Hylton senior quarterback Darius Reynolds and senior offensive tackle Will Alvarez knew they were under the microscope playingin a program that has won three Group AAA, Division 6 state championships since 1998.
But it wasn’t until minor preseason injuries sparked rumors around school and on Internet message boards that the pair could be out for the season that they realized just how much attention comes with playing for the Bulldogs.
Reynolds, entering his second year as the starter, missed Hylton’s lone scrimmage with turf toe. Alvarez sat out as a precaution after suffering a shoulder sprain. Both say they are healthy entering tonight’s season opener, a non-district home game against Stonewall Jackson.
“We’re fine,” said Alvarez, a 6-foot-5, 310-pounder who has verbally committed to Virginia Tech. “You would have thought we both blew out an ACL. It may take us a few weeks to get back to where we were, but we’ll get there.”
That’s especially important for Reynolds, who made his mark as a passer in 2005 but will be asked to run the ball more as Hylton incorporates some spread packages into its offense. It is a task he was used to as a youth league player. Reynolds’ older brother, D.J. Palmer, played at North Stafford under Chris Beatty, whose high-octane offense took Landstown to a state championship in 2004 and is now the offensive coordinator at Hampton University. Palmer, a 1999 North Stafford graduate, later coached Reynolds at the youth level and ran a scaled-down version of Beatty’s offense.
“That’s how I played football back in the day,” said Reynolds, who transferred from Stafford to Hylton as a sophomore. “It’s a lot of fun to play that style. It’s going to be nice to have a little of that mixed in with what we’ve been doing.”
Eight is great
» Hylton has won eight straight Division 6 Northwest Region titles.
» Reynolds passed for 1,435 yards and 20 TDs last season.
» The Bulldogs lost to Landstown last season in the Group AAA Division 6 state semifinals. Landstown’s Percy Harvin (Florida) intercepted Reynolds’ desperation pass in the end zone as time expired and returned it 100 yards for a final touchdown.
