The Orangefield Bobcats moved up in classification last season, dealt with the Coronavirus pandemic, and played in a very tough district. The Bobcats competed well and made the playoffs before being eliminated.
Coach Josh Smalley has a number of starters back to be mixed with some new Bobcats on offense for Orangefield. Senior Hunter Ashworth is back at fullback. He carried the football for 626 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Junior Cameron Dischler is called the Bobcats’ “Swiss Army Knife” by Smalley because he can do so many things from several positions on the field. Dischler may play some at quarterback, he will play halfback, tailback, fullback, and could even be split out to be thrown the football.
In the Bobcats offensive line is Hunter Norwood who was all-district last year. Colby Coulter is going to move to center. Cutler Hubbard is a guard who played a lot for Orangefield the previous season. Dylan Whitman is back at a tackle.
Two new Bobcats will play at the ends on offense. Morgan Sampson and Koen Maddox are the split end and tight end respectfully.
The Bobcats have five to six returning lettermen on offense to join with newcomers to the varsity to make the Slot-T run. The new quarterback is junior Brayden Parker. Smalley analyzed, “We’ve got some learning to do early, hopefully by the time we hit district those guys will be ready to go.”
Orangefield is changing its defensive scheme this season, but Smalley has some experienced Bobcats returning to learn the new system as they are switching from the 4-3 to an unbalanced line with the 3-4 this season. David Kendrick takes over as the Defensive Coordinator for the Bobcats.
Returning is first team all-district linebacker Brayden Babineaux joined by Macoy Marze who was also all-district and will be the other inside linebacker. Hunter Norwood will anchor the front line at noseguard. Returning at defensive end is another all-district player Hunter Ashworth.
In the Orangefield secondary Cade Smith will play safety again. Tyler Shearin tied for the district lead a year ago with four interceptions and is back for the Bobcats.
Eight starters are back from a pretty good Orangefield defense last year. “You add guys like Morgan Sampson, Beau Elkins, Lane Evans, and then Evan Spears to that mix hopefully those guys will have a good year for us,” Smalley evaluated.
The Bobcat coaching staff will use the two scrimmages to prepare Orangefield for the upcoming season. The number one thing that Coach Smalley is looking for from his players is effort and competitiveness. He wants to see if the Bobcats will compete, fight, scratch, claw, and get after it.
Of equal importance according to Smalley is to emphasize to the players avoiding unnecessary penalties and silly mistakes. He wants to get those nuisance things out of the way before the start of the regular season.
There are some holes to fill in the offensive line that Bobcats are fighting to get. With the switch in defensive formations, it is going to be how fast can they adapt to that style of defense with several players assuming new positions. Smalley added, “Offensively for the scrimmages we’re going to see how well our new quarterback can pick up the system and become the leader of the team.”
The expectations for this season like every year are set high by Coach Smalley for his Bobcats. Some people may laugh at the thought of a district championship for Orangefield with the likes of perennial powerhouses West Orange-Stark and Silsbee in their district, but Smalley emphasizes it really is a goal of the Bobcats to play for a district championship because that is why they work and compete.
Smalley really wants this year’s Bobcats to be a good representation of the Orangefield community. “A team that’s going to be blue-collar, hard-working, never quit, never die attitude, that just goes out there and competes every Friday night and puts a good product on the field that our fans and our community can be really proud of,” Smalley concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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