Cassville gaining experience on the line
Seven of the Cassville football team’s 12 linemen are incoming sophomores this season, aiming to gain experience and carry on the Wildcats’ tradition of physical play in the trenches.
Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said the linemen corps consists of three seniors, two juniors and seven sophomores.
“We have Joseph Reuter returning as a senior and two year-starter, so he has the most experience,” Weldy said. “Richard Fohn and Colton Blankenship are also returning seniors. For juniors, we have Nic Fierro, a returning starter, and Connor Annecharico. Sophomore are Will Brooks, Wesley Garner, Gunner Knight, Isaac Luney, Chase Reazin, Ethan Sizemore and Logan Williams.”
Weldy said being so sophomore-heavy, the Wildcats are using the summer to get as many reps for their players as possible.
“We will be very young this year, so we are getting everyone as many reps as possible, and there will be a lot of trial by fire because many sophomores will get playing time,” Weldy said. “It will be one of those deals that once we get into the season, there will be good things and bad things. We’ve got talented kids, and the seniors have done a good job leading the younger ones and teaching them things like line calls and helping them get ready to play on Fridays.”
Weldy said play time will likely change throughout the season, and players who do the little things to set themselves apart will see more snaps.
“As the season goes on, what 5-7 guys we play up front will be more of a solid unit, and I think they ill be better later in the year than earlier with the more experience they get,” he said. “We look for guys that first thing know where to go on plays. If you don’t know where to go, it will be hard to put you on the field.”
Physicality, a mainstay of the Cassville program, will also be evaluated.
“A lot of our program’s successes in past years have been based on line play,” he said. “Over the years, players learn to be physical at the point of attack and make people move. If we can’t win the war up front, we will be in trouble.”
Annecharico is the largest of the linemen, coming in last year at 6-2, 310 pounds, and Williams is the tallest at 6-3, 220 pounds last season.
“We have a talented group of kids and are not very large up front, but we will be bigger than last year,” Weldy said.
Leadership on the line, Weldy added, has been on the upperclassmen, who do most of their leadership by example.
“They are not extremely vocal, