Lions try to carry surge into 2017
MOUNT IDA — Winning the Class 2A championship over heavily favored Hampton, Mount Ida silenced all of its doubters last season.
With 18 returning starters, the Lions have championship aspirations again but haven’t lost the chip on their shoulders that fueled them to seven straight wins to close the season.
“I think the best part about it is nobody expected us to do it, and when we did do it, there’s people out there that still think we shouldn’t have done it,” coach Mike White said. “I think that fueled our offseason and gave our kids something to work for. We came into fall and we seem to be pretty focused. I have seen a letdown before after a season like that, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. They were young and I think they’re still hungry for it.”
Taking over for two-time allstate performer T.J. Wilson, Cade Jackson showed poise and confidence in his first season as starting quarterback. White envisions an expanded role for the junior this season as he matures with experience.
“I think you’ll see some more carries from him, and you’ll see him do some things that he couldn’t do as well last year,” said White. “He’s about 15 pounds heavier of muscle and he’s got a year of experience. He’s going to be a big-play weapon for us in addition to everything else we already have.”
Behind Jackson, the Lions have no shortage of options in the backfield. Senior Cade Helms led the team with 1,655 rushing yards last season while junior Jonathan Lagrange rumbled for 1,414 yards and a team-high 28 touchdowns.
Junior Gage Dyer and senior Bridger Farmer will also see time while Hunter Davis, Tyler Hamilton and Colton Yates provide depth to give the team an embarrassment of riches at running back.
“Teams are still going to stack the box, but you have to account for every back; they cannot key in on one guy,” White said. “We’ve got so many that we can throw in there and they all know the system. It’s unusual for us to have so much depth, but we’ve got it this year.”
Jackson attempted just 56 passes last season, but seniors Dallas Weston and Luke Forga present options at receiver and tight end, along with juniors Luke Fiorello and Champ Saylors.
Despite the graduation of allstate selection Logan Abernathy, the Lions boast an impressive offensive line to provide rushing lanes.
Three-year starter Gunner Gilbert (5-11, 250) returns at center, flanked by junior Drew Allen (5-8,
175) at left guard and senior Caleb Woodfield (5-10, 275) at right guard.
Juniors Kirklyn Sorrell (6-3,
250) and Oscar Pinedo (5-11, 260) should each see time at left tackle with senior Cameron Bridges (511, 250) while senior Brody Davis
(6-5, 285) slides from left tackle to right.
“I think (the offensive line) is the strength; they’ve all got another year under their belts,” said White. “It’s hard to replace a guy like Abernathy, but those guys are still big and they’re strong; it’s one of the strongest groups that I’ve ever had in the weight room. They move well and they bring it every down.”
Defensively, White believes the unit can be stronger than when allowing just 18 points per game in the 2016 regular season.
Gilbert provides the push in the middle at noseguard, surrounded by junior Ethan Winkley and Woodfield at defensive end. Senior Tony Gasca, Davis and Pinedo provide depth on the line.
“I thought that was an area that we could improve on, but I think experience is going to take care of a lot of that,” White said. “We were so young on defense last year, and we got out of position sometimes. We had a good year and the defense kept us in a lot of ballgames, but it should improve.”
Challenged by his coach before the season, Helms responded with a team-high 112 tackles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries at middle linebacker. Now in his third year as a starter, the senior provides leadership for the rest of the defense.
“That’s one thing that will help us as far as improvement; he can get us lined up, and he sees things up front,” said White. “We’ll need him to be that guy to get everybody else rolling and get them fired up. He should definitely have another big year in there.”
Lagrange and Weston join Helms as outside linebackers while junior Drew Allen, Hamilton and Fiorello also see time in the middle.
Farmer and Jackson return at safety after flashing ball-hawking abilities with three interceptions each. Saylors racked up 41 tackles and two picks at cornerback, joined in the secondary by Bryson Huff, T.J. Walden and Dyer.
“We did a fine job back there, especially for a bunch of sophomores, but we need to improve and force more turnovers,” White said. “Having a better turnover margin will go a long way for us having a good year again. They’re good cover guys and I look for them to get better and better every week.”
After seemingly coming out of nowhere last season, the Lions will take on a different role this year as the hunted rather than the hunter. Returning nearly everyone from a state-championship squad, White knows expectations are sky high for his team.
“The community expects a lot, but the kids don’t need to hear that; it’s my job to bring them back down to earth,” said White. “A lot of good things have to happen to win a state championship, and there’s a lot of things that can go wrong in between that. We’ve just got to keep their heads at the right level.”
Mount Ida opens the season Sept. 1 at Magazine.