Ascension Episcopal Blue Gators
2022 Record: 7-6
District: 8-2A
Head Coach: Stephen Hearen
Note: The Gators elevate senior Connor Edmond as quarterback.
In 2022, Ascension Episcopal checked off the first season of the Stephen Hearen era.
Hearen was promoted as head coach after seven years as defensive coordinator, so there was no change when it came to their standard. Now with year two on the horizon, there's still more work to be done.
"We're going to have a lot more young guys contributing on Friday nights than we've had in the last several years and we've been lucky to have a lot of seniors and juniors on the field", says Hearen. For the better part of the last six or seven years at Ascension, we're going to have a lot more sophomores that we're going to be counting on."
"I think the biggest thing is for the older guys to mentor the younger ones and hold them accountable and have them hold us accountable", says senior center, Stacey Singleton. "Our biggest thing last yea was being more of a team and I feel as if this year we're able to be more a team, we can accomplish a lot more."
This Gators team is the youngest roster of the program in over a decade, but it's all about the "next man up". And the next man to lead the offense this season is senior Connor Edmond, filling the big shoes of Cade Dardar.
Edmond is a two-year starter for AES where he's played both corner back and wide receiver. Hearen says his maturity is what makes him the right guy for the job.
"He's a guy that can go out and run route concepts as a receiver right now, knowing coverage at cornerback. I think all of that stuff benefits him as a quarterback knowing that stuff. Not only as a quarterback knowing what you're looking at on the defensive side of the ball but knowing what those receivers are going to do route wise."
"He's an athlete. He's always that guy that whenever we were younger, he was good at whatever", says senior receiver Henry Neusetzer. "Basketball, soccer he was just kind of that guy. He was good. He's an athlete and I think he's just as good of an athlete compared to anyone else playing football.
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