Successful seasons for small town Class A football teams in West Virginia are always a numbers game.
With smaller enrollments, injuries and illness can quickly derail a promising campaign.
Such was the case last year for Montcalm last year which saw a 2-1 start fade into a tough season.
“We had a big win in Week 1, but the year didn’t go as we had hoped,” head coach Adam Havens said. “Later in the year we got down pretty far on numbers and struggled to get through.”
This season the Generals will start the season with a roster of 23 underclassmen, consisting of six juniors and the rest will be sophomores and freshman.
“This year’s team is completely different with zero seniors returning. It is a little bit of a challenge, but our juniors and even some of the sophomores have really stepped up in the preseason,” Havens said. “They have all worked together. Knowing there is no real senior leadership, it has created this atmosphere where everybody is stepping up and doing their job.”
“Practices have been a lot of learning and a lot of communicating,” Havens went on to say. “These young guys have been playing together since they were six years old and they are very familiar with each other. They are a close group and it has been a really good experience so far.”
While the Generals clearly want to be successful this season, having such a young group has allowed them to take a bit of a long term approach.
“We know we are in a growth period and our main goal is to learn how to compete while getting the game experience that they all need,” Havens said. “We want to develop their fundamentals and skills at their positions. We can look down the road a little bit and give them that long range approach. This team will be competitive, but success will be determined by competing week in and week out.”
Last season Montcalm started three freshmen on the offensive line – all of whom are back this year and Havens believes they’re ready to take the next step.
Deacon Blankenship returns as the center and Dylan Simpson will again hold down the left tackle position.
“Deacon is the anchor. He takes charge of the line and calls out the fronts. Dylan moves around and plays different spots on the line for us,” Havens explained.
The third returning lineman however will be playing upright this season as he makes the move to the backfield.
“We are kind of changing systems a little bit this year and moving towards a power run game. We will play a lot with a fullback in a two-back system. Isaiah Fink was playing guard more out of necessity last year. He is an athlete and has a running back type body,” Havens said. We also have a freshman back that we are really high on, Jeremy Shrewsberry. We feel like he is going to be a real asset to our program.”
Jaylen Younger will step in as the starter under center this year. Younger served as the backup quarterback last year before missing the last few games with an injury.
Jayden Price, who primarily played defense last year, along with Rayland Parks will be two of the passing targets playing out of the slot.
“At wide receiver we have to replace Devin Green who played in the North-South All-star game last year. That will be tough,” Havens said. “Logan Carver and Tristan Cline will step into those roles. We have the ability to throw the ball and Jaylen understands our pass game concepts.”
Havens will also implore a new philosophy on the defensive side of the ball starting this season.
“Instead of playing big guys, I want to get as quick as possible up front. We want to attack opposing offenses with speed and quickness,” Havens said. “We don’t have a lot of offensive lineman, so to keep them fresh, we have gone to more speed on defense. Trent Nunn was our starting cornerback last year and he will be our starting defensive tackle, which sounds a little crazy.”
Junior John Hall will anchor the defense, but Havens expects big contributions defensively this season from Price, Parks and Nunn as well.
“We feel pretty confident. We are not big in numbers, but all 23 kids on our roster will see time because they are all talented enough to play,” Havens said. “These kids are so young and willing to learn while trying new things, it has been refreshing. They have bought into our philosophies. We are changing a lot, but this is a good group to change with because they don’t know any different.”
2022 Schedule
08/25/22 6:00PM H – PHELPS,KY H.S.
09/02/22 7:00PM H – TWIN VALLEY, VA H.S.
09/09/22 7:00 PM A – PADEN CITY HIGH SCHOOL
09/16/22 7:00PM H – CRAIG, CO ,VA H.S.
09/23/22 OPEN –
09/30/22 7:00PM H – HUNDRED
10/08/22 2:00PM A – BEALLSVILLE, OH H.S.
10/14/22 7:00PM H – RIVER VIEW
10/21/22 7:00PM A – MEADOW BRIDGE HIGH
10/28/22 7:00PM A – HURLEY, VA H.S.
11/04/22 7:00PM H – WEBSTER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
