Montevallo

BULLDOGS

A new era of Montevallo football is here. After four years under Brandon Wilcox, Blake Boren took over the program in the offseason after success at Pike Road High School.

Boren will have his hands full during his first season with the Bulldogs, however. While their numbers are up and the athletes are there, the team only returns three starters and loses its 2,000-yard quarterback, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard running back.

The offensive line and running back unit will be leaned on with some experience back, but the rest of the team is inexperienced with many players playing for the first time since middle school.

Boren is excited for the future and has an experienced coaching staff with upgrades coming to the football facility, which has created excitement around the program.

While there will be growing pains this year, you may see some flashes of what could make this a special team in the coming years.

MEET THE TEAM

QUARTERBACK

The departure of three-year starter Malik Inabinette is going to be a big blow for the offense as one of the state’s best quarterbacks the last two years. Last season alone, he totaled 2,697 passing yards with 27 touchdowns. Finding his replacement will be tough, but 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior Jay Dreyer is hoping to handle that. A baseball player, Dreyer hasn’t played football in a couple of years, but brings good size, a strong arm and good pocket presence to the position. Behind him, Kam Goins is an athlete who will be all over the field and could see time at quarterback.

RUNNING BACK Despite replacing Deon Gilliland’s 1,125 yards and

Joseph

Anderson

CLASSIFICATION

AHSAA Class 4A, Region 3

2019 RECORD

6-5 (4-2)

HEAD COACH

Blake Boren

RECORD

0-0 (First year)

ASSISTANT COACHES

Jim King, Zeke Pigg, Charlie Boren, Chris Shelton, Garrett Langer, Keegan Bell, Donnell Robinson, Pat Johnson, Jamaah Holmes, Cody Davis, Ariel Goins

LAST REGION TITLE

1995

LAST PLAYOFF GAME

2019

Cole

Dennis

16 touchdowns, Montevallo should be in good shape at running back with three playmakers. Joseph Anderson will be the key at the position with a strong lower half. He stands at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds and squats 500 pounds. Last season, Anderson totaled 344 yards and nine touchdowns on 58 carries and showed potential for explosive plays. Behind him, Orlandis Weeks is one of the most athletic players on the team and will spend time at running back and receiver this year, while Justin Tyus is a similarly athletic playmaker that will join him. Those three athletes will make that a dangerous position if the offensive line pans out.

RECEIVERS

The offensive departures continue at receiver as Jamarius Carter takes a 1,031-yard senior season with him that included 15 touchdowns, while J.J. Evans is now at Auburn and leaves behind a career that featured more than 2,000 receiving yards. Boren’s goal is to get as many athletes at receiver as possible, but there won’t be much experience. Senior Kavounte Britton, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound basketball player, will be one of those additions. The coaches are wanting him to go after the

2020 SCHEDULE

Aug. 21: @ Marbury Aug. 27: @ Shelby County (Thursday) Sept. 4: American Christian Academy* Sept. 11: Bibb County* Sept. 18: Wilcox Central* Sept. 25: @ West Blocton* Oct. 2: Bye Oct. 9: @ Sumter Central* Oct. 16: @ Holt* Oct. 23: Dallas County* Oct. 30: Maplesville

*Region game

football like he does when going for a rebound in basketball. Kial Cottingham, a junior, will play in the slot and is an explosive playmaker that will help in Boren’s offense which loves the runpass-option and shallow pass routes. Behind that, All-County basketball player Michael Jones has decided to play football and will help at the position as will freshman receiver Javon Rogers, who stands at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds. Luke Oden will add help in the slot after getting some experience as a freshman last year.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Former Montevallo head coach Charlie Boren, Blake’s dad, will run the

Joseph Anderson, RB

The backup to Deon Gilliland last year, Anderson was capable of big games and posted 344 yards and nine touchdowns on 58 carries.

KamRon Goins, ATH

Goins will not only work at quarterback some this season, but will be relied on all over the offense and in the secondary on defense.

Kial Cottingham, ATH

Cottingham will play both at slot receiver and in the secondary as a returning playmaker. In Boren’s offense, he could have a big season.

Orlandis Weeks, ATH

Weeks will play on both sides of the ball this season, spending time at running back and linebacker as a physical, athletic presence.

