The Orangefield Bobcats finished in a 3-way tie for second place and made the playoffs for a school record fourth consecutive season last year. Head Coach Josh Smalley said the goal is to extend the team’s appearances in the post season to five straight this season.
Coach Smalley has some Bobcats returning on offense for Orangefield. It’s going to start in the offensive line with seniors Aaron Galitz at tackle and Michael Teeples at guard. A senior stepping in hoping to get playing time in the offensive line is Luke Padilla. Jonah Landry may see some time at center and played on the varsity last year.
Dylan Williams is a senior who played a lot last year at running back. Christian Louvier and Mason Gonzales will push each other to be the starting Bobcat quarterback. The Orangefield special team boasts one of the best kickers in the area with senior Jacob Rainey. Smalley summarized, “Still some question marks we need to answer, but the scrimmages hopefully will take care of some of those questions and we can roll into Buna ready to go.”
If Smalley is looking for leadership on defense, he is going to start with the Bobcats’ safety. Zach Dischler is a three-year starter in the secondary and was all-district in 2016. Dischler is a vocal leader and a workhorse for the Bobcats. He is the only returning starter in the Orangefield secondary.
Blake Bradley is back at linebacker. Blake Deloach finished last year on the varsity and will see playing time this season on defense. Seniors Williams, Gonzales, Galitz, and Teeples will all play on the defensive side of the ball as well. “We’ve got some guys back with some experience, but not a whole lot. Those guys will be key for us and hopefully some young guys too,” Smalley analyzed.
The Bobcats and Coach Smalley are loaded with sophomores many of whom will see playing time. Ten sophomores have a chance to make the varsity, although scrimmages may reduce that number before the games that count start. Heston Puckett, Kadeon Evans, Kent Michael, and Kayson Dubois all have an opportunity to play for the Bobcats. Colby Gonzales is Mason’s younger brother and will play in the defensive line. Smalley confesses, “Any time you see ten sophomores on a varsity roster you know there’s going to be a little youth. The good news is we have six non-district games for those kids to grow up and get ready for the district schedule.”
Orangefield will compete in the same tough district again this season with defending state champion West Orange-Stark, as well as Liberty and Hardin-Jefferson. Liberty went three rounds into the postseason and H-J won a playoff game last year. The coach believes Hamshire-Fannett will be much improved in its second season with a new system under the Longhorns’ head coach.
Smalley analyzes the Bobcats’ chances. “With the youth, we’re really just trying to get better each day. They’re so young and so inexperienced it’s hard to focus on two or three weeks down the line when we’ve got to focus on getting better today at practice. If we can do that, get better each day, and stay healthy, I think by the time district rolls around hopefully we’ll be rolling on and ready to compete with those guys,” Smalley predicted.
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