'14 Football Preview: Wilmington Hurricane
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
There is a new era and new attitude happening with Wilmington Hurricane football for the upcoming season, with a new head coach, along with the 'Cane joining a different league for the season.
The new head coach for the Hurricane is Scott Killen, replacing longtime former head coach Rob Vida, who resigned this past winter. As for Killen, his experience speaks for itself, as he was the defensive coordinator for two Clinton-Massie football teams that won Division IV State Championships.
Now for the 'Cane, who are back in the South Central Ohio League for the first time since the 1991-92 school year, they bring back a tradition of winning with them to a league where they were once members. In their school history, Wilmington has 14 SCOL football championships, with the final one being in 1980 where they shared the title with Circleville and Washington.
Coming from the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) the past two seasons, Wilmington finished last season with a 4-6 mark, including winning their final two games of the '13 regular season.
[[In-content Ad]]Looking into this season, Killen said the 'Cane will be young.
"We're going to play a lot of young kids this year," he said. "We're just trying to build depth, and they're a key component in what we're trying to do."
During the early stages of two-a-days, Wilmington had 64 players, including 12 to 13 seniors.
"That is a good number, and once they all get acclimated, then we'll see what we have," Killen said. "The goal is to field three competitive teams, and we're not going to deviate from that goal.
"As for our seniors … this is all new to them. I told them early on, it's like learning a new language, and it's a process. It's going to take time."
For the first-year head coach, Killen said it has been a different process from being a coordinator to the head coach.
"It's been interesting. There's been some ups, there's been some downs, some highlights. For the most part, it's been exciting, getting to run my own program and put in the stuff that I want to put in," he said. "The coaches have done a nice job implementing what I want them to implement and playing at the pace I want to play. It has been fun, but it's also been some work as well."
With there being change at WHS, the offense and defense will also be different than what fans of the 'Cane have seen before, with Killen bringing his own system to Wilmington.
"We want to be multiple. We want to be able to do a lot of different things, based on game plan. One thing I have learned through the years is it's very important to have a system and believe in that system and commit to that system," Killen said. "That's what we're doing. Some people want to say we're a spread team, we're a power team. No. We are going to line up, and we are going to score points.
"We keep telling them we'll go as far as the offensive line takes us, so the key to that is those guys understanding what we're trying to do and building depth along with those first five guys."
Three returning linemen for the 'Cane are Mark Huff, Michael Zitney and Jared Conover.
"Xavier Jones played last year as well," Killen said. "We're relying on those guys to really be the glue and get things rolling offensively. Zane Stevens has done a nice job of stepping up as well."
Wilmington will also be filling a vacant QB spot due to graduation. Coach Killen said Matt Creditt and Garrett Scott are the two main QBs.
"Right now, Matt Creditt is standing out at quarterback, but Garrett Scott is coming along very nicely as well," he said. "The best kid's going to play at any position."
Others to be on the lookout for on offense are running backs Jerry Johns, Chris McEvoy and Austin Thompson. At wide receiver, it is Andy Ealy and Dylan Beaugard, and the tight ends are Alex Miller and Harley McPherson.
Then there is the defense of the 'Cane, something that Killen said "he hangs his hat on."
"It's really changing the philosophy of what's been here in the past," Killen said of the new WHS defense. "I'm putting speed guys on defense, guys that can cover, guys that can get penetration, guys that can fly the football.
"I talk to these seniors all the time about it: 'You've got to trust this. It's going to work.' There are guys that haven't played D-line that are playing D-line. I've taken linebackers and made them D-linemen, and that's my philosophy. We're going to pursue the ball, and we're going to get there very quickly."
Coach Killen said the D-line will set the tone for defensive pressure.
"If the D-linemen can do their job, that's going to be our key, and our two linebackers," he said. "Our two linebackers right now are Austin Thompson and Garrett Scott. They're doing very well being leaders and understanding what's going on.
"On our D-line, we've got Porter Pagett. He's a scrapper and very fast. Chris McEvoy is doing a great job, and at defensive end, I moved Jerry Johns to the position, along with Mark Huff. They are the guys who are athletic enough to do some different things defensively that I want to do. Three of them were linebackers. Mark Huff is a returning defensive end who played last year."
At defensive back, names to watch out for are Brad Keller, Chad Davis and Beaugard, along with Andy Fisher, Adam Phelps and Brady McCune at safety.
The kicker will be Ben Constant and Creditt as punter.
