GERMANTOWN — When Fred Kim walked off the field for the final time in 2015, and after Damascus handed Seneca Valley a 45-3 loss in the 3A West region championship, he knew what he had deployed was not enough to meet expectations.
“We turned it up a notch this year, but if you want to win a championship, I guess we need to turn it up a little more,” he said minutes before departing on the bus ride back home.
Kim probably had many restless nights between the 42 point meltdown and up until Thursday’s docket of 7-on-7 exhibition contests. And though it’s only June, Kim is chomping at the bit to steer Seneca Valley football back to the promise land — a program that once won 12 state championships over a 26 year span.
“It’s always fun this time of year because everyone is tired of working out, lifting, running, school and what not, including the coaches, so it’s nice to have a little competition doing our 7-on-7,” Kim said. “It’s fun for the guys because they get a chance to compete.”
On Thursday evening, Seneca Valley High hosted the year’s first competitive slate of games since their season ending in the 3A West region championship. Damascus, the 3A state champions in dominating fashion; Churchill and Richard Montgomery were present as well.
Instead of four 12 minute quarters, 7-on-7 games are played with a 35 minute running clock and on a 40-yard field. Passing is only permitted and five receivers are eligible.
Seneca Valley went 3-0 for the day, including a 13-7 win against Damascus. Dione Jordan scored both touchdowns for the Screamin’ Eagles. His first came on a snagging grab in traffic and second on a walk-off pick-six with time expiring.
“It’s nice to see the guys come through on defense and finish the game on a defensive score,” Kim said. “That was outstanding because it showed resiliency and mental toughness, and not just caving in to the pressure.”
Coming off of a year in which they went 10-2, with both losses coming to the eventual 3A title winner Damascus, Kim was in search of competitive vibes captivated by resilience and mental toughness. In three games, which all resulted in wins, the defense only allowed a combined three scores.
“We just want to be competitive,” Kim said. “Nobody’s going to win a trophy out here. We still need to be competitive and play hard, and we want to see who’s going to step up.”
Projected starting quarterback, Zack Robinson, was on a college visit. He was filled in by Mike Kapneck, who, like Kim stated, stepped up in the absence of regular playmakers.
With the graduation of standout receivers Antonio Fox, Cortez Chase-Ervin, and Donovan Beckett-Simms, the Screamin’ Eagles will deploy a new wideout corps. Rising senior, Dawayne Kelley, and rising junior, Harold Dotson routinely made plays throughout the afternoon.
Seneca Valley is also set to return one of the most explosive backfield tandems in Maryland, headed by Adrian Feliz-Platt and Darius Golston. Both compliment each other with dynamic skill-sets — Platt offers an agile, compact and violent style of running — whereas Golston is bruising and uses his large body frame to bully defenders.
“They get after it,” Kim said of Golston and Feliz-Platt. “They’re silent killers … keep their mouth shut and just get after it. … We feel like with Adrian and Darius, we have two of the best players in the state.”
Golston exploded onto the scene a year ago, rumbling for 150 total yards on 16 touches in the Week 2, 14-7 win against cross-county rival, Northwest. Platt, meanwhile, struggled against Damascus and was sidelined early in the first quarter of the 3A West region championship due to a popped hamstring. In both games against Damascus, he totaled 66 yards on 15 touches.
Before his hamstring injury in the region title game, he only managed three yards on six carries. A week prior, he amassed 224 total yards and four touchdowns on 28 touches against Linganore in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, Feliz-Platt has bulked up from his 5-foot-6, 170 pound frame to 181 pounds. For Golston, he trimmed down from 215 pounds to 205. He wants to lose 10 more pounds before Week 1 in the first week of September.
Both Feliz-Platt and Golston will be entering their fourth and final seasons at the varsity level. When putting his junior year in perspective, Golston was happy with the outcome, saying how much the team has bonded over the years.
“Yeah, we came up short, but at the end of the day, that was a successful season,” Golston said. “We really became a family.”
Golston then added one of his goals was to not lose twice again to Damascus. Seconds later, Feliz-Platt set Golston’s stakes higher with loftier expectations.
“We’re not trying to lose at all, to tell you the truth,” Platt said.
Seneca Valley has not won a state championship since defeating Linganore in 2002. Make it a 14 year dry spell for the high school football kings of Maryland. Feliz-Platt claimed that mindsets need to be sharper and focus needs to be all-in if the Screamin’ Eagles want to return to championship form.
“We had a lot of unfocused guys that thought they had it,” Platt said. “Until they got punched in the mouth, they didn’t know what to do when they got punched in the mouth.”
During the break between football seasons, Kim encouraged his returning skill players to run track, and lineman and linebackers to take up wrestling. This gives athletes the opportunity to compete in another sport, hear another coach’s voice, and sharpen their competitive edge while homing in on athleticism.
Other goals outside of the football field are improving academic success. Last year, the Seneca Valley football team sported a 2.85 team grade point average. Feliz-Platt claimed that was the highest it’s been in quite some time. For this year, they strive for a cumulative average GPA of 3.0.
“We want to wrestle those demons from last year,” Kim said, who is seeking his first state crown at Seneca Valley High.
Platt recorded five receptions and one interception in the 13-7 win against Damascus in the 7-on-7 exhibition on Thursday.
“When we’re under pressure, we going to need to make a play,” Platt said. “Competitive practices, too … The game should feel like it’s 0 to 0 all the time.”
Kim also stated that rising senior, Dione Jordan, is expected to see an expanded workload beyond his linebacker and special team duties. Jordan is expected to join the Golston-Platt tandem in the backfield to spear what could be a three-headed monster that takes Seneca Valley back to the promise-land.
“We feel like it’s our turn to have that horse in the backfield and be able to pound people,” Kim said. “We have a very tough region. … You gotta beat those guys to get to the big show.”
Follow us on Twitter at @MDSportsAccess and myself at @k_fadd to keep up to date with the Seneca Valley football program up until Week 1 in September. Also, check back throughout the summer for other team reports and 7-on-7 updates.
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