WIMAUMA — Mario Hollingshed has about 50 junior varsity players for his inaugural team at Aquilla J. Morgan High, Hillsborough County’s newest and largest campus.
He doesn’t want that number to surge. Not yet.
“I only have 80 helmets right now,” said Hollingshed, the first football coach at the $178 million school that opens in August.
That restraint might be unrealistic given the explosive population growth in Wimauma.
But Hollingshed’s deliberate approach guides everything at Morgan, where the 359,000-square-foot school will accommodate up to 3,500 students but starts this season with only a junior varsity football team. Seven juniors. No seniors.
The measured beginning would honor the legacy of the school’s namesake, Aquilla Jackson Morgan, who served Hillsborough County Public Schools for more than 40 years and was the first Black teacher at Wimauma Elementary after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Morgan died Sept. 21, 2022, at age 80.
Now her legacy extends to the football field, where Hollingshed is building more than a team.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to do is build community support,” said Hollingshed, who followed Principal Brittney Wilhelm from Jefferson High to Morgan. “We wanted to start from the ground up.”
That means lawn mowing. Setting up church events. Greeting neighbors door-to-door.
Wimauma is the fastest-growing part of Hillsborough County, with a population that has grown 40.66% since 2020 to nearly 14,000 residents. By the 2026-27 school year, Morgan’s student population is expected to reach 4,000.
“The south part of Hillsborough County is growing,” said Hollingshed, who spent recent seasons as defensive coordinator at Jefferson after coaching at Robinson. “It was just exciting to be a part of something that’s building, that’s growing.”
Wilhelm, who was principal at Jefferson before taking over at Morgan, saw the same opportunity.
“We both have the same spirit in what we want to achieve,” Hollingshed said.
That achievement starts with community engagement. Hollingshed’s players have partnered with local programs, helping at Southhills Church’s vacation Bible school and other events throughout Wimauma.
“We want the community to rally around us,” said freshman Kiptyn Holt. “We just helped out at a church. And we’re gaining a lot of trust with each other.”
The Morgan family, which has lived in the area for more than 60 years, has embraced the connection. Hollingshed said spending time with the family since taking the job gave him greater appreciation for their history and the school’s mission.
For players like junior Darnell Williams, being part of something new brings special responsibility.
“Even though we’re a new team, we’ve been able to come together pretty quickly,” Williams said. “We may be the lowest team (in experience), but it’s also exciting to be the newest.”
Holt understands the weight of being first.
“It’s special to know that we’re going to be the first in whatever we do at the school,” he said. “We’ll be the first to set records that others will break. We’ll set the standard.”
The school’s mascot is the Mustangs, with colors of orange, navy, black and white selected after community voting. Morgan sits on 87 acres, designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and serve as a community shelter.
Hollingshed learned lessons during his previous head coaching stint at Robinson about patience and building culture over quick wins. At Morgan, he’s applying those lessons with a young roster that will grow as incoming students arrive.
But he’s not rushing the process.
“It’s just a new opportunity,” Hollingshed said of the job that seemed like the right fit.
As Wimauma continues its rapid growth — Hillsborough County is projected to add more than 530,000 people by 2050 — Morgan High and its football program represent the community’s future.
For now, that future starts with young players, the need for extra helmets and a coach who believes in building from the ground up.
