There have been plenty of impressive story lines to begin the 2025 football season.
Edgewater, under new coach Patrick Browning, looks impressive as ever at 5-0.
Bishop Moore, despite losing a star quarterback and an entire offensive line to graduation, is putting up a record amount of points and is also 5-0.
Boone is 5-0 for the first time in 17 years and has a fun, father-son storyline with head coach Andy Johnson and quarterback Sam Johnson. DeLand is 5-0 and averaging 350 yards rushing. Lake Brantley, also 5-0, has been rolling under new coach Garrett Kruczek and star quarterback Jackson Stecher.
Windermere is 5-0 and has won 15 games in a row, yet will not be in the playoffs again this year as a part of Orange County Public Schools experimental Independent Metro Division.
Sunshine State Athletic Association members Central Florida Christian Academy (4-0) and Umatilla (5-0) have also had perfect starts as we reach the midway point of the regular season.
But perhaps more impressive than what any Orlando-area team has been able to accomplish this season is what head coach Leroy Kinard and his Innovation Bulls have done.
Week 6 Sentinel Super 16 Coaches Poll: Edgewater still No. 1; TFA jumps
The school opened its doors only 13 months ago. Kinard was able to throw together a seemingly ragtag amalgamation of guys last season. Without any seniors and with little varsity experience the Bulls are 5-0. No one is more thrilled about what these kids have accomplished than Kinard himself.
The Bulls are also in the OCPS independent division, so the schedule isn’t loaded with state-powerhouse competition. But unbeaten is unbeaten.
Head coach Leroy Kinard at second-year school Innovation High has his team off to a 5-0 start. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
“Hey, listen, we’ll take 5-0, brother. We’ll definitely take that,” Kinard said. “I think coming off last year having five wins, we were just trying to build off that and make sure we were solid in what we do and make sure that our guys really understand exactly what we want to accomplish and I think, so far, they’ve done that.”
He said the atmosphere surrounding the 5-0 start has been fabulous.
“They love to practice. It is fun coming to practice every day,” Kinard said. “It is very refreshing to me.”
Let’s have a little history lesson. Of the 23 current Orange County public high schools, seven have opened during the past 20 years: Ocoee (2005), Wekiva (2007), East River (2009), Lake Nona (2009), Windermere (2017), Lake Buena Vista (2021) and Horizon (2021). Only East River, under Marc Rankin, in 2010, and Horizon, under Dennis Thomas, in 2022, were able to accomplish something similar to what Innovation is doing.
East River lost its first game in its second year, but then rattled off seven straight victories to make the playoffs and finish 8-3. Horizon started off 6-0 in its second season, but then ended up 7-3.
Innovation is rolling toward a huge showdown with fellow Independent Windermere (5-0), which finished 10-0 last year. They meet Oct. 24, at Windermere.
“How did we do this? That’s a great question,” Kinard said. “I think one of the things is that we try to be very disciplined and rule No. 1 is, don’t beat yourself. If we can accomplish that, then I think we can be OK. I’ve also had the help of other coaches and I’ve listened to some guys who have been there before.
“And with the discipline, I’m talking about don’t turn the ball over, make sure you’re not offsides on special teams, make sure there aren’t any holding penalties in the red zone. All of those little things that people really don’t think about, those are the things that add up to winning.”
One other thing, and people might laugh, is an off-the-field rule that Kinard holds his players accountable to. Players are not allowed to where “slides” sandals.
“You know, silly stuff that makes them think through and say, ‘Hey, this is how we want things done,’ ” Kinard said. “I know a lot of kids in public schools wear slides, but our kids are not allowed to wear slides to school during football season. It has nothing to do with whether I like slides or don’t like slides. It’s a discipline thing. It’s simple stuff, like pull your pants up.
“Just like on game day, everyone has to wear their jersey. If you don’t wear your jersey, there is a discipline for that. We just try to make sure that anytime there is supposed to be something done a certain way, that we do it that way.”
Kaleb Bielski, shown as a sophomore during Innovation High’s first ever football practice last year, has turned into quite a quarterback for the Bulls, completing 75% of his passes and leading the team to a 5-0 record. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
Kinard came from the private-school sector, after spending a highly successful 15 seasons at Orlando’s The First Academy.
“I don’t care what anyone says, there is a learning curve coming from the private school world to OCPS and how they do things and just the whole organization itself,” Kinard said.
Kinard had a 115-46 record in 15 seasons at TFA, before leaving the school after the 2022 season. The Royals came within one game of making it to the Class 2A state championship game in 2012. TFA was 12-0 before losing to Madison County in the state semifinal.
“I wish them nothing but the best at TFA and I hope they go on to have a lot of success,” Kinard said. “Some of them on the coaching staff at TFA have helped me out in going to the spread offense.
Kinard said he had several other job offers after leaving TFA, but he liked what Innovation principal Christopher Davis and athletic director Brian Bruce had to say about what they were looking for. He found a home.
“I know this is going to sound hokey, but the moment I finished that interview, I said to myself, ‘Yep, this is the spot’,” Kinard said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had that feeling before and I had not even been offered the job yet.
“For me, [coming to Innovation] was something that was needed. I don’t know if you always recognize that in the moment, but I think the Almighty is faithful. There are a lot of things that you don’t know you need until you look back and say, ‘Oh my gosh, that was the best thing to ever happen to me.’ This is one of those deals. It does feel a little redemptive.”
Kinard, for years, ran his offense out of the Wing-T offense. At Innovation he has innovated.
Kinard said unior quarterback Kaleb Bielski is “killing it.” He has competed 75% of his passes (48-of-64) for 887 yards and 16 touchdowns. Senior receiver/running back David Moore has proved to be versatile with 7 receiving touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns. Moore also has caught 22 passes. Senior running back Ralph Taylor has rushed for 5 touchdowns. On defense, senior safety Ben Friedlander has 26 tackles and senior defensive end Sean McQuade has 5 sacks.
Kinard said it’s not all about winning. There are long-term goals.
“We teach them what it means to be a man and how to be unselfish and how to put others first,” Kinard said. “We hang our hat on that stuff because, sure, we want to build football players, but we wanna make sure we’re building great husbands and fathers too.
“It’s not just about football. For some people that’s a cliche, but for us, it’s not.”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
