Lake Brantley hires two-time state champ football coach, Garrett Kruczek

Kruczek led The Master’s Academy (Oviedo) to consecutive Sunshine State Athletic Association titles

Garrett Kruczek, left, shown standing next to his father, Mike Kruczek, has been hired as Lake Brantley High football coach. He led The Master's Academy (Oviedo) to consecutive Sunshine State Athletic Association state titles the last two seasons. / Garrett Kruczek

The Lake Brantley Patriots figure to be on the march again next Florida high school football season after the hire of their new coach.

Less than a month after dismissing Skip Clayton, who compiled a 9-22 record in three seasons, Lake Brantley has handed the whistle to up-and-coming coach Garrett Kruczek, who is coming off leading The Master’s Academy (Oviedo), a private school, to back-to-back Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) state championships.

“We’re fired up to have a great season,” said Lake Brantley athletic director Eric Entrekin, who said he hired Kruczek over eight other candidates. “He’s got an exciting offense, something that’s needed at Lake Brantley. The community is excited.”

Kruczek heads to a Seminole County public school that achieved enormous success under Skip Clayton’s father, George Clayton, who compiled an impressive 148-61 record in 19 seasons (1996-2015, taking one year off in 2013), according to a story in The Orlando Sentinel. The football stadium was often packed during his tenure.

Utilizing the triple-option offense, George Clayton took the Patriots to the playoffs 15 times, finishing as state runner-up in 2006. Lake Brantley went unbeaten in the regular season three times (1998, 2011, 2015) under his watch.

Skip Clayton did take the Patriots to the state playoffs in his first season (2022), but his teams struggled mightily against some of the toughest district opponents in Florida, going 1-10 in three years.

“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to bring a brand-new brand of football, especially offensively to Lake Brantley,” said Kruczek. “The Claytons have done a phenomenal job building a foundation over decades. It’s a tradition-rich program and I think it will be a challenge I look forward to in helping build it back to the success it once had.”

Entrekin said Kruczek will bring along most of his staff from TMA to Lake Brantley, including his father, Mike Kruczek, a former UCF head coach who served as co-offensive coordinator.

The duo implemented a high-scoring spread offense that produced touchdowns at a dizzying rate. TMA averaged 46.3 points per game in going 11-1 this year.

In 2023, the Eagles went 9-2 and averaged 40 points per game. “We’ll run the same thing,” Garrett Kruczek said. “Get a few missing pieces and watch them take off with it!”

TMA won consecutive titles with tremendous talent, including quarterback Jackson Stecher, a two-year starter who passed for 2,666 yards and 38 touchdowns with only two interceptions and rushed for 318 yards and two scores this year as a freshman.

Entrekin said it’s unknown if any of TMA’s players will join Garrett Kruczek at Lake Brantley. But the new coach likely will be able to convince many Lake Brantley players to stay after the school lost a few to transfer prior to the 2024 season.

Garrett Kruczek will teach physical education at Lake Brantley beginning Jan. 6, 2024. Mike Kruczek will be either a volunteer or a paid coach at the school, Entrekin said.

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--- Follow Jeff Gardenour on Twitter @JMarkG1962 or email him at jgardenour1962@gmail.com