Panthers have new wrinkles; Lions are altogether new
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| Ryan Prewitt photo The seniors on the Fort Zumwalt North football team (from left) Back row "? Kris Robinson, Kyle King, Mar'Kyle Rondon, Jared Wood, Travis Davidson, Nathan Smith, Kyle Moore and Mariano Adzoh; Front row "? Frank Sauer, Warren Alexander, Tim Tooley, Robbie Burnette, Cody Lemonds, Sean Shields Jr. and Ronnell Lloyd Jr. |
"That might be a toss-up there," he said.
And Bacon is right, because in recent seasons Shumaker called the shots, but it was Espey's powerful running style that gave the Panthers their identity.After he trudged for 1,300 or more yards for three straight seasons, including a 2,206-yard, 25-touchdown performance as a senior as the Panthers finished 8-3, Espey not only graduated but took his backfield mates and the entire offensive line with him.
Even though Bacon has been with the Panthers' coaching staff for the past 11 seasons, some changes are in store.
"The offense will be a little different," Bacon said. "We've added some wrinkles to it and we'll be spreading the ball around a little bit more. Last year obviously we had one outstanding running back and we had the line to try to do that. But we've got some awful good offensive weapons this season and we're going to spread it around to get them involved as much as possible."
At quarterback, the Panthers will count on senior Jared Wood (5-foot-10, 170 pounds), who lost a quarterback battle with Michael Boxell a year ago.
"Jared would have been a real fine quarterback last year as a junior and he'll be a great kid to lead our offense this year," Bacon said. "Jared's pretty much the complete package, He throws the ball very well, he's an exceptional runner, he runs the ball well and he understands what's going on. He could be a little taller but besides that, he's the ideal kid to have at that position for us."
Wood figures to fall short of Boxell's numbers in at least one statistic - handoffs to the running back. Bacon plans to turn the Panthers' option from something they "dabbled with" to something "substantial." And Wood would be well-served to find the Panthers' receiving corps as often as possible, since that is the most experienced part of the team.
Seniors Kris Robinson (6-3, 185) and Warren Alexander (5-9, 155) combined for 20 receptions, 434 yards and six touchdowns a year ago. They'll rotate with juniors Blake Carter (6-1, 175) and Trenton Cook (6-2, 185).
Ronnell Lloyd (5-11, 175) had 101 yards rushing and 171 receiving last season. This year he'll play tailback. Lloyd doesn't possess Espey's bowling-ball build, but has more speed. He'll share carries with senior Cody Lemonds (5-8, 155).
Junior Jon Gibbs (5-11, 175), the son of Zumwalt North athletic director Jon Gibbs, is the fullback. He takes over for Zak Meyer, who was a first-team all-conference selection at linebacker and made the second team at fullback as a senior.
"Probably not many people have heard of the different guys we've got running it this year," Bacon said. "But if it had not been for Matt being a senior last year, they would have gotten substantial playing time last year and they'd be a little bit more of a known commodity at this point."
Bacon has similar thoughts about his offensive line, which could have five seniors if Mar'Kyle Rondon (5-11, 200) wins a battle for the center spot with junior Ryan Planchard (5-11, 180). Mark Blakey (6-6, 295) and Nathan Smith (5-11, 220) are the tackles and Kyle King (6-3, 245) and Travis Davidson (5-11, 185) the guards.
"They (the linemen) came a heck of a long way this summer," Bacon said. "They've been working real hard and coordinating real well as a group. They've been a real good positive for us so far."
The Panthers run a 3-5 defense. Bacon expects Davidson to anchor the five linebackers from the middle spot. Meyer led the team with 111 total tackles a year ago.
"He (Davidson) got to play a little bit of backer last year, but we had three solid seniors ahead of him," Bacon said. "But he's a real tough kid, a great leader and a great worker, I think he'll man that middle backer spot really well."
