Hudson excelling under head coach Tim Hicks

HUDSON, FLORIDA – In a most unlikely place, Tim Hicks finally has found his dream job.

He's the football coach at Hudson High School, where the Cobras are making everyone forget a mostly dismal experience in all sports through the school's first 49 years of existence. In a place where many coaches in many sports through the years have said winning is impossible, Hicks has the Cobras sitting at 7-0 and preparing for what easily is the biggest game in school history.

On Friday night at Cobras Stadium, Hudson will host Williston, also 7-0.

"There is no place else I would rather be,'' Hicks said on Wednesday night as he drove home from a celebration of Hudson's 50th year.

The irony in that statement is deep – on several levels.

First, you need to understand that Hicks has learned the hard way what dream jobs really are. He thought he had one once and he thought it would last forever. That was an hour north of Hudson at Lake Weir High School, where Hicks was a living legend. He was a record-setting quarterback at Lake Weir before playing at West Liberty University in West Virginia and, then, in the Arena League.

Eventually, Hicks found his way back to Lake Weir as an assistant coach. Then, he became the head coach in 2014. Hicks said he and his wife Rebecca, also a Lake Weir graduate, thought they would spend the rest of their lives in Marion County.

But fate got in the way as Lake Weir won 11 games and went to a bowl game in Hicks' three seasons.

"We won some games, but I guess I didn't win enough games,'' Hicks said. "We got a new principal and she decided to go in a different direction."

For the first time in his life, Hicks was without football.

"For five months, I was miserable,'' Hicks said. "My wife and my three daughters were ready to kick me out of the house. I was a football coach, but I didn't have a team.''

Well, that didn't last long.

In the spring of 2017, the Hudson football program was in deep turmoil. With off-field issues playing a major role, the Cobras quickly went through three coaches in a four-month span. Hicks heard the job was open and did what a lot of other coaches through the years had refused to do because Hudson frequently was viewed through the years as a place where it was impossible to win.

The knock was that Hudson had a different set of demographics than the neighboring towns of New Port Richey, Port Richey and Spring Hill. Those places were filled with middle class families with lots of stability. Hudson never has been a wealthy community and people tended to move in and out of there quickly.

The best athletes often moved away. Those that stayed sometimes dropped out of school or didn't play sports because they had to work to help support their families. Hudson became best known for the steady stream of news reports about the practice of witchcraft on Moon Lake Road and for lots of losing by the high school's sports teams.

Sure, a Hudson team would be good now and then, but the Cobras weren't able to put together sustained success, especially in football.

"I was in a position where I couldn't worry about tradition,'' Hicks said. "I wanted to coach football and the Hudson job was open and I was lucky enough to get another opportunity..''

Hicks didn't feel so lucky on his first day of spring practice in 2017 when the Cobras only had 17 players show up. But, gradually, the Cobras started improving and this year's special senior class has been changing the perception of Hudson. The stands now are full at home games.

"The people come out for a reason,'' senior wide receiver A.J. McFarlane said. "And we are that reason.''

The Cobras haven't been just winning. They mostly have been destroying opponents. The results of their last three games? A 76-0 victory against Brooksville Central, a 54-6 win against Sunlake and a 55-0 cruise past Weeki Wachee. On the season Hudson has outscored opponents 323 to 54.

The individual stats are just as gaudy. McFarlane has become Pasco County's career leader in receiving yards (2,175 and counting) and career receiving touchdowns (32 with room for more). Senior quarterback Riley Blevens has completed a ridiculous 66.6 percent of his passes to go along with 18 touchdown passes.

The passing game may be a reflection of Hicks' background as a quarterback. But the Cobras have plenty of balance on an offense that's directed by coordinator Donald Flannery, a former offensive line coach. At just 5-foot-8 and 162 pounds, senior running back Logan Shawell is averaging 127.6 yards per game and has rushed for 11 touchdowns.

"We're not your typical high school team that only runs the ball on offense,'' McFarlane said. "Coach Hicks knows the passing game because he's been there and done that. He's not afraid to let us throw it a lot. That gives us a bidg advantage because defenses have to pick their poison with us.''

Speaking of poisons, Hudson's defense has been just as treacherous for opponents as the offense It's led by the Cobras' only true blue-chip prospect, 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end Elias Williams, who gets plenty of help from the likes of middle linebacker Trinity Hadsell (a team-high 7.1 tackles per game) and safety Joe Links (five interceptions).

"There don't seem to be as many doubters now,'' McFarlane said. "People are actually are coming up to us and saying nice things about Hudson football.'''

That's a big change from years past. Then, again, with a coach like Hicks, maybe the Cobras can be good for the long haul.

"Our school motto is "Cobra Nation is Hudson tough,'' said Hicks, who also is Hudson's athletic director. "I think that fits us perfectly. We may not be the biggest team around, but we're tough. Hudson kids are tough. We're a blue-collar community and our kids embody that with their toughness. They use the fuel from people saying they're not big enough to inspire them. They're out to prove the naysayers wrong.''

Maybe after Friday night, 50 years of naysaying will forever be a thing of the past for Hudson.