FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Panthers aren't deep, but have skill in key spots
Just a few points. That's all that's separated the Pinckneyville Panthers' varsity football team and the postseason for the past two seasons under head coach Todd Thomas, who enters his third year at PCHS this fall.
Thomas doesn't want to hear about how his team was just a few playoff power points (or one more victory) away from the postseason in 2013 when they finished 5-4. He doesn't think about a pair of four-point losses last year that prevented the Panthers from getting their fifth win and qualifying for week ten. Thomas and his staff have clear intentions heading into 2015.
"Our team goal this year is to stay focused and play hard for nine weeks," he said. "That's our only goal."
"We're going to try to represent Pinckneyville High School and the community with class. We're not talking about wins and losses, we're just talking about coming out and playing hard every week. I think if we do that we'll be very competitive."
While they do return some key pieces in key positions, as a unit, the Panthers are young and lack depth with 41 players in the program.
"We're very young and we're very thin," Thomas admitted. "We're going to start a couple freshmen - one on offense, one on defense - something that hasn't happened for any team I've coached, but they're pretty special freshmen. We feel very confident with them. There's no doubt that we are thin, but I think there's a lot of teams - even some in our conference - that are in the same situation."
"The talk is that we are young and inexperienced, and that is true, but I like the way our kids' approach has been mentally this year. Everybody that we have has basically been here all summer busting their butt."
Those two freshmen mentioned are Lucas Downard, who Thomas says will start or at least see major minutes at cornerback, and Sean Allgire, who will be the left tackle on an offensive line that ranges from 206 pounds up to 243. That line also includes junior left guard Nick Cannon, an all-conference defensive lineman a season ago for the Panthers, senior center Hunter Hicks, sophomore right guard Jeremy Opp, and right tackle Jonathan Gulley, a junior.
"We're not small," said Thomas. "We don't have a kid on the offensive line under 200 pounds. We've got some decent size, but it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Those boys will be clearing paths for three running backs with a considerable amount of varsity experience - seniors Caulden Lazenby and Dalton Peradotto and junior Alex Howard. Quarterback Clayton Houghland, a senior, is another returning starter crucial to the Panthers' potential success.
Houghland will also play outside linebacker, as will fellow senior Sam Simpson, who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL.
"He's a weapon for us at 6'4, 220, and he's athletic," Thomas said of Simpson. "Sam is tall and rangy. So we've got 6'4 and 6'3 on the edge, and a lot of times in high school that's hard to throw over."
Dylan Carns, also the team's kicker, lines up as the split end. Thomas said he's been really pleased with Carns' improvement, and that of Brian Kling, another one of Houghland's targets.
"(Kling) is a playmaker," said Thomas. "He's good in space, he's got good hands, he's our backup quarterback, he returns punts, he's on our kickoff return team. He's kind of a utility guy for us, he does a lot of things. We're looking for a big year out of him. He's very physical, he's very aggressive for a 160-pound kid."
The Panthers open at home against Red Bud, a team that they beat both times they've reached the postseason since adding them to the schedule in 2004. Thomas says the two teams appear to be relatively even on paper.
"They're very athletic," said Thomas. "Not a lot of size, kind of like us, but they've got three really good receivers. The quarterback is extremely athletic and can throw it a little bit, he really runs the option well. They're a spread team. We'll have our hands full, it should be a good ball game here Friday night."