ELIZABETHTON

from High School Football 2020

by Elizabethton Star

HAMPTON

The expectation has not changed…

Cyclones looking to repeat as State Champs in 2020

BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR SPORTS EDITOR ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

Winning a state football championship could be compared to going to one of the best seafood restaurants at the beach and leaving with a full stomach of the best fish that the restaurant has to offer. Once you get a taste, you are even more anxious to go back and get another round, and its all you can think about until your next vacation. Much can be said about how the Elizabethton Cyclones are heading into the 2020 season after running a demanding gauntlet last season in finishing 15-0 and as the 2019 Class 4-A State Champs with a convincing win over Springfield in Cookeville. Even though the team lost some key players such as Cade Maupin, Jaxton Holly, Carson Stresemann, and Zach Hartman to name a few, there are even more standout players that return this season. Wide receiver Parker Hughes, quarterback Bryson Rollins, wide receiver Braden Holly, offensive linemen Cole Morganstern, Wes Erwin, and Owen Slagle to name a few.

Pages couldn’t contain all that head coach Shawn Witten would have to say about his returners and the hard work that each member of the 85 players on the roster have put into putting themselves into position for another run at the gold ball. But obviously, these players just didn’t walk into the halls of Elizabethton and become overnight state champs. There are many factors that go into developing a state championship team and it starts with the coaches. “Football takes an army. This year we have 85 kids on our roster and 55 kids that are ninth and tenth graders,” said Witten. “You have to have coaches that can coach those kids. You don’t know when it’s going to click for a kid, you don’t know when a kid is going to develop, and you don’t know when he’s going to develop self-esteem and self-confidence. “He’s just one play away from turning it on.” Witten should know as he enters his 14th season at the helm of the Cyclones and having to not only get buy-in from his coaching staff but each player that has aspirations of putting on the orange and black. “In high school football, you never know what you are going to lose from one year to the next, Witten stated. “You may graduate linemen, you may graduate people with skill, you may graduate a big class or a small class. “If you don’t develop kids when they first get on campus and if you don’t coach every kid - from one to 88 we coach every kid. “Every kid goes through the same workout and we define those kid’s rolls. Carson Stresemann is a

Shawn Witten Head Coach

2020 Elizabethton Schedule

September 4—Open 11—at Daniel Boone 18—at Grainger County* 25—at Cherokee

October 2—WILLIAM BLOUNT 9—UNION COUNTY* **Homecoming** 16— at Greeneville* 22—at Sullivan South* **Thursday** 30—SULLIVAN CENTRAL* **Senior Night**Home

November 6—Playoffs begin.

The season result will determine the location.

ALL CAPS denotes home games * denotes region games

prime example. “He was a backup quarterback as a freshman, he played linebacker in his sophomore and junior year, and was an All-State defensive end his senior year,” Witten continued. “You have just got to develop them and put them in the right situation. They have to believe in the system and it helps in having people that have been there and done that. “When our kids look at us, we have been there and we have done that. We have the experience and we hope that they listen to us. We ask our kids to put a lot of time and effort into it and we as coaches do the same thing.” Witten was asked if entering the new season if he finds himself looking back at a particular time or moment from the 2019 season that pushes him harder for the 2020 season. “I think that you have to with the Cookeville game and our home crowd. In the last seven weeks we played six of those at home,” commented Witten. “We picked up some steam after we kicked the winning field goal against Greeneville and then from there on we played one game away from Citizens Bank Stadium at Sullivan Central. “It has to be the crowd and community support. You can’t do this without the community support. You can’t buy the things that we need if you don’t have the community support,” Witten noted. “Last night was our ring ceremony and that doesn’t take place unless you have a support system in place whether its Ed Alexander or Dr. Gardenhour or now Richard VanHuss. “You have to believe in the program and you have to believe in the community. They want to see a product on the field to compete for a championship.” It’s easy to see why when football players enter the program at Elizabethton, they know before they even put on their first set of equipment what is required of them when doing so. 2020 will be no different as this team of players has one thing in mind and that is winning back-to-back championships. Anything else would be a disappointment. “The kids come in understanding the expectations and it goes back to the fact that good things happen to good people and good things happen to those that work hard,” Witten said. “You have to have people all in – people that bleed orange and black.” Witten said that not only do his players and coaches have that expectation, but the community also proved that last year as well at Cookeville. “Out of all the years that they had the state championship, we had the largest crowd,” Witten said of the over 6,000 people that showed up to witness the Cyclones take the title. “It’s a privilege when you put on the orange and black. Tradition never graduates.”

