After a rough 2-9 season, Nanih Waiya coach James Courtney is optimistic about the upcoming season.
The Warriors return a majority of the starters from last season and also got moved down from Class 2A to Class 1A after a two-year stretch.
But the biggest thing is Courtney said the Warriors will be bigger and faster than they were last year.
“I think we will be more agile and more athletic,” Courtney said. “You can’t play defense when you can’t run and that makes it tough. We have some young kids that can run and get to the ball on that side of the ball. We are excited about the skill guys we have coming back. We feel like our quarterback will be a good player for us. He played all over the place for us last year and hopefully he can get us out of some bad situations. We have a big senior receiver and a group of talented young running backs. We feel like the overall athletes will be improved, we just have to lean how to play football.”
On offense, Courtney will turn to senior Eli Stanton to take over at quarterback. At running back, Briceton Boler, Rathael Craig and Isaiah Russey will all split carries. At fullback will be, Gavin Daniel while T.J. Henley will also see playing time.
“They are going to be three good ones at running back,” Courtney said. “We feel like it will be a strength. We don’t know how much experience they have but they can run and that helps, especially in the offense that we run.”
At wide receiver will be Jake Vick and Joe Wiley Duett. At tight end, Walt McClendon returns while Alex Hopkins and Marcus Bobo will also see some playing time.
On the offensive line, Grant Kitchens will be at right tackle while Kaleb Davis is at right guard. Brooks Adcock will be at center while Nick Oldham will be at left guard and Sameer Hughes and Auston Grierson will split time at left tackle. Peyton Kratzer is also expected to see time on the offensive line.
“You just can’t rely on driving the field and having 15 perfect plays,” Courtney said. “We moved the ball on everybody we played last year except for Scott Central and nobody really moved the ball on them. We just couldn’t make the big play and if we got a penalty or behind the chains, we struggled. But we feel like we have some guys that will be explosive for us and we are excited about that.”
On defense, the Warriors will work out of an even-man front. At end, Sameer Hughes, Kurtis Austin and Kaleb Davis will all rotate at defensive end. At tackle will be T.J. Henley, Austin Grierson and Nick Oldham will be at tackle.
At linebacker, Walt McClendon, Marcus Bobo, Isaiah Russey and Gavin Daniel are all competing for playing time. At safety will be Eli Stanton and Jake Vick while Joe Wylie Duett, Sanjaya Hickman and Briceton Boler will all be working at corner.
“Defensively, we had to get faster over there,” Courtney said. “We had to get more athletic over there and have to teach them to play defense. You can’t have your ends running upfield on and even front and you have to teach your kids how to squeeze. They are working hard and learning the defense. We have to be disciplined for sure.”
In the kicking game, Jake Vick returns and will handle all of the kicking duties. Stanton will be the holder while Daniel will be the long snapper.
“Jake will handle all of our kicking duties,” Courtney said. “He’s been doing it for five years. We pulled him up as an eighth grader after the junior high season. He’s a stud and will play somewhere in college. We know when we get inside the 40 that he’s good. And can directionally punt and does a good job with that. He gives us a weapon that a lot of small schools don’t have. And we hope he can get it to the end zone. He’s almost there and that’s a game changer.”
The Warriors will compete in division play with rival Noxapater, McAdams, Ethel, French Camp and Velma Jackson.
“Our division is tough but it is what it is,” Courtney said. “It will be difficult for sure. Velma Jackson will be really good and could probably win 1A or 2A. I honestly think they will win it very handily. Nobody in the north will be able to touch them. And Noxapater is loaded with speed and French Camp has a lot coming back. Ethel will be pretty good again. It’s not quite what we played in last year but it will still be a dog fight to make the playoffs.”
The Warriors will kick off the regular season on Aug. 25 as they host Vardaman. They also have non-division contests with East Webster, Stringer, Hamilton and Bruce.
