Merritt Island Head Coach Hurlie Brown enters his third season with the Mustangs in 2020. The team is looking to rebound after a 4-5 season in 2019. The Mustangs are not known for having tough seasons, and you can bet that they will get back on track this season, as they look to add to their 36 playoff appearances in school history.

Quarterback Michael Moss II finished his senior season with 838 yards passing and four touchdowns. He threw 120 of the 123 passes thrown last season.

As you might expect from those numbers, the Mustangs were a run-heavy squad, averaging 143 yards on the ground. Moss running for 351 yards on 91 carries, DeVarius Mitchell carried 48 times for 339 yards a 7.1-yard average, to go along with three touchdowns. DJ Grimes added 321 yards on 48 carries and one touchdown. Mitchell and Grimes should be returning this season.

Mitchell was the leading receiver, catching 19 passes for 296 yards and one touchdown. Grimes had 13 receptions for 123 yards. Julio Garcia played in six games and had 106 yards on seven catches. Darin Myers had 10 catches for 88 yards and had two of the four Merritt Island receiving touchdowns. Dominic Shields saw some time last season as well, and these guys should all be part of the passing attack this season.

The Mustang defense had 16 sacks and averaged 45.1 tackles a game. Seven players graduated from the group, but many of the sacks came from underclassmen. Daniel Robinson led the team with four sacks and had 37 tackles, and Jacob Woods had three sacks and 24 tackles. Daylyn Randolph finished with 38 tackles, and Aaron Session had 31. All of them should be back when this season gets underway.

Brady Denaburg handled the kicking duties last year and will likely do so again. He had 25 kickoffs for 335 yards with a long of 60 and five touchbacks. He was 7-for-9 on extra points and hit 10-of-13 field goals with a long of 50 yards. He also split punting duties with Dylan Gertz. Denaburg punted 15 times for 597 yards and five touchbacks.

The Mustangs schedule has yet to be completed. On August 28, the team will travel to Titusville to take on Astronaut. The Mustangs will welcome Atlantic out of Port Orange on October 16. They will play at Eau Gallie the following week and then on October 30, they will host Westwood. All start times are scheduled for 7:00 p.m., but the schedule is tentative as of now.