Football
2020 North Side Football Preview: Will the Legends Take Another Step Forward?
Head Coach: Michael Brevard (4th season)
2020 Schedule:
Aug. 21 at Snider
Aug. 28 Dwenger
Sep. 4 at Carroll
Sep. 11 Wayne
Sep. 18 at Luers
Sep. 25 at Homestead
Oct. 2 South
Oct. 9 at Northrop
Oct. 16 Concordia
Key Returning Players:
QB Duce Taylor
RB Jasuan Lambert
WR Ronald Collins III
WR Rodney Woods
WR/DB Jordan Turner
DT Dazzman McKenzie
LT/DE Jacob Lambert
MLB Lah-Shon Miller
MLB Austin Chapman
FS Arieon McCarter
Key Losses:
RB Alex Holliday-Robinson
FS Jaylen Harris
SS Theo Redmond
North Side has had a tough last few years in football. The Legends have gone a combined 13-46 over the last six years and haven’t had a winning season since finishing 7-4 in 2013. It’s been a struggle, but head coach Mike Brevard believes that better days are ahead for the program, starting in 2020.
“I think they gained a lot of confidence,” Brevard said, talking about his team’s improvement from 2 wins in 2018 to 4 in 2019. “There’s just a different energy. We’ve got players harping on players, I think they can sense that this is the year that North Side turns the corner.”
There’s definitely a different buzz around this program compared to when Brevard took over in 2017. They’ve continued to improve in all areas and it’s shown in the winning column, going from 0 to 2 to 4 wins over the first three years of Brevard’s tenure. But now it’s time to take another step, this time to a winning record, and this is the team to do it with.
Their abundance of seniors start at quarterback with the dual-threat capabilities of Duce Taylor. Taylor took over midway through 2019 and posted 557 yds and 4 TD, though his completion percentage was only 41%. Expect his numbers to get better with a very talented group of wide receivers, most notably Ronald Collins III (11 rec, 126 yds, 1 TD), Jordan Turner (30 rec, 473 yds, 5 TD), and Rodney Woods (11 rec, 186 yds, 1 TD).
“He’s a great quarterback,” Collins said of his teammate. “He puts the ball where it needs to be. I’ve never played with anybody like that.”
Collins is also very confident in this group of receivers.
“We just know that we’re dangerous. Any one of us could go off any given night. It’s fun playing with those guys, they make it easier for me to do what I need to do to be the best receiver I can be.”
While the passing game figures to be very good, the running game could take a hit with star rusher Alex Holliday-Robinson (901 yds, 5.1 yds/car, 9 TD) having graduated in 2020. That means it’s up to Jasuan Lambert to carry the load. Lambert had 246 yds and 5 TD on 42 carries in his sophomore season, setting him up well to have a very good 2020 season.
“He was a great mentor,” Lambert said of Holliday-Robinson. “One thing he taught me was vision and cutting back. He had magnificent vision, so I feel like that’s one thing that he helped me with.”
Defensively, the Legends lose a couple of key guys including SS Theo Redmond who had an unreal 17.5 tackles for a loss and 4 sacks last season, with 62 tackles in total.
He also caused and recovered 2 fumbles. However, North Side still returns one of the most talented defenders in the conference with FS Arieon McCarter. McCarter had 40 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 INT in 2019, drawing a lot of attention from opposing coaches and making him a major threat in the secondary.
The Legends are set at linebacker as well, with Lah-Shon Miller and Austin Chapman. Miller was a stud last season, coming up with 86 tackles, 15 TFL, and 1.5 sacks. On the D-line, Dazzman McKenzie and Jacob Lambert are players to watch out for. Lambert, responsible for 11 tackles and 2.5 TFL at defensive end, knows how important it is to have a lot of experience back this year and expects a lot out of this defense.
“It’s very valuable,” Lambert said. “We want to bring the same intensity we had last year, so it was very helpful to have them back. It’s very important to have that experience because it builds confidence.”
“They want to get after it and hit just like I do. They’ve all bought into the process just like I have. We all want to get to state. It’s good to have people with the same mindset as you.”
As always, the schedule will be brutal for North Side. They play Snider, Dwenger, and Carroll in consecutive weeks to open the season, making it challenging to get off to a good start.
“We’re kind of used to the gauntlet and having the big boy teams in the beginning of the season,” Coach Brevard said. “It’s a good measuring stick to see what we can get accomplished in four or five weeks.”
The Legends first game against Snider will be an away game and is scheduled for August 21.
