Spring Football: Walton expecting more from itself
By TRAVIS DOWNEY
travisd@nwfdailynews.com
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS - For most, an 8-2 record would be looked upon one year later with a sense of accomplishment.
Maybe even as a point of pride.
Not at Walton High.
"I wouldn't even count that as a winning season," Rising Braves senior Tarrell Bramlet scoffed on Tuesday.
Walton's two losses - a 37-14 setback to Pensacola Catholic and a 34-7 drubbing at the hands of Marianna - not only prevented them from notching a win in District 1- 2A play, but also prevented the Braves from reaching the playoffs.
The losses also left a bitter taste in Walton's collective mouths.
"The two games that counted, we didn't show up," Bramlet added. "I feel like we were 0-2 (last year) and had a losing season."
Fellow senior Issac Jackson echoed Bramlet's disdain for the Braves' shortcomings one year ago.
"It hurt my feelings," Jackson said. "It's a big motivator."
Such is the sting that still resides in the Walton locker room, where on the heels of an otherwise highly successful 2007 campaign, coach Lenny Jankowski's team enters 2008 with raised expectations, if not a score - or two - to settle.
The return of Bramlet, who passed for 1,848 yards and 17 touchdowns, and Jackson, who rushed for 1,321 yards and 14 scores, headlines the Braves' list of returnees.
But with 22 seniors graduated from a year ago, Jankowski pointed to the "quality" of returning players over a perceived lack of "quantity."
"We've got some guys with some key game experience," Jankowski said.
Deron Hogans is one such player who returns as a four-year starter on defense for the Braves this season.
Austin Wilson also returns as a three-year starter on defense.
"There are a lot of game minutes logged at some key positions," Jankowski said.
Most crucial to the Braves' spring will be the development of some of Walton's younger players, who will be called upon to fill crucial holes on both sides of the ball next season.
In the meantime, Jankowski said the focus of the Braves' practices will be on the basics - as in tackling and blocking.
"We're working on Walton right now," Jankowski said.
"We could run the ball 70 times, we could throw it 70 times, we could line up in any kind of defensive front, but if we can't block and tackle then we aren't going to be worth a darn."
