?
Strickland: “I really started to notice when we went over to the Polk County 7-on-7 tournament and we had a first round bye–we had played two or three games then were at lunch–I was standing away from where they were, but I noticed that all the guys were underneath just one of the three tents we had set up and I said to the folks standing next to me that if this sort of thing (alluding to the kids taking accountability and leadership amongst themselves) keeps happening more often that we could be on the verge of something special. They just kept building-and-building-and-building and now here we are eight games later.”
BCP: More than team-building moments on the outside though. It comes from within. Coach Strickland understands that.
Strickland: “I tell them every week. Expectations. You’ve got expect to be successful. If you don’t expect it, it’s not going to happen. You’ve got to believe it in your heart. Is every game going to be a cakewalk? No, but you’ve got to expect to be successful. Those kids bought in though. They bought in–from me to my assistant coaches–from top to bottom and not once complained and that’s why.”
BCP: We think the season went through one of its defining moments up in Tallahassee two weeks ago against an under-.500 Leon team. You had muffed a punt, had a punt blocked, plus you missed two field goals and were playing against the 12th man aka the officials that night. Yet you defeated the Lions by a point in OT.
Strickland: “That was tough. We had to overcome some adversity in that Leon game. I’m not one that ever complains about the officiating, I’m a firm believer–we can’t complain about the officiating–we’ve just got to play. Those kids see you (the coaches) complaining–they’re going to start to complain. They (the kids) look at everything we do. If our attitude is just to keep playing then that’s what they’ll do and that’s what we did that night. Early in my career I would’ve gone for two as well, but as I got older I took the stance that my kids deserve that chance to keep playing, but they went for it and Ventrell Miller played a great play forcing the QB to throw the ball early.”
BCP: Speaking of Miller, can you tell us a little more about him, coach? He looks the part already as a junior.
Strickland: “I tell you–he doesn’t really know how good he can really be and I say that in a positive way–he’s a great young man–very respectful–not going to get in trouble–I told him one day–you really don’t know how good you can be–he said, why do you say that coach?–I said, have you ever sat down and watch yourself on tape?!? He just says to me–I just play football coach, I just do whatever I need to do. I just play. I don’t get caught up in all that other stuff. He has come around and come out of his shell. He’s become more vocal. I didn’t know this, but in that Leon game, when coach called timeout, one of my assistants told me that Ventrell said coach–we’re fixing to make a play right here, coach–just watch. We’re gonna seal the game right here, and then he went out there and made the interception. His closing speed is so darn good. He’s 6-1/215-220, has an offer from FAU that he just got last week and as I was watching his midseason highlights on youtube, I just kept saying to myself over-and-over that he just don’t realize how good he can be yet. I told one of my coaches the other day “that kid right there’s gonna mess around and become a big-time athlete.””
BCP: Do you feel comfortable with saying that he’s one of your expected leaders for next season?
Strickland: “Absolutely. There’s him and Tobias Larry–to which Coach Troutman calls the two of them frick-and-frack–cause you ain’t gonna see one without the other close by–you see one goofing off? I guarantee you that you’ll see the other one goofing off right next to him. If you see Frick, then Frack’s somewhere around. They’re best buddies. Him and Tobias on defense, plus we’ve got a sophomore Jaaron Jackson and I don’t see it dropping off. They say that places drop off every now and then, and I can see that–but I don’t see it happening here with the young men behind that senior leadership we’ve got.”