The Spring of a New Era for Gaither Football

Head Coach Jason Stokes brings passion and a veteran coaching staff into a program with a strong turnout from freshman and other first year players.

“We believe we can win every game,” said Stokes.

Winning every game on the schedule is not likely to happen, but what reflects in Stokes is a confidence, a trust with his new players. First year coaches sometimes struggle with camaraderie, especially in the spring.

But Stokes seems to have knocked down that wall pretty quickly. Heck, he was hired Jan. 15 and had the first player meeting by the 19th and the first parent meeting by Jan. 24; all this while holding two to three weight room sessions per week.

“It took time for the team to get used to the new staff and vice versa, but there’s definitely a trust that’s building between us. A family feeling,” said Stokes.

That family-feeling is something he’s trying to forge at Gaither.

“Every champion coach that I’ve ever listen to, heard from or read their book says the same thing," he said. "The first thing you need is to trust each other and have a family atmosphere’ which is how I feel about it anyway."

That feeling is important since the Cowboys were dealt a good hand when the districts re-aligned. They got bumped up to Class 7A, the second largest class as far as enrollment. However, teams that always beat up on Gaither, including some long time rivals, are gone.

For example, no more Sickles. Gaither will play Sickles in the last pre-season game, but it is meaningless except to get back The North/West Trophy.

Gaither hasn’t beat Alonso since 2007. Alonso plays at Gaither this year in the season opener but it’s not a district game, with pride definitely on the line.

No more annual pounding from Plant. The Cowboys actually played The Panthers pretty tough last year but they won’t have to worry about it. Plant was moved up to 8A so they might not play again for a few years.

All of this means nothing if you can’t field a good team.

The Cowboys will have a new crop of young players who are ready to step up.

Here's a look at the team by position:

Quarterback

The quarterback position begins and ends with soon-to-be junior, Shug Oyegunle.

“He’s picked up a whole new offense in two-and-a-half weeks and made a functional offense out of it,"  said Quarterbacks Coach and Co-Offensive Coordinator Bruno Frauenfeld.

"He’s making good reads, and everybody knows he’s a natural athlete."

The idea this year is to take the demand off Oyegunle’s feet and into his head and right hand.

“Last year was pretty much, run Shug right, run Shug left,” said Frauenfeld.

Shug carried the ball 94 times last year, more than either running back and only averaged 3.05 yards per carry. That’s not going to get it done for a team eyeing the district title.

“Shug is going to learn to be a more complete quarterback this year," said Frauenfeld. 

"He’s going to learn to trust the other players on the offense to make plays."

The team’s success will hinge on how well Oyegunle handles this.

Fortunately, he’ll have help.

Wide Receivers

Wide Receivers Coach Charles Lattimore is very excited about his group.

“It’s gonna be a big turnaround from last year. We’ve got some studs this year,” he said.

Leading the group will likely be Tyler McCollum, who returns for his senior season. McCollum led the team in interceptions last year with five. He’ll man the free safety spot on defense too, but he comes over to the offensive side this year.

According to Coach Lattimore, “he’s got division one written all over him."

Playing opposite McCollum will likely be Mitch McNall. McNall also returns for his senior season. McNall only caught fourteen passes last year and will have to see a rise in his production, if The Cowboys are to be successful.

The slot receiver will likely be Carlo Perello. Perello also will be a senior and coincidentally caught fourteen balls last year, too. According to Coach Lattimore, Perello is a, “serious threat”.

Newcomer Eddie Pastada will also push for playing time.

Offensive Line

The Cowboys only return  one starter from last year’s offensive line, Teddy Marks. Marks will play center and hopefully gel quickly with the other four.

“It takes a lot to play and come together as a group like that but once we fit guys in, they seemed to get together," said Offensive Line Coach Jeff Ditman. 

"It’s not easy, one guy does the wrong thing and they all look bad," he said.

Left tackle Matt Fennessey will be needed to protect Oyegunle’s blind side. Right now Zach Condon is holding down the other tackle position but once Tubo Nanakumo gets healthy, he should step into a starting role at tackle. Nanakumo was 6'4" and 250lbs. in his sophomore year. He should start the season even bigger and taller and stronger than that.

Inside at guard, Alex Rodriguez and Jordan Faria are the front-runners. They were both on the team last year and will be expected to step into the first team offense.

Josh Eimo and Justin Jacoby will no doubt see playing time on the offensive line.

Running Back

This is the chink in the armor for The Cowboys. If they want to take pressure off of Oyegunle, they will need to establish some standard of running the football.

Their run offense last year was atrocious. They only rushed for 900 yards as a team, averaging just 81.8 yards per game. James Wilder of Plant rushed for 1,525 yards last year by himself.

To make things worse, both running backs off last year’s team are gone to graduation.

Running Backs Coach Dwayne Williams is not concerned. He’s planning to use Vu Lee and Dominic Neglio who both return for their junior years but only have eight carries between them, Neglio playing most of last year at fullback.

Jamari Cord will be used in certain running situations as well.

“We’re gonna try to run the ball this year but now with more quick hits and counters," said Williams. 

"We even have some sets where we’ll use two running backs in the backfield."

The Cowboys will have to utilize their speed at running back as Lee and Neglio are not big guys.

Things look a bit better on the defensive side.

Defensive Line

The Cowboys will have a lot of different looks not just on defense but on the defensive line.

“Sometimes you’ll see a five man front, sometimes you’ll see four or three,” said Defensive Coordinator Brian DelValle.

One mainstay will be a new member of the Gaither family, affectionately dubbed, “pork chop”. Thanasi Halkias will play nose tackle in almost every defensive set. Halkias is about five-foot-four but must weigh in close to 200lbs if not more. If he is as strong as he is stout and can jam up running lanes, he will be a huge upgrade from last year’s interior line that did very little to stop the run.

At defensive end, Gaither will have to replace Chad Hannah, who led the team in sacks last year with nine. DelValle is pretty confident that Mikhail Reece will produce big numbers from his defensive end position.

“Reece can step right in there. He’s just as big and tall,” said DelValle.

Nick Sampson will move up from linebacker to play defensive end. Sampson returns for his senior year and had 27 tackles last year. He’s a little undersized but his versatility and ability to drop back into coverage should make him more productive.

Linebackers.

“The linebackers might be the strongest spot on the team,” said DelValle.

Logan Marshall returns for his junior year and will play middle linebacker and call in the plays. Marshall was second on the team with thirty-seven solo tackles. Second to Josh Scarberry who should be a force on the outside. Scareberry had fifty-six solo tackles last season, which not only led the team but was fourth in the district.

Jamari Cord moves down to man the other outside linebacker spot. Cord had twenty-five total tackles from his safety position last year and he will likely slide back and forth from line backer to safety, even in-game.

“The linebackers are gonna be more of a blitzing force this year,” said DelValle.

Defensive Backs

The blitzing linebackers will put added pressure on the secondary.

The Cowboys should be able to handle the extra burden back there. Tyler McCollum moves over to free safety.

“McCollum opens up plays we can call. He can sit back and play center field and his receiving skills make him very dangerous back there,” said DelValle.

They will rotate three strong safties, depending on coverage schemes. Max Pautler, Matt Williams and DJ King will share the duties.

On the corners, Carlo Perello and Josh Rife will hold it down. Rife is undersized but very quick. Perello is not a tall guy either but his receiving skills should help him at the position.

There are a lot of pieces that have to fall into place, but a favorable schedule and movement in the right direction could help the Cowboys put up a better season this year than they’ve had in a long time.

Said quarterback Shug Oyegunle: “I want to take this team someplace it's never been before."