GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High senior linebacker Dominic Martin kind of smiled when he looked around the Blue Devil weightroom as he watched his brethren taking their reps during a recent summer conditioning session.
“I just want to see the effort out there,” said Martin, entering week three of fall preparation. “We plan to play hard, play tough, play Clay High football. Effort, hard work is what I’m seeing.”
With a handful of Blue Devil players venturing into the searing June heat wave in Clay County, the Clay football crew was not deterred with offensive coach Brian Flaherty and offensive line coach Jarrod Leeds working steps on the scrimmage line with incoming linemen prospectives while defensive coach Jim Reape was improvising truck tire drills for mobility of his attack squads.
Inside the weight room, two probably key playmakers for the Blue Devils’ offense, Payton Dykas and Jaden Paulk traded reps under the watchful eye of new coach Craig Nosse, a defensive specialist with rounds at Fleming Island and Orange Park High (as head coach), who has joined coach Kyle Kennard’s staff. Nosse was also a top weightlifting coach in the area and was improvising for explosiveness on his lighter offensive players.
Dykas was a key pass target for Kennard’s two-tier quarterback platoon; Merrick Rapoza and Cam Garcia, in the Blue Devils spring game against Ponte Vedra.