Semoball

Poplar Bluff offense features plenty of options, one big question heading into season

Poplar Bluff quarterback Kannon Carr, left, throws as lineman DJ Hubrins protects him during a preseason jamboree Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at Charles Bland Stadium in Dexter, Mo.
DAR/Brian Rosener

There are plenty of options for the Poplar Bluff football team to move the ball this fall. The question that will determine how successful the Mules will be in doing that is how well will those without the ball contribute.

“I just keep telling the linemen, it doesn’t matter how many skill kids we have if we don’t take care of them. We’ve got to open the holes and protect the quarterback,” Mules coach David Sievers said.

Poplar Bluff’s offensive line, which returns two starters, has spent the preseason camp trying to find the right combination and create some depth.

At the jamboree Friday in Dexter, Poplar Bluff’s offense had plenty of success averaging nearly 6 yards per snap, but Sievers said the line has continued to make the same mistakes.

Blocking, however, is not just confined to the trenches.

“Our outside run game will get a lot better when those outside kids decide they want to block a little bit more,” Sievers said.

Senior quarterback Kannon Carr, a returning starter for the third straight year after becoming the starter midseason as a freshman, will have plenty of options when he gets the snap.

Carr is 330 passing yards shy of 3,000 for his career and can move into third all-time in program history when he surpasses the milestone.

Jacob Baller and Devin Gatewood led the Mules in receiving yards last season and are back along with senior Nic Brumitt, who ranked fourth in yards.

While the top two rushers from a year ago graduated, there are plenty of ballcarriers back with some experience, including juniors Amare White and Ben Colclasure. Atari Amos, also a junior, returns to the program while senior Garrett Lazalier, the team’s linebacker and punter, averaged 11.2 yards per carry in the jamboree.

Sievers said there will be more two-way players this season.

“It’s going to give us more options,” he said.

With linemen playing both sides of the ball, depth will be key early in the season as well as the ability to play guard or tackle.

Clayton Stark, a sophomore, will snap in all situations and center the line. Logan Rinstaff, a 250-pound senior, and 275-pound junior Kayson King were starters last season while junior Tyden Wilson and sophomore DJ Hubrins, along with junior Nathan Bunton and senior Caleb Hosler, return to the line that could average 265 pounds.

“We’ve got pretty good depth on the offensive line,” Sievers said. “We’ve got a few young guys that are kind of starting to shape up. They’re probably not ready to get on the field right now, but we’ve got a few younger guys that are hopefully going to come up.”

Mason West, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, took snaps as the backup quarterback in the jamboree along with 6-2 sophomore Tomeoh Wontor and junior Matt Wilkerson.

Receivers include Brumitt and Baller on the outside, as well as senior Dalton Gatewood, junior Chris Matlock and sophomore Torrence Williams, who could line up as a tight end along with junior Daine Dugas.

Devin Gatewood, junior Logan Davis, sophomores Darius Graham, Lane Savat and senior Hunter Jenkins, a starter at linebacker, will play the slot position as well as juniors Makel McFarland and Payton Rogers with sophomore Kolyn McBride in the mix.

Last year, Poplar Bluff’s receivers averaged 12.6 yards per catch, a yard less than the previous season. Sievers noted that when Tyson Cox set the single-season receiving yards record in 2016 averaging 20.2 yards per reception, he was able to break big plays on short throws because of his teammates blocking.

“Receivers just have to be tenacious,” said Sievers. “It’s not a typically physical position so asking them to be physical is something they’ve got to work on.

“We tell them, if you won’t block (colleges) are not going to look at you.”

And the offense might be stuck in neutral this season.

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