RIVIERA BEACH — In the stadium where future NFL stars Anthony Carter and Devin Hester once were high school football legends, the field is now a patchy mix of grass and dirt. The goalposts are rusty. The sprinkler system doesn't work. Neither does the scoreboard. The home bleachers and press box have been condemned. Half of the visiting bleachers also have been deemed unsafe. Birds have built huge nests in the light towers. At Inlet Grove High School, this is the backdrop for a football program on life support. "Some coaches can say, 'Oh, I have to rebuild this year,'" said Matthew Haughn, the Hurricanes' first-year coach. "I am literally building from ashes, from nothing." Haughn spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive line at Benjamin, one of the county's most affluent private schools. He left to take the head coaching job at a charter school in one of the county's poorest neighborhoods. The irony is not lost on the coach. "The resources were amazing, the coaching staff was amazing," Haughn said of his previous stop. "Benjamin was a great learning experience, getting to experience South Florida football, because I've always coached in Georgia. Now this is my time. I felt like if nobody else was going to do it, then why not me?"
When Haughn arrived at Inlet Grove for spring practice, he faced a shortage of basic gear — shoulder pads, helmets, mouthpieces. Players wore tattered practice uniforms, which the coach estimates are at least 20 years old. That means Haughn has had to take on the additional roles of equipment manager and fundraiser. Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest, the Hurricanes' opponent in the spring game, donated shoulder pads. King's Academy, which faces Inlet Grove on Oct. 16, has offered to do the same.
"The coach has an uphill battle he's facing, but the mission is the same, to help kids," King's Academy coach Dan Burack said. "Anytime we can help out another program, we try." It would be an understatement to say that the football program operates on a shoestring. Haughn is a full-time teacher but receives no stipend for coaching. All four assistant coaches are unpaid volunteers, including Edward Gardner, who also serves as booster club president and social media coordinator. Because of Inlet Grove's charter school status, the athletic program receives no financial support from the school district. And the administration, while supportive of Haughn's efforts, has said it cannot provide any funding.
Haughn said he purchased some helmets over the summer but has raised enough money to pay for only half of them. "I don't know where (the rest of) that money's going to come from yet," he said. He has dug into his own pocket to pay for mouthpieces and other equipment. "We are desperate for sponsorship," Haughn said. "We need the community, Riviera Beach, the mayor, everybody who can come and be involved to find us some help." A painting contractor donated $5,000 to help offset the cost of the helmets. A local restaurant provides pregame meals. Haughn is hoping to tap into Riviera Beach's robust marine industry, pointing out that Inlet Grove is a marine tech school.
But support has been hard to come by. Haughn said he contacted the Dolphins, Florida Atlantic University and Keiser University to solicit equipment donations and was turned down. When he learned that West Boca Raton, a two-time state champion, was receiving jerseys, wind screens, banners and tents from Patrick Mahomes' Gladiator line — one of 28 schools in the nation selected for the program — he wrote a letter to the Chiefs quarterback's foundation to ask for help. He's still awaiting a response. Haughn is facing other challenges. Inlet Grove, which has been operating on the old Suncoast High campus since the early 2000s, will be relocating next year to the old Lincoln Elementary School. The Hurricanes are supposed to get a new field during "phase two" of the move, Haughn said, meaning they may need a temporary home for 2027 and possibly beyond. Meanwhile, there is the matter of getting the team ready for the season. On Aug. 14, Inlet Grove traveled to Miami-Pace for a Kickoff Classic and was severely overmatched. The game was stopped at halftime after the host Spartans scored at will and the Hurricanes were unable to manage even a first down.
After a bye week, Inlet Grove will open the season against Next Generation Prep, a relatively unknown school from Pompano Beach, on Aug. 27. It's one of only three home games for the Hurricanes. Haughn said his players have embraced their hardscrabble roots, so when they play on the road, they'll take a bit of their home field with them. "At spring practice, I got on a knee and put my hand in the dirt and said, 'We're going to take this with us to the spring game,' because there was blood, sweat and tears from Devin Hester, Anthony Carter, all these Suncoast legends that were here," he said. "Those kids just went crazy; they thought it was great. So for all our away games, the sand is going to come. It's a part of our identity." Haughn appreciates the players who have stuck through the difficult times. He's the Hurricanes' third head coach in three years. "They've been through coaching change after coaching change after coaching change," he said. "The one thing I've told them from the get-go is I've bought into this mission. I'm not going anywhere. Unless they fire me, I'm staying right here."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Why Inlet Grove football is 'building from ashes' with little support