Coach Robert Weiner and the football team are looking to bounce back this year after their hopes of another state title fell short last November in a Regional semifinal loss to Lakeland High School, 21-11.

This season will be like any other in Weiner’s 12th season here. Expectations are high as always, as new players arrive for the season.

“The season starts anew every year with a completely different group of guys, so you have to not only put in the work that’s necessary to become good, but you have to go about the ways of finding your identity of what this team is all about,” Weiner said.

Only time will tell with this 2016 team if they can reclaim glory come late in the year and capture the elusive fifth title in school history. With that being said, it is without question that this is the ultimate goal for this team.

“We want to get the specific skills that eventually might be the building blocks to winning a championship, but the actual championship itself is just an end product of a process that goes on,” Weiner said.

In addition to Coach Weiner’s optimism for what comes out of the season, players have also chimed in on their aspirations.

“I think that with a great mindset and never giving up until the end, there’s no limit to how far we can go as a team”, Kenny Juste, senior, said.

Compared to past teams in history, this squad boasts players with Division I offers. 3-star Athlete Juwan Burgess, senior, committed to Southern California, over schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, and Ohio State.

Inside Linebacker Thomas Allen, senior, choose Indiana for his college destination over programs like South Florida, Rutgers, and Colorado State.

Even Wide Receiver Christian Watson, senior, committed to play ball at North Dakota State, the university that Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Carson Wentz attended.

There are also players who are still undecided in where they want to play. Wide Receiver Whop Philyor, senior, can choose between Arizona, Louisville and Syracuse, among others. Tight End Judge Culpepper, Junior, currently has 32 Division I offers, among the most out of any class.

The 2016 schedule is headlined by many opponents that Weiner and others are looking forward to playing against.

“A lot of people will circle the Hillsborough, Armwood, and Mobile, AL opponents on the calendar. It’s the best Hillsborough team that they’ve had in a long time, so we have to get ready for them right away,” Weiner said.

Teams and players come and go, but rivalries are forever. Armwood High School certainly will be an opponent of this program for many years to come, and Weiner recognizes that.

“The Armwood game has no implications on anything other than it’s the ‘Armwood Game’.”

The teams in the Panthers’ district consistently improve, so no game will be a cakewalk, as a shot to get back into the playoffs will be the rst step in the long season for Coach Robert Weiner and his 2016 Panther football team.