Liberty-Benton is a much different team this year.
Coming off of a Blanchard Valley Conference title and a playoff run to the state semifinals, this squad has plenty of young players starting for the first time.
Their youth even extends to the quarterback position.
"This is unique for us. We've always been in the situation of knowing who the next kid was. Right now they're both doing a pretty good job. Both are juniors. Marshall Rose and Michael Erdeljac are the two. Marshall is a little bit quicker, as he was a running back for us a year ago. Michael is a little bit more of a true quarterback," said Eagles head coach Tim Nichols.
"Marshall's really good. He's got me beat legs-wise, but it's fun. Everyday you have to come out and compete," said Erdeljac.
Both quarterback candidates have to fill the shoes of Austin May, who graduated last year.
"I feel like I got better watching him, just how he handled himself on Friday nights. I hope that I can do the same," said Erdeljac.
Just because they are so young, that doesn't mean their mindset has changed. They still have the same high expectations, and Coach Nichols is fine with being underestimated.
"Our goal is still to win the league. Our goal is to qualify for the playoffs. Make every week count, and see where that takes us. Just because we had many players graduate and have to fill those spots with young kids doesn't mean we're excused from winning. The bar is still high. We're still doing everything we possibly can to reach our goals," said Nichols.
"We're almost all new. We have a few players - Jon Sadler, Marshall Rose, and Mehkei Jenkins - returning who started last year. Everybody else is new. We have a lot to prove, and I think we're ready to prove people wrong," said Erdeljac.
Liberty-Benton opens up heir season on the road at Wynford.
Copyright 2018 WTOL. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment