High School Varsity Football Touchdown Preview: Lennard High School, 2026

Lennard has become one of the elite programs in Hillsborough County under fourth-year Head Coach K.B. Belton. The Longhorns had an outstanding season in 2025, winning their first seven games by at least double digits and making the playoffs. The roster is chock-full of talent this season, and the team is poised to win its district and make a deep playoff run.

Belton is happy with his team’s progress in the offseason. They attended seven-on-seven camps at Florida State University and the University of Florida. He wants his team to continue the upward trend that they have shown in his tenure. His team has improved on their win total every season since he has taken over. This is his first senior class that he’s had for four seasons. They have seen the big turnaround that has taken place in the program, and they are hungry to continue the success.

“Now we want to go deeper in the playoffs,” said Belton. “They know how to win football games. Now it’s, ‘Can we continue to win and win playoff games?’ I think that’s been the motivator.”

The head coach thinks that the tough schedule early on will pay dividends in regard to becoming battle-tested for the big games later in the season and knowing what they have to improve on. They opted to add St. Petersburg Catholic to the schedule instead of having a spring game. There is an option in Hillsborough County to forego the spring game in order to add an out-of-county opponent to the regular season schedule. The Longhorns open the regular season facing a very tough Armwood opponent.

The veteran ball club returns six starters on offense and six on defense. Belton thinks that his team’s major strength will be their defense, led by senior defensive back Mekhi Williams, senior defensive back Robert Gibbons and senior defensive back Bryce Herald.

The team will have to replace three-year starting quarterback Jacob Mobley, who graduated. Mobley could be considered the best quarterback to have played at Lennard. Senior Sumner transfer Antonio Balaguer is talented, battle-tested and up to the task. He started three years at Sumner, competing at a high level against tough competition and playing in big playoff games. Belton said that Balaguer already has command of the offense despite only joining the program in June. He will have the full reigns of this offense and is a complete quarterback. Belton said that he is a leader and he knows how to move the chains, line everybody up and run the RPOs. His experience will help negate some of the mistakes of the offense.

Lennard has several Division I commits, including junior wide receiver/defensive back Chayse Brown (Florida State), senior running back Preston Beckham (Cincinnati), senior defensive back Robert Gibbons (FIU) and junior safety Mekhi Williams (Wisconsin), while junior wide receiver Terrence O’Neal-Leather has multiple D-I offers.

Belton always expects to win every game. He welcomes the tough competition and thinks it will only make his program better. They have a hard schedule in a very good district. They have to face Armwood, Tampa Bay Tech, Durant, Plant City, St. Petersburg Catholic and East Bay, to name a few. Expect them to win their district and go to the playoffs for second straight season.

“For me, every year is just about having fun with our guys,” said Belton. “Only one team can win a state championship. I love football, I love winning, but the biggest thing for me is just seeing these kids happy, smiling, jumping around. Even when they go through their low points, I like to be there for them to show them that it’s not just about football for us, we are a true family.”

Schedule:

8/21 @ Armwood

10/30 vs. Strawberry Crest