Overtime_Live

Covering Bayside Conference High School Football on Maryland's Eastern Shore for 17 years.

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Breaking News: Bryon Sofinowski is the new Head Coach at Queen Anne's County High School. While many know Coach Sof has exclusively tied to Kent Island, Sofinowski attended Queen Anne's and played for the Lions. This was all before Kent Island even existed as a High School. Ironically Sofinowski was recently inducted into the Kent Island Athletics Hall of Fame where he coached for many years in two stints each as a Head Coach and an Assistant. Kent Island is of course Queen Anne's cross county rival. Sofinowski takes over for Brian Mooney also a former QA grad and player who coached in Centreville for three years.
The OTL can confirm from Sofinowski himself that Donnie Graef now will be staying put at Queen Anne's and will be a part of the staff. He will not head back to Kent Island to join new Head Coach Trent Jackson's staff as initially reported. Brian Aiken who was the OC (did not call the plays)/QB's Coach last season will remain and be on the new staff. Rondell Bryant will be the Head JV Coach.

QA did have its best year under Mooney this past season and one of its best in the last decade. It was a new offensive look too the last few seasons with a lot more passing. We have not been able to confirm the reason for the change at head coach and out of respect while we have heard rumors, we will not report what is not confirmed. Although time may play out and confirm at least some of what we are hearing. Regardless the job in Centreville is one of the more desired jobs with strong community support. It has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride with the program from coaching changes to forfeiting a game due to State violations to injuries and losing a key player to transfer this off-season. Up until this past season they had dropped down a peg in the hierarchy in the Bayside. Just as it appeared that things had started to settle down, we got the news that the job was open. As reported Mooney was told to reapply which added some intrigue to the situation. Also the timing of this comes very late before OTA's and summer practice.

Sofinowski is retiring as a teacher at the end of this year so he will have more than enough time to devote to the position. Plus given he is an alum he will be greatly motivated to keep Queen Anne's as one of the top programs in the Bayside. His resume speaks for itself. Retaining Graef and Aiken are huge given how late Sofinowski takes over and that will be the challenge. That said he comes into a pretty good situation so it should not be as chaotic as it might be if the program needed major work. Queen Anne's now has two of the most winningest coaches in the last two decades plus on the same staff is impressive. Graef is in the 'Maryland High School Football Hall of Fame'. Sofinowski and Graef are both in the 'Overtime Live Hall of Fame'. (We may have to remove Sof until he re-retires lol)

This has turned out to be yet another off-season with several coaching changes in the Bayside. It really is amazing after so much stability how many changes we have had in the last five years. This off-season there are new coaches at Stephen Decatur, Kent Island, James M. Bennett, Washington and now Queen Anne's. At Kent County (interim tag was removed but came much later than expected)

Sofinowski's Career at KI: 2001-2014, Bayside Conference Championship: 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, Regional Championship: 2011, 2013, 2014, Bayside Coach of the Year: 2003, 2011, 2013 Star Democrat All Mid-Shore Coach of the Year 2007, Ravens' Coach of the Week, QACPS Coach of the year 2010, 7 consecutive playoff appearances: 2008-2014, Overall record: 118-65...Record of 61-13 in final six seasons. Coach Sofinowski also served as the Wrestling Coach for 9 years and Softball Coach for 5 years in Stevensville.

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Listen to "Episode #169-New Queen Anne's HC Bryon Sofinowski" by 'Time Out With Overtime Live'

https://t.co/4b7SyHpJmN

@QACHS_Football

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Listen to "Episode #168-New Washington Head Coach Tremont White" by 'Time Out With Overtime Live' https://t.co/Ku6ZnBFJww

@WHSJaguarsFB

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Also Sof took KI to the 2022 2A State Championship against Milford Mill finishing as runner-up

