Defensive lineman Connor Smith and the Chargers are looking for that elusive first win since 2014 against Newsome.
Connor Smith knows a thing or two about tough assignments, as both a defensive lineman and an IB student.
Smith, a senior, was one of head coach Ron Hawn’s three “players to watch” in the 2016 Plant City Times & Observer Football Guide. In Hawn’s opinion, Smith handles the offensive linemen in front of him with the same focus and intensity he brings to the classroom.
“It’s a lot of long hours, but it’s manageable,” Smith says.
Time management is crucial to Smith’s success, and he makes it work by devoting as much time as possible to football and schoolwork.
“Really, there’s not a lot of free time during the week,” Smith says. “You’ve got to go right from football to doing homework, and then you’ve got to get enough sleep to manage it all. I would say, on bad days, it could be something like five to six hours. Usually, I can get more than that. It’s not bad every night, but sometimes, projects build up.”
The payoff at the end will be worth it: Smith should be able to graduate with enough college credits to have completed his associate’s degree and hopes to get into an academically sound school to study business and economics. At the moment, he’s considering West Point.
“I just want to be a leader on the field, make good grades in the classroom and get into a good college,” Smith says.
Near the top of Smith’s to-do list, among applying for colleges and keeping on top of his studies, is helping the Chargers taste victory for the first time in two years.
The team’s next chance to do so will come against Newsome, which lost its season opener, 23-7, to the Bloomingdale Bulls. Although Smith won’t say much about the Chargers’ strategy, he doesn’t lack confidence.
“I think we’re going to bring it to them,” Smith says. “I think we can pitch a shutout.”
Hawn’s take is less bold, but still optimistic.
Although the Chargers didn’t get so lucky in their Friday, Aug. 26, loss to Brandon — in which the Chargers led after the first quarter and out-gained Brandon on offense — Hawn feels a win isn’t far off for this team. In his opinion, the team just needs to work on its consistency.
“As an offense, our big challenge is going against ourselves and continuing to produce,” Hawn says. “On our second drive of the game against Brandon, we looked like the New England Patriots. The first drive of the game, we looked like the ’76 Buccaneers.”
He did credit running back Theo Williams, who gained 91 yards on the ground against the Eagles. If not for penalties, Hawn says, the senior could have topped 120.
Losing that game to Brandon, Hawn says, didn’t feel the same as the team’s past losses have. With the team showing improvement, the mood around the locker room is that winning is no longer an “if.” It’s a “when.”
“I definitely think there’s improvement on the team,” Smith says. “It’s a different atmosphere that coach Hawn has brought, and we made some mistakes, some penalties, some turnovers, but I really think we’re turning the program around.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
