Booker football looking to rebuild behind experienced, new head coach

Scottie Littles heads into Year 1 at Booker with plenty of head coaching experience under his belt

SARASOTA, FLORIDA – A new face is at the helm of the Sarasota Booker football program heading into the 2022 campaign in Scottie Littles, who is not heading into this rebuilding project with the Tornadoes without some experience doing so.

Littles comes with an extensive background as a head coach in the past, as the new Booker lead man has already led two different programs in a total of six seasons and has an overall record of 54-19 (three district championships, two region final berths). Now Littles heads into the Booker job looking to turnaround a program that nearly went winless in 2021 and was able to get a look at the team through a spring ball term.

Booker in action versus North Port / Photo courtesy of Booker High School Football

“The spring was great to see what guys can do, where do they fit into the puzzle,” Littles said. “It was good to see who knows how to compete and who needs to focus more. Spring was good for getting our practice environment and culture taught.”

For those wondering if Littles cares too much about the new metro/suburban state series starting off this season, they would be wrong. The new Tornadoes head coach wants to focus more on what he and the team can control rather than harnessing any energy on what he can't. Booker will be playing in a new district of Class 2A-Suburban, District 15 with Bayshore, DeSoto County and Lemon Bay.

The Tornadoes will be in Class 2A-Suburban, District 15 / Photo courtesy of Booker High School Football

“Metro and suburban, I really don’t have any feelings towards it,” Littles said. “I try to focus on the things that I can control. We are excited to compete against anybody.”

Make no mistake about it, this team does have some talent despite the lack of victories in the win column in 2021. One of the team's top players is Division I recruit Rayshawn Peterson, who is a going to be a go-to at wide receiver for Booker. Peterson currently holds offers from Florida State, University of South Florida, Penn State, Marshall and Kentucky.

WOW! truly blessed to receive my sixth D1 offer from Penn State University 🤍🙏🏾really excited for this offer. Thanks to coach @CoachLittles for these opportunities he giving me and my teammates.@coachseider @TornadoFB941 @Andrew_Ivins @247Sports @Rivals #PTR #SotaDame pic.twitter.com/FxtpvX8eJk

— 3⭐️ Rashawn Lamborghini Peterson (@RashawnPeterson) May 25, 2022

Other players Littles points to as ones to watch for are senior quarterback Will Carter, athlete Ahmad Hunter, running back/cornerback Josiah Booker and running back/receiver Omarian Patterson. On defense, defensive tackle Brandon Bass, outside linebacker/safety Deshaun Abnar, defensive end Rashad Hill and cornerback Gavin Stanford are the players to keep an eye out for.

Photo courtesy of Booker High School Football

"Our goal every year is to go 1-0 for 16 weeks to learn how to deal with adversity properly and to win every rep we take," Littles added.

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.