Most programs lose their seniors when the season ends.
Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto lost most of his impact players throughout the 2023 season due to injuries and had to piece it together from there.
Quarterback Brady Green and Jalon Bailey were among the impact players that saw their seasons cut short via injuries last year. Bailey, a standout receiver, is back while Green and Gavin Davis, the latter of whom rushed for 1,554 yards and 26 touchdowns, have moved on to college.
But the positive part of injuries is it presents opportunities for younger players to step in and earn meaningful snaps and they took advantage, helping the Tigers close the season with a three-game win streak and 6-4 record.
“No doubt about it the schedule eased up but we too simplified things up,” Culicerto said. “And you know, with Brady going down, I brought in my son, Cal and probably his plus is checking things off and knowing what to run and how to switch it and how to change it. And you know, he can put the ball in the air too, but he was thrown into it in the fire there a little sooner than we wanted to. And we knew somebody like Gavin, we would be going to lean on him a ton.
“It was going to be him and Brady, but when Brady went down, then it really went to Gavin. And we didn’t play Gavin on defense, because we knew he was going to be our big-time playmaker, along with Brady, if you know, he was helping. So we knew that was going to happen because everybody else was 10th graders. Nobody was ready to take on that role.”
Davis was a surprise star after picking up the running back position in the offseason before his senior year. Replacing his production will be difficult, though not impossible for the Tigers who feel like they have another capable player to flank the younger Cuclicerto.
“Evan Romage is ready, no doubt,” Culicerto said. “He’s a big-play kid, quick as can be. Now he’s stronger and now he’s a junior. Kaiden Helmer has looked very well running the ball, but he’s our main defensive piece, so we’re going to rotate him a little more offensively. Cal has grown into his job, and has been throwing the ball all through our seven-on-sevens and summer stuff. He’s done very well and he’s gotten bigger and more comfortable, and he knows he’s the man now.
“Nathan Easley is a receiver that played a good bit last year who, has this summer just really caught our eye. He’s making plays left and right and and he’s wanting to have a big year, and we think he will. And then, of course, Jalon and we use him a little bit of everywhere but we’ve got to use him defensively too. So, you know, hang our hat on him offensively, but he will be a part of a lot of it.”
Paving the way will be a veteran offensive line that’s been through the fire together.
“Injuries affected a lot of everything,” Culicerto said. “There was a lot of reasons we ran Gavin as much as we did and losing your starting quarterback and your No. 1 receiver and the others are probably one of our biggest pluses, even last year, and that’s our junior linemen. They did a pretty good job last year. We’ve got them all back, so we’re happy about them, you know, this year. Yeah, our line, our line, were real happy about excited. We got one Junior on the line and that’s Joey Cowger who started some as a freshman. Then the rest are seniors, John Cantley, Nathan Hill, Colten Henderson and Connor Davis, who missed almost all last year with an injury.”
Culicerto is happy with his group but their path to the postseason will likely require a near-perfect season.
The Tigers were classified into the new Class AAA in the four-class system which was to be expected. The hard pill to swallow comes in the form of a schedule that had most of its playoff points zapped two weeks before the season.
PikeView and Nicholas County were both Class AAA teams until two weeks before the season when the WVSSAC reclassified both to Class AA. Making matters worse, Summers County, which was a Class AA team, was dropped to Class A. In all the Tigers have just one game – at home against Greenbrier East – against an opponent in their class on their schedule.
“Every game is huge in football, every game,” Culicerto said. “It doesn’t matter. You’re trying to win them all, and you lose one, you’re in trouble. And you know, you gotta keep winning. So they’re all big. If we lose too many, we’re not in it, and that’s the way it goes. So we’re just going to take them one by one, and that is the truth.”
Shady will open its season on Friday Aug. 30 at Roane County.
