Year in and year out, the Panthers football team is the one to beat.
Never do they rebuild, only reload.
The best is yet to come, though, for the Panthers, who are hungry to get back to the promised land after falling short in 2023 in the state championship game and in the quarterfinals in 2024.
Derby football assistant Zach Haynes is entering his ninth year as the linebackers coach for the Panthers, and he knows just how special this team can be if they keep on trending the way they have this summer.
“We return several offensive and defensive linemen who either started or saw significant playing time last season,” Haynes said. “That experience up front will be a big help to slow the game down for our younger, less experienced players as they find their rhythm early in summer and fall camp.”
The Panthers return one of the best running backs in the state in junior Arieus Finley, who was named Class 6A first team and first team All-AVCTL I while amassing over 1,500 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Haynes knows that with the offensive experience, they will be a really fun team to watch.
“Offensively, we are going to score points with the combination of our skill guys and our experienced OL,” Haynes said. “This will put pressure on our defense to get stops and get the ball back to our offense. To do that, we have to be better at the fundamentals. Defeating blocks and tackling are the difference between a good defense and a great one. If we improve those two areas, we will give ourselves a shot come November.”
Defensively, to continue the tradition of shutting opponents out week in and week out, the Panthers will be led by some senior leaders, as well as some aspiring new talents in the AVCTL.
“Senior Dalton Hornback and senior Houston Bowlin are our two lone returning senior starters on defense; they have a huge responsibility to get our younger guys caught up to speed and ready to go by week one,” Haynes said.
“Someone who has waited his turn is Issac Nikolas, senior defensive back. He is a program kid who has improved each year and got snaps last year. He will be relied upon heavily to be a steady presence in our secondary.”