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Breaking News: Bryon Sofinowski is the new Head Coach at Queen Anne's County High School. While many know Coach Sof has exclusively tied to Kent Island, Sofinowski attended Queen Anne's and played for the Lions. This was all before Kent Island even existed as a High School. Ironically Sofinowski was recently inducted into the Kent Island Athletics Hall of Fame where he coached for many years in two stints each as a Head Coach and an Assistant. Kent Island is of course Queen Anne's cross county rival. Sofinowski takes over for Brian Mooney also a former QA grad and player who coached in Centreville for three years.
The OTL can confirm from Sofinowski himself that Donnie Graef now will be staying put at Queen Anne's and will be a part of the staff. He will not head back to Kent Island to join new Head Coach Trent Jackson's staff as initially reported. Brian Aiken who was the OC (did not call the plays)/QB's Coach last season will remain and be on the new staff. Rondell Bryant will be the Head JV Coach.

QA did have its best year under Mooney this past season and one of its best in the last decade. It was a new offensive look too the last few seasons with a lot more passing. We have not been able to confirm the reason for the change at head coach and out of respect while we have heard rumors, we will not report what is not confirmed. Although time may play out and confirm at least some of what we are hearing. Regardless the job in Centreville is one of the more desired jobs with strong community support. It has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride with the program from coaching changes to forfeiting a game due to State violations to injuries and losing a key player to transfer this off-season. Up until this past season they had dropped down a peg in the hierarchy in the Bayside. Just as it appeared that things had started to settle down, we got the news that the job was open. As reported Mooney was told to reapply which added some intrigue to the situation. Also the timing of this comes very late before OTA's and summer practice.

Sofinowski is retiring as a teacher at the end of this year so he will have more than enough time to devote to the position. Plus given he is an alum he will be greatly motivated to keep Queen Anne's as one of the top programs in the Bayside. His resume speaks for itself. Retaining Graef and Aiken are huge given how late Sofinowski takes over and that will be the challenge. That said he comes into a pretty good situation so it should not be as chaotic as it might be if the program needed major work. Queen Anne's now has two of the most winningest coaches in the last two decades plus on the same staff is impressive. Graef is in the 'Maryland High School Football Hall of Fame'. Sofinowski and Graef are both in the 'Overtime Live Hall of Fame'. (We may have to remove Sof until he re-retires lol)

This has turned out to be yet another off-season with several coaching changes in the Bayside. It really is amazing after so much stability how many changes we have had in the last five years. This off-season there are new coaches at Stephen Decatur, Kent Island, James M. Bennett, Washington and now Queen Anne's. At Kent County (interim tag was removed but came much later than expected)

Sofinowski's Career at KI: 2001-2014, Bayside Conference Championship: 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, Regional Championship: 2011, 2013, 2014, Bayside Coach of the Year: 2003, 2011, 2013 Star Democrat All Mid-Shore Coach of the Year 2007, Ravens' Coach of the Week, QACPS Coach of the year 2010, 7 consecutive playoff appearances: 2008-2014, Overall record: 118-65...Record of 61-13 in final six seasons. Coach Sofinowski also served as the Wrestling Coach for 9 years and Softball Coach for 5 years in Stevensville.

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Weekend Listening!...
...Listen to "Episode-#167-New/Old James M. Bennett Coach Dustin Mills" by 'Time Out With Overtime Live' https://t.co/D5L2eKX6mB

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UPDATE: Brian Mooney tells OTL he was told to re-apply for the position. So nothing is final yet. We have reached out to the QAHS AD for comment.

OTL has learned that Queen Anne's County has posted an opening for Head Coach of QAHS ending Brian Mooney's time at the helm of the Lions. Mooney took over for Al Waters in 2023. This past season the Lions bounced back from an injury plagued but very competitive 5-5 season in 2024 and had their best season under Mooney going 9-3 before losing in the 2nd Round of the playoffs to Dunbar of Baltimore. Mooney went 6-5 in his first season. This off-season however they did lose QB Colton Starlings to transfer to cross county rival Kent Island. We also confirmed that OL Coach and QA coaching legend Donnie Graef is also headed back to KI for his second stint on the coaching staff. Mooney ends up going 20-13 in three seasons.

