Jackson Baer
For The New Era
After a 3-7 season last year the Huskies are looking to move up with a strong junior class and some veterans back from 2010.
Sweet Home started the season with a new head coach, Dustin Nichol and a mostly new staff, but then Nichol had to undergo back surgery midway through the campaign. Plus, the team was heavy with seniors who didn’t have a lot of experience.
Still, the Huskies got enough wins in their first year in the Sky-Em League to qualify for a state 4A play-in game and gave host Central a big scare before falling 35-27. Central had beaten Sweet Home on its home turf earlier in the season, 40-7.
Though this year’s varsity squad has 10 seniors compared to 19 last season, the level of experience is higher as the Huskies work through a pre-season schedule that includes last Friday’s game against Stayton, and matchups at home against Cascade and on the road at Central before opening Sky-Em conference play Sept. 29 at home against Elmira.
The junior class is strong and poised to play a major role in this year’s quest for success.
“I expect big things from Mitch Keenon, he’s a junior, and Wade Paulus; those are the two big ones there,” Nichol said. “Then, on the offensive line with David Skeen, Nate Melcher, Zach Gill, and Zane Jackson. It’s gonna be anchored there with those guys.”
Last season, Keenon emerged as a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. He received plenty of playing time as a sophomore and led the team in interceptions. This year, he will look to continue that success as a junior and help lead his strong class, along with Paulus.
“Quinn Wise is coming on as a tight end and that makes up the junior class,” said Nichol. “The seniors that are gonna be anchoring the line are Jesse Comstock and Jerohn Coleman. They’re doing a really good job with leadership. Backing those guys up will be Alex Armstrong.”
Quarterback Keenan Martin graduated last season and the signal-calling position will have a new look. There is a competition between Cole Horner and Colton Holly for the starting job. Holly is a junior and Horner is a sophomore.
“Neither one of them really have that much experience, if any, but they each bring different qualities to the table,” Nichol said.
Nichol said he expects things to be different as he begins his second season as head coach after taking over after long-time Coach Rob Younger retired.
“After twenty-two years of a quality program like Younger had, it’s tough to come in and follow behind that,” he said. “The kids are buying in to what it is we’ve got going on. I think they’re feeling more comfortable with the system and play calling.”
The biggest encouragement has been player participation over the summer. “We’ve had a tremendous turnout with kids over the summer,” he said. “I think the lowest number that we’ve had at any one workout has been 24 and we’ve had upwards of 38. We’re a little bit further along in the game compared to last year.”
The summer participation has been double the amount of last season.
“Our number one strength is our offensive line” said Nichol. “We’ve got the ability to run the ball – size and quickness. The potential is there to have a really good offensive line.”
The backfield will look different than last year with a few new faces carrying the ball.
“Wade Paulus, Josh Wooley, and Hunter Bidwell will be the guys running the ball,” said Nichol. “I think there’s gonna be some sophomores in Spencer Knight and JT Weld and seniors in Ty Collins and Ty Harvey who will be fill-in players.”
The team will need to rely heavily on Paulus and Bidwell in order to run the ball effectively. Both made major impacts last year and have big-play ability. Bidwell proved to be a threat every time he touched the ball on kickoff and punt returns last year as a sophomore and Paulus was a force on both offense and defense when he was healthy.
The receiving core looks promising and is another potential strength for the Huskies.
“Mitch Keenon came on strong last year and did a great job. We’re relying heavily on him,” said Nichol. “Taylor Conn and Scottie Stockman have been doing a tremendous job for us. We’ve got Spencer Knight playing a little tailback and receiver and so he’s a younger fellow that we might see. Colton Schilling will get some time there too. We’ve got a lot of potential that hasn’t been tested on the varsity level.”
The junior varsity team was 13-1 last year between JV1 and JV2, and, although winning JV games is much easier than winning varsity games, if that success can carry over, the Huskies will have a good chance at competing in the league this year.
“I want to have eight to 14 play drives, running the ball and mixing it up with passing,” said Nichol. “If we can do that, then that’s a successful season on the offensive side of the ball.”
Any true football fan knows that defense wins championships. Just ask previous NFL teams led by Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson.
An offense can be simply adequate and still be a dominant team if the defense is stellar and that’s what the Huskies are shooting for this season.
“We’re gonna come after people defensively. We’re gonna be stepping up and knocking the heck out of people,” said Nichol. “Defensively, it’s just getting after people and getting them three and out.”
The team showed marked improvement as the 2010 season progressed. Though they totaled just three wins, they played most of their games competitively. The 2011 season has challenging games at the front end of the schedule and will give the Huskies a chance to show their new attitude and increased level of commitment.
Nichol attributes team leadership to Jesse Comstock, Jerohn Coleman, and Alex Armstrong.
“As far as the league goes, they’ve graduated a lot of seniors like us. There’s no one that’s way above anyone else” said Nichol. “We’ve got as good a chance as anyone if we implement what we’ve been practicing. The position slots are open on the board and the kids know what they have to do to earn a spot.”
Nichol said the league is shaping up to be “pretty much open.”
“All of us are pretty much in the same boat,” he said. “We all graduated a lot of seniors.”
The only exception, and the team he thinks may be the one to beat, is Elmira, which had only a couple of seniors on varsity last year.
“The rest were juniors and a couple of sophomores,” Nichol said. “That team is set the best, looking at the statistics coming back.”