Wellington hopes individual improvement boosts team

Coach says team optimistic, ‘can’t wait to get going.’

WELLINGTON — Rain began pounding down Wednesday on a back field at Wellington High School, offering football players a temporary reprieve from the blistering morning sun.

The Wolverines spent the morning shuffling from drill to drill, looking to make the most of their first official week of practice. Broken down into position-specific groups, the players worked to build off an offseason of workouts and improvements. So far, the results have shown on the practice field.

“We are head and shoulders above where we were in the spring and last year at this time,” coach Tom Abel said.

Each player came into the year with a goal in mind and an area in which to improve.

“I’m working on becoming a better route runner, and working on losing the DB,” said junior wide receiver Adrian Hector. “I just want to create more space when I’m going up one-on-one because I know there are a lot of really good corners in Palm Beach County and I want to be able to get open on every single play.”

Hector called Palm Beach Central’s Akeem Dent the best cornerback in the county and a player he is looking forward to facing this season. Seminole Ridge and Dwyer also have good defensive backs, he said.

The Wolverines, who finished 6-6 last season, will look toward their talented receiving corps, led by Mark-Antony Richards, to eat up yardage against their opponents’ loaded defenses.

Richards is one of the most sought-after recruits in the state, with offers from many Division I programs, including Florida, Miami, Auburn, LSU, Georgia and Oklahoma.

Getting in on-the-field work, especially in an official capacity now that practices have started, has been beneficial for Richards and his fellow receivers.

“Nearly every day we try to go to the fields around 6 o’clock and just work on timing and stuff like that,” Richards said. “It also comes from working against some really good DBs because you need competition.”

That competitive spirit was on display Wednesday during an intense one-onone drill between receivers and defensive backs, which featured a healthy amount of trash talk. The talking was friendly — and all in good fun.

“It’s good because the kids like each other,” Abel said. “They like each other so much that they go after each other hard in practice. And some quarrels break out here and there, but at the end they still like each other.”

Abel hopes that intensity carries over to game day.

“We’re looking forward to the season, and we can’t wait to get going,” he said. “We’ve got Boynton Beach coming down the road a little bit, and we’re going to take it week by week and game by game and see how we fare.”

The players are optimistic entering the season, with wide receiver Balitan Celestin saying he hopes to help the Wolverines reach the state final. His teammates share that aspiration.

“Just know that Wellington is coming this year,” Hector said.