The off-season coaching changes continue yet for another season in the Bayside. Changes at Stephen Decatur, James M. Bennett and Washington all have taken place. Kent County removed the interim tag off their HC a few weeks ago. This is now the fourth change this off-season.

Usually, a change this late for football does not take place especially with OTA's (my term not the state) that are sometimes scheduled right after the final spring sports games as a mini camp before summer camp in August. Currently weightlifting and running is taking place. Your allowed to coach 2 players per day in the off-season outside of the OTAs. This is a highly coveted job with a strong community support. More as we confirm it.

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Misc:
One other coaching piece of news, Paul Tue had the interim tag taken off a few weeks ago as was interim HC last season. Now he is officially the Head Coach of the Kent County Trojans Football. Congrats to Coach Tue.

Here are the profiles and some pictures from the Kent Island Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony on Saturday from Kent Island High School for their football accolades even though they both were involved with more than Football.

-DJ Plumer (Player):
Football- Only KI team to ever go 10-0, took the team to multiple Bayside and Regional championships, 2 yr varsity starter, 1st Team All-Conference slot back - junior, 1st Team All-Conference Quarterback- senior, All Bayside Conference Offensive Utility Player of the Year- junior, All Bayside Conference Offensive Player of the Year - senior, Team - MVP - Senior

-Bryon Sofinowski (Coach)
Football Coach: 2001-2014, Bayside Conference Championship: 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, Regional Championship: 2011, 2013, 2014, Bayside Coach of the Year: 2003, 2011, 2013 Star Democrat All Mid-Shore Coach of the Year 2007, Raven's Coach of the Week, QACPS Coach of the year 2010,7 consecutive playoff appearances: 2008-2014, Overall record: 99-60 Record of 61-13 in final six seasons.

Photos taken by https://t.co/VehhIUCvnx via Dan Harding (KIHS)

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Listen to "Episode #166-New Kent Island Head Coach Trent Jackson" by 'Time Out With Overtime Live' https://t.co/E3mVKlrrk2

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Congrats to former Head Coach Bryon Sofinowski and player DJ Plumer for being inducted into the Kent Island Athletics Hall of Fame today.

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We are back with our first episode of the new season! More to come this weekend!

https://t.co/pARLG46DX1

@decatur_fb

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We are back...sorry for the dormant period, lots going on this past winter that I've had on my plate but time to get back to this great venture...we begin with Breaking News out of Stevensville:

Kent Island High School Football has hired Trent Jackson to be their new Head Coach. @_TrentJackson most recently has been Offensive Coordinator at The Severn School (Private) in Anne Arundel County. The Admirals play in the MIAA B Conference. Jackson is no stranger to the Bucs having played QB his Sr year at KI for Damian Ferragamo after transferring in from Riverdale Baptist. He had a lot of success in that season. AD Dan Harding tells the OTL is trying to get TJ in the building as a teacher as well.

Tim Goodrich who served as interim Head Coach this past season after spending years as Defensive Coordinator will return to the DC role.

...this is all on top of the news that we brought you a few months back that Donnie Graef is coming back to KI from Queen Anne's to be the OC and Offensive Line coach. Given Jackson's background it almost definitely will be Jackson's offense but Graef would coordinate with Jackson being the HC. No word yet on play calling on game day.

We're not done yet either, a few months ago one of the top QBs in the Bayside from Queen Anne's in QB @D1colton_ Colton Starlings transferred to Kent Island. Starlings dad lives in the district for KI. His mom lives in Centreville, that's why he was able to go to QA. That's a major get for Kent Island. Jackson is his private QB coach so there is a relationship there. While the Bucs have been long known for being a physical run team, one would expect that your going to see a lot more passing. That said I think Jackson knows the Bucs roots, so we will still see a decent amount of run. Certainly big and positive news for the Bucs. Plenty more coming soon.

