Spring drills have Mustangs focused on fixes
After missing playoffs in 2014, Kingwood out to make sure history does not repeat
Kingwood turned a corner with its win over Friendswood last season, then it got lost on the other side.
It went just 2-4 in District 16-6A and didn’t return to the postseason.
But with a veteran crew filled with returning lettermen and starters coming back in August, the Mustangs entered the offseason determined to get back on track in coach Barry Campbell’s fourth season.
They opened spring ball April 28 and finish Wednesday, May 27.
“They were excited to get back to work on next season, leave last year behind and move on to the next year,” Campbell said. “They were excited, and they’re enthusiasm has carried throughout practice.”
The priority going into spring ball was to fill out the varsity roster around those returning players. Campbell said they were confident at several spots but still had holes to fill, especially backup roles.
The Mustangs weren’t as productive last season as in Campbell’s second year, when they made the playoffs and finished 7-4, but he said no major changes are in store with their approach or staff.
“We had some injuries and some guys go down, and that hobbled us for a little bit, but that can happen every year,” Campbell said.
“We feel confident in
what we’re doing offensively. We’re always trying some new stuff but we’re confident in what we’re doing, and every year it’s going to come down to ‘Can you stay injury free?’ And if you can’t, are the guys in backup roles going to step up and meet the challenge?”
They’ll have to this season, Campbell’s fourth on the job, which is a big year for any coach.
“It needs to be (a big year),” Campbell said. “These seniors we’ve got (coming up) have been successful throughout their careers, so we feel like we need to continue on that run for those guys.”
With Randall Graves graduating, Dawson Trudell is the next man up at quarterback. The sophomore started two games last year before going down midseason with a shoulder injury. Campbell was looking for him to settle into the offense this spring.
“He’s on the varsity track team, and was part of that mile relay team that won state, and he was part of that group last year as well,” Campbell said. “And so last year he didn’t get a lot of reps in spring ball, so he didn’t have a lot of confidence, but this year, even with some limited reps … he’s very confident with what he’s doing. A year has made a huge difference for him.”
With an accomplished track athlete at quarterback, the Mustangs likely will run more from the position this fall.
“He’s got the ability to run the ball and do a lot of things for us,” Campbell said. “He’ll give us some more opportunities.”
Elis Ekberg is one of the newer players impressing in spring ball. The junior played on JV last season but has earned a look at tight end, giving Campbell some much-appreciated flexibility.
“He came out in the spring and has done really well, and he’s probably going to get a lot of playing time at tight end, which will allow us to move a returning starter, Colton Moore, to predominantly a defensive player,” Campbell said.
“That’s something we can do. It’s not necessarily what we’ll do every game, but (Ekberg’s) definitely given us some depth at the tight end position.”
Moore, a standout defensive line, will line up at defensive end.
“He’s one of our best defensive linemen, and he was last year as well but we needed him at tight end,” Campbell said. “We had some guys who could play the position, and so they did, but he’s going to be a good player on defense.”
Kingwood isn’t slate to play in any 7-on-7 state qualifying tournaments, but Campbell said the will play in an Humble 7-on-7 league Monday nights at Turner Stadium in June.
The goal going into fall practice is to stay aggressive in practice and healthy across the field.
“We’ve got an experienced crew, so there will be a lot of mental stuff going on (in fall camp),” Campbell said. “We want the kids prepared for what they’re doing. They’re going to be in shape coming out of the summer workouts, and then we just want to stay injury free.
“Last year, first day of practice we had a pretty critical injury that changed the whole dynamic of what we were trying to do on both sides of the ball. That seemed to set the tone for the way the year was going to go.”