FRANKLINTON DEMONS
Coach: Stephen Burris (second season, 5-6)
Last year: 5-6 overall, 3-1 district (second place), 20th
http://www.firestormkennel.com/jay-prosch-jersey-c-1_38.html seed in Class 4A playoffs; lost to 13th-seeded Warren Easton, 47-27, in first round.
Top returning players: QB Tahj Magee, Sr. (pictured); LB Lamount Harris, Sr.; WR Duke Bell, Jr.; OL Josh Gubert, Sr.; OL Lance Stermer, Sr.; RB Trequan Charles, Sr.; WR/CB Rakerian Conerly, Sr.; LB James Bickham, Sr.; DE Carson Ragas, Jr.
Top newcomers: DB Rondrick King, Sr.; DE Austin Thomassen, Sr.; DT Joe Magee, Soph.; DE Derek Shows, Jr.; LB Grant Thomas, Jr.
Toughest games: at Covington, Sept. 1; at St. Thomas More, Sept. 29; vs. Salmen, Oct. 5 (road) and Oct. 27 (home); vs. Neville, Oct. 13.
Outlook: Between having little adjustment period after being an assistant coach for 20 years to becoming head coach in the spring of 2016 to a plethora of injuries, Burris says the Demons have put last season behind them and feel good about where they are now.
“
In 20 years as an assistant, I had one (player with a) broken leg. Last year I had four,” he said. Throw in another with a torn ACL and a wide receiver who didn’t realize he needed contact lenses, and it was quite the frustrating season for a team just six years removed from a Class 4A state championship.It
’s tough to predict how well this team will do, but they cannot be counted out with one of the area’s most talented quarterback in Magee, who was sixth on the North Shore last season (second among quarterbacks to Ponchatoula’s Jakyle Holmes) with 925 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He also passed for 1,812 yards with 15 more scores against just five interceptions.With a more-experienced offensive line and six
http://www.newjersey1861.com/mark-herzlich-jersey-c-1_46.html returning starters there, the biggest question will be on defense, where just four return.
“Up front we’re a lot better, but we don’t have that athlete on defense as good as we used to who can just fly around,” Burris said. “Tackling in space was never an issue, but with three new starters in the secondary, we could see some growing pains.”
