High school football season preview 2022: South Walton rebooting after historic season

SANTA ROSA BEACH — Phil Tisa is entering his 11th season at South Walton and is coming off his best season ever. The Seahawks were loaded with Division 1 talent especially with starting quarterback Kemper Hodges (Air Force) and record-setting wide receiver Cade Roberts (USF), and their historic season ended with a region finals loss in the playoffs.

Tisa will be tasked with keeping the wheel turning this season. He lost a lot of offensive talent. Hodges accounted for 3,077 yards passing and 1,169 yards rushing along with 60 total touchdowns. He put up 'video game' type numbers last season and its going to be hard to replace that production.

The defense also took a huge hit as losing most of their production to graduation. They lost their leading tackler and leader in sacks from last season.

Preseason rankings: Niceville, Choctaw top Daily News Preseason HS Football Power Ranks

Looking ahead: Our complete list of Daily News 2022 high school football schedules and Games of the Week

Circle your calendar: What are the biggest high school football games in Florida this season?

A quick look back into last season

The Seahawks put up historical numbers on offense last season that led them to a 10-2 record and the region finals. Hodges threw for 3,000 yards and ran for another 1,000. Cade Roberts also set the state's all-time receptions record and went over 1,000 receiving yards last season with 10 touchdowns as a senior. Pearce Spurlin III had a junior season to remember with more than 1,400 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns. Noah Ford also was a key contributor on the outside with 350 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

Strengths: Top receiver Pearce Spurlin III returns

SoWal returns their leading receiver from a season ago with Spurlin III but the question is when. The University of Georgia commit will miss the first half of the season due to an injury.

The Seahawks will look to their other senior on the outside to step up and try to replace some of that production. Maddox Porter’s numbers weren’t overwhelming last season but he was the fourth option. Last season, Porter had 265 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Porter has expectations of a breakout this season. He sacrificed for the team, did little things such as blocking, and was a star in his limited role. This season with the Spurlin III out, he will be the go-to-guy on the outside and a leader.

This team also returns one of their playmakers in the secondary. Carson Hawk had a huge season as a sophomore and will have college coaches heads turning in his direction, if they are already not.

Biggest questions: How to replace Kemper Hodges and Cade Roberts

The most obvious is replacing the ridiculous production of Hodges and Roberts. That task will become even bigger without Spurlin III the first half of the season. Now all eyes turn to Porter to step up and have a big season. The pressure will be even higher for sophomore quarterback Wells Bettenhausen. He is a 6-foot-4 gunslanger but it is very young with no experience at the varsity level. He is also replacing the best quarterback to ever play at the school.

SoWal's defensive line will have to replace three seniors who combined for five sacks last season. They also lost their leader in tackles and sacks, Matthew Brown. Roberts was tied for team leader with two interceptions. They will look to younger guys who played in limited roles last season to step up and become the new leaders of this defense.

Players to watch: Maddox Porter

Spurlin III had a monster junior season. He will be in limited action this season depending on if or when he comes back from injury. It is no question what this guy can do and how much of an impact he has when he is fully healthy. This team will struggle early in the season with a young quarterback and without Spurlin III.

Maddox Porter is someone that can have a 1,000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns type of year. Porter has waited his turn in this offense and worked hard to have a breakout year. If he meets those lofty but very reachable expectations, then college recruiters will be knocking down his door at the end of the season.

Here's what Spurlin IIai had to say about Porter:

"He's the best blocking wide receiver we have. He always sacrifices for the team and it is his time. He's waited and now its his time."

Porter refused to comment on his huge upcoming expectations for this season but don't let the shy demeanor fool you.

Hawk will be a leader in the secondary and will have to hold things down on the back end for this team. As a sophomore, he tied for the team lead with two interceptions and had 43 total tackles.

Nick Lee is a class of 2024 offensive lineman that has been an anchor for this unit upfront. He has always sacrificed for this team and is a warrior in the trenches. His coaches believes he should get “real consideration” for a Danny Dozens spot.

South Walton High School football schedule 2022

8/19 vs. St. John Paul II

8/26 vs. Baker

9/2 @ Fort Walton Beach

9/16 vs. Arnold

9/23 @ Walton

9/29 @ Rutherford

10/7 vs. Choctaw

10/14 @ Bay

10/21 vs. Port St. Joe

10/28  vs. North Bay Haven

11/4 vs. Marianna

Daily News Season Prediction

SoWal opens up with a tough two games to start the season that include Baker and FWB. They will also have a lot of adjsuting to do this season with new faces on offense and having to depend on younger guys to step up on defense. This team will catch its stride with the benefit of an easier schedule in the midway part of the season.

2022 record prediction: 4-6

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: South Walton High School football preview 2022: What to look for