Coach Ron Cox
Q. How would you characterize this year’s team?
A. Excited. They have worked hard this winter getting stronger and are ready to show it on the field.
Q. What will be the keys to your success?
A. Execution, execution, execution.
Q. Who will be your key leaders on the team?
A. Tanner Harvey (Sr., QB/LB), Kaleb Penny (Sr., OL/ILB), and Cody Defore (Sr., RB/OLB).
Q. What are your biggest reasons for optimism?
A. We have a solid foundation from last year in returning players, plus a few additions that should immediately help.
Q. What will keep you up at night?
A. Depth and inexperience at key positions.
Q. What can you build on from last year?
A. Although the record didn’t reflect it, last year was our best offensive year ever. We averaged over 200 yards per game rushing. We just have to turn those yards into points.
Q. Any lessons learned from last year?
A. We need to focus on finishing drives. We lost several games last year in which we had opportunities to score but couldn’t finish after driving the ball down the field.
Q. Will we see anything different this year?
A. We have reorganized our coaching staff. Our OC for the last five years, coach Shipley, will now call the defense, while coach Hixson and I will oversee the offense. So, we will look a little different on both sides of the ball.
Q. How would you characterize your team’s speed?
A. We have some quickness and will be able to hit holes, but we won’t win any sprints.
Coach’s View
Our success will hinge early in the season. Our kids have to learn to finish and to win games. We had never lost close games until last year. If we can win a couple of games early, then we have a chance of making our first trip to the playoffs.
Photos by Amber Keylon and Andy Mitchell
Tyler Layman
Cody Defore
Chase Burton
Tanner Harvey
Gavin Flerl
Jacob Francisco