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From Stephen Decatur High School about @decatur_fb

"Russell Croteau will be assuming the helm of the Stephen Decatur Seahawks Football team this coming season.

Coach Croteau brings an impressive résumé, most recently serving as our offensive coordinator for the past six seasons, helping lead Decatur to two state championships, multiple additional titles, numerous all-state selections, and the advancement of dozens of student-athletes to quality Division I, II, and III football programs.
Prior to his time at Decatur, Coach Croteau coached at Salisbury University and Easton High School.

He is looking forward to maintaining the high standards set by outgoing coach, Jake Coleman, while continuing the program’s dominance across the state."

-That leaves the James M. Bennett and Washington HC jobs as the other vacancies. We are waiting to hear about the Interim tag coming off of Coach Tue at Kent County as well.

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Our friends at @mdHSscores selected their Coaches of the Year and the Bayside showed up twice! Congrats to @CoachMeintzer and Coach McMurdo @WiHiFB:

COACH OF THE YEAR WINNERS
MPSSAA:
4A - Jermaine Howell, Wheaton HS
4A/3A - Jacquis McCray, John F. Kennedy HS
3A - Rick Conner, Linganore HS
2A - Matt McMurdo, Wicomico HS
2A/1A - Nick Burkhardt, Sparrows Point HS
1A - Alec Meintzer, Washington HS

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Breaking News (2 Items):
We can confirm that MD State Hall of Fame Coach Donnie Graef is heading back to Kent Island High School Football to be the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. Graef most recently was the offensive line coach at Queen Anne's for Head Coach Brian Mooney. Graef who was an assistant at Queen Anne's for about a decade from the mid-80s to mid-90s then took over as Head Coach for over 20 years. One of the big reasons he stepped down as HC as he told me on the Overtime Live show was all the time and effort that goes into being a HC in the off-season and how it had worn him down going into a season and in general. Graef re-emerged as the offensive line coach/assistant for Bryon Sofinowski in 2022 when Sofinowski returned in his second stint as HC at Kent Island. Sofinowski left after the 2023 season in Stevensville. Graef then went back to Queen Anne's to be an assistant coach in coaching the line for HC Brian Mooney. The Lions in 2024 battled a massive number of injuries on the O-Line and yet still finished a very respectable 5-5. The whole coaching staff including Graef get a lot of credit for that. This past season the Lions had a fantastic year before falling in the playoffs to eventual 2A-1A champ Dunbar (Baltimore City). While the Lions like to spread out and throw the ball, they were still also successful in running the football. They would have probably run the ball more if not for the injury to RB DeRodney Smith in the middle of the year that cost him several games. Smith had a big night on the ground against Easton in the Lions playoff win over the Warriors.

Graef in the last few seasons could be seen constantly studying the iPad of his lineman up and down the sidelines. He is one of the best offensive line coaches in the Bayside and has also coached running backs and defensive ends/backers. This is a big pickup for the Buccaneers who went 5-5 this past season and also dealt with some injuries most notably to RB Jaxson Hess who missed the last few games. They were without their best WR all season long and had to play three different QB's at one point. This should be a big help in hitting the reset button. Jim Curtice, a longtime coach and assistant at Kent Island who was the OC last season will not return. (want to thank coach for all the time he put in over the years for the kids) This will be KI's 5th OC in the last six seasons. That said the scheme has generally stayed the same but not entirely. Each coach has his own style of calling plays. And last season KI ran almost exclusively out of the shotgun. I am guessing you will see more of a return under center snaps and continued KI gap and zone running of the football as it was done under Sofinowski and Ferragamo. But having come from QA where they were multiple with it all, it will be curious to see how Graef will coordinate but no doubt the bread and butter, the roots of KI will be right there. He will have a returning Sr. QB and a returning So. QB which will help.

-OTL can also report that Tim Goodrich will be back next season as the Head Coach of the team. The interim label is off. Goodrich will also remain as the Defensive Coordinator of the team as well, both positions he held last season.