Newberry aims for extended playoff run in 2026

The 2024 season was a historic one for the Newberry Panthers.

Newberry went 10-3 that season, won their first district title in 17 years and advanced to the 2A-Region 2 Final.

After that 2024 team lost several seniors who moved on to college programs such as Ohio State and Miami, Newberry faced more growing pains in 2025. The Panthers opened the season 0-3 but still returned to the playoffs despite finishing 5-6.

“Last year we got off to a slow start,” Newberry coach Ed Johnson, entering his eighth season, said,” We went 5-3 in our last eight games. I feel like we got better and got more competitive and started understanding what it takes to work and win games and how it’s tied together. It was a great learning experience for the guys who are coming up now and taking over.”

Newberry will have to replace their leading receiver, Hayden Moore, who is now at Minnesota, and their leading running back, Kaleb Woods, who is now at Hutchinson Community College.

The leading returning running back is senior Jamarcus Wimberly, who rushed for 459 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 while sharing carries with Woods.

“He (Wimberly) was sharing a lot of carries the last few years with Kaleb (Woods), but it’s his show now and he’s going to have a great year and we’re excited to get him the ball,” Johnson said.

Wimberly himself says he’s ready to go.

“We need some more leaders. I’m a leader now as a senior, and I’m going to try to show leadership to the younger guys,” Wimberly said.

Newberry does return wide receivers Keyondre Williams, Javeon Long and Zaden Wilcox.

“It’s a good mixture of youth and experience,” Johnson said. “We will dress 13 seniors this year, and we had 22 last season, and I think we had 18 the year before. It’s a smaller senior class, but these guys have been with us for three or four years; they’ve been in the program, so hopefully they’ll hold on to the standard.”

A key returner on defense is senior Darius Debose, and Johnson expects him to play running back, tight end, defensive end, and linebacker for the Panthers. Debose had 53 tackles, including 12 for loss, and two sacks a year ago.

“We have been working on our leadership in the offseason,” Debose said. “Me coming in as a senior and more seniors coming in, we all know each other from middle school, so our team chemistry is really good and should lead to more success on the field.”

Newberry also must replace quarterback Kobe Johnson, who graduated after last season. Wilcox saw some playing time in 2025 and is expected to open this season as the starter.

Newberry faces another challenging schedule in 2026. The Panthers remain in District 4-2A with Trinity Catholic (Ocala), while Bradford (Starke) joins the district this season.

Newberry hosts rival Santa Fe to open the slate on Aug. 21. The challenging opening stretch continues with a trip to defending rural state champion Hawthorne, followed by the Panthers hosting Cocoa in week three. Cocoa knocked Newberry out of the playoffs the last two years.

“Three really good opponents to start, and we are going to have to be at our best to beat those teams and compete, and we are excited about it,” Johnson said.

“Hawthorne is a fun game. They do a great job and the atmosphere over there is great. I love going over there to play. They are going to show us what we need to work on.”

After hosting Halifax Academy (Daytona Beach), Newberry travels to Middleburg and then Trinity Catholic in the district opener. The end of the season is challenging as well, with three of the four games at home against Bradford, Palatka, and Madison County, and a game at Williston.

“Our offensive line has to play better for us to be successful this season,” Johnson said. “In January, we challenged them to get bigger, stronger and faster. We’ve got to block better in order to run the football, so that’s the challenge.”