Potosi relying on smaller, more athletic approach

MATT KING

matt.king@lee.net

POTOSI – The chaos surrounding the coronavirus last season derailed a promising start for Potosi football under former player and new head coach Dylan Wyrick.

The Trojans opened with a 12-0 shutout victory over Owensville, then challenged state-ranked Class 5 program Farmington to the wire in a narrow 10-6 defeat.

But for circumstances beyond its control, the team spent the next two months shuffling the lineup and hoping to have enough healthy players available each Friday night.

Being clearly short-handed also slowed the transition toward implementing a more diversified offense, and Potosi eventually finished 5-5 overall.

“I think we succeeded in overcoming adversity. We had all the pieces in place for success, but we kept getting quarantined. After week 2, it was pretty tough, having lost eight starters,” Wyrick said.

“When the kids would come back from quarantine, they would be out of shape and it would take a while to catch up with what we were doing. For them to come back and still win five games, including a big win over Sikeston with only two days to prepare, I thought they did a really good job.”

Potosi will offer a glaring contrast in appearance from recent years, where a power running game was usually facilitated by the largest offensive line in the area.

Graduation has removed a significant fraction of size up front, but the shifting of some faster athletes from other positions can make the Trojans more creative, and perhaps more explosive.

Former fullbacks Wyatt Knapp and Levi Courtney will start at center and guard, respectively, and Hunter Kincaid moves from a backup tight end role to the other guard spot.

Junior quarterback Blake

Blake Henson

Coleman figures to greatly increase the passing presence for Potosi. Protection from two new starting tackles will be crucial to his effectiveness.

“Our offensive line is a lot smaller. We’ve had to convert a bunch of fullbacks and tight ends,” Wyrick said. “It’s working out well because they are fast, can pull and work sideline to sideline.

“We can really use the whole field with them. They can move up and block linebackers in space, which is something we haven’t been able to do in the past.”

Blake Coleman takes over permanently where his brother, Andrew Coleman, took snaps as a four-year varsity starter while rarely attacking through the air.

The new QB will operate with a formidable group of receivers led by junior Gavin Portell, whose vertical leap and sure hands present a needed deep threat.

“Blake is a true pro-style quarterback. He’s a pocket guy, commands the offense well, and is a natural. I’m looking forward to turning him loose this year,” Wyrick said. “Our receivers have put in a lot of work in the offseason, not just catching the ball

Blake Missey

well, but understanding how to run routes and recognizing coverage and pre-snap reads.”

The Trojans maintain a priority to establish the run. However, the usual committee of bruisers carrying the ball may give way to a more elusive approach in fewer hands.

Senior tailback Blake Henson, featured heavily in the backfield amid the absences of several teammates last fall, represents a dangerous option on any given play.

Returning junior Zane West also factors heavily into the ground game, while Blake Missey bolsters the receiving corps as another of numerous two-way starters.

Potosi tallied just seven points or less in each of its five losses, including two struggling efforts to close last season against De Soto and Salem.

“Everyone has a better grasp on our philosophy and schemes and expectations in general. The culture is more

Potosi TROJANS

2020 Record: 5-5 (2-2 MAFC White) Head Coach – Dylan Wyrick (2nd season) Key Returners – Wyatt Knapp, sr., C/LB; Levi Courtney, sr., G/LB; Blake Henson, sr., RB/DB; Gavin Portell, jr., WR/DB; Zane West, RB/LB; Gavin Pinson, sr., DB; Hunter Kincaid, sr., LB/G

2021 Schedule:

8/27 – at Owensville 9/3 – Farmington 9/10 – at Fredericktown* 9/17 – Ste. Genevieve* 9/24 – Central* 10/1 – at Perryville* 10/8 – at St. Charles West 10/15 – North County 10/22 – De Soto

established now,” Wyrick said. “We’re way ahead of where we were last year, and I feel like we’re more dynamic, especially on offense.”

Pass defense appears to be a definite strength, if not the cornerstone of the Trojans heading into their road opener at Owensville.

The entire starting secondary has been preserved, including safeties Gavin Pinson and First Team all-MAFC selection Missey, who nabbed five interceptions as a junior.

Knapp and Courtney power a strong collection of linebackers along with West. Portell may serve more of a hybrid capacity between the second level and an extra safety spot.

“You have to be the toughest dude on the field to play linebacker,” said Wyrick, who starred for the Trojans in that role a decade ago. “You have to play with an attitude, outhustle everybody and stay disciplined.”

The most prominent question mark for Potosi lies along an inexperienced defensive line that Wyrick describes to be “not as big, but gritty and teachable.”

Their progress will be severely tested by a number of known ground attacks on the schedule, notably the patient triple option of Farmington in week 2 and electric Central in week 5.

