PRZVA Team Previews: West Springfield Spartans

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Last Years Result: 7-5 (Fell to Lake Braddock in Region C Semi-Finals)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Springfield was at a crossroads midway through the 2024 season. Sitting at 3 losses before week 6, Coach Parker's offense went through a major transition including several position changes. The transformation perhaps taking some time, seemed to spark the Spartans as they ripped off 3 straight wins . A sweet revenge victory over South County in the quarterfinals had West Springfield feeling ecstatic. That all would change when they bowed out to eventual Region Champ Lake Braddock a week later. Returning 18 of 22 starters from a year ago, the Spartans are hungry to take back their region title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Returnees:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1298213' first='Scott' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297867' first='Anthony' last='Bello'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297738' first='Ayaan' last='Mirza'], Samuel Heradia, [player_tooltip player_id='1298394' first='Micah' last='Dargan Coley'], [player_tooltip player_id='1638442' first='Gavin' last='Price'], [player_tooltip player_id='1474206' first='Jevon' last='Austin'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297930' first='Brady' last='Davies'], Brennan Telfer</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1298213"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165987"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In his 6 games as a starter Lewis had 9 touchdown passes with a 65 percent completion percentage. Now with the qb job firmly his, [player_tooltip player_id='1298213' first='Scott' last='Lewis'] should start to get notice from Division 2 schools or higher very soon. He showed what he could last fall and he has been grinding away this off-season. Earning top performer at both of our showcases he has a big frame and is very accurate with the deep ball. I have said this before but we are just beginning to see the potential of Lewis's game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1297738"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68868361659f2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Big fan of [player_tooltip player_id='1297738' first='Ayaan' last='Mirza'] our 133rd ranked prospect is an FCS level offensive guard in my opinion. He has several suitors and a few offers, Mirza is the cattle horse up front for the Spartans. Coach Parker loves ball control and a number of their run plays follow the block of this all conference stud. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Ayaan_Mirza57/status/1804566168939663539","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Ayaan_Mirza57/status/1804566168939663539 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1298394"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165a41"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">On the other side at guard is long time starter Micah Coley, who has proven himself as well. Another bull up front Coley is up to 270 this offseason, he also was an all district selection. The Spartans are mean and nasty on both sides of the line, expect this group to impose their will.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/m1cahdc/status/1861888383791874260","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/m1cahdc/status/1861888383791874260 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1297930"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165a8e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Not enough can be said about [player_tooltip player_id='1297930' first='Brady' last='Davies'], he is everything for West Springfield. A 4 year starter Davies earned first team all state honors at linebacker. He also had 10 touchdowns on offense, the young like I said does everything. He is an all state ATHLETE like his profile says, Davies does it all.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BradyDavies4/status/1865041330717487488","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BradyDavies4/status/1865041330717487488 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1474206"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165ada"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1474206' first='Jevon' last='Austin'] should see a bigger role at receiver for the Spartans. Very impressive work from him last fall with 4 touchdowns, one of the faster wideouts in the state. A good route runner and speedster, he could be Lewis's number 1 option on the outside. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1638442"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165b24"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1638442' first='Gavin' last='Price'] is perhaps a bit underrated on this star studded roster, but nonetheless we ranked him in the top 300 for good reason. The All District linebacker is back and Coach Parker really spoke the world of his potential. Price had 65 tackles as a sophomore no reason to believe he cannot top the 100 threshold this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1297867"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6886836165b6f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Monmouth bound product [player_tooltip player_id='1297867' first='Anthony' last='Bello'] is another athlete that is team first and fun to watch. As we have documented before, Bello transitioned to tight end last year with incredible results. He drew rave reviews and offers, colleges know this is a late high value prospect. He will be a focal point in the passing game too, him and Lewis seem to have good chemistry too. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Newcomers: [player_tooltip player_id='1664376' first='Evan' last='Shorter'], [player_tooltip player_id='1735201' first='Erhem' last='Robinson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1601625' first='Kyle' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='1664108' first='Issa' last='Owens']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1664376"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-688684344c28c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I knew what I saw at the Osbourn Park 7v7 with [player_tooltip player_id='1664376' first='Evan' last='Shorter'] and Coach confirmed. He is healthy and ready to contribute at both receiver and defensive back this fall. Shorter was all over the field this past spring and he really seems to have a nice future at defensive back. He too looked motivated like the rest of his Spartans teammate this off-season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Head Coaches thoughts on the off-season and expectations:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Last off season, we saw a lot of changes. We had a lot of &nbsp;new coaches and first time starters. This year, 95% of our staff and 18 out of 22 starters return.&nbsp;That returning leadership and experience has carried us threw off season workouts and something we expect to lean on this season.&nbsp;</em>" Coach Parker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->