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Damascus football steam-rolled opponents last year like it was a video game. By halftime, games were typically well out of reach and rarely did the starters play a snap past the third quarter.
“It didn’t feel real, just how bad we were beating teams,” said rising senior Markus Vinson of last year’s performance in which they outscored teams by nearly 38 points en route to a 14-0 season and the Class 3A state championship.
The 669 points accumulated set a new single-season record, and a slew of core pieces will no longer be walking through the doors of Damascus High to pummel competitors like a year ago. If the Hornets want to reach prominence again, new faces will need to emerge and the returning ones will need to raise the bar.
Running back Jake Funk, who won nearly every award imaginable — including the Gatorade Maryland high school football Player of the Year — leaves behind the biggest void in offensive production and leadership. Defensively, standout linebacker Daquan Grimes and trench-ruffian Jacob Bradshaw depart with sizable shoes that need to be filled.
Quarterback Julian Kinard, wide receiver and defensive back Joey Salisbury, kicker Joe Curry, and linemen Wayne Scott and Delano Myers have all graduated as well.
Luckily, Damascus will retain several core pieces which sets them up for another state championship contending season. Three offensive linemen that paved the way for Funk’s 2,866 yards and 57 touchdowns are set to return — Matt Betterelli, Jordan Funk, and Michael Jurgens.
Vinson, a chip in the record-setting offensive display and a bedrock in the defensive secondary, is primed to sequel last year’s run. In 2015 he gained 1,150 total yards and 18 touchdowns on 15.1 yards per touch. Defensively, he recorded 48 total tackles and snagged 11 interceptions.
The dynamite football package Vinson bolsters has set the table for another productive year in the making.
“We’re just trying to find all of our weak points,” Vinson said, who ran a 4.41 40-yard dash last year at the National Preps combine. “We know where we’re strong, we just have to find where we’re weak at.”
Many around the Damascus football program suspect Vinson to inherit a Jake Funk-like role in 2016. If that’s the case, MV16 (Vinson’s nickname) is in for a hefty workload.
“I just don’t try to put pressure on myself, just keep doing what I’ve been doing and working hard,” Vinson said.
Not known for picking teams apart through the air, a passing attack is supposedly in the works heading into the latter part of June. Rising senior Wade Rippeon is expected to role as the quarterback under center and lengthy wide receiver Timmy Jackson has emerged as a receiving threat.
“We’re really trying to focus on passing this year,” Vinson said. “People know we can run, so we need to show people we can actually pass. … We’re working on it each week. It started out rough, but it’s coming along better now.”
Vinson holds offers from Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, Marshall, Monmouth, and the Naval Academy at cornerback, a position he claims he “didn’t really know what he was doing” a year ago. Over the football break, he’s worked on opening his hips for better positioning and studied how receivers run routes.
This time last year, nobody expected Damascus to operate in juggernaut fashion. This year, outsiders feel a state championship might be far fetched. Vinson, however, doesn’t agree with that notion.
“We’ll do the same as last year,” he said. “We just can’t get too big headed.”