Cole Dennis, OL/DL

A three-year starter this year, Dennis is still just a junior and is a physical presence with the motor to play the entire game on both sides of the line.

Hunter Bass, OL/DL

Bass, like Dennis, brings back a ton of experience. He’ll be recovering from an ACL injury during wrestling going into his senior year, but is ready to go.

Dylan Campbell, DL

As a sophomore, Campbell started every game on the defensive line last year and will be a leader during his junior season.

KEY DEPARTURES

J.J. Evans

Evans totaled 755 receiving yards and eight touchdowns last year. The Auburn commit will be sorely missed and takes more than 2,000 career receiving yards with him.

Malik Inabinette

Inabinette totaled more than 2,500 yards each of the last two years at quarterback and leaves a major hole to fill this season at quarterback.

Deon Gilliland

Following back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Gilliland’s departure at running back will be a crucial blow to the offense.

Jamarius Carter

Last year, Carter had a breakout season with 1,031 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns and that was just the beginning of his potential.

JUST LIKE THAT, THEY’RE

GONE The last two years have been something special to watch at Montevallo. The Bulldogs have set records with their offense due to the ability of quarterback Malik Inabinette, receivers J.J. Evans and Jamarius Carter, and running back Deon Gilliland. Now each of those playmakers are gone. Evans and Carter take more than 3,000 combined yards from the receiving corps the last two years, Inabinette takes close to 6,000 passing yards with him and Gilliland takes more than 2,000 rushing yards.

NOT SO BOREN The talent may be gone, but new head coach Blake Boren is an offensive minded coach that will continue to bring the excitement. His offensive philosophy will create plenty of fireworks for the Bulldogs this season despite youth and inexperience. His main goal is to line up the best athletes on the field and help young players get experience. Last year, as the offensive coordinator at Pike Road, Boren led the Patriots’ offense to a team record 515 points.

QUICK BUY IN Boren considers himself a players’ coach, which is key to helping his new team buy in to his philosophy. He’s already worked on getting more players out for the team, but keeping them on the team and getting them to believe in him will be important. Montevallo is a team that needs its best athletes playing, but not just playing for themselves, playing for each other. If they can buy into Boren’s system early, the future is bright with some young talent ready to be molded.

POSITIONAL FOCUS One of the main ideas for Boren going into his first year as head coach is to work on getting his players to rotate as much as possible and to keep them from having to play multiple positions on both sides of the ball. For example, the defensive line is going to attempt to play 10-12 players this season to help build for the future and get players set to focus on just that position. It’s a difficult task in the 4A classification, and inevitably, the Bulldogs will have several playing on both sides of the ball, but if Montevallo wants to stay fresh and improve on defense this year, any form of depth will be key.

2020 Montevallo Roster

NO. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 28 32 33 34 40 NAME Kavounte Britton Justin Tyus Kial Cottingham Peyton King Anthony Martin Jay Dreyer Orlandis Weeks Kam Goins Michael Jones Javon Rogers Christian Tolbert Luke Oden Demontre Lilly Braden Douglas Gavin Monk Braxton King Jacob Fitts Gabe Haynie Joseph Anderson Tamardreon Purnell Jeremy Holsomback Dante Iniguez Jamion Mack-Prentice Dalton King Clay Massey Charlie Adams Zion Dukes Aidan Harper POSITION

WR/DB RB/DB WR/DB WR/DB RB/DB QB RB/DB QB/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB WR/DB QB/DB WR/DB QB/DB RB/DB WR/LB RB/LB RB/DB TE/LB WR/DB TE/DB WR/LB RB/LB TE/LB WR/DB TE/DL

YEAR

12 12 11 9 10 12 12 10 11 9 9 10 10 9 10 9 9 10 11 11 12 12 11 9 11 9 9 10

NO. 42 44 45 45 46 51 52 53 57 58 59 60 61 64 65 66 70 71 73 74 75 76 77 80 85 92 92 96 NAME Spencer Adams Elfreeman Morton Malachi Cartwell CJ Shaner Benjamin Locks Kamardre Purnell Jaylon Hudson Willie Goodwin Cole Dennis Gio Hernandez Tyler Gentry Jaylen Williams Jaydon Cummings Hunter Bass Dylan Campbell Rafael Perez-Garcia Jorein Gilbert Brantley Burk Will Snuggs Richard Smith Hunter Kennemer Mathew Holsomback Matt Alexander Lester Blevins Tyson Jones Talan Peyton Tim Waters Hakeem Chapman POSITION

