Experienced Leopards feeling good about 2017
A group of 35 seniors will be a key factor for Liberty-Eylau on the football field this fall; the senior class has spent their entire high school careers with Steve Wells as their head coach.
The Leopards lost 21 and return 22 lettermen with six starters on offense and the same number on defense returning.
“This year, starting out, retention of knowledge on offense and defense has been really god with this group,” Wells said. “That’s due to starting our fourth year in this same system from the seventh grade-up. We’re going to try to be balanced; the kids know we’re going to pound the football and we’re also going to throw the football. As far as retention and knowledge, it’s been the best since I’ve been here.
“We’ve probably got more senior leadership this year than we had last year. Last year we lost 34 seniors from the previous year. Decorian has come out and been a good leader.”
Senior quarterback Decorian Phillips (6-1, 173), who was Co-Offensive MVP for District 7-4A, Division I last fall, rushed for 600 yards and 7 touchdowns and threw for right at 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. Isaiah Cross (6-1, 165) had 50 catches for over 600 yards and also took some snaps in the backfield.
“With having a year under his belt, I look for even bigger things from Phillips,” Wells said. “As well as Isaiah; he took some snaps and was also our leading receiver as a sophomore. Both of those guys being back give us a little depth, which is huge when you play the schedule that we’re playing.”
The Leopards will utilize four or five running backs, with senior DeAndre Hoof (5-10, 185) and junior Cedric Dickerson (5-10, 178) being the workhorses carrying the football. Hoof rushed for 500 yards and six TDs as a junior, while Dickerson was Newcomer of the Year from his linebacker position.
“Hoof is a big-built back,” Wells said. “He has the chance to be really good, catches the ball well out of the backfield, runs hard, and we’re looking for big things from him. Cedric will be in both roles, and we feel good about getting the ball inches hands. He’s a big threat.
“We have the ability to spread it out with one back, or we can go two-back or threeback at times. But Hoof and Cedric will get the lion’s share of the carries.”
Shannon Roy is a sophomore who could help at running back and slot receiver.
“Shannon has a lot of potential,” Wells said. “He’s got good vision, good cutting ability and just a knack for making big plays. He was playing on the 9th grade level, so it’s going to be a little bit different for him.”
Kelston Joseph (5-10, 190) and Kelvin Jackson will add depth at running back, as well as Corbyn White and T.J. Templeton (5-8, 150).
“We’re athletic, and I keep telling them in our drills that we want the best against the best,” Wells said. “When we line up against Gilmer, you’re going to see their best. When you line up against Carthage, you’re going to see there best. So if we aren’t lining up our best and going as hard as we can during practice, you’ll have problems come Friday night. We’re working hard in practice to improve each other.
“Physically, we’re as strong as we’ve ever been. The question marks I have are how are we going to handle adversity? I always like to see how they respond when it starts getting tough. We’ve got some experience at receiver, and then we’ve got some young kids who will also play.”
El-Amin Greer (6-1, 170) returns at receiver, Dazawion Cooper (6-2, 148) is a junior moving up from the junior varsity, senior Mahleik Darty (6-0, 145) has been consistently catching the ball during fall camp, and Cross is also back.
“We’ve got a couple of other kids who haven’t played, but I like what I see out of them,”
Wells said. “Jaquevion Kirkendall (5-4, 135) is an inside-slot receiver, has really good body control and catches the ball real well. He reminds me of the Hampton-kid from Texas High.
“Jordyn Pineda-Davis (6-2, 167) is another long kid who is pretty smooth out there, catching the football.”
Ralph Crabtree (5-7, 128) is also expected to see time at receiver after moving from running back, Trevarie Hodge is a transfer, and Kentrell Chatman (5-11, 165) will help after playing mostly defense. Dominique Williams and Deshun Dickerson add depth.
“I don’t think we’ll be scared to go no-back at times,” Wells said. “And the thing about this offense is we like to be balanced, but we can open it wide open as well. We lost a couple on the line (to graduation), but we have three coming back.”
Colton Bergt (6-0, 251) will start at center, Kylar Cooks (6-5, 265) transitions from the right tackle to left tackle, and Dayshuwn McChester
(6-3, 264) will take over at left guard. Connor Green (6-0, 242) takes over at right guard, and Trey Parker (5-10, 235) moves from guard to take over the right tackle position.
“Those guys all have some varsity experience,” Wells said. “Some of them have bulked up. I feel good about where we are on the offensive line. We don’t have a lot of depth there.”
Ethan Warren, Eddie Briscoe, Demetry Hunter (5-10, 203) and Tremaine Brown (5-11, 205) are backing up the starting linemen. Reginald Woodside (6-2, 230) is a sophomore developing on the line, as well.
Marzavian Riles (5-8, 160) and Bergt can handle the deep snapping, Gerald Webster also works at deep snapper.
Senior Steven Goben (6-0, 158) returns at placekicker, and Jose Aguilar backs him up. Cross and Phillips will work at punter, with Dickerson also filling in.
Orion Williams returns after missing much of his junior season with injury.
“He’s started since he was a sophomore and, overall, is
probably our best D-lineman,” Wells said of Williams. “He plays every play hard, and unfortunately on the fifth play against Carthage suffered an Achilles’ injury, which is one of the toughest to come back from in sports. He’ll be at full speed before it’s over with.”
Michael Hodge (5-7, 200) and Anthony Alexander will man the tackle and nose guard spots, respectively, Hodge being a full-time starter returning.
“That’s an area we have to develop some more depth at,” Wells said. “We try to rotate kids in and keep fresh legs on our defensive line. We run that Indy offense, like a lot of teams do, so we try to keep kids fresh in there.”
Webster and Lakken Stuart (5-9, 201) will help up front at the other end spot, and Dont’e Coopwood (5-10, 158) return at outside linebacker. Orion Thompson helps at outside linebacker, as well as Dominique Williams, who started last year. Dickerson and Hoof will play inside linebacker, and Joseph will spell them.
In the secondary the Leopards have talented depth.
“We’re a little deeper in the secondary because we’re going a little more with kids both ways,” Wells said. “I feel pretty good about back there.”
Chatman returns at safety. Phillips will help at safety, and Cross will also play cornerback. Davonta Vaughn (5-0, 155) and Michael Conley are returnees in the secondary. Greer and Roy are also working at safety.
The Leopards start their season on Friday, Sept. 1, hosting Gilmer at Harris Field.
“We have to understand that we are playing the very best in the state every week (during pre-district),” Wells said. “If we keep getting better each week, I see no reason why we can’t make another deep run in the playoffs and have a chance to win it all, when it’s said and done. Year in and year out, that ought to be the goal every year. This year, the senior leadership is huge.”