Football Preview - Wise County Messenger

TMBy ROBERT MORGANChico head football coachPete Hart never had morethan 18 players on his varsitylast year. Once injuries andfatigue started to set in duringthe second half of the season,his roster dropped below15 for Friday night football.The coaching staff focusedmore on getting those numbersup this year before worryingabout winning games.Step one has been accomplishedas Hart will have 24players on the field when theseason kicks-offs Friday, Aug.29 at Perrin-Whitt.It makes a world of differencewhen you have enoughkids to put them in the rightplaces that gives them thebest chance to perform,” saidHart, who at times last seasonhad to put receivers andrunning backs on the offensiveline. “Now the Dragons are focusingon step two: revampingthe offense to better suitthe players.Chico is keeping up thetrend and switching to aspread offense. It’s a movethat is taking extra time frompractice but Hart said it’s timeto make the move.“We are a little behind ondefense right now becausewe are spending more timein practice working on theoffense,” he said. “When youhave run a power runninggame out of the I-formationso long and then go right to aform of the spread offense itsa huge change. The routes,the cadences — especiallythe blocking — are all differentso we have to do a lot ofteaching.”The Dragons have the mostreturning starters in District 9-2A. They have 14 back from ateam that lost all 10 games in2007. Hart was to return 17this season but three movedaway during the summer.Six starters are back on offensewhich should lead tomore points and give CHS alegitimate shot at the playoffs.Quarterback Klent Selz (5-10, 160) is back after a solidsophomore season undercenter. Tim Hicks will fill in asneeded.The backfi eld is filled withtalent and proven leaders.The speedy Kyler Hale (6-1,185) will take over for DannyTolliver at running back. Hale,who will play full-time on bothsides of the ball, will also takecare of the punting duties.Tolliver, who battled multipleconcussions last year,will start at slot back wherehe will be a bigger weaponfor the Dragons.“This is the best place wecan use Danny and keep himhealthy. He is fast and cancatch the ball so this will allowus to use him in moreways,” said Hart. “I had a talkwith him about moving fromrunning back and it was hardfor him at fi rst. But to give himthe best possible chance toplay college ball we have tokeep him from running up themiddle where the bulk of thehitting is going on. He can’tafford any head injury.”Chico will be in good handsat split end with Shane Maddux(6-2, 170) and BradleyFarrell (6-2, 190). NaamonBarkley and Leo Garcia willalso rotate into the lineup asa bulk of the team is playingboth ways.The Dragons will get anadded bonus by the timeWISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Thursday, August 28, 2008 31CHICO PREVIEWWinning the numbers game is what Chico expectsCARLTON DELGADO TOLLIVERdistrict play starts as JosephCampbell is expected to returnfrom a broken arm duringthe non-district schedule.He was a projected starterbefore the mishap.The F-back, which lines uplike a tight end, will be JustinCarlton (5-10, 195) and JeffScheller (5-11, 200). Both willsee extensive time dependingon their defensive workload.As with several Wise Countyteams, a lot of Chico’s successwill be determined by theimprovement of the offensiveline. Hart said this is one of thedeepest benches he has hadat Chico and that learning thenew blocking fundamentals isthe main challenge.“We are excited about allthe guys we got this year. Youlook at it and 11 of our 24varsity players is linemen,” hesaid. “Having fi ve guys availableto play on the line wasimpossible last year so weare very pleased with whatwe have to work with.”Jacob Creighton (5-10, 200)and Alex Delgado (5-11, 290)will anchor the left side of theline. Delgado is a sophomorethat Hart believes will deliverlike a veteran this year.The right side of the linehas not been determined,and it’s likely there will not bedesignated starters at thosespots as coaches plan to rotatefour players at guard andtackle. Senior Michael Kemplin(6-3, 265), Travis Reese(5-9, 215), Josh Sapp (6-0,270) and Lincoln McNabb (6-2, 200) will see time all seasonon the line.Defensively, the Dragonshave also been a stingygroup that has given even thetop offensive units in districttrouble. Hart expects muchof the same this year by thetime district rolls around.The defensive backfieldisn’t deep but has a few gems.Tolliver and Selz will take overat safety. Garcia will also takeover at times as the duo alsostarts on offense.The cornerbacks will beMaddux, Hicks, Barkley andCampbell.Hart is happy about thecrew of linebackers he hasback because they can all hitand fl y to the ball. Scheller isthe bruiser back at the middlespot while Hale and MarcusMcCain will line-up on eachside of him.The defense will start withthe big boys up front.That’s where returning seniorstandouts Wacey Jackson(6-0, 205) and JamesPollard (5-9, 170) will battleas defensive ends.Creighton and Kemplinhave won the early battle astackles.Hart hopes to win the latebattles once District 9-2A playgets under way in October.“I love this new district. Wewent from eight teams to sixwhich gives us fi ve non-districtgames to get ready insteadof three,” he said. “Mostteams set goals on winningthe district championship atthe start of the season, butwe are going to set our goalon winning the next game. Ifwe keep our kids focused onone game and not all of them,I’ll feel better about their effortand performance eachweek.”Good Luckto All Wise CountyFootball Teams2K Pawn & Gun ShopServing Wise County for over 20 Yearssrr940-627-7800 • 1605 Bus. 380 W. • DecaturOpen Mon. - Fri., 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Sat., 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.