Total turnaround continues for Seffner Christian

The Seffner Christian football team is on a mission. They're a program that has never won a playoff game, but they hit the field as one of the favorites to win it all in Class 2A. 

The Crusaders have cruised through the season with the biggest turnaround. They're a perfect 10 and 0, squashing their opponents by outscoring them 10 to 1.

"It's been incredible to see the turnaround with these kids right here on this football field,” said Seffner Christian head coach Travis Puleo.

After winning just one game last year, the captains got together after the season. Some of the captains have been playing together since middle school. They made a commitment for a change.  

"We talked to each other and said this is not going to happen again next year,” said senior wide receiver Christian Helms. "We cannot do this again being my senior year and a couple other captains. We were like, we can't do this."

"We didn't want to go 1 and 9 again,” said junior quarterback Isaiah Knowles. "So we knew we had to work over the summer to get in the weight room to get bigger, faster and stronger. That was our main thing."

Isaiah Knowles has a trio of receivers that are tough to stop. Christian Helms, Mekel Ford and Mike Trigg have hauled in a combined 23 touchdowns. Knowles is just a junior, who has lead the Crusaders since his freshman year, passing for nearly 5,000 yards in his career. 

"I love playing with Zay,” said Helms. "We've played together since middle school. That's a little bit of an extra advantage. You know get on the same page. You know the kid has got an arm. He's going to get a lot more looks going into his senior year. You know I really love the guy. Off the field we are the best of friends.”

The Crusaders begin the road to states, taking on Carrollwood Day -- a team they beat 34-7 back in September.