GENTRY — GENTRY - Sixth-year Gentry football coach Brian Little believes the Pioneers have all the ingredients to have a good football season.
But Little also knows that the Pioneers will need the ball to bounce their way in more than a few areas for that to show up on the football field.
For starters, Gentry has 29 players on its roster, the smallest group Little has had since taking over at Gentry in 2007. Of those 29, only eight are seniors.
The Pioneers aren’t blessed with a lot of depth either. Gentry will ask several of its players to play both offense and defense. And lastly, Gentry plays in one of the toughest confer ences in Class 4A.
“We have the makings of a good football team,” said Little. “We’re young. We’re not real deep. We’ve got to have a little bit of luck. We’ve got to stay healthy.”
Gentry was in the same boat last season, but the Pioneers couldn’t catch a break. Coming off a 6-5 playoff season in 2010, Gentry stumbled to a 1-9 record in 2011.
The Pioneers’ only victorycame in Week 8 against Berryville 33-7.
Injuries hampered the Pioneers as did several other factors.
Gentry lost three games by eightpoints or less and wore down at times in the fourth quarter.
“If you look back, and I’ve reflected back on a lot of ballgames, we played just about everybody three quarters worth of football,” Little said. “Then depth, attrition and maybe fatigue got to us in the fourth quarter of a lot of ballgames.
“I was really pleased with those kids and how they came and fought. They never gave up.”
Little believes this year’s team will fight as hard as last year’s, too.
The Pioneers are picked to finish last in the conference by the 1-4A coaches, and Little said that has provided motivation for the team in fall camp.
“With what we’ve been talking about so far in camp this fall, (our players) knew and we talked about it in the spring, is that we’re young and they’re going to have some inexperience,” Little said.
“But we’ve moved past that now to the point where, hey, here in just a little bit, you’re not going to be young anymore. You’re going to be playing, and it’s time to grow up and grow fast.
“I think that if they really take to that approach, we can become a pretty good football team. It may take us a few games, but I think what we’re going to see is the results of that down the line thisseason. We’re looking forward to that part of it.”
Gentry will rely heavily on junior quarterback Jarod Cousins, who moves to theposition after he was the Pioneers’ leading receiver a year ago.
Cousins (6-foot, 177 pounds) caught 26 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns last year.
Little said Cousins is more than capable of playing quarterback in the Pioneers’ one-back/no-back offense.
“I think putting him at quarterback, he has really relished the role and is taking on the kind of leadership that you want,” Little said. “He’s maturing a little bit and growing at that position. I don’t think that there’s any doubt that his peers know he’s capable of playing that position.”
Sophomore Stone Faulkenberry (5-11, 145) will back up at quarterback.
Moving Cousins to quarterbackopens up plenty of competition at wide receiver for Gentry.
Little said senior Colby Bryant (5-6, 135) has looked good, while sophomores Faulkenberry, Stoufflet (5-11, 180), Jon Brown (5-10, 174), Dakota Smith (6-0, 158) and junior Cole Ellison (5-8, 143) have been getting reps at wideout.
Little said senior running back Ajay Beach (5-8, 165) is capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. Beach heads the depth chart at running back after rushing for 123 yards on 40 carries last season. Junior Bobby Montes (5-8, 179), Stoufflet, Brown and junior Tucker Willett (5-11, 160) could also see some snaps at running back.
When the Pioneers employ a
tight end, senior Elijah Ramsey(6-1, 170) and junior Dusty Haag (5-11, 182) will play the position.
The Pioneers do have some size on the offensive line. SophomoreZach Ellis (6-2, 270) looks to be the man at left tackle, while junior Alec Nelson (6-0, 200) will play left guard.
“He can really move,” Little said of Nelson.
“He’s like having a fullback there, which is really good from the standpoint of mobility.”
Senior Austin Cochran (6-0, 249) returns at center. Sophomore Dalton Morris (5-9, 205) also has that fullback build, Little said, and will play right guard.
At right tackle, the Pioneers are counting on senior Zach Bennett (6-0, 214).
Little said junior Taylor Harvey (5-11, 243), Bryar Preuss (6-3, 295), sophomore Montana Mc-Ferron (5-7, 165) and sophomore Trystan Handy (5-7, 160) give the Pioneers some depth along the offensive line.
“We’re trying as a team to get some offensive linemen that don’t have to go both ways and some defensive linemen that don’t haveto go both ways,” Little said. “We won’t be able to do it across the board (of the whole team), but if we can we want to do it with those linemen ”
On the defensive line, the Pioneers are able to operate out of both three-man and four-man fronts.
“A lot of times it’s dictated by personnel that we have and what we can play better,” Little said.
Nelson, Haag, Preuss and Harvey are four players the Pioneers will count on to play the defensive line.
Ramsey, the weakside line backer also can provide support as well.
“He’s kind of the quarterback of the front,” Little said of Ramsey, who is defensive coordinator Daniel Ramsey’s third son to playfootball at Gentry. “He makes sure everybody gets lined up right and ready to play ball.”
There will most likely be a rotation of Morris and Montes at the strong side backer.
Willett will play the outside linebacker spot, or rover. Montes is can play inside or outside linebacker.
“He’s done a good job with that so far,” Little said.
Beach will start at one corner while Smith and Jonathan Xiong will man the other corner spot.
Bryant also can play corner, Little said.
Cousins and Stoufflet will play the safety positions, and they’re interchangeable between strong safety and free safety.
Faulkenberry also can play safety.
Preuss is going to handle the kickoff duties, while Cousins will handle the extra points and punting chores.
Sports, Pages 36 on 08/29/2012