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Jackson football preview: Indians want return to state semifinals
Jackson senior Henrie Williams said the Indians learned a valuable lesson last season after resting on the laurels of the previous year's success.
He won't allow this year's team to make the same mistake.
"You can't live off what happened last year," he said. "Just like the year before, we went undefeated until we lost to Waynesville. We thought it was going to be a piece of cake, but you have to look past that."
The Indians hit their stride at the perfect time after a slow start last season. They reached the Class 5 state semifinals with a five-game winning streak.
But many of the key players from the 2008 team are gone. Running back Adam Zweigart and quarterback Marcus Harris are gone on offense while linebackers Blake Peiffer and Drew Bucher, just to name a few, are gone from the defense.
Perhaps the biggest loss is Peiffer, who is playing at Southeast Missouri State.
"You don't replace a linebacker like Blake with another position," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "But Cole Rodgers has had a great practice for us so far this year. Ryan Marble is playing linebacker and he's doing well. And Ben Smith has really come along and played well for us. Those three in combination, I don't know if we'll be as good at linebacker as we were last year, but Marble and Cole both started last year."
Rodgers recorded the second most tackles in Southeast Missouri last year, and he knows he'll be counted on to provide a stabilizing force in the middle of the Indians' defense this year.
"You've got Blake beside you, you feel like if you make a mistake, he's going to be there to correct it," he said. "This year, it's just me. That puts a little pressure on me and I feel like I have to make every play."
Hitt decided to make some changes in the defense this year. He'll use four defensive linemen and three linebackers instead of three linemen and four linebackers like in years past.
"It's based on personnel," Hitt said. "We don't have the linebacking corps we had last year. We have more down linemen and we're going to go from there."
The defensive line returns two standout players, Williams and Dalton Cochrane.
"Cochrane was all-conference last year and Henrie was second team," Hitt said. "They have to be doubled every play or they're going to be in the mix."
The defensive line did a nice job of creating pressure during this year's jamboree, and Hitt said he needs the line to continue to rush the passer to take some pressure off the secondary.
"Right now, defensively, we've got to get our secondary solidified, and that's the area I coach personally," Hitt said. "We will address that."
The hit from graduation on the offensive side of the ball was deep. The Indians will turn to Bobby Clark to replace Harris at quarterback. Hitt also decided to implement a new offensive system over the summer.
"We're going to be probably 50-50 ratio on pass this year," Hitt said. "I like it based on the personnel we've got this year. We don't have the big blocking backs we've had in the past. Our offensive line is kind of inexperienced."
The plan is for Clark to deliver quick passes so the offensive line won't have to hold blocks for long.
"It's a one-step drop and the ball's out," Hitt said. "We don't have to block them for an extended amount of time. We just have to get in their way, get him just about 3 seconds to get the ball off and we should be in good shape."
Clark didn't play in the jamboree, but Hitt said he likes what he's seen so far in practice. He expects little dropoff from last year when Clark takes the snaps this season.
"He throws the ball real well and he understands the offense," Hitt said. "He can make sure everybody's lined up correctly. He's spent an unbelievable amount of time this summer studying it and learning it. There's a lot to learn with it and he's done well with it. He's really intelligent and that helps."
Hitt said Clark's main target will be senior Tommy Selsor with Skyler Kempf and tight end Eli Gohn also playing key roles in the passing game.
The offensive line returns some experience in junior Michael Riney, senior Alex Parker and senior Max McNeely. Hitt hopes they can open some holes because he's still trying to determine who will get the majority of the carries on the ground.
"We have to get our running back solidified," he said. "Who's going to be our running back?"
On special teams, the Indians return their two kickers. Morgan Johnson will handle the place kicking while Clark will serve as the punter.
And while the Indians may not return as much experience as last season, Williams said that doesn't mean the motivation to work hard in practice has changed.
"What we use as motivation is a state championship because that's what it's all about," he said. "We've got to play hard. We've got to play harder than the other guy across from us."