Friday, August 21, 2009 10:54 PM CDT
After 'championship' off-season, now what?
By Brian Nielsen, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON --Only those most interested in Charleston football saw the Trojans win a 7-on-7 tournament in June.
Even less have probably seen linemen join the progress in the weight room and conditioning.
Realizing his team still stands 0-0 like everyone else right now, coach Brian Halsey still can hardly keep from telling you about his Trojans have set the foundation for this season.
“I’m very, very proud of these young men and how they have worked to have put in to have put themselves in this position,” he said. “You obviously measure your success with what happens on Friday nights but if you were to measure it with their preparation, their work ethic and their effort in what they have done in the off-season, they’d be champions.”
Since reviving a Charleston program that had gone through a 3-36 period in 1998-2001, Halsey has had Apollo champions in 2002, ’03 and ’04 and IHSA playoff qualifiers five of the past seven years including a 2007 Class 5A quarterfinal berth.
One of the postseason misses came last year when a loss to Highland ended the Trojans’ 4-5 year.
Work to return to the playoffs began soon after that with five players who were full or part-time starters on offense, six returning defensive starters and plenty of others ready to make an impact this year.
In good hands here
Most notable is senior Adam Drake, who was a first-time All-Apollo Conference defensive back and second-team wide receiver after leading the Trojans with 29 catches for 286 yards last year.
Now the 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is getting looks from college coaches.
“We’re excited about Adam returning,” Halsey said. “He’s looking to have a great year. He’s had a great summer. He’s got some opportunities ahead of him if he continues to progress.
“We’re excited about the receiving corps as a whole. They’ve had a good summer. We have a lot of weapons who can run and catch the ball.”
Senior Dylan Doughty also was in last year’s starting rotation of receivers while seniors Jason Shores and Adam Held, junior Joe Fricke and sophomore Tibet Spencer also could keep opposing secondaries from focusing solely on Drake.
Ready to step in
Helping Drake get free last year was the fact defenses had their eyes on all-conference Jamel Johnson, who caught 15 passes for 280 yards as a senior.
Both the 6-foot-6 Jamel and his twin brother Mario Johnson are now at College of DuPage.
Mario led the JG/T-C area in rushing last year with 1,274 yards and 16 touchdowns as an All-Apollo star while another graduate Taylor Bartlett completed 66 of 136 passes for 802 yards.
This year’s quarterback battle was coming down to juniors Levi Ebbert and Austin Heise but this has become one of the positions affected by preseason injuries.
“Right now Levi is getting the majority of reps because Austin is battling a little bit of an injury,” Halsey said. “He’s limited. We’re being cautious with a lot of kids.
“There’s nothing serious in terms of injuries. It’s kind of bizarre stuff. It’s not because they’re not in shape. We just try to keep it from becoming worse. It’s a little bit of credit to them that they’re going hard. They’re very intense.”
While Mario Johnson emerged during the season as Charleston workhorse, this year’s running back picture at least for now looks much more balanced.
“We’re going to start the way we always do and that’s by committee,” Halsey said. “We have about six kids who can carry the ball. It’s just about what we need on defense and how they play. If I had to pick a top three right now it would be Billy Davis, Kris Wesley and Paden Eveland.
“We feel equally good about our fullbacks - Austen Pankey, Matt Simpson and Chris Creek.”
‘Tough smart kids’
Adding line play to the skill position players who had summer 7-on-7 success appears to even make the Trojans’ outlook better.
“We’re very excited about our offensive line,” Halsey said. “We have good size and strength. They’re tough smart kids.”
Jon Stallons, a 6-4, 285-pound senior, was All-Apollo second team last year and now is entering his third year as a starter playing right tackle.
The other returning starter is left guard Tim Hiser, a 6-1, 295-pound junior.
With some playing experience from last year now moving into starting roles are 6-0, 210-pound senior Wyatt Schaljo at center and 6-2, 255-pound junior Myles Batson at right tackle.
Cody Reeley, a 5-10, 205-pound sophomore, is the right guard.
“He’s a sophomore but he doesn’t play like one,” Halsey said. “If you didn’t look at the roster and see sophomore you would think he was a senior.”
Also ready to help on the O-line if needed are 6-0, 210-pound senior B.J. Glidewell and 6-2, 240-pound junior Hunter Thompson.
The offense is likely to rotate three tight ends although junior David Haller is recovering from mononucleosis and might not be cleared until the third game. That still leaves seniors Kyle Winn and Matt Rogowitz.
“We feel comfortable using those guys at any time,” Halsey said.
Fast, physical D
On the defensive line, Glidewell is a returning starter at end and senior Zak Buchanan returns at tackle with other spots still to be determined.
“We’re waiting for some guys to get cleared and others to establish themselves,” Halsey said.
Several have established themselves as linebackers.
While Ebbert may just concentrate on being the quarterback this year after starting on defense last year, Simpson, Eveland and Davis are all back with Pankey also to play linebacker. Sophomores Cody French and Chris Creek, who got into last year’s varsity season finale as freshmen, provide depth at those positions.
Drake and senior Cody Rennels are returning starters in the secondary with Wesley also moving into a starting spot for what shapes up as a potentially strong defense.
“I like the attitude and the kids know when they step on that side of the ball they have to play fast and play physical and swarm to the ball,” Halsey said. “The kids know if they don’t, they will be replaced.”
Quinn Hussey, a senior who also plays soccer, is to do the place-kicking.
Hungry and ready
Standing 44-46 entering his 10th season as the head coach but 43-27 after his first two years, the 1988 Charleston graduate Halsey has a staff of Jon Adkins, Tyler Hanner, Jim Wood, Bob Black, Eric Gentry, Kaleb Carter, Jeff Miller, Cliff Campbell and Carl Wolff.
“Everything is in,” Halsey said of the offense and defense. “We’re just waiting for some guys with bumps and bruises to heal up.
“I’m very pleased with the attitude and effort. These kids are hungry. They have diligently prepared nine months for the upcoming nine weeks. We’ll see in a week where we sit. Our goals are the same. We want to get better every week.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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