Last year was a great season for the Deweyville Pirates. The Pirates went 7-3 during the regular season, won the district championship going undefeated in district, and made history with Deweyville’s first win ever in the playoffs.
Coach Brandon Prouse anticipated his whole offensive line returning which would have been a big strength for the Pirates, but injuries have reduced the healthy linemen to just two. Senior Luis Gonzalez will be the center who started all eleven games last year for Deweyville after becoming a starter as a sophomore. Nathan Parker is another senior at tight guard where he has started since he was a freshman. They are both impact players.
Connor Salter is out with a lower back injury and Bryce Raymer is recovering from meniscus surgery on his knee. Prouse advised, “When we get those two guys back we feel like we’ll be back to full strength and can get this thing going.”
On defense Prouse believes Deweyville should be strong in the front seven, but will need to find some Pirates to play the secondary. The only position to be filled on the front seven is at noseguard.
There are a few Pirates back who played noseguard last year, but Prouse is hoping one of them will step forward and take over the noseguard position. “Our front seven is pretty solid, so we’re happy to have those guys back,” Prouse stated.
The whole secondary will be new for Deweyville because of graduation. That could be an early weakness for the Pirates on defense. Freshman Aaron Hyatt and Senior Javon Brown who has come out for football for the first time are two of the stronger candidates battling for starting spots in the Pirates’ defensive backfield.
There will be some familiar faces in new positions in the Deweyville backfield according to Coach Prouse. Ryan Bland is going to move from halfback to fullback and will carry the bulk of the load running the football. Nathan Berry is a utility back and will see playing time at all three running back positions tailback, fullback, and halfback. His brother River Berry is taking over at quarterback.
The halfback position was described to be a revolving door by Prouse so he can give the Pirates’ runners some three-play rest since they are all two-way players. Going into the season Shawn Dreyer will be the starting halfback. Prouse confessed, “We feel pretty good about our skill set, better than what I originally thought.”
Repeating last season’s historic feats will be the motivation in Deweyville. Prouse is optimistic the Pirates will be strong again this year and would like to repeat as the district champions which is the number one goal followed by making a little more noise in the playoffs than they did last year.
Coach Prouse thinks the capability is there to achieve those goals with the mixture of the Pirates returning if they can stay healthy in key positions. “We’re excited about the football season, we’re ready to go hit somebody different, kind of really see where we are, and come back assess and then make our changes as needed,” Prouse concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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