Rockies ready with big senior class
PLYMOUTH — With numbers and experience starting the new season, John Barron and his Rockies are feeling confident as the new season begins.
“It’s not the biggest class that we’ve had but volume-wise it may be one of the more talented classes we’ve had,” said Plymouth coach John Barron. “We have 22 guys and we really feel like every one of them can play. That’s a unique situation.”
“They’ve played football for a long time,” he said. “They are talented. We just have to keep pushing them to understand that you have to outwork people to win ballgames.”
With that many players in the senior class, it presents a “problem” all it’s own - finding minutes for all your players to keep them sharp.
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” said Barron. “It’s a good problem to have, we feel fortunate to have 22 kids that have come through all the way from our youth program, but at a school our size we have very talented kids in the classes behind them too, and we like our 25 freshmen that we have. We have some juniors that started last year as sophomores and they will be out there again and hopefully a part of a lot of big wins on Friday nights.”
It is a cliche - but true - that everything starts up front. The Rockies have lost some experience but gained some size.
“Up front offensively we are big,” said Barron. “We have big kids that can move as well. Andrew Himes and Kendall Himes are our staples at the tackles; Armando Chantea is a big center, and we have two juniors that played a lot last year in Quentin Crawford and Owen Bockman, and you have a kid like Jared Schoof who had a great summer.”
“Defensively Blake Davis is as good as they come and he’s going to play defensive end for us,” he said. “Diego Garcia started every game for us last year and he’s back at defensive end. In the middle, we have seniors that will be given a chance to play in there like Kole Jones and Gaven Roney. Taylor Judd has really come on for us and Dexter Ambrose.”
“These guys have been waiting a long
time to play football,” said Barron. “We are big up front on both sides of the ball. If we can teach them to move their feet we could be really good up front.”
A given from last year’s squad is a wealth of talent in the skilled positions.
“We have some skilled guys that are fun. Every time I mention Seth Rundell I get a smile on my face,” said Barron. “He is fun to watch. He’s fun because he practices the way he plays. He goes hard. He’s going to get the football in his hands as much as we can.”
“(Garrett) Schrameyer had a big year for us last year,” said Barron. “Jake Reichard started on defense last year and he’s going to be in the mix. He’s a big strong talented kid.”
Joe Barron returns under center to run the offense.
“Hopefully, Joe learned some things last year,” said John. “He’s a gunslinger. He’s going to challenge defenses and coverages. I think he’s always going to make some decisions that make me take my hat off and say, ‘why did we do that,’ but I think he’s a guy that his teammates believe in and that is critical at that position.”
“(Kam) Vanlue and Joe Styers are going to be huge on offense,” he said. “Korey Kopetski and Zephan Nixon are going to be in the mix as perimeter players. Nick Craft has had a huge summer for us.”
“Ivan Winkle is going to bother people a lot especially on the defensive side,” said Barron. “Dylan Gamble is going to be in the mix.”
An NLC schedule will do a lot to sort out the names in the mix very quickly.
“We play some really good people,” said Barron. “We’re in a new sectional and we are excited about that. These guys give us a chance. We have a lot of talent and senior leadership. If we can stay healthy and keep our heads straight we have a chance.”