For the first time in nearly two years, the Florida High School Athletic Association probe and its ensuing victory forfeitures and player suspensions are completely behind the Armwood Hawks.
Adversity, however, is not.
Roughly an hour before the start of his team's first formal preseason practice, coach Sean Callahan said three prominent players (junior RB Markis Firlow, senior WR Shedaul Price and junior CB Kaylaun Edwards) are expected to miss the season with knee injuries.
Price and Edwards have torn ACLs, Callahan said. Firlow has not yet received the result of his MRI exam, but Callahan said a torn ACL also is feared.
All three suffered the injuries during summer 7-on-7 action.
"I'm not a 7-on-7 guy, but those injuries were clearly nobody's fault," Callahan said. "I was standing from here to my truck (about 5 yards away) to each one of them -- all three. It's a sad thing. ... One guy, okay. Two guys, it hurts. Three guys?"
Price, whose senior year ends before it began, had eight catches for 98 yards in 2012. Edwards, brother of former Hawks TB Wade Edwards, was expected to battle for a starting cornerback job. Firlow was a Class 3A region qualifier last spring in the 100 meters.
"It hurts," senior free safety Kyle Gibson said. "When anybody's injured it hurts you, but I still think we're in good shape."