Justin Cogar’s first year as the head coach at Westside didn’t reflect much progress in the win column but it was more so about building for the future.
“It’s good being able to build off of last year,” Cogar said. “Having that foundation and building it was what we wanted to do. Our record wasn’t what we hoped for but I think we accomplished a lot of things with growth and had a good offseason so far into camp. Things are really coming together I think with that added experience and the familiarity with the system and everything has allowed us to get off to a good start.”
The Renegades overcame injuries and inexperience to claim three victories and with talented cornerstones returning they hope to push further. Keying that charge are junior quarterback Kadien Vance and senior utility man Ashton Reed who missed most of last season with an injury.
Cogar is high on both players for different reasons.
“Ashton, it’s the same thing as last year. If he stays healthy he’s one of the best players in the area because of his size and athleticism,” Cogar said. “We’re excited about him and if we can keep him healthy I really like our chances. For Kadien, going back to growth and experience, the experience for him was big because last year was his first year as a starter. He really grew throughout the year with his decision making and understanding of the offense. This year we’re looking for him to build on that and his leadership. Our offense goes as he goes and we’re kind of looking for that leadership. He’s going to lead us and he had a good offseason so he’ll be able to lead us through the air and on the ground.”
Offense will be the bread and butter of the Renegades, as it was when Cogar, a former Kennedy finalist at QB, was taking snaps in Clear Fork. Westside returns its leading receiver as well as several other weapons in the passing game that should help it evolve and be more successful.
“We’ve got a good mix of skill players back from last year,” Cogar said. “Kyler Kenneda is back from last year and he was our leading receiver last year. We have two new guys starting in Austin Bishop and Jason Runyon. Both of those guys can make plays down the field. Colton Lester is back from last year at receiver. Those four can do a lot for us in the passing game. Up front we have some returners as well in Dakota Martin and Kameron York who both played a lot for us last year. We’ll be able to do a lot more things through the air with our added depth at wide receiver. In the run game I think having those guys back on the line really helps us as well.”
The modified offense will christen a new era for the Renegades who had their field turfed this offseason. The new addition has generated much excitement but serves more purpose than just being nice to look at. It’s provided the coaches a tool to teach and expand upon.
“It’s very exciting for us and something that’s been a long time coming,” Cogar said. “Everybody is super excited about it and the biggest difference I’ve seen is in our practice. As far as alignments and having the exact dimensions out there really allows us to hone in on our coaching in practice and it translates to the game. It’ll make a difference for us, especially in the passing game.”
On the defensive side of the ball there’s optimism as well. After tinkering with different defenses and personnel last season, Cogar and Co. have an idea of what they’re going to run and who’s going to play where. It’s given them a foot forward as opposed to this time last year.
“Defensively we hope it’s a major improvement,” Cogar said. “We’ve worked on a lot more this year than we did at this point last year. We really want to make a focus on being better defensively, creating pressure and creating takeaways and being better on that side of the ball. I think that was our biggest weakness. We shuffled through a couple different schemes last year and now we’re settled in to what we want to do and we’ve got the right people in place. Defensively we’re going to be a lot better.”
With the improvements come higher expectations. Building on the foundation that was laid last year doesn’t necessarily mean a playoff berth but with enough improvement there’s optimism that it’s in the cards.
“Our goal this year, realistically with the kids we have back and the offseason we had we believe we can make a push for the playoffs,” Cogar said. “If we can do the things we’re supposed to do and really capitalize on a few of those games we lost last year, I think we can make a push for the playoffs and we can get there. I think it’s been eight years since Westside has been in the playoffs so we’re trying to get back to that. The culture and foundation is in place, now we just have to get back to that.”
