After finishing 7-3 last year and 7-0 in league play, Highland coach Chad Carpenter is hoping to continue that success in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference behind 10 returning lettermen.
The coach, who boasts a 96-61 record through 15 years coaching the Scots, has seven returning starters on offense and five on defense. He noted that a big strength of his team should be in the trenches.
“We have many returning offensive and defensive linemen and team speed,” he said. “Many players received playing time last year and should be able to contribute towards our team success this year.”
He cited Javier Vasquez, Chase Carpenter, Andy Cooley, Troy Messmer and Joey Scaffidi as key offensive linemen, with Vasquez, Carpenter, Cooley and Scaffidi also expected to contribute on the defensive line.
Brock Veley, Jack Weaver, Josh Cantrell and Brody Matthews will be looked at as running backs, while Isaiah Stoneburner and Clay Matthews will be expected to catch balls thrown from quarterbacks Reese Weissenfluh and Tate Tobin.
Tobin, Matt Reid, Brody Matthews and Cantrell will all see time at linebacker, while key defensive backs will be Veley, Clay Matthews, Jarin Vasquez and Stoneburner.
While Carpenter is confident in his linemen, he does note that his team’s chances of success will rely on inexperienced skill position players being able to step up.
“The lack of depth at many skill positions,” he said when asked about team weaknesses. “We lost a lot of skill players from both sides of the ball that will need replaced. Younger players will need to step up.”
In league play, the coach expects East Knox, Danville and Centerburg to all be tough opposition in the race for the KMAC title.
“Our players have worked extremely hard this summer to prepare for the upcoming schedule,” he said. “Like in past years, we play a very tough non-conference schedule. We open with Bloom Carroll, Ontario and at River Valley. Conference play should be very competitive this year as many of them have returning players.”
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