Ida Baker sets three school records en route to victory
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It's been a complete 180 for the Ida Baker High School football program this year, as the Bulldogs came out with a 38-21 win last Friday night.
Ida Baker is now over .500 (3-2) and have won two-in-a-row. The Bulldogs set three school records in the contest, as senior running back Nikolas Korf set the single-game rushing record with 254 yards; junior Caelum Cragin reeled in the longest touchdown pass in school history from Brody Root at 87 yards; and sophomore Dominic Salerno returned the longest interception for a touchdown at 76 yards.
"Our offense started really fast and really well," said Ida Baker first-year head coach Cullen O'Brien. "Our big challenge to the defense (was to) get into the scoring with a defensive touchdown this week. And our defense took that to heart and ended up getting two of them."
Along with Salerno's pick-six, junior Roderick Thompkins brought one back 15 yards for an interception return for a touchdown.
According to MaxPreps, Korf is in the top-15 for rushing yards in Florida, sitting at No. 15 with 834, averaging 166.8 yards-per-game, and 7.3 yards-per-carry. He's scored eight touchdowns across five games for the Bulldogs.
Coming back from a tibia break last season, O'Brien said Korf has been recovering and in the weight room since, as Korf is also an accomplished weightlifter.
"He's a beast in the weight room, and it's transferred over to the field," he said. "Other than lifting, the biggest thing he's focused on (is his football IQ). We really simplified the playbook compared to what he had in the past. When I say simplified I don't mean less plays...we just have a few concepts that we run out of a bunch of different looks. He's learned how to read defenses and has figured out his timing. He's a hard, downhill runner."
Junior back Paytrell Coleman also had a great game out of the backfield for Ida Baker, rushing for 50 yards and scoring two touchdowns on long runs.
"It's not just our downhill run game, we have a guy that can break it to the edge," O'Brien said. "It was a good one-two punch."
Of wide receiver Cragin, O'Brien said, "He's just been balling the entire year. He honestly is one of the best receivers I've coached the way he can catch the football, use his body, the shiftiness he has. The first catch he had, he shook three defenders out of their shoes."
O'Brien said his playmakers both in the backfield and spread out wide have allowed the Bulldogs to have a versatile offense and switch things up based on their opponent's defensive alignment. It's worked thus far, as the Ida Baker offense has put up 181 points this season through five games, which is equal to what the team had scored in its last two winless seasons combined.
Sophomore quarterback Root, while still young, shows fire on the field and can use his arm and legs to be effective.
"He's that kid that's not going to slide, he's going to run and take off and lower his shoulder to try and get more yardage," O'Brien said. "He's not afraid to take on contact. He plays with a lot of emotion.
"He's got a great skill set and picks things up very, very quickly. He's only going to get better."
O'Brien has completely flipped the script for the Bulldogs following two seasons of winless football.
He said his main goal is to try and make the game fun again for the players.
"We just wanted to change up the dynamic of how we operated," he said. "The kids were so used to everything being a grind. We wanted football to be the most fun part of their day. We wanted to make workouts fun again in the offseason. We put an emphasis on speed training rather than just the weight room.
"I just try to keep things as simple as possible. I know in the past they've had giant, complex playbooks. I give them what they can handle a little at a time. One they get it, we start to expand on it. I have (players) coming up to me now to suggest things, and I give the kids the freedom to give their input. The kids are starting to take ownership of the team and letting it be a lot more about them, and they've gravitated to that."
Ida Baker will host Avon Park (2-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.