RB/LB RB/LB WR/DB TE/LB WR/DB RB/DB OL/DL TE/DL OL/DL K OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/LB OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL OL/DL WR/LB WR/DB RB/LB WR/DB TE/DL

YEAR

10 9 9 10 9 9 10 9 11 10 9 10 9 12 10 10 11 10 12 10 12 9 11 9 10 9 10 11

offensive line, which will help that unit tremendously this year with the departure of three players. But two starters in Cole Dennis and Hunter Bass return. Dennis will be a junior this year and has started since he was a freshman with a motor to play the entire game on both sides. He stands at 5-foot-11, 255 pounds. Bass will be a senior this year and is rehabbing from an ACL injury during wrestling season, but has been cleared and will be a key component. Behind that, senior Will Snugs will play at left tackle after sitting out last year and has great size for the position at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds. Brantley Burk will play at center, and while he’s only 190 pounds, he is intelligent and fits the position perfectly for Boren’s system. Jaylen Hudson, Jaylen Williams and Matt Alexander will battle for the final spot and depth up front.

DEFENSIVE LINE This year, several of the offensive linemen will have to play on both sides, but Boren is going to rotate more and play 10-12 guys in hopes of eventually only playing his players on one side of the ball. Dylan Campbell will be a defensive-focused player who started every game last year as a sophomore and brings back a frame of 6-foot-3, 270 pounds. Hudson, who stands at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, will play at defensive tackle because of his size and will join Campbell on the interior portion of the line. Jorein Gilbert and Richard Smith will also spend time in the rotation this year in addition to the offensive linemen.

LINEBACKERS

Boren admits the linebacker position is one of his biggest concerns ahead of fall practice. Not only are the Bulldogs replacing several starters, but they don’t have much depth. Weeks and Tyus will add two good athletes to the position, which should help. Those two are going to be the key to the unit’s

@ Marbury Shelby County Dallas County Jemison @ American Christian West Blocton @ Sumter Central Sipsey Valley @ Greensboro @ Lincoln Talladega*

*Playoff game L W W W L W L W W L L 14-48 56-50 48-20 68-40 30-84 62-50 12-14 56-0 32-26 34-38 18-20

2019 STATS

success. Normally secondary players, they aren’t as big, but bring speed and athleticism that will be tough to match. Dennis may slide back and play some Mike linebacker if needed and Anderson can help there on a limited basis, but will focus on the running back position.

SECONDARY

The secondary will be one of the best positional units on defense for the Bulldogs this season thanks to the return of playmakers like Goins, Cottingham and Javion Prentice. All three of those players got time in the secondary last year and are explosive athletes who can make plays on the ball. Montevallo will play a lot of man coverage, which will put secondary players on an island, but with those athletes, Boren feels confident in their ability. Anthony Martin will also be an impact player as a sophomore, while Jones and Rogers may get some time as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Gio Hernandez will kick for the Bulldogs this year, and while he’s never kicked a football before, he’s a soccer player that is progressing going into fall practice.

Offense Total points: 430 Per game: 39.1 County rank: 3

Defense Points allowed: 390 Per game: 35.5 County rank: 11

5-YEAR WIN TREND

6

2019 9 10

9

2018 3

2017 2016 2015

EDITOR’S 2020 PREDICTION (5-5)

A realistic expectation for Montevallo is 5-5, which quite honestly would be an impressive first year for Boren with the amount of talent this team is losing and the lack of football playing experience that will be back. But, the schedule will present several opportunities, and it could even see the Bulldogs finish as high as third in their region and compete for a playoff spot. After a difficult start to the season, Montevallo will have four consecutive region games that will be winnable. At that point in the season, if they are healthy, the Bulldogs should have gotten through some of their growing pains and have a better understanding for what it will take to be successful. If that happens, they could easily win four in a row and punch a ticket to the postseason.

GOOD LUCK Bulldogs!

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