When they arrived as freshmen, the football program at Weeki Wachee High School was at rock bottom. As Richard Hanshaw and Leelen Wright get ready to leave the school, the Hornets are in a totally different situation. With Hanshaw at quarterback and Wright at running back, the Hornets finished with a winning record in each of the last two seasons. Not bad for a school that had never before had a winning season.
Wright and Hanshaw entered the program in 2022, and Weeki Wachee was coming off an 0-11 season. The turnaround was subtle at first with the Hornets going 2-8 in 2022 and 4-5 in 2023. But the turning point came in 2024 when Weeki Wachee went 7-3 with Justin Bland taking over as head coach and the emergence of Hanshaw and Wright as stars. In 2025, Weeki Wachee went 7-4 and earned a berth in the Florida Invitational Tournament. “When they got here, the program wasn’t in great shape,” said Bland, who served as a Weeki Wachee assistant when Hanshaw and Wright were freshmen and sophomores. “As soon as they got here and we got a look at them, we knew they were going to help us turn things around and that’s exactly what they did.”
That’s why it’s fitting that Weeki Wachee’s football banquet on Friday night was capped off by Wright and Hanshaw signing letters of intent to play college football. Hanshaw signed with Trinity College of Florida and Wright signed with North Park University in Chicago. “I feel like we helped change the culture at Weeki Wachee,” Hanshaw said. “Before, people didn’t really want to play football for Weeki Wachee. Now, it’s the place to be.” “It wasn’t just us, it was the whole team and our coach,” Wright said. “We worked hard and we built the program up and I think that’s only going to continue.”
It will have to continue without Hanshaw and Wright because it’s time for them to move onto the next level. The Weeki Wachee High School football program is located at 5701 Commercial Way, Weeki Wachee, FL 34613.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
Sources: Hernando Sun
