Small colleges football preview: Florida Memorial looking for Win 1 in Year 2

Within the past two years, three new or revived college football programs have popped up in Dade and Broward counties: the Florida Memorial Lions, the St. Thomas University Bobcats and the Fort Lauderdale Eagles.

Florida Memorial, an NAIA school, went 0-3 in 2020, the Lions’ first season in 62 years.

The Lions were not close in any of their games, losing 62-0 to Keiser, 42-6 to Ave Maria and 56-7 to Webber, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of six contests.

Given that, it’s no surprise FMU has been picked to finish last this year in the seven-team Sun Division, which is in the Mid-South Conference.

None of that, however, has dampened the enthusiasm of FMU coach Tim “Ice” Harris, the Miami Hurricanes’ running backs coach from 2014 to 2016. Harris also won three state championships as Booker T. Washington’s head coach.

“Our team in is in a great place,” Harris said of the Lions. “We’ve had time to develop. We’ve had spring practices and a fall training camp. We have a new weight-room coach, and our staff did an awesome job in recruiting.”

In fact, Harris said he has more than 100 players on his roster, and not all of them are from South Florida.

“We’re creeping in a lot of out-of-state kids,” Harris said.

The Lions will be led by quarterback Antoine Williams, running backs George Young and Aklin Liverpool, tight end Nura Sales and wide receivers Christian Edgerson, Markell Lee and Calvin Clark.

“[Williams] is our quarterback from last year,” Harris said. “We have five quarterbacks in camp, and [Williams] is fighting like he should be fighting.”

Carlos Boothe, Jeremiah Jenkins and Tre’ Darious Moore are the top players on what should be a solid offensive line.

The defensive line is also in good shape with Philman Roundtress and Anthony Harris. The top linebacker is Joshua Mimms, and the secondary boasts Darius Conley, Christopher Nelson and Marcell Blocker.

Kicker Marco Luna leads the special teams.

“Our offensive line and our secondary — we feel great about them,” Harris said when asked to name the strongest positions on the team. “We’ve shown we can run the ball, and our defensive line has stepped up, too.

“We expect to win.”

ST. THOMAS

The Bobcats, who finished 4-6 in their inaugural 2019 season and 4-3 last year, are picked third this time around in the NAIA’s Sun Division, which is part of the Mid-South Conference.

Bill Rychel, who doubles as the school’s athletic director, is set to begin his third season as coach.

His top player is safety Sidney Porter, who is from Cardinal Gibbons. In his final three games last season, Porter intercepted three passes and forced two fumbles.

Linebacker Donnell Bennett III, the son of the former Miami Hurricanes and NFL running back, has started all 17 of the Bobcats games and has 136 tackles. He was a team captain in each of the first two Bobcats seasons.

The St. Thomas defense also feature cornerback Jhaqwori Austin, who has six interceptions in two years; and linebackers Nicholas Engler and Joey Fleurjuste.

Offensively, the Bobcats are led by quarterback Tyler Thomas, who passed for 776 yards and 11 touchdowns last year; wide receiver C’Quan Jnopierre, and offensive linemen Jared Noble and Keyon Phillips.

Overall, Rychel is expecting improvement.

“Our first year, there was the craziness of everyone being new,” Rychel said. “Last year, we had no offseason due to COVID.

“Now we’re back to somewhat normal, like a real football program.”

FORT LAUDERDALE

The Eagles, set to play their first year as a (non-club) football program, are led by coach Chris Chambers, a former Dolphins wide receiver who played 10 years in the NFL.

Chambers’ team will compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association.

The Eagles have put together a 10-game schedule — with eight road contests. The Eagles’ first home game is on Oct. 16 against Saint Sebastian Elite at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill. The other home game is on Nov. 13 at the same location against Virginia University-Lynchburg.

Central Broward Regional can hold 5,000 fans and is five minutes from campus.

The Eagles, whose colors are black, maroon and gold, started with zero players in May, when Chambers was hired, and it will be interesting to see how the roster unfolds.

As for the university, it’s a commuter school. Founded in 1995, Fort Lauderdale is a private, non-denominational Christian university.