WESTWOOD Coach Anthony Wood is entering his 17th season as THE CHIEF of Warrior Nation. Coach Wood, who arguably gets more out of his players than any area coach, may need some extra magic in 2021 as graduation emptied a TON of talent from his Warrior cupboard. The Warriors finished with the record of 3-6 last season. Coach Wood told IHSFAN,” This team will have an opportunity to surprise many people. They have the work ethic, desire, and belief they can achieve anything. I am looking forward to watching this very young group of players grow into a football team.” The Warriors will return 5 starters on offense and 4 on defense. The Offense will be led by 2nd AD OL Tate Bookins, Jr. WR Grant Jaeger, Sr. WR Zach Pryor, 2nd AD Sr. K Matthew Jack, and Sr. WR Jaiden Webber. The Defense will be led by 2nd AD Jr. DL Jack Ziebell, Sr. LB Brian Lee, Sr. DB Darion Barnes, and Jr. LB Brennen Dill
MCNEIL
By Jake Herman Coach Scott Hermes enters his 2nd year as the head coach at McNeil. Last year, the winless Mavericks experienced their fair share of growing pains that came with the coaching change in the midst of the pandemic. “Our guys learned a ton last year, and they took some licks doing it,” Coach Hermes told IHSFAN. “They’re excited, they’re eager, and they know what to work on.” The Mavericks return 8 starters on an offense that will be led by IHSFAN Top Ten Team Sr. QB Luke Hutchison, who missed the bulk of last season with an ankle injury. He’ll be surrounded by a core of young but experienced players on the offensive line and in the skill positions. Jr. 2nd team all-district RB Kaleb Cooper will look to build on a strong sophomore season running behind an offensive line that includes Sr. 2nd team all-district OT Amarea Lee. At wide receiver, Jr. Jarvis Anderson provides a deep threat while Sr. Mark Henke and Jr. Joseph Patterson will look to develop into reliable third-down targets. The versatile Jr. Brad Whittenburg will do a little bit of everything in OC Patrick Bailey’s offense as well. Defensively, the Mavericks return just 4 starters have a lot of all-district talent to replace. Coach Hermes brings defensive expertise from past experience at Vandegrift and hopes to use the offseason to help this unit grow physically and schematically. Look for the Mavericks to be a much tougher squad this season.
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