PAGE 12 — THE CONCORDIAN, Concordia, Missouri, Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tigers hope to carry over late-2013 success by Hobby King SPORTS WRITER A year ago, the Wellington Tigers took a step back, at least in the first nine games of the season. They were youthful and inexperienced, picking up their play late in the season and eventually advancing to their district championship. They finished 3-4 in the I-70 Conference and 5-7 overall. Eighth-year head coach Quenton Bainbridge is hopeful the Tigers' putting things together in district play carries over to 2014. The Tigers averaged 26.3 points per game offensively in 2013. They put up 31.1 points per game in conference contests. Bainbridge will be moving 6-foot tall, 175-pound junior Dallas Reynolds to quarterback from his starting spot at running back last year. “Our quarterback has a lot of responsibility in our offense,” Bainbridge said. “He will have to play well for our offense to be successful.” In the pistol-spread formation, sophomore Dylan Brockmeyer (6-0, 175) sophomore will move into the starting role at running back. The Tigers have several receivers returning with varsity experience, including senior starter Levi Banner (5-
7, 160). They also return senior Alex Rodenberg (6-1, 175) and junior Blake Gray (5-7, 160). Moving out from behind the center to split out wide will be junior Tristan Green (6-1, 175). Duncan Hughes, a 6-0, 175 sophomore also “will see a lot of playing time, Bainbridge said. The Tigers return two starters on the line, but they also will have two underclassmen manning the tackle slots. Stepping in at the tackles are going to be 5-foot-10inch, 220 freshman Stone Willoughby on the right side and 6-foot-2-inch, 220 sophomore Matt Block at left tackle. Luke Schaberg, a 6-foot tall, 175 junior, is slated to be the right guard. One of the returning starters is 6-foot, 175 junior Zach Jenkins at left guard, with the other starter back being 6foot-2-inch, 200 junior Brock Brockmeyer at center. “Our offense is coming along well,” Bainbridge said. “We have a lot of our skill players back and should be poised to be very successful.” “We are pretty inexperienced up front,” Bainbridge said. “We will have to continue to improve on the line if we want to be successful.” On defense, the Tigers allowed opponents 34 points per game in conference play and 34.2 PPG in all games last year.
Defensively, the Tigers return eight starters, including all of their linebackers. On the front are slated to be Dylan Brockmeyer and returning starter Jenkins at defensive ends. Brock Brockmeyer, Willoughby and Block are listed as tackles. Reynolds, Rodenberg and Schaberg are the heart of the defense as returners as linebackers. They also have all of their defensive backfield back, including Banner and Gray at corner backs and Green at free safety and Hughes at strong safety. “We are going to have to tackle,” Bainbridge said. “We are going to have to not allow the big plays.” All of the kicking specialists are back, too. Banner is scheduled to kick off, Gray do the place-kicking and Reynolds the punting. Bainbridge, who has a roster of 23, including two seniors, seven juniors and six sophomores, thinks Crest Ridge still is the front-runner in the league. “They have a lot of their talent back from last season and should be tough in all phases,” Bainbridge said. “Lone Jack, Concordia and Saint Paul will all be very good football teams and could make a run for the conference title. Santa Fe will be good, headed up by (Ben) Hinz and returning most of their line. But they will have a tough time replacing (Alex) Martinez.”
Despite graduating key seniors, Cougars still talented by Hobby King SPORTS WRITER For the first time since 1999, the Crest Ridge Cougars claimed the I-70 Conference crown outright in 2013 by finishing off a perfect 7-0 run. The Cougars, who advanced to the Class 1 quarterfinal round before being beaten at Osceola, finished 11-2 overall. The price they paid was the loss of numerous marquee players, including quarterback Ethan Matthews, to graduation. Matthews, who accounted for 2,160 yards of total offense and 37 touchdowns rushing and passing, was voted the conference's offensive most valuable player. He was the first-team selection at quarterback and linebacker in the conference. He also earned all-state honors as an all-purpose player. “We lost a lot of good football players to graduation, and there are several holes to fill,” Cougars' seven-year head coach Chris Cavanah said. The Cougars also lost offensive linemen Caleb Thomas and Johnny McCannon. Thomas earned all-conference first-team honors on offense and was third-team all-state. McCannon was a third-team all-stater as a defensive lineman with 56 tackles and six sacks. Dallas Hoffman was a go-to player on the outside as a receiver, and he earned first-team all-conference as a kicker. He also was second-team all-conference as a receiver, hauling in 22 aerials for 291 yards and six scores.
Others who graduated included Sheldon Brown (RB/FS), Nick Gillotti (DL), Austin Bestgen (WR/DB), Austin Fitterling (WR/DB), Brandon Erisman (WR/LB), Justin Evans (WR/DB) and Dusty Stone (OL/DL). Brown (68 tackles, six interceptions) earned all-conference second-team status as a free safety and Gillotti (41 tackles) second-team all-conference on the defensive line. “Last year's senior class had a lot of talent, and they great leaders, both on the football field and in the weight room,” Cavanah said. The Cougars averaged 257 yards rushing and 347 yards of total offense per game. They scored 63 touchdowns, scoring 425 points (32.7ppg) overall and 294 (42.0ppg) in conference games. On defense, the Cougars recorded 29 sacks and picked off 22 passes while limiting opponents to 166 points (12.8ppg) in all games and 56 points (8.0ppg) in league contests. The cupboard is far from barren as several players return with an abundance of experience and post-season experience and honors. “There are a few players who have played big roles for us in the past that will need to step up and play bigger roles for us this year,” Cavanah said. The list of returning starters includes seniors Cole Renick and Justin Donald and juniors Matt Dick and Noah McCune. Renick was the Defensive MVP and firstteamer in the conference at linebacker with 138 tackles, 5-1/2 sacks four fumble recoveries. He also was a third-
team all-stater. Donald was a first-team all-conference and a second-team all-state defensive back 69 tackles and seven interception. He also earned second-team status as a running back, a position where he gained 1,131 yards and 13 TDs. Dick earned all-conference first-team status as an offensive and defensive lineman, at which he registered 44 tackles and 4-1/2 sacks. Cavanah said the Cougars were strong on defense last year and will need to be again this year. “Defensively, we were very good last season, only giving up 6.8 points per game in our 11 wins,” he said. “We will need to have a great defense again this year to have similar success.” “Offensively, we need to find some guys that can step up and carry our team,” Cavanah said. “The past few seasons, Matthews has been that guy. Now it's time for somebody else to do it. “We have several players who are capable, but we've got to see how it all comes together.” Cavanah, who will be assisted by Jake Vencill, Flip Courter, Mark Amos, Keagan Prather and Ross Parker, is hopeful last year's success continues. “I'm excited for the season to get started and try to build on our recent success,” he said. “It will be a tough task with several really tough teams in our conference and district. We need to be prepared every Friday night for a dogfight.”