Bears reloading for potential run into postseason
HOPE, Ark.—Spring Hill head coach Matt McBride and his staff believes in his second season at the school, solid quarterback play will flow throughout his program to lead to having a successful 2017 season.
The Bears have a balanced spread attack and a senior leader who possesses 4.4 speed to lead Spring Hill to a possible playoff run.
“We feel really good about our chances, we just have to find a way to stay healthy,” Spring Hill head football coach Matt McBride said.
McBride returns senior quarterback Peyton Massanelli (6-0, 160), who rushed for seven touchdowns in week 1, falling to a season-ending injury in the second week.
“We feel really good about what we have returning. Our quarterback was injured in the second week last season and that really hurt us,” McBride said. “Massanelli is a kid that has the potential to play college football. He’s even our punter.”
Senior Parker Freeman (5-11, 160) and sophomore Rusty Orr (5-11, 155) will compete for the backup slot behind Massanelli.
Spring Hill will have a triple-threat attack at running back with junior Keymonte Rhodes (5-10, 160), sophomore Slade Cox (5-9, 150) and senior Dustin Beck (5-10, 175) will handle all of the tailbacking duties this season.
“Each one of those guys brings a different element to our offense. Rhodes rushed for 500 yards last season, but we’re expecting a ton of production from all three of those guys,” McBride said.
Sophomore Brady Whatley (5-10, 180) handles all of the tight-end assignments for Spring Hill.
The Bears offensive line will hold the biggest question mark during the Spring Hill season. With only one returning senior starter, McBride believes his young group will progress and exceed expectations.
“We have 16 offensive linemen on the roster and 15 of them are juniors and sophomores,” McBride said. “We’re really excited about this group and although we’re young, we feel pretty good about them.”
“We have some more work to do but luckily we have time.”
Spring Hill’s wide receiving corps has depth and playing experience, McBride and his staff hopes to lead his Bears.
Senior Cameron Middleton (5-10, 150), Juniors Drake Kidd (5-9, 155), Hays Martin (5-10, 150) and Lewis Chambers (5-9, 145), will be asked to stretch defenses in the Bears’ spread offense.
“All four of those guys are as sure handed as we got. They may not win a track meet but they understand what we’re trying to accomplish offensively,” McBride said.
“We have some other guys we’ll stick in the wide receiver position to give us some depth, so we’re more than excited to see what those guys will bring to the table.”
The Bears are switching defenses this season from a 4-3 to a 3-3 stack.
Juniors Marshall Glover (5-10, 190), Garret Pauley (6-2, 307) and sophomore Levi Kidd(6-0, 210) will be asked to lead Spring Hill defensively in the trenches.
“Those guys have played quite a bit and they’re athletic. We go deep on our defensive line, which will help us keep some fresh legs on the field,’ McBride said.
Cox, Beck and Rhodes are expected to fill the linebacker roles defensively.
“Pretty much our running backs are our linebackers.
The play of our linebackers is important. We want our guys going downhill,” McBride.
“With the exception of Massanelli, our receivers play in our secondary. We’ve prepared our guys to play both sides of the ball if they have to. That’s what all the offseason conditioning was for.”