Nease’s winning streak came to an end Friday, Nov. 2, with a 54-23 loss to visiting Bartram Trail on Senior Night.
The Panthers, who had won three in a row entering last Friday’s game, suffered some setbacks early in the season, particularly with injuries, but Nease coach Tim Krause said the experience those setbacks provided to some younger players could be beneficial next season.
“Obviously, we struggled early on in the season and had a number of injuries in key positions,” Krause said. “While it hurt us this year, the hope is that playing young players in some spots due to injuries will pay off in the future. I was so impressed with how our team continued to work hard to improve through all the adversity they faced early on in the season.”
Nease ended its 0-6 skid with a 30-13 district win over Middleburg on Oct. 12, followed by a huge 14-13 upset of rival St. Augustine. Then, another district victory, a 35-0 rout of Englewood, allowed the Panthers to finish the regular season in a three-way tie atop the District 4-6A standings. Nease, however, finished the season with a 3-7 record and ultimately missed out on the playoffs.
“My biggest takeaway from 2018 was the resilience and character of our kids,” Krause said. “Our group showed incredible grit by staying together and working their way through so many different challenges. Rallying from an 0-6 start to finish tied for the district championship will always be something that I will cherish.”
The Panthers have plenty of reasons to be optimistic looking ahead to the 2019 season.
“Our focus as a staff heading into the offseason is to evaluate our roster coming back, identify the leaders who will help move us forward and make sure that we build an offseason program that prepares them for the district schedule that we will face,” Krause said. “We need to make sure that this group sets a high standard for themselves from the beginning of the offseason through the fall.”
