New look Indians

With the 2017 season nearly upon it, the Clarke Indians football team enters with plenty of question marks.

A new coach in Duane Matthess, new faces on each side of the ball, and plenty left to be seen, Clarke comes off a 3-6 season, but looks straight toward the future.

Nobody who contributed to the offense in a major way is back this season. The absence of seniors like Brandyne Olin, Gabe Crawford and Nathan Bair leaves holes at offensive skill-positions while other senior losses like Trey Diawara and John Echeveste certainly hurt the defense.

Several players who were key contributors on last season’s 3-6 team are not out for the team this year, and a number of players have dropped out in the first weeks of the season.

But the Indians are only looking forward.

“I told the guys from our first meeting, I said ‘what happens in the past, our history is what our history is,’ I’ve seen it, but I don’t care what our history is going forward. This is how things are going to be,” Matthess said. “We may not have had success in the past. That doesn’t mean I’m going to lower our expectations of where we should be as a program.”

Matthess expects five captains to lead the program in its first steps toward the vision he has laid forth. Those leaders this year are Amani Fry, Nick McVey, Riley Domina, Byron Rivera and Jon Bair.

Fry should see time at tight end, McVey will plug up the middle at center on offense and linebacker on defense, Riley Domina will take repetitions at wideout and outside linebacker, Byron Rivera is the planned feature back in the backfield and Bair will be the signal-caller behind center.

Taven Floyd will look to create seams for the offense to run through as a guard, as Matthess noted that the squad will be looking to build line depth early on this season.

Junior Conner Deutsch will be the leading returning tackler for the Indians with 61 a year ago. Fry and Bair tallied 56 and 49 tackles each and McVey added 34, with four solo tackles for loss.

Only one player returns to the Indians who caught a pass a year ago, that being Payton Winship.

In the end, making strides all comes back to the seniors.

“They’re going to be vital. One of the things we’ve done here is institute covenants and changing our culture and all five of those guys have displayed and bought into what we’re trying to do here with our culture,” Matthess said. “Our success falls on their shoulders because as coaches, we can tell them what to do, and lead them to water, but they have to drink it.”

Things won’t be overly complicated for Clarke this season. With an inexperienced group of kids on the field at most times, the Indians can’t afford to spend too much time thinking instead of reacting. Depth could prove to be an issue, as Matthess noted that members of a large fresmen class might have to fill in at crucial spots should injuries occur.

“We want to play hard, we want to play fast, we want to play physical. We don’t have the most complicated offense or defense in the world,” Matthess said. “We want our guys to not have to get bogged down in thinking of how what their responsibilities are and what they’re supposed to do. We want them to play fast and physical.”

Matthess did stress more than all on-the-field attributes, he wants his players exemplifying leadership in their community and in the classroom.

The team has already bonded over painting in the community and helping at a local church.

“Look, it’s great if you can be a great football player and a good student, but you’ve got to take advantage of your community,” Matthess said. “You’ve got to take care of business in the classroom and you’ve got to be a good citizen. That’s who I want to be in our program.”