Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
CEDARVILLE PIRATES
2018 RECORD 4-6, 3-4 3A-1 Conference
COACH Max Washausen
RETURNING PLAYERS 7 offense, 7 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Calloway Henslee (Sr., 6-0 170), RB Kelin Mitchell (Jr., 5-11 155), RB Tommy Metcalf (Jr., 5-10 145), OL Alex Ascencio (Sr., 5-10 275), OL Brayden Russell (Sr., 5-9 215), LB Max McGill (Jr., 5-8 165), LB/ FB Hayden Partain (Soph., 5-11 175), RB Darryl Kattich (Soph., 6-0, 180), OL Kolbye Beals (Sr., 6-2, 250).
THE SKINNY Coach Max Washausen begins his fourth season and the Pirates’ four wins last year was the most since they won five in 2012. … Junior halfback Kelin Mitchell returns, after rushing for 978 yards and 3 TDs as a sophomore and will spark a rushing attack that accounted for more than 3,100 yards last season, but he can also be an asset as a receiver. … The Pirates should be buoyed by sophomore and junior classes, which earned back-to-back conference titles in junior high and combined for a 17-1 record. … Washausen called sophomore running back Darryl Kattich (6-0, 180) a “game-changer” in the backfield. … Senior Calloway Henslee saw playing time a year ago at quarterback, but sophomore Cody Dickens and junior Nick Moore give them good depth at the position. … Henslee’s leadership gives him the edge under center, but Moore and Dickens could also play receiver, which could help fuel a more potent passing game.
COACH SPEAK “We really feel good about this year’s team. Not a lot of people talk about us,” Washausen said. “But we beat Mansfield last year and Mansfield went on to win a playoff game. We feel like we’ve got an outstanding group of young players coming up. The difference now is we have some depth now. We have some kids we can put in there if we have some get tired or go down with an injury. The overall team chemistry is way better than it’s been since I’ve been here. We’re finally looking like a football program with 30-plus kids showing up for workouts consistently. Also having some stability I think helps, these sophomores were seventh-graders when I came here. They know our expectations and they’ve been running our system for a while now.”