Potosi begins each practice with work on special teams. An already busy Henson provides a viable option at kicker after assuming those responsibilities last fall.

A strong sophomore class will be pressed into varsity duty for the first time. Many of those players are expected to contribute within the kicking and return units.

The schedule features road trips to Perryville and St. Charles West in consecutive weeks, but also affords the luxury of facing local rivals Farmington, Central, Ste. Genevieve and North County at home.

“One thing we don’t have now is depth. It forces us into trying new things and playing guys both ways, pretty much across the board,” Wyrick said. “I think we’ll be OK if we can stay healthy.”

Blake Coleman Gavin Portell

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Valle Catholic beefs up independent schedule

MATT KING

matt.king@lee.net

STE. GENEVIEVE – The storied Valle Catholic football program has added a serious degree of difficulty to an unusual year of independence.

Once the Warriors were reassigned to Class 3 by MSHSAA last season – based on their sustained Class 1 postseason success as a private school – the initiative was taken to search out premium competition.

Valle Catholic chose last spring to leave the I-55 Conference where it dominated for more than a decade, and will become the sixth member of the MAFC White Division in the 2022-23 scholastic year.

“The only way for us to not be Class 3 is to not be very good for a while, and that’s not the direction we want our kids to think we were headed,” 18th-year head coach Judd Naeger said. “We felt like we needed to make a move sooner than later, and communicated with Grandview, Herculaneum, Bayless and all of the teams in our conference that, if at all possible, we would try to make the move now.

“We helped all of those teams find another game to replace us on their schedules, and didn’t want to leave anyone with hard feelings. I think it has worked out pretty well for everybody.”

The announced transition left several open dates to fill heading into this fall, and the Warriors chose to challenge themselves with lofty Class 4 challengers.

St. Dominic, St. Francis Borgia and Westminster Christian are new opponents. Former conference foes Jefferson, St. Vincent and St. Pius have been retained on the schedule.

Valle Catholic followed up its 2019 state championship run by winning nine straight games last season, including a massive 35-28 victory at home over top-ranked Blair Oaks.

A prolific all-state passing combination and battle-tested offensive line return as obvious strengths for a squad that suffered its lone loss against St. Mary’s in the district semifinals.

“We played some really quality teams. You look at Blair Oaks, certainly, but Ste. Gen. was pretty solid, Orchard Farm had a good year and Skyline made it to the quarterfinals,” Naeger said. “Being able to play eight of our 10 games at home in an uncertain year is something that I hope our seniors from last year can look back on and be proud of.”

Senior receiver Aiden Heberlie presents a scoring threat on every snap with a 6-foot-3 frame and blazing speed. He compiled 942 yards and 15 touchdowns on 37 total catches.

His presence potentially creates extra room for junior quarterback Chase Fallert to utilize a short passing game or head upfield within the rushing attack.

“It will be interesting to see how kids attack [Heberlie] this year. Outside of St. Mary’s, we didn’t see a lot of special defenses,” Naeger said. “I think that’s a credit to our other skill guys, forcing them to sort of pick their poison.

‘If a team puts two defenders on him, then that certainly changes what we’re calling. It’s a challenge for us finding different ways to move him around.”

Bryce Giesler takes over as starting tailback with receiving skills and nimble feet in narrow spaces after notching nearly 11 yards per carry in a back-up capacity.

Fallert directs an offense that averaged 50.5 points per game, and should be afforded ample protection with Isaac Roth back from injury and Sam Drury available again at receiver.

“Chase has two outstanding years with 16 starts under his belt, and has proven the ability to be successful against all different kinds of teams,” Naeger said. “He is a year older, a year stronger, a year smarter. We know what he’s good at, and need to shape our offense around that. The thing we really have to work on is cutting back on turnovers as a team.”

Valle Catholic exhibits its greatest roster depth in the trenches. Four current offensive linemen received some type of all-conference or all-district accolades last year.

Senior guards Charlie Friedman and Collin Vaeth return alongside junior tackles Noah Elbert and Jackson Fowler and center Jacob Calbreath.

The leadership of that unit will be paramount in helping the Warriors navigate a daunting stretch of four consecutive road games to begin the season. Michael Okenfuss represents a blocking tight end.

“We have seven guys back who started at least one game on the offensive line last year,” Naeger said. “Two of them have moved to other positions, and will hopefully give us more of a power run game at times. The five guys remaining on the line all started at least four games. They need be the backbone of our team.

“Those guys have to drive what gets done in the box. They have to be ahead of the wide receivers in the experience level and ability to react against different fronts. We can’t have missed assignments out of our line, because they have too much experience and are coached well.”

Heberlie and Drury are

Aiden Heberlie Chase Fallert