PREVIEW: Perryville football working hard to make Year 1 under Boss a success

By Phillip Suitts ~ Southeast Missourian

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

There's a new boss leading Perryville football this season -- Blane Boss.

The first-year coach was an all-state running back at Windsor in the early 2000s and an offensive coordinator at his alma mater for the past three seasons before Perryville hired him in March, following Mike Wojtczuk's resignation in January. He takes over a team coming off a 2-8 season.

So far, Boss, in his first varsity head coaching job, has been pleased with the Pirates' commitment. Despite, or maybe because of, a 15-55 record over the last seven seasons, the Pirates have been eager to work.

Perryville's Bryce Flaherty(10), Connor Steffens(70), Garrett Richardet(84) and Jacob Bierk(76)

Laura Simon

Boss can also count on a 21-player senior class. That group includes last year's passing yards leader, Ross Hadler, and interceptions leader, Garrett Richardet, along with numerous other key returning contributors.

"We have a very good senior class," Boss said. "Anytime you have that many seniors, that's always a good thing to have and those seniors have really impressed me so far by how hard they're working and how they're showing the younger kids how many things are supposed to be done.

"I think the seniors are really tired of losing. They're ready to turn the page, and hopefully get this season turned around, get this first year of mine off to a right start."

Boss first saw his kids in action during a three-day minicamp in May, when he put them through physical tests like bench squats and 40-yard dashes. In late July, he used two weeks of camp to install the Pirates' new run-based offense and 3-4 defense.

"I'm just looking for my players to kind of give me all they have, so to speak," Boss said. "Just do what I ask, just do what any other coach asks of them and just work hard every single day and show up. That's the big one right there, just showing up every single day to work hard."

While Boss hopes the Pirates can right the ship, he isn't measuring the success of his first season by wins and losses. Instead, he's focusing on improvement.

"You could say, 'Yeah, we want to win this amount of games,' but as a coach you don't want to be like that," Boss said. "Obviously you want to win all your games on your schedule but sometimes that doesn't always happen, but as long as you're getting better as a team, your kids are getting better individually, that's all you can really ask for."

Perryville's Bryce Flaherty

Laura Simon

Offense

Hadler returns at quarterback after filling in for the injured, and now departed, Brandon Renaud at the start of last season. He finished with 627 passing yards. Bryce Flaherty, who averaged nearly 32 yards on kickoff returns last season, is also vying for playing time under center and at running back.

"Those two are doing a great job competing with each other for the quarterback job and they're both extremely hard workers," Boss said. "I don't think either of them has missed a day yet. That's something that makes me very happy to see and very excited about when kids show up every day and don't miss.

"That's how you turn the page and get things going. Those two have definitely been able to set a great example for everyone on the team I should say, not just our young kids."

Jerome Simpson and Caleb Harris will both play at fullback, and the Pirates' two tailback spots will be filled by a combination of Derek Kirn, Sloan Hunter, Austin Cook and Flaherty. Kirn is the Pirates' returning leading rusher after gaining 189 yards last season.

Seniors Richardet and Anthony Gray lead the receiving corps. Gray was playing running back before moving to wide receiver.

"I think he's going to help us out tremendously there," Boss said. "He's probably got the best hands on the team."

The Pirates bring back three starters on the offensive line -- Clayton Jung, Jacob Bierk and Joel Daugherty. Senior Connor Steffens will also start this year.

Dustin James may see playing time at center and guard, and Levi Lane, a transfer from Texas, is starting to get healthy. Lane is one of the biggest players on Perryville's roster at 6-foot-3, 318 pounds.

Josh Kile and Jackson Broeking are also in the mix for playing time.

At tight end, James Rhoden will probably start, and Montana Difani will play there too. Logan Thaxton could see time there, as well.

Thaxton, who Boss said can play anywhere, was second on the team last year with 14 receptions and 185 receiving yards.

Perryville's Connor Steffens is one of 21 seniors on the Pirates' 2017 roster.

Laura Simon

Defense/ST

While Perryville's defense surrendered 27.5 points per game last season, the unit returns numerous key contributors. There's Richardet, who along with his five interceptions also led the team with four passes defended. Simpson, second on the team with 95 tackles, also returns. Then there's Jung and Bierk, tied for second on the team with 11 tackles for loss.

Like the other Class 4 team in the area, Cape Central, Perryville will rely on numerous two-way players. Jung, Bierk, Simpson and Richardet are all key offensive players.

"Most of the better players go both ways," Boss said. "That's just something when you don't have 75 to 80 kids, that's just something you have to deal with especially at the lower level and lower classes of football."

Perryville's Garrett Richardet

Laura Simon ~ Southeast Missourian

Bierk leads the defensive line. Daughtery and Steffens will also play up front, along with Lane and Kile. Brandon Bert will rotate in after playing a little last year, and Trystin French will help out. Junior Tony Konarcik, who's 6-5, 330 pounds, provides a big presence.

"He's working his butt off," Boss said. "He's one of our bigger kids. It's tough for him, how big he is, to have to run around but he's doing a great job."

Simpson and Harris are the Pirates' middle linebackers. Caleb Gremaud and James could also see some time there. At the outside positions, Jung returns and Rhoden will play a lot. Difani is in the mix for playing time, too.

Thaxton will patrol the defensive backfield as a 6-2, 190-pound safety. Flaherty will also play at safety, along with Kirn.

Richardet and Gray will switch from wide receiver to cornerback when the ball turns over, and Austin Cook will provide another body at that position. Hunter will split time between cornerback and safety.

Rhoden kicks for the Pirates, and Kirn returns at punter.

After gaining 700 yards on returns, including that 30-plus average, Flaherty provides a spark on kickoffs. Thaxton returned a couple punts last year, including a 60-yard return. He and Richardet will be the Pirates' punt returners. Richardet may also return a few kickoffs.