Gibbs will man one of the inside linebacker spots and will be the Panthers' punter and kicker to boot. Sophomore Gage Henry (5-10, 190) holds the other inside linebacker spot and juniors Adam Lindsey (5-10, 175) and Ethan Clark (6-1, 185) will be on the outside.
The defensive line will be a rotation of the offensive linemen plus juniors Zach McGee (5-10, 185) and Brenden Dennett (6-10, 215).
The secondary should be strong with Robinson returning for his third year starting at cornerback and Lloyd returning to safety after he intercepted four passes as a junior.
Cook is the other safety and junior J.D. Eilers (6-1, 180) the other corner.
The Panthers finished in a three-way tie atop the GAC North a year ago with Timberland and Washington, and won their first district championship in 17 years before falling to Timberland 33-27 in overtime in a Class 4 sectional. Now they'll step up to Class 5 where they'll join McCluer, Hazelwood East and Pattonville in District 4. All three of those new district foes are from the Suburban North; all three had winning records a year ago.
"Traditionally, those schools are real strong and we would anticipate that they are going to be real strong this year," Bacon said. "But we're a (Class 5) school and that's the class that we deserve to be in with our enrollment ... I think our kids need to understand that we're going to be capable of playing at that level and I think it's going to be exciting to see us do that."
Projected starters
Offense
Line: Mark Blakey (6-6, 295), senior, tackle; Travis Davidson (5-11, 185), senior, guard; Mar'kyle Rondon (5-11, 200), senior or Ryan Planchard (5-11, 180, junior), center; Kyle King (6-3, 245), senior, guard; Nathan Smith (5-11, 220), senior, tackle
Receivers: Kris Robinson (6-3, 185), senior; Warren Alexander (5-9, 155), senior; Blake Carter (6-1, 175), junior; Trenton Cook (6-2, 185), junior
Backfield: Jared Wood (5-10, 170), senior, quarterback; Ronnell Lloyd (5-11, 175), senior or Cody Lemonds (5-8, 155), senior, running back; Jon Gibbs (5-11, 175), junior, fullback
Defense
Line: Blakey; Davidson; Rondon; Planchard; King; Smith; Zach McGee (5-10, 185), junior; Brenden Dennett (6-10, 215), junior
Linebackers: Adam Lindsey (5-10, 175), junior, outside; Ethan Clark (6-1, 185), junior, outside; Davidson, middle; Gibbs, inside; Gate Henry (5-10, 190), sophomore, inside
Secondary: Robinson, cornerback; J.D. Eilers (6-1, 180), cornerback; Lloyd, safety; Cook, safety
Special teams
Kicker: Gibbs
Punter: Gibbs
Zumwalt East hopes to build tradition
Meet Fort Zumwalt East, the newest member of the Gateway Athletic Conference North.
The team consists of no seniors, 21 juniors and a hoard of freshmen and sophomores. But as a first-year varsity program, they all have something a little different to play for than most other teams.
While the lack of experience and upper-class leadership has no doubt made teaching the game of football especially difficult, the Lions and their coaching staff hope to surprise a few teams during the course of their inaugural season.
"You get a group of kids with limited experience - a lot of these kids haven't even played football before - and we knew as a staff going in that this would truly be a fundamental year," said coach Scott Eacret. "When they make mistakes we're not going to be critical. It's about them learning."
It will also be a learning process for Eacret himself, as he looks to make his mark as a first-year varsity head coach.
Before leading the JV team to a 2-8 record last season, Eacret was an assistant coach on the county's premier high school football program at Fort Zumwalt West. He said the experience working under Jaguars coach Paul Day has greatly influenced how he goes about his current job, which he considers to be a "one-in-a-million opportunity."
But prior success in a strong football program does not guarantee future success in another. Just ask Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame.
It will take hard work from all involved to get the program off the ground in a hurry. And while the Lions christen Zumwalt East's beautiful new football field Sept. 5 against Duchesne, Eacret will be expending himself on the sidelines and behind the scenes to make that a possibility.
First thing's, first.
