Flash mob

At St. Joseph Academy, the sentiment, "football games are won in the fourth quarter", is rooted in the reality that better play in the fourth quarter last season would have resulted in a third straight winning season.

Instead, the Flashes finished 4-4 in Brannon Tidwell’s first season on the sideline.

St. Joseph has 37 players on its roster this year. That is the school’s largest in at least half a decade.

“We have some depth with some kids who can play,” Tidwell said. “That’s going to help us in the second half of games that we lost that we should have won.”

Consecutive losses to start the season were followed by consecutive wins, and the trend repeated itself during the second half of the season. Eagle’s View won a Week 2 contest in overtime and Tallahassee St. John Paul II used a 40-yard field goal at the final horn five weeks later to put a dent in St. Joseph’s playoff hopes.

“He’s had the whole offseason, so this year he’s getting out of us what he’s been planning,” St. Joseph senior James Drysdale said of his head coach. “There is still a lot more to go. A full offseason with him, everyone is lifting hard. We did 6 a.m. mat drills in the spring.”

Being on campus, working out under the illumination of car lights was not Drysdale’s idea of fun. But, the senior co-captain likes winning more than sleeping in.

Drysdale is slated to be the only player who will play on both sides of the football this season. The inside linebacker/running back who has scholarship offers from Illinois State and Charleston Southern and interest from Columbia led the Flashes with 112 tackles last fall as well as 551 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in seven games.

“It’s going to help people know their jobs better,” Drysdale said. “Practice is no longer where we’ll have a defensive day or an offensive day. We’ll have a normal practice. Overall, we’ll be more educated on the game and be able to know our positions better. When you know the game, you’re able to play faster. If everyone can do that, that’s what we’re going to be looking for: Play fast on defense, get three-and-outs-and let (quarterback Dylan Thibualt) do his thing.”

Thibault, a three-year starter who gained 20 pounds in the offseason, spent three months playing with St. Joseph’s soccer team. On the gridiron, he completed 66.2 percent of his passes (90 of 136) for 1,739 yards, 19 touchdowns and only three interceptions in seven games.

The experience of Thibault, Drysdale and left guard Leo Hyde will be key for the Flashes' offense as seven of the projected starters are either freshmen or first-year starters. Junior right tackle Miles Ayers doesn’t fit into either category, but he was at St. Augustine High last fall.

“On offense, we’re young. But, I think it’s going to be exciting to watch,” Thibault said. “The receivers, they are young, but they are explosive and fast. They are pretty special. Watching them go for four years, that core is going to be very good.”

Ken Hill, Greg Allen, Patrick Stevens and Grant Fortner are all freshmen. Hill and Stevens are slated to be wide receivers. Allen will play slot as well as running back, while Fortner is projected to be a slot receiver in the Flashes’ single-back offense.

Their introduction to varsity football, as well as that of freshman center Cameron Helt, will be on the road against Cedar Creek Christian. Kickoff against the Saints is the first game of a revamped schedule. St. Joseph remains a member of the North Florida Football Conference — for now — but non-conference games against Cocoa Beach and Deltona Trinity Christian are indicative of Tidwell’s quest to play tougher opponents.

Thibault, Drysdale and Hyde were freshmen when the Flashes won the conference title with a peerless 10-0 record in 2015. Their goal is to not only win the conference this fall but help the program qualify for the FHSAA playoffs for the first time since 2006.

St. Joseph moves up from Region 2-2A to Region 1-3A this fall. The top six teams in the nine-team region will advance to the playoffs.

“Everyone looks at St. Joe as soft and smaller,” Drysdale said. “Everyone is seeing what they can do and doing the best they can to maximize their potential. Everyone is buying into how good we can be.”

St. Joseph Flashes

Coach: Brannon Tidwell,  second year (4-4 at St. Joseph, 37-38 overall)

2017 Record: 4-4, 2-2

3 Players to Watch

QB Dylan Thibault: Has completed 63.5 percent of his passes (99 of 156) in his varsity career.

RB James Drysdale: Has recorded more than 100 tackles in each of the past two seasons.

LG Leo Hyde: Only senior on an offensive line that will have three players starting in new positions.

Circle That Date: Aug. 31 vs. Gainesville St. Francis. The Wolves have lost a number of players from last year's 8-2 squad, but they have won five straight road contests and will be a barometer on whether the Flashes can once again compete for a conference title.

St. Joseph Schedule

Aug. 24 at Cedar Creek Christian

Aug. 31 vs. Gainesville St. Francis*

Sept. 7 vs. Eagle’s View

Sept. 14 at Gainesville Oak Hall*

Sept. 21 vs. Cocoa Beach

Sept. 27 at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind*

Oct. 5 at St. Johns Country Day*

Oct. 12 at Tallahassee St. John Paul II

Oct. 26 vs Deltona Trinity Christian

Nov. 2 vs. NFFC Crossover Game

* North Florida Football Conference South Division contest

2017 Results

At Gainesville St. Francis* L 54-28

At Eagle’s View L 18-12 (OT)

Vs. Ocala St. John Lutheran W 42-8

Vs. St. Johns Country Day* W 42-0

Vs. Tallahassee St. John Paul II* L 17-14

At Christ’s Church Academy L 20-0

Vs. FSDB* W 54-0

At Niceville Rocky Bayou Christian W 86-47

* NFFC game