JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mandarin Mustangs don’t always get the practice they planned.
Rain can push any team off the field, forcing the Mustangs indoors—an early reminder that in Florida, even the weather can test a program before the season officially begins.
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“We always start the season with the weather plan,” head coach Toby Bullock said. “So you go to a lift, you go to meetings… Sometimes you try to turn the negative into a positive.”
Bullock said the message is simple: keep progressing, regardless of the disruption.
“Always got to get something done,” he said. “You got to be moving forward.”
RELATED: ‘Plus 2′: Inside Mandarin football’s mindset after last season’s playoff heartbreak
A schedule full of tests
Mandarin’s 2026 season opens on the road in South Florida against McArthur, then moves into a stretch that includes district games, familiar opponents—and two major measuring sticks.
Raines and Lake Mary, both defending state champions in their respective classes, are on the Mustangs’ schedule this fall.
Linebacker Jerel Stephens said the work to prepare for that kind of slate started long before kickoff.
“Day by day stacking days,” Stephens said. “We hold a very high standard. So every day we come on hold a standard—practice how you play.”
When asked who helps keep that standard from slipping, players didn’t hesitate.
“Shaunqueze Foster,” linebacker Kaden Bryant said.
“Shaunqueze Foster,” Stephens echoed.
Foster—known around the program as “Quez”—is a Class of 2027 running back who players describe as a steady source of accountability and energy.
“Hard work keeping everybody accountable,” Foster said. “When we go on the field it’s us versus them and nobody else.”
Foster said the daily tone matters.
“You could just feel the energy,” he said. “The energy that everybody wants to be here.”
Bullock said that’s what leadership looks like in practice—especially when teammates have to challenge each other.
“That’s what we look for in leaders,” Bullock said. “I don’t care if you can tell the freshman what to do. Can you tell your best friend that he’s doing wrong? That’s a leader.”
Bullock said the parts fans see on Friday nights are only a small piece of what it takes to get through a season.
“536 hours of football in a season,” Bullock said. “You only get 45 hours of actual playing time… So 88% of the time you are in preparation. So our motto is find joy in the preparation.”
Confidence heading into Week 1
Even with the difficult schedule ahead, players said the mood is confident entering Week 1.
“This is actually one of our best teams we’ve had in this program,” Bryant said. “Coming in as a team—we real confident.”
Stephens added: “Really tense schedule… we ready for everything.”
Wide receiver Jace Kemp said the Mustangs plan to set the tone early.
“We’re going to make statements all year,” Kemp said.
About the series
This story is Episode 2 of Varsity 4’s “Plus 2”—a season-long series following the Mandarin Mustangs week-to-week from the start of practice through the end of the season.