Hoskin leads Bowman into first full season

In a city known for its stellar basketball and track and field athletes, Floyd Hoskin is a rarity. He loves football.

That’s the kind of kid a program such as Bowman Academy needs in its first official year of IHSAA competition. Hoskin is also a rarity in the classroom, with a 3.4 grade-point average.

Put it all together and it’s no surprise he’s been named one of Bowman’s captains by coach Anthony Mabone.

"(His grades) are part of it and his work ethic is out of this world," Mabone said. "He has his heart set on playing Division I football and he’s working hard toward that goal. He hit the weights hard ... he ran track in the spring, then would run back here, literally, to lift more weights."

A hard worker and a leader on the field and in the classroom -- it’s a novel concept. But Hoskin actually shied away from the leadership concept when approached by Mabone as a sophomore.

Bowman, a charter school in Gary, has fielded athletic teams for two years already, but wasn’t officially accepted into IHSAA play until this year.

The Eagles will have to wait one more year for postseason play, though, since the IHSAA only realigns every other year. Bowman started with freshmen two years ago and had sophomores last season. So Hoskin was among the older players on the team.

"He didn’t want (the captain) role last year," Mabone said. "I had to talk to him about it. He was a quiet kid last year and he said he wasn’t that type of person. It was in him, he just had to somewhat be taught what a leader is and now he’s embraced that."

Just in the nick of time, with a postseason tournament on the not-too-distant horizon.

"I’m kind of close with everyone on the team, bonding with them away from the field," Hoskin said. "I just try to be a team player."

Hoskin is confident his squad is ready for the brave new world of IHSAA play with a full nine-game schedule this season.

"We work hard every day and we got some dedicated guys," he said.

Spoken like a true team captain. So what makes a kid growing up around more popular sports in Gary want to play football?

"I like to hit people -- on the field, not away from the field," he joked. "I don’t get into that bad stuff. I’m a cool guy off the field."

He hopes to be a cool customer on the field who helps the Eagles reach some lofty goals -- at least they seem lofty considering they are playing a full varsity schedule for the first time.

"We’re already talking about getting a state championship patch on our letterman’s jackets before we graduate,” Hoskin confidently said. "It’s all we talk about. We believe we have the players to do it."

They’ll just have to wait until they’re seniors to play in the postseason tournament.

Coach

Anthony Mabone (first official season, third overall)

Coach’s record

Overall

N/A

Last season

0-2 (only two games against varsity teams, no postseason play)

Key returnees

DE/TE Floyd Hoskin

DT/OL Sonny Haskins

RB/SS Nicholas Moore

DB Reginald Phinisee

QB Dahron Gamble

QB Josiah Moore

College prospects

DE/TE Floyd Hoskin

Season outlook

Bowman Academy is now just one year away from postseason play, and the excitement is building within the school and team. There are 20 more players out for the squad this year, which makes coach Anthony Mabone’s job easier in evaluating talent, which he says is in abundance. "We revamped our offense this season," Mabone said. "We’re going to be wide open because we have the athletes that can do that." With a year to go, the Eagles are still preparing their team for the future. The Class 1A school isn’t skimping on the schedule in preparation. The Eagles have six road games, including trips to Thornton Fractional North (in Calumet City, Ill.), Muskegon Heights, Mich., and Class 5A school Elkhart Memorial. One of their home games is against Churubusco, which reached the semistate in 1A last year and had an 11-3 record.