4 JACK FARRIS 5 CADE RUSSELL 5’8 145 SO WR/DB 5’10 170 SO ATH

6 CONNER HYDE 7 PARKER HUGHES 6’1 175 JR LB 6’2 195 SR ATH

8 JOSH SWEENEY 9 DALTON BLEVINS 10 BRYSON ROLLINS 11 JORDAN KILLION 12 BRADEN HOLLY 5’8 145 SO WR/DB 6’2 165 SO QB/DB 6’1 185 JR QB 6’ 170 SR WR/DB 6’2 180 SR WR/DB

13 NIC VANOVER 14 TJ LITTLE 15 PEYTON JOHNSON 16 CONNER BLEVINS 17 JAKE ROBERTS 5’9 140 SR WR/DB 6’2 150 JR LB 6’2 185 SO WR/LB 5’10 175 JR K 5’10 175 JR WR/DB

18 DALTON MITCHELL 5’11 155 SO QB/DB

19 TEDDY ORTON

5’9 150 SO WR/DB 20 DEUCE MORTON 6’ 210 SR RB/OLB 21 NATE STEPHENS 5’10 155 SO RB/DB 23 BRYSON DAVIS 6’3 170 JR DE 24 HAYDEN NAVE 6’ 160 SO RB/DB 25 MASON WILLIAMS 6’ 150 SO WR/LB 26 ANDREW STEVENS 5’10 155 SO RB/OLB 28 BLAKE STEWART 6’ 200 JR LB 30 SEAN SMITHDEAL 5’8 135 SO K 31 JACOB SHELTON 5’11 180 SO LB 33 LaDARIAN AVERY 5’11 215 SR RB/LB 34 NATHAN HYDE 6’1 200 SR LB 40 HARRISON LANE 5’11 160 JR LB 44 CALEB JOHNSON 6’ 180 JR DL 46 GABE STURGILL 6’ 165 JR LB 47 WESLEY SHANKLES 5’8 175 SO LB 48 SAMMY GRAVES 5’11 160 JR DL 50 COLE MORGANSTERN 6’4 295 SR OL 51 DENTON GILLIAM 6’4 275 SO OL 53 COLBY GARLAND 5’10 285 SR OL 54 GABE BARCLAY 5’11 275 SR OL 55 DREW TURNER 5’10 230 JR DL 56 JACOB WHITAKER 5’11 205 SO OL/DL 58 WESLEY ERWIN 6’2 295 SR OL/DL # NAME HT WT CLASS POS 59 HUNTER SWINK 6’2 265 SR DL 60 OWEN SLAGLE 6’2 260 JR OL/DL 61 CALEB BATCHELDER 6’1 200 SR DL 66 CONNER JOHNSON 6’2 275 JR OL 67 GRAYSON HATFIELD 6’1 235 JR DL 70 DYLAN McDUFFIE 6’1 210 SO OL 72 GABE SEXTON 6’2 175 SO OL 73 DAKOTA CHRISTIAN 6’1 275 SR DL 74 TRENTON TAYLOR 6’4 295 JR DL 76 COLE BLACKWELL 5’11 205 JR DL 77 CADEN DRAINE 6’4 215 SO OL/DL 78 SAM BOWERS 6’5 325 SO OL/DL 79 JONAH HUBBARD 5’10 210 SO OL 80 BRADLEY CANNON 6’4 200 SO DL 84 CAMERON SMITH 6’4 195 SR TE 87 JT LONG 5’11 180 JR LB 88 CAMERON HALL 6’2 210 SO DL

Coaches:

Shawn Witten Jeff Pierce Jordy Harrison Brian Jenkins Dave Campbell Michael Grindstaff Devin Whitehead Ryan Witten Terry Moore Matt Campbell

Team Chaplain:

Michael Koruschak

Trainers:

Dr. Justin Smith Dr. Erin Kiser Dr. Danny Smith

Support Staff:

Howell Woods Wes Holtsclaw Rick Walters Matt Myers

2020 Elizabethton

Cheerleaders (Bottom L-R) Kailey Peters, Olivia Vaughn, and Sophie Paulson. (Middle L-R) Cassidy Estep, Laci Lipford, Morgan Guinn, and Haley Stresemann. (Top L-R) Sara Zimmerman, Cagney Bennett, Kiarra Kerr, Montana Ramsey, Lucy Maupin, Maely Ingram, and Kaylee Hollifield.