The 2021 season was one that Nanih Waiya coach James Courtney and his players and staff would like to forget. The Warriors went 2-7 and did not make the playoffs after moving up to Class 2A. On top of the move up in class, the Warriors also suffered one injury after another.
“It was a tough luck year, that’s for sure,” Courtney said. “The speed was different in the division we were in. If you were speed deficient, you were in trouble.”
He continued, “There are several things that need to happen for us to be successful. We have to stay injury free and play our game. We need to be able to run the ball and shorten the game. We must be able to complete a few passes to keep people honest. We have to keep the ball away from the people in our division and just not let them have the ball as much. That’s basically our philosophy.”
Despite the tough year, the Warriors fought all the way to the bitter end and had division champion Kemper County on the ropes in the regular-season finale.
“I thought our kids showed a lot of courage last year, were tough, and fought to the end,” Courtney said. “We had Kemper beat in that last game and couldn’t hold on. We had some injuries and just some bad luck. We think our offensive line will be better this year. It will always start with the offensive line for us. We have a big running back there this year who has played lot of football in Mason Jones that we really like.”
On offense, senior Tanner Courtney returns at quarterback and will be backed up by Eli Stanton.
At running back, Courtney said senior Mason Jones, who is 6-foot, 215 pounds, gives him a big, punishing back to run his power offense with. He will be backed up by Mason Boyd, and at fullback will be Gavin Daniel.
At wide receiver will be Jake Vick, Stanton, and Austin Windle. Also expected get snaps will be Joe Wiley Duett and Boyd.
On the offense line, the Warriors return four starters from last year. Kaleb Davis (6-0, 250) will be at right tackle while Bentley King (5-11, 235) will be at right guard. At center will be Burton Rosemond (5-9, 260) who is returning from a knee injury last year. Alex Hopkins (5-11, 185) will be at left guard while Cade Higginbotham (5-11, 240) and Grant Kitchens (6-6, 240) are competing at left tackle.
“We have got to be able to throw the football more when the other team puts nine in the box,” Courtney said. “If they press us and load the box like they did last year, we must find a way to complete some passes. And then we are going to do what we do; we are going to line up and run power. If we can throw it, it’s going to help.”
On defense, Alex Hopkins and Marcus Bobo will be at defense end while Preston McBrayer, Caleb Gregory, and Higginbotham will be at defense.
At linebacker will be McClendon, Gavin Daniel, Kyle Adcock, and Jason Jones in the middle. At cornerback, Briceton Boler, Austin Windle, and Joe Wiley Duett while Tanner Courtney, Mason Boyd, and Eli Stanton are at free safety.
“We have got to try to survive the pass,” Courtney said. “We feel good about stopping the run, but we have to stop the pass. Whether it’s blitzing or trying to find a way to take away their best wide out, we have to slow down people throwing the football. I know Newton and Kemper have good wide outs.”
Jake Vick will handle kicking and punting duties. Tanner Courtney will be the short snapper, and Alex Hopkins will be the deep snapper.
“He’s going to be really good,” Vick said. “He broke his arm about the fifth game of the season. He is going to be a really good kicker and could play at the next level We think he will be a great weapon for us.”
The Warriors will compete in Division 5-2A with Newton, Lake, Kemper County, and Philadelphia.
“It’s a brutal district,” Courtney said. “Kemper has a new head coach, and I don’t really know what they got. We had them beat last year and let them come back in the last minute on us. I know Newton has the good quarterback, and any time you have him, you will be hard to stop. Lake will be well coached and tough. I know coach (Tate) Hanna is saying he lost a lot, but he will ready. Philly has as good of athletes as anybody in the state. It will definitely be a dog fight, and we will try to get in there and see what happens.”
