CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- It's been nearly two years since Atlantic Shores has lost a football game and this year's group of Seahawks is hoping to fly high once again.
"I cannot wait," smiled senior lineman Kaden Beatty. "My mouth is watering, I'm fired up!"
It's hard not to be fired up when you're Beatty and his teammates. Atlantic Shores is taking the field to prepare for 2022 coming off a campaign that saw them go 12-0 and win a VISAA Division II State Championship.
"We're carrying this over," the lineman said. "We're trying to get back to the championship and try to replay 2021."
"A lot of our guys, we keep the same mentality," senior running back and wide receiver Ameer Ali added. "That's what makes us. Last year we had such a strong brotherhood, so now it's like you can't get away from it. It's already in our blood."
Seahawks' head coach Wayne Lance is quick to point out that every group is different, as is every season. Now his 2022 squad is searching for its identity as it enters the upcoming campaign as one of the commonwealth's most hunted targets.
"You carry the target," Lance said. "Everybody wants what you had and yet at the same point in time, you were fortunate enough to get it, so respect that, that's a great memory, put those memories away and let's start on building a new chapter."
"You can't crumble when you're under pressure," Beatty noted. "That's what makes the best of the team and, basically, we've got a big circle on our back and we've got to fulfill our destiny here."
Last season taught the Seahawks what it takes the reach the top, obviously a valuable experience for those returning players. On a roster that features a good mix of experience and guys who are stepping into new roles, Lance is hoping the lessons from 2021 can trickle down from the leaders to the newcomers.
"It didn't seem so hard now that they look back, but looking towards the future, you've got to come back out and still put in the work and still put in the grind because everybody wants to climb that mountain," the head coach said.
This season's story has yet to be written for Atlantic Shores, a team that has not fallen since October 17, 2020. Whether or not the Seahawks find success once again will be determined by how it all comes together.
"Where we have returning players and experience, it's very exciting," Lance pointed out. "Where we have other guys coming into play who are young but ready for their opportunity, that's exciting... and it can be a little scary sometimes, too."
"Definitely get back to getting a ring," Beatty said of the squad's goals. "Trying to develop our culture, bring the guys together and definitely get back to the standard because the standard is set high."
Atlantic Shores kicks off its 2022 season on August 26 hosting Isle of Wight Academy at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
