Can Bartram Trail Rebound From Rare Losing Year?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the 2024 season ended and fans across Florida looked at the record of some of the yearly powers, many had to look twice at St. Johns Bartram Trail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For as long as most can remember, when late November rolled around, the Bears were right in the playoff mix. Not this past season as this team finished last in District 3-6A with a disappointing 4-6 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After winning eight games, three in district play and advancing to the playoffs in his first season, head coach <strong>Cory Johns</strong> and his team fell off the radar, and that was a huge surprise to this program and its many fans.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Remember, since the 2014 season, veteran head coach <strong>Darrell Sutherland</strong> had led this team to an impressive 85-27, so that's why the first losing season since back in 2009 was indeed a reason for many to take notice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the program hit the off-season, there was a bit of a wakeup call, and that meant that every coach and player needed to step up if they wanted to return to their winning way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If they are going to turn things back around, this rising (2026) senior class will have to take a leadership role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some of those prospects to keep an eye on:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS OF 2026</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1640449' first='Coleson' last='Baum'], QB,&nbsp;6'4,&nbsp;195 – 3.7 GPA, Baseball.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a>https://www.hudl.com/profile/17920976/Coleson-Baum</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brandon Joesph,&nbsp;OL/DL,&nbsp;5'11,&nbsp;200 – 3.61 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: &nbsp;<a>https://www.hudl.com/profile/17937197/Brandon-Joseph?</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1793567' first='Arthur' last='Lewis'] IV, RB,&nbsp;5'10,&nbsp;180 – 3.11 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a>https://www.hudl.com/profile/17859465/Arthur-Lewis-IV</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ethan McCall, OL/C,&nbsp;6'0,&nbsp;265&nbsp;– 3.0 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <u><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17928537/Ethan-McCall">https://www.hudl.com/profile/17928537/Ethan-McCall</a></u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Michael Minor, DL,&nbsp;6' 3,&nbsp;240 – 4.0 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <u><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/18331544/Michael-Minor">https://www.hudl.com/profile/18331544/Michael-Minor</a></u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joel Raggins, DB,&nbsp;5'11,&nbsp;180 – 2.5 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a>https://www.hudl.com/profile/17925997/Joel-Raggins</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brenden Trujillo, WR,&nbsp;6'0,&nbsp;175 – 2.89 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a>https://www.hudl.com/profile/17919336/Brendan-Trujillo</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AWAITING SPRING VIDEO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mario&nbsp;Middleton Jr., WR,&nbsp;5'9,&nbsp;150 – 2.43 GPA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UNDERCLASSMEN WILL NEED TO GET BUSY THIS SPRING</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the senior class will be looked upon for experience and talent, there is going to be a need for this talented but untested group of younger players to make a commitment to getting better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They will also have to get spring film together to for colleges to check out:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS OF 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ben Bass,&nbsp;DE, 6'3,&nbsp;225 – 3.2 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/19679033/Ben-Bass" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.hudl.com/profile/19679033/Ben-Bass</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reece Moore, WR,&nbsp;5'10,&nbsp;165 – 3.44 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/19654556/Reece-Moore" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.hudl.com/profile/19654556/Reece-Moore</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jacob Raheming, DL,&nbsp;6'3,&nbsp;255&nbsp;GPA- 3.35 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/19661099/Jacob-Raheming" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.hudl.com/profile/19661099/Jacob-Raheming</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='734319' first='Connor' last='Winn'], TE,&nbsp;6'3,&nbsp;225&nbsp;– 3.66 GPA.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE:</strong> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/19573066/Connor-Winn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.hudl.com/profile/19573066/Connor-Winn</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AWAITING SPRING VIDEO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dillon Caldwell, S,&nbsp;5'10,&nbsp;165 – 3.44 GPA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Israel Garza-Tonge, DE,&nbsp;6'4,&nbsp;210 – 3.41 GPA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barrett Page, S,&nbsp;5'11,&nbsp;160 – 2.78 GPA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Griffin Szekeres,&nbsp;LB,&nbsp;6'0,&nbsp;200&nbsp;– 3.35 GPA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS OF 2028</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leonardo Marucci, TE/WR,&nbsp;6'2,&nbsp;210.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/22889280/Leonardo-Marucci" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.hudl.com/profile/22889280/Leonardo-Marucci</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>AWAITING SPRING VIDEO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jake Andres, OL,&nbsp;6'1,&nbsp;250</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>John Coker, OL,&nbsp;6'4,&nbsp;230</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cason Hillard, OL,&nbsp;6'4,&nbsp;230</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kai Kinlaw, WR/CB,&nbsp;6'1,&nbsp;175</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Statewide Coverage Daily. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/florida/">https://prepredzone.com/florida/</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>You Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: Floridakids1@aol.com.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COACHES, PLAYERS: Do You Have A Subscription? Contact us for a savings code so you can see what everyone has been talking about! Floridakids1@aol.com.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->