All Saints will remain in 8-man football for 2021
All Saints had planned to return to 11-man football in 2021 after playing 8-man football in 2020. For now, however, athletic director and head coach Stuart Weiss said the best course of action is to keep playing 8-man football and play this fall as the Sunshine State Athletic Conference Class AA 8-Man defending state champion.
The Saints spend the spring preparing to do just that and capped off their workouts with a convincing 48-0 drubbing of Vero Beach Master’s Academy on May 21. The Saints led 21-0 at halftime and never looked back.
All Saints ran the ball at will, finishing with 289 yards and five touchdowns on just 23 carries.
“Overall, we had a good defensive game, shutting out Master’s Academy,” Weiss said. “We are very young going into this next year, but I was impressed overall by the performance of our kids.”
3 Things to Learned
The Offense is Versatile: The Saints obviously can run the ball. Parker Lopez rushed for 98 yards on four attempts, including a 72-yard touchdown on the first play of the third quarter. Xavier Gaines rushed for 57 yards with touchdown runs off 17, 19, and 6 yards.
“Our speed was obvious on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Our kids ran to the ball well, and really hustled well in the game.”
The Saints, however, also threw for 86 yards as quarterback Daunte Giles completed 3 of his four passing attempts.
Saints Boast Playmakers: Lopez and Gaines, of course, were playmakers running the ball, but they weren’t the only playmakers on the field for All Saints. Yohance Love and Scott Weltlin also made big plays. Love caught a 31-yard touchdown pass and also ran for 24-yard touchdown. Weltlin caught a 27-yard touchdown pass and ran for 61 yards on just seven carries.
Saints Jelling Quickly: Weiss said the experience his team had in the playoffs last year is paying quick dividends. It prepared them for this spring.
“We are very excited about what this next season can bring for us," Weiss said. "We are still going to be very young, but also we are going to be athletic, and I think that we could be good enough to compete and potentially go deep into the playoffs.
Fall Focus
The Saints will need to prepare themselves mentally and as the defending state champions, be ready to face motivated opponents.
The schedule also includes a trip to Alabama to face the Alabama 8-Man 2020 champions, Ezekiel Academy.