Amanda Bishop
NCR Editor & Publisher
The Warriors aim to be the first Nassau County high school to win a state football championship.
They travel to The Villages Charter School Friday to face Delray Beach’s American Heritage for the Sunshine State Athletic Association Atlantic State Championship. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
“They’re coached very well. They’ve got a good quarterback. They’ve got some good defensive players,” West Nassau Coach Gunnar Cox noted. “It’s going to be a tough game. It’s not a championship game without being a tough opponent, but we’ve got a plan we’ve just got to execute.”
Junior linebacker Nate Batrous is confident in the Warriors’ skills.
“Everybody has high work ethic and wants to win,” he said.
The team spent the summer in the weight room building strength and conditioning their bodies with cardio workouts.
“We’ve been working on it since the last day of school last year,” said junior running back Avery Griffin.
The team’s mentality is strong. Wins are celebrated for a moment before the lights go out.
“We start each week 0-0,” senior defensive lineman Bryce Mangum said.
“We were focused on this week by Saturday,” Batrous said. “Saturday morning we were already talking about it.”
The American Heritage Stallions are familiar with state titles, but the Warriors are determined to let their hard work pay off.
“We definitely play best when our backs are against the wall and we need to get it done,” senior defensive back Westin Parks said.
He noted that Batrous runs the defense. Senior quarterback Pryce Arnold keeps the offense in order.
“There’s a lot of key athletes that make up the team,” Parks said, noting that the roster is strong.
Mangum agreed. “Each position group has a person who stands out among the rest.”
Combine the leadership skills with the fact that most of the Warriors have played football together from Pop Warner to middle school to present day and you have a team that performs well.
“We just all know what each other’s thinking because we’ve been doing it together for so long,” Mangum said.
The team has also learned to let any transgressions go, talking through the issues off the field later.
“You have to get past that to move on to the next play,” Griffin said.
Mangum noted, “Other teams start arguing and fall apart and we don’t do that.”
Their teamwork helped the Warriors flip the script last Friday night, avenging a 2024 postseason loss to the Pirates.
“It was really the calling card for our kids,” Cox said. “Obviously we beat them in the regular season, but this playoff game was from the last playoff game. I felt like we were in the revenge factor and this time it swung our way.”
Senior running back Andi Ataiza ran a touchdown in the first quarter with senior kicker Gavin Velazquez adding the first of two successful PATs. Fernandina Beach tied the score in the second quarter, but the Warriors came out ready in the third quarter. Junior running back Smo Green ran the ball to move ahead 14-0. Senior running back Skyler Freeman added West Nassau’s third touchdown in the fourth quarter before Parks had an interception to put the ball back in the Warriors’ hands.
The Warriors excelled at eating the clock throughout the game.
“Our goal is to keep the ball in our hands at all times,” Cox said, minimizing the opponent’s possession. “We’d rather the game be in our hands.”
That goal continues this Friday against American Heritage.