Coach’s comments: “We are a work in progress because of the number of starters we lost. We will miss their leadership; they had been together for a long time. So, we’re working on finding spots where our kids can be productive and help the team. The guys we have back have played in big games. We’re leaning on them. When you make a deep playoff run, our young guys had five more weeks of practice that other teams didn’t get. And that’s where you see teams traditionally do well. Those extra practices and quality reps are a good springboard going into this season. They are going to have to be great leaders for us and play well. Our seniors have started to accept that role. “Traditionally, we have been more run-orientated, but we look to be balanced and maybe a little more unpredictable. We will wind up rotating a lot of players. This is a good group to work with, a lot of fun to be around. We want to get out of the gate early against Bloomington North.”
GREENWOOD (11-3) – Reached semistate last year for first time since 1990 but fell to East Central … 11 wins matched former coach Rick Wimmer’s final season in 2005 … coach Mike Campbell (69-67, 12 years) has program on upswing, five winning seasons in past seven … averaged 369.6 yards of offense ... graduated 19 seniors, mostly starters: quarterback Seth Gallman (1,728 yards passing, 64.5 completion percentage, 17 TDs, 843 yards rushing), running back Brandon Rosado (5.7 yards per carry), receiver Conner Battinau (13.7 yards per catch), linebacker/punter Tim Johns (100 tackles, 36.1 yards per punt) and lineman Nick Young (75 tackles). Lots of holes to fill … returning defenders accounted for only onethird of last year’s tackles … top senior defenders: linebackers Bryce Taylor (126 tackles) and Dillon Cloyd (78), lineman Noah Miller (71), and D-back Alex Walker (57 ) … junior/baseball pitcher Oliver Rau succeeds Gallman at QB, understands offense … leading rusher Nick Willham (1,080 yards, 5.6 yards per carry 14 TDs) leads offense … Rau has veteran receivers in junior Luke Raker (13.0 yards per reception) and senior Isaiah Drew (11.2) … junior Noah Dixon returns as starter on O-line … many battles for starting spots … open season with four of first five games at home; host Bloomington North Friday.
Coach’s comments: “We are a work in progress because of the number of starters we lost. We will miss their leadership; they had been together for a long time. So, we’re working on finding spots where our kids can be productive and help the team. The guys we have back have played in big games. We’re leaning on them. When you make a deep playoff run, our young guys had five more weeks of practice that other teams didn’t get. And that’s where you see teams traditionally do well. Those extra practices and quality reps are a good springboard going into this season. They are going to have to be great leaders for us and play well. Our seniors have started to accept that role. “Traditionally, we have been more run-orientated, but we look to be balanced and maybe a little more unpredictable. We will wind up rotating a lot of players. This is a good group to work with, a lot of fun to be around. We want to get out of the gate early against Bloomington North.”
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