Won not done: Munroe focused on improvement following dominant win over NFEI

Impressive is one way to describe the statline that Munroe has put up against North Florida Educational Institute (NFEI) in less than a year. In two meetings with the Eagles, the Bobcats have outscored their opponent from Jacksonville, 96-0.

Thursday night in both teams' first action of the 2022 season, Munroe tacked on 40 points to last season's total, defeating NFEI, 40-0, to open up the season with a win.

There was excitement in opening up the season with a "W" and doing it by a large margin, but Munroe's biggest focus in their postgame huddle was the need to get better and clean up their overall game.

"I'm happy for the win, but there are a lot of things we need to clean up. We made way too many mistakes," Bobcats head coach Russell Ellington said. "We're still trying to find who our starters are and get into a groove. I'm still happy about the win, but we've got to get better.

Starpower ignites

Things started off rocky for Munroe on its first two drives. Two three and outs, and a handful of bobbled snaps had things a little uneasy early on, but quickly, Munroe's star power took over the game.

Its two biggest pieces, senior cornerback Makari Vickers and senior wide receiver Ahmari Borden were utilized outside of their normal positions. Despite not being able to run the ball back, Vickers was receiving punts and Borden had a handful of big rushing gains on the night.

"We feel like we have two of the best players in the country, so we don't think we'd be very smart not to use them every way possible, and they want to be used," Ellington said. "While they're here, you'll see them do everything."

Vickers made a grab at midfield from junior quarterback Preston Waldron and found daylight to score Munroe's second touchdown of the game. Later in the game, Borden made a grab in the corner, at the horn, to make it 27-0 at halftime. The duo was active Thursday night and is looking to elevate their games even higher.

"We've been working on rushing all summer, so I was confident in it," Borden said. "I felt great."

"I feel really good. Playing in other positions like that shows my versatility within all aspects of the game," Vickers said. "I can play offense, defense, special teams. At the end of the day, it adds to my film and makes it more appealing to other coaches."

At the same time, the duo echoed the same sentiment as Ellington did of needing to get better. They believe that their team has a great bond and is in a good place, but need to be perfecting their craft in order to get to where they need to be.

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"We have a lot of hard workers, but they can slack off at times, and that hurts the team," Vickers said. "When we get conditioned enough and go 100, we'll be a state team."

"We have to work together and we have to mold each other," Borden said. "Iron sharpens Iron. We've got to come together as a team and just bond."

Emerging talent

While Vickers and Borden are two highly ranked prospects, Munroe's newfound depth flexed all throughout the game. Between its offense and defense, players from sophomores to seniors had a lasting impact on the final result.

One of the biggest emerging pieces in Thursday's game was junior wide receiver Kemarion Gadson, who transferred in from Gadsden County. The junior stepped into the quarterback role late in the second quarter to early in the fourth and was dynamic.

He had a receiving touchdown in the first quarter and a rushing touchdown in the third, highlighted by a handful of impressive runs into Eagles territory. His speed showed flashes of Joshua Brown, Munroe's quarterback last season who singed the gridiron with his rushing attack.

"He's is huge for us," Ellington said. "He starts a receiver, but he's always our change of pace guy at quarterback. He came into this game and changed it for us. I'm looking for a very, very, very big season from him."

The battle between Gadson and Waldron for the starting spot is one Ellington said is a good situation to be in. Senior athlete DJ Johnson III had a strong rushing game and sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Crawford scored a late touchdown. Junior defensive tackle and Florida State commit Keishawn Mashburn dominated Munroe's defensive effort.

There were a lot of good things out of Munroe's season debut, but the focus remains on winning each week and playing a better game than the last. The Bobcats host Terrell County next Friday at Corry Field.

"We've been battling all summer in camp, that's why we schedule the Lincoln scrimmage, so we can face a higher level of physicality," Ellington said. "I think we're ready for Terrell County, but you never know until we show up."

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Munroe focused on improvement following dominant win over NFEI