2012 Bay County boys soccer preview capsules:
BAY
Head coach:Ron Houpt, eighth season
2011-12:18-6-3, District 1-2A champion, lost to Pensacola Catholic 2-1 in overtime in regional semifinal
Leading returners:David Bradshaw (sr. defender), Zac Smith (sr. midfielder), Corey Joseph (jr. midfielder), Michael Layfield (jr. forward), Jacob Morrow (so. Midfielder).
Others to watch: Cubby Clemo (jr. defender), Christian Wilkins (jr. defender), Zac Watson (fr. Midfielder), Sean McDermott (fr. Defender).
Key losses:12 seniors.
Notable: Cameron Trawick returns as assistant head coach and Jon Baxley comes back as an assistant coach … 15 freshman will come into the program and several will be playing on the varsity.
Quotes:“Returning players will have to stay healthy and new players will have to step up and make immediate contributions for this season to be a success. Our players will need to remember they are still defending district champions until a new one is crowned.” — Ron Houpt
BOZEMAN
Head coach:Sean Fields
2011-12: 6-10-0.
Leading returners:Erik Benjamin, David Calzada
Others to watch:Ty Luna, Jordan Burns
Key Losses:Jacob Martinez, Tommy Cook, Jose Calzada
Notable:The Bucks return almost all of their offense, and Fields believes they should be able to generate shots this season.
Quotable:“Football going to the playoffs will cause us to start slow, but we should be 100 percent by tournament time.” — Sean Fields
MOSLEY
Head coach:Dave Skakal, 11th season
2011-12:10-8-1.
Leading returners:Miguel Arteaga (sr. defender), Micah Hapner (sr. forward), Josh Hoey, (sr. goalkeeper), Joey Jacobsen (sr. midfield), Cole Moreau (sr. forward), Greg Salazar (sr. forward).
Others to watch:Nick Cowan (sr. mid/forward), Zane Asselin (jr. defender), Alex Burgans (jr. midfielder), Karim Elbana (jr. mid/forward), Lane French (jr. defender), Anthony Gentili (jr. mid/forward), Christian Marsh (jr. defender), Matthew Ott (jr. defender), Jake Palmer (jr. mid/forward), Banton Price (jr. mid/defender), Tyler White (jr. mid/forward).
Key losses:Lance Acree, Jon Bottomy, Zack Bragdon, Jerrell Crum, Mark Grant, Nathan Gutcher, Nick Hill, Grady Marsh, Zach Nelson, Cole Nycum, Matt Perles, Justin Reed, Khayman Russell, Justin Wright.
Notable:New JV coaches are Ryan Rogers and Andrew Beasley ... varsity captains are Micah Hapner and Joey Jacobsen. Mosley again competes in District 2-5A with Chiles, Leon, Lincoln, and Lake City Columbia … Mosley opened the first day of the season with a 3-0 win over Arnold.
Quotable:“After losing fourteen seniors we have a younger team this season, but still with good talent and experience. Almost all are playing some kind of club soccer. Our goal is to be very competitive, even within a strong district. The JV team is a talented group with many good freshmen and sophomores. Enthusiasm is high and we are ready to go.” — Dave Skakal
RUTHERFORD
Head coach:Michael Brown, eighth season.
2011-12: Did not advance beyond districts.
Leading returners:Eric Riley (sr. forward), Dev Nanji (sr. forward), Sebastian Beletic (sr. midfield), Tyler Le (jr. midfield), Javen Threatt (sr. midfield), Marcus Harris (sr. defender), Patrick Bates (sr. defender), Andrew Mask (sr., goalkeeper).
Others to watch: Cesar Jurado (sr. forward), Aldo Gomez (jr. midfield).
Key losses:Josh Williams, Gabe Conway, Casey Long.
Notable:Rutherford plays in District 2-3A with Arnold, Milton, and Choctaw.
Quotable: “This year’s team returns seven starters and has added some excellent players at key positions. It is our hope that we will remain healthy and continue to improve throughout the season and postseason.” — Michael Brown