"It's about sportsmanship and work ethic," Eacret said. "These kids are still learning about the whole realm of high school sports. Expectations and adversity, they'll experience all of that and we have to make sure as coaches that we teach them how to keep it in perspective and handle it correctly."
Because it's still a small team numbers-wise, depth, let alone quality depth, will be a rare commodity this season. But Eacret hopes competition for playing time at virtually every position brings out the best in his players.
Sophomores Tanner Trokey and Marvin Byrd will split time at quarterback. Both are athletic and are doing well at picking up the offense, Eacret said, and he'll need one of them on defense when not under center.
Eacret feels that he has a strong north-south running back in sophomore Tim Chung and a strong finesse back in junior Matt Robinson. Junior wide receivers Dante Bailey and Zach Bishop should provide the offense with speed in the passing game while 6-foot-1 junior Mark Russell brings size and strength to the tight end position.
The offensive line and defensive lines aren't quite so cut-and-dry.
"When we get the big fours up front doing their job, the running game will come around," Eacret said.
Junior linemen Chris Golden, Tony Robideau, Josh Denning and Cameron Bailey will play on both sides of the ball while others will sub in frequently to keep everyone fresh.
The linebacking crew consists of sophomores Connor Vortherms, Trokey, Reed Both and Sam Feld with sophomores Landon Reading, Zach Bumstead and Trevor McClure filling spots in the secondary.
While the young Lions could be in store for a trying first season, the players and coaches remain hopeful the team will learn from their failures and duplicate their successes. If they're able to, they may at times even surprise themselves.
"These kids are making their own traditions," Eacret said. "They're learning as they go."
Projected starters
Offense
Backfield: Tanner Trokey, (6-0, 168), sophomore, quarterback; Marvin Byrd, (5-7, 147), sophomore, quarterback; Tim Chung, (5-5, 150), sophomore, running back; Matt Robinson (5-6, 150), junior, running back
Receivers: Dante Bailey, (5-6, 127), junior, wide receiver; Zach Bishop, (5-9, 155), junior, wide receiver; Trevor McClure, (5-8, 161), junior, wide receiver; Mark Russell, (6-1, 201), junior, tight end; Reed Booth, (5-9, 169), sophomore, tight end
Line: Chris Golden, (6-0 210), junior, tackle; Tony Robideau, (6-2, 270), junior, guard; Josh Denning, (6-1, 278), junior, guard; Adam Lenox, (5-11, 290), sophomore, guard; Cameron Bailey, (5-11, 204), junior, center; J.T. Young, (6-2, 284), sophomore, tackle
Defense
Line: Mark Russell, (6-1, 201), junior, defensive end; Luke Batchelder, (6-3, 205), junior, defensive end; Chris Golden, (6-0, 210), junior, defensive end; Ryan Shaeffer, (6-1, 325), sophomore, tackle; J.T. Young, (6-2, 284), sophomore, tackle; Cameron Bailey, (5-11, 204), junior, tackle; Mike Crossman, (5-9, 180), junior, tackle
Linebackers: Connor Cortherms, (5-10, 169), sophomore, middle linebacker; Tanner Trokey, (6-0, 168), sophomore, outside linebacker; Reed Booth, (5-9, 169), sophomore, outside linebacker; Sam Feld, (6-0, 161), sophomore, inside linebacker; Alex Nischbach, (5-8, 187), sophomore, inside linebacker;
Secondary: Landon Reading, (5-10, 165), sophomore, backfield; Tim Chung, (5-5, 150), sophomore, back; Zach Bumstead, (6-3, 163), sophomore, backfield; Trevor McClure, (5-8, 161), junior, backfield; Dante Bailey, (5-11, 204), junior, backfield; Corey Mills, (5-7, 137), junior, backfield; Marvin Byrd, (5-7, 147), sophomore, backfield
Special teams
Kicker: Tanner Trokey, (6-0, 168), sophomore
Punter: Marvin Byrd, (5-7, 147), sophomore
Returner: Dante Bailey (5-6, 127), Matt Robinson (5-6, 150)
