GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High senior running back Antonio Thomas has been talked about as the next great ball carrier for Blue Devil football; in the same breath as such guys as Bilal Ally, Shannon …
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GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High senior running back Antonio Thomas has been talked about as the next great ball carrier for Blue Devil football; in the same breath as such guys as Bilal Ally, Shannon Asbell, Teddy Munroe, and Thomas did not disappoint in Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage with a 45-yard run that looked a lot like an Ally run; bash the corner, break a tackle, then hit the jets to the end zone.
“He’s going to be a good one,” said Clay coach Kyle Kennard. “When he hits the green grass, he can be gone.”
Kennard got to see his boys with pads on Saturday and kind of liked what he saw minus a few line-up blunders and missed reads.
“We were flying to the ball pretty much, but we still have some lineup corrections to make on defense and coverages that we have to fix,” said Kennard. “Guys like Omar Goosby, Javaris Roberts and Aaron Stacy were showing their stuff. Goosby was making tackles sideline to sideline and he’s a big guy. That’s just effort.”
For Roberts, who got some lugs of the leather from the backfield, Kennard sees the burly linebacker/running back as one of the premiere linebackers in Clay County; 73 tackles last year, 10 against Middleburg in a 35-33 loss.
“He is going to be one of the best from here if not countywide,” said Kennard, who got agreeance from defensive coordinator Craig Nosse. “He’s bigger and faster than last year and he was dominant as a junior last year.”
On the offensive line, where senior center Eli Oscoa leads the charge, Kennard liked the push of his front five; including Blake Warren and Josh Hetz.
“They were moving people,” said Kennard.
Clay opens with Menendez in the preseason game with Fleming Island coming to Clay High in game one.