With all of that said, the expectation of the 'Cane is simple …
"The expectation is we're going in (to the SCOL), and our goal is to win the league. Anything after that is just icing on the cake," Killen said.
The new head coach for the Hurricane is Scott Killen, replacing longtime former head coach Rob Vida, who resigned this past winter. As for Killen, his experience speaks for itself, as he was the defensive coordinator for two Clinton-Massie football teams that won Division IV State Championships.
Now for the 'Cane, who are back in the South Central Ohio League for the first time since the 1991-92 school year, they bring back a tradition of winning with them to a league where they were once members. In their school history, Wilmington has 14 SCOL football championships, with the final one being in 1980 where they shared the title with Circleville and Washington.
Coming from the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) the past two seasons, Wilmington finished last season with a 4-6 mark, including winning their final two games of the '13 regular season.
[[In-content Ad]]Looking into this season, Killen said the 'Cane will be young.
"We're going to play a lot of young kids this year," he said. "We're just trying to build depth, and they're a key component in what we're trying to do."
During the early stages of two-a-days, Wilmington had 64 players, including 12 to 13 seniors.
"That is a good number, and once they all get acclimated, then we'll see what we have," Killen said. "The goal is to field three competitive teams, and we're not going to deviate from that goal.
"As for our seniors … this is all new to them. I told them early on, it's like learning a new language, and it's a process. It's going to take time."
For the first-year head coach, Killen said it has been a different process from being a coordinator to the head coach.
"It's been interesting. There's been some ups, there's been some downs, some highlights. For the most part, it's been exciting, getting to run my own program and put in the stuff that I want to put in," he said. "The coaches have done a nice job implementing what I want them to implement and playing at the pace I want to play. It has been fun, but it's also been some work as well."
With there being change at WHS, the offense and defense will also be different than what fans of the 'Cane have seen before, with Killen bringing his own system to Wilmington.
"We want to be multiple. We want to be able to do a lot of different things, based on game plan. One thing I have learned through the years is it's very important to have a system and believe in that system and commit to that system," Killen said. "That's what we're doing. Some people want to say we're a spread team, we're a power team. No. We are going to line up, and we are going to score points.
"We keep telling them we'll go as far as the offensive line takes us, so the key to that is those guys understanding what we're trying to do and building depth along with those first five guys."
Three returning linemen for the 'Cane are Mark Huff, Michael Zitney and Jared Conover.
"Xavier Jones played last year as well," Killen said. "We're relying on those guys to really be the glue and get things rolling offensively. Zane Stevens has done a nice job of stepping up as well."
Wilmington will also be filling a vacant QB spot due to graduation. Coach Killen said Matt Creditt and Garrett Scott are the two main QBs.
"Right now, Matt Creditt is standing out at quarterback, but Garrett Scott is coming along very nicely as well," he said. "The best kid's going to play at any position."
Others to be on the lookout for on offense are running backs Jerry Johns, Chris McEvoy and Austin Thompson. At wide receiver, it is Andy Ealy and Dylan Beaugard, and the tight ends are Alex Miller and Harley McPherson.
Then there is the defense of the 'Cane, something that Killen said "he hangs his hat on."
"It's really changing the philosophy of what's been here in the past," Killen said of the new WHS defense. "I'm putting speed guys on defense, guys that can cover, guys that can get penetration, guys that can fly the football.
"I talk to these seniors all the time about it: 'You've got to trust this. It's going to work.' There are guys that haven't played D-line that are playing D-line. I've taken linebackers and made them D-linemen, and that's my philosophy. We're going to pursue the ball, and we're going to get there very quickly."
Coach Killen said the D-line will set the tone for defensive pressure.
"If the D-linemen can do their job, that's going to be our key, and our two linebackers," he said. "Our two linebackers right now are Austin Thompson and Garrett Scott. They're doing very well being leaders and understanding what's going on.
"On our D-line, we've got Porter Pagett. He's a scrapper and very fast. Chris McEvoy is doing a great job, and at defensive end, I moved Jerry Johns to the position, along with Mark Huff. They are the guys who are athletic enough to do some different things defensively that I want to do. Three of them were linebackers. Mark Huff is a returning defensive end who played last year."
At defensive back, names to watch out for are Brad Keller, Chad Davis and Beaugard, along with Andy Fisher, Adam Phelps and Brady McCune at safety.
The kicker will be Ben Constant and Creditt as punter.
With all of that said, the expectation of the 'Cane is simple …
"The expectation is we're going in (to the SCOL), and our goal is to win the league. Anything after that is just icing on the cake," Killen said.