BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Football season is here, with preseason kickoff classics taking place this week, followed by the start of the regular season the next week.
Union County High School’s football program, though, isn’t solely defined by what takes place between the start of the season and the end of the season. Head Coach Andrew Thomas attributes the work put in outside of the season as a reason for why his Tigers have advanced to the regional finals for four straight years.
“We’re not just a football team that gathers from August through November,” he said. “We’ve got a year-round program in the weight room. I think our consistency in the weight room and what we do in the offseason is the reason for our consistent success.”
Union will try to maintain that success and strive to go deeper in the postseason with fewer players than the team has had in recent years.
“Our numbers are down from what they’ve been the last few years,” Thomas said. “That happens in a small school. You’re going to go through that.”
The coach, however, isn’t expecting a down year.
“I like our team,” Thomas said. “I think if we can stay healthy, we’ve got a chance to be a really good football team.”
One of the key players is senior Trenton Klein, who’s a starter on both sides of the ball. His return at quarterback will help take pressure off an offensive line that returns only seniors Reece Hendricks and Maddox Wheeler.
“We’re replacing a lot up front,” Thomas said, “but having an experienced quarterback settles a lot of that. It still allows you to do a lot of stuff.”
As a starting linebacker as well, Klein creates/receives a lot of contact and is also making the calls for what Thomas describes as a complex defensive scheme.
“For him to be able to digest all that and be able to turn around and play quarterback is huge,” Thomas said.
Klein, who passed for 1,351 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, as well as rushing for 501 yards and six scores, will share some time at quarterback with sophomore Bryan Tyson, who also starts at linebacker. Tyson saw some action at quarterback last season, but made more of an impact as a receiver with 114 yards on just seven catches.
Tyson will still see action on offense when he’s not at quarterback.
“Those are two guys who probably won’t step off the field on defense,” Thomas said of Klein and Tyson. “We’re going to try to find a way to get them both in the action on the offensive side to kind of spell each other. They’re both really good players.”
Senior Gavin Jenkins led the receiving corps last year with 27 catches for 490 yards and six touchdowns. Thomas said the 6-3, 173-pound receiver is one of the top athletes in the area if not the entire state. The coach said Jenkins has added leadership to his athletic ability.
“He’s taken on more of a mature approach to leadership,” Thomas said. “It shows. His work ethic in the weight room has been really good.”
Senior Ibn Williams was the fourth-leading receiver last year. He caught only five passes, but averaged 25.6 yards per reception.
Thomas said players such as seniors Alec McClellon and Ashton Newsom and junior Bo Thomas will also be in the mix at receiver.
The Tigers graduated two of their primary running backs, but return Drew Simmons, who led the team as a freshman last season with 512 yards and seven touchdowns on 35 carries.
“He’s special,” Thomas said of Simmons. “He can do a lot of good things. We’re looking forward to what he can do — not only this year, but in the future.”
Thomas said junior C.J. Ivey is going to be “one of our key guys running the football between the tackles.”
When it comes to the offensive line, Thomas said the Tigers have three sophomores who are going to have to step up. Senior Connor Bresee has been more of a defensive lineman, but will probably move over to offense to help the line on that side of the ball.
The experience comes from Hendricks and Wheeler.
“Reece is our biggest kid we’ve got in our program as far as a mover who can move somebody,” Thomas said of the 6-3, 330-pound lineman. “We’re going to try to run behind him.”
As for Wheeler, Thomas said, “He’s a great senior leader and a solid football player. He’s smart up front.”
Thomas said most of the linemen are physical and move well, but they’re not very big.
“We’re not a soft bunch by any means,” Thomas said. “We just don’t have a bunch of 6-3, 280 guys.”
The defensive line returns a pair of interior players in Bresee and fellow senior Anthony Holmes. Thomas said Bressee and Holmes “are two kids between the tackles who are as good as you’re going to get at our level (rural).”
“They’re big bodies, but they’re strong and play with good technique inside,” Thomas said. “Connor’s got the ability to be a good pass rusher. That’s not necessarily Anthony’s game, but he’s lost a lot of weight in the past year and is moving a lot better.”
In fact, Thomas said Holmes has been making things difficult for the offense in practices as he “almost eliminates stuff between the tackles.”
Wheeler will see his playing time on defense increase as the Tigers will have to rely on some young guys to step up and fill positions on the line. The line will have a senior in Garrett Jackson, who looks to make an impact at defensive end.
“We’re looking for his game to rise up and fill that void,” Thomas said. “He’s a big-body kid who’s got the potential to take that (position of defensive end) over.”
As already mentioned, the linebacking corps will consist of Klein and Tyson. Klein was the Tigers’ leading tackler last season.
Thomas said Klein is tough and plays bigger than his 5-10, 182-pound frame.
“It’s probably harder to replace him on the defensive side than on the offensive side,” Thomas said, adding, “It’s a blessing for us to have a kid like him who can make the calls and put people in the right places. He just has the instinct. It’s a shame he’s not 6-2, 230. He’d probably have every SEC school around wanting him.”
Newsome will be a factor at linebacker as well as at defensive end. Thomas described him as “just a tough, gritty kid.”
Jenkins, who made four interceptions last year, is the lone returning starter in the secondary, but Thomas said, “Our other three guys back there now are all pretty solid.”
Thomas said Williams, who’ll play corner along with Jenkins, “covers well for his size.”
Those two will also play safety some, but the main safeties appear to be McClellon and fellow senior Jesse Chaikin.
“Alec is really smart,” Thomas said of McClellon. “He’s going to be where he’s supposed to be. He understands the defense and is a good athlete.”
Chaikin is coming off a spring game in which he had two interceptions. Thomas described him as “a kid who’s just kind of waited for his time,” adding that he “has good instincts back there.”
Backups who are now getting their chance, plus quite a number of young players, may not sound ideal for a team that’s seen its numbers drop, but Thomas believes UCHS has a program in place that readies inexperienced players to become starters or major contributors.
“I feel like we do a good job of developing our kids to where we can compete,” Thomas said.
Union hosts a preseason kickoff classic against Baker County on Friday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers open the season in earnest with a road game against Yulee on Friday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m.
The Tigers’ first regular-season home game (following a Friday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m. road game against Keystone Heights) is against Santa Fe on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
