Springfield Senators Pigskin Preview

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Springfield High Senators 

COACH: Roy Gully (1st season at Springfield High)  

2014 RECORD: 2-7 (2-7 in CS8)
 

 TOP RETURNEES: QB Jackson Shearer (1,330 passing yards, 9 TDs, 690 rushing yards, 14 TDs), WR Derek Jones (18 catches, 265 yards, 2 TDs), RB-LB Rahkeem Hawkins (773 rushing yards, 5 TDs; 71 tackles), Line Nate Schmidt, WR Brandon Malloy (15 catches, 239 yards, 3 TDs), RB Wendel Burns (76 rushing yards), RB-LB Tony Williams (injured) DB Peyton West, WR Jake Vorreyer, Line Noah Kren
 

BIGGEST LOSSES: Logan Winders, Alex Gelber, Tanner Colclasure, Juan Garcia, Josiah Small, Kamari Rowl, James Perkins, Alonzo Hammond
 

WHAT THE SENATORS DO WELL: Tackle. New head coach Roy Gully says the Senators have invested a lot of time in shoring up the defense, and the strength of that defense will be the players ability to swarm to the ball and tackle, led by sophomore safety Peyton West and senior linebacker Tony Williams. The offense will be timing-based ball control. A lot of young players got thrown into the breach last year, so there is experience at the skill positions led by quarterback Jackson Shearer and running back Rakheem Hawkins. There also is a lot of depth, so much that the Senators have been able to practice with virtually two separate teams on offense and defense.
 

SPRINGFIELD HIGH QUESTION MARKS:  “We lost some amazing offensive linemen, guys who are playing college football, real road graders,” Gully said. “We have some big shoes to fill up front.” Gully says the objective is to play off the strengths of the leaner, more athletic linemen the team has this year. The new coach also says it will take time for the team to digest the new system, and season-opening games with two-time defending Class 5A state champion Sacred Heart-Griffin and five-time defending Class 4A state champion Rochester will let the Senators know right away where they stand.
 

WORTH NOTING: Tony Williams went down with a knee injury in Week 1 last year but is back, and Gully says he was “born to tackle people.” . . . Of the New Street Facility where SHS practices every day, with its artificial turf lined field, Gully says, “We are blessed. It’s absolutely great.” . . . Springfield High lost its final five games last year by a combined 78 points, and the SHS defense gave up at least 38 points in all five of those losses. . . . The Senators qualified for the playoffs five straight years from 2008-12 but haven’t been back since.
   

COACH ROY GULLY SAYS: “Our main concern is trying to get our kids to understand we are running a system that requires timing. We’re digesting a new system. This is my third go-around as head coach. I’ve learned from my mistakes. The first time we were so worried about putting in a system that we neglected fundamentals. The second time we got stronger as year we went on. The question mark is how soon we will be able to take over the  offensive identity we are going to have. It’s not instantaneous. We will have a competitive team. I’m not going to go and predict scores or records. I can tell you one thing. We won’t back down. We’ll compete every single week and things will take care of themselves.”