After six years, Meadow Bridge made its return to the postseason after a late surge. I was a sign of the progress the program had made after just missing out in years past.
“We really rebounded in the late part of the season last year and were able to make a strong push at the end,” Meadow Bridge coach Dwayne Reichard said. “Winning those two games at the end of our season against playoff teams like Sherman and Gilmer County was big for our team and our program. It kind of set the basis for a lot of your upperclassmen and where they wanted to be and how they work in the offseason. It was really good. But we graduated eight seniors and lost a couple kids to transfers so our numbers are down from where we’d like to be. But our kids are gelding fairly well and we’re young up front.”
Now the task at hand is doing it all over again, something made more difficult considering the Wildcats graduated half of their team. But knowing that also allowed Reichard and Co. to hone in on what would need to change this offseason.
“That was seven offensive starters because two of them split time at running back and eight defensive starters” Reichard said. “It’s a lot of holes to fill for a small single-A. Our skill group hadn’t had a lot of playing time but they had some experience. We did have to shuffle one kid from receiver to quarterback and we thought we had a quarterback but we lost him due to transfer so it’s been an adjustment period somewhat. Our 7-on-7 period in the summer helped us kind of lay our groundwork for that. It kind of gave us a direction for where we needed to go come August.”
Despite their departures, the Wildcats do have some talent returning at the skill positions.
Known for decades for their penchant to never throw the ball, Reichard has morphed the program into one that leans on the passing attack. This year the plan is to do more of the same with a younger offensive line, though they’ll also be breaking in a new quarterback as well.
“By receptions Conner Mullins was our leading receiver and also led us in touchdowns while being second in yards,” Reichard said. “He will be our big-play receiver and defenses are going to know that. We plan to find ways to get him the football and that’s not going to be a secret. Seaton Mullins was the inside receiver alongside Conner and we had to move him to QB. He’s got a fairly decent arm but we’re still working on his timing, trying to get the ball out of his hands quicker and that sort of thing, but it’s coming along. He’s much improved from where we were in the summer. I’ve got one linemen returning and we’ve got another out until midseason with knee surgery. But as far as passing, that’s what we try to do – work the open grass with timing.
“We want to find them in space and let them work. We feel like we do have a decent running core but we’re working on our offensive line because we’re not where we want to be. With only 17 kids it’s tough. It’s coming though because we’re making progress.”
Complicating matters is the lack of depth the Wildcats have. While the move away from running was the help accommodate the skill players and personnel on hand, it also helps keep the roster healthier as opposed to power running all of the time.
“We started with 21 kids and have lost three,” Reichard said. “We’ve got 18 with the one kid that’s inactive until midseason. We’ll be at 17 unless something bad happens but we’re going to be strong and support one another. We understand there’s not a lot of depth and our kids understand that and the importance of conditioning and playing tough but we’re going to make the best of our season and compete every week.”
A positive to the smaller turnout has been the ability to work more personally with the players and make sure they understand what’s going on. In turn it’s led to a smarter group that’s prepared for various situations.
“I think our knowledge of the game helps,” Reichard said. “We’re not a super complex offense but our kids have come in and absorbed the information. We’ve put some kids in spots they haven’t necessarily played but because we’ve repped things so much, even though they’re out of position they’ve repped things so much they know schematically what’s going on and can fill in.”
The Wildcats will open their season on Aug. 26 when they host Van.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
1 | 08/26/22 | 7:30PM | A – | VAN SENIOR/MIDDLE SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
2 | 09/02/22 | 7:30PM | H – | RICHWOODÂ | – | Â | ||
3 | 09/09/22 | 7:30PM | H – | MIDLAND TRAIL HIGH SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
4 | 09/16/22 | 7:30PM | H – | JAMES MONROEÂ | – | Â | ||
5 | 09/23/22 | 7:30PM | A – | GREENBRIER WESTÂ | – | Â | ||
6 | 09/30/22 | OPENÂ | – | Â | ||||
7 | 10/07/22 | 7:00PM | A – | WEBSTER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
8 | 10/14/22 | 7:30PM | H – | SUMMERS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
9 | 10/21/22 | 7:30PM | H – | MONTCALMÂ | – | Â | ||
10 | 10/28/22 | 7:30PM | A – | SHERMANÂ | – | Â | ||
11 | 11/04/22 | 7:00PM | A – | GILMER COUNTYÂ | – | Â |