Big man in a big spot

Last year, Hernando Christian Academy enjoyed a football season for the ages.
There were many reasons, including seven extremely dedicated seniors -- including offensive lineman Josh Westfall -- who sacrificed individual glory for the benefit of the team.
Westfall was one of four starting offensive linemen for a unit that "averaged" 355 yards of total offense per game.
The offense was so high-powered it tallied a school-record 48 touchdowns, tying Nature Coast for the county lead.
Another reason was HCA's stout defense, which permitted a puny 11.0 points per game. Six times, the Lion defense allowed opponents seven points or less including in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference title game against Mount Dora Bible at The Villages, a 22-6 win.
A year later, the lone returning offensive line starter is right tackle Kevin Wilcher. It's the same Wilcher who'll split time along the revamped defensive line.

Wilcher 101

The 17-year-old Wilcher is the older of two children to Dade City's David and Rita Wilcher.
Wilcher, who was born in Zephyrhills, has never lived anywhere else but Florida.
The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Wilcher has been at HCA since ninth grade.
Before that he attended East Pasco Adventist Academy since kindergarten.
This is Wilcher's third season of varsity football, all under Head Coach David Raley.
Wilcher was asked what side of the line of scrimmage he prefers most.
"Actually, I like 'em both," replied Wilcher. "Maybe I prefer tackling guys just a little more. On defense our job is to wreck havoc and smash some heads."
And why offensive tackle?
"Linemen don't like other guys hitting our guys in the backfield," he pointed out. "I know I take a lot of pride in moving the football down the field. I love it when we pound the rock. It keeps us pumped."
Coach Raley believes that Josh Romeo is the toughest guy to replace from last year's dream season. Agree or disagree?
"He was a big-time player of us," answered Wilcher. "He could hold blocks forever and he always created holes. What was real impressive was he was constantly double- and triple-teamed and he never stayed down."
What are the O-line prospects this year?
"At first I was a little concerned because we lost four guys," Wilcher said. "But (Josh) Webber can throw guys around and (Ben) Dzugen is new but he's a feisty one. And we've gotten much better since the spring."
What about on defense?
"Sure, we'll miss Romeo at the nose. He had such an impact there," replied Wilcher. "We're gonna rotate our down linemen and Dylan Burke is gonna replace Romeo. We lost both of our defense ends, but I think we'll be able to pull through."

In the future?

Like many of the HCA student population, Wilcher is the prototypical student/athlete.
Wilcher carries a 4.13 grade point average and would like to study nuclear engineering at perhaps MIT or even at the University of Florida.
Are Kevin's parents pressuring him into college?
"Absolutely not," said Wilcher. "It's totally my decision."
How has the HCA experience been?
"It's been a blast," said Wilcher. "If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would choose HCA again and again. Right now, I just can't wait for the season to start."
Can the Lions repeat?
"Each week, we're not really worried about who we're playing, we're all trying to get our game together," he said. "If we all try as hard as we can and push ourselves we could go 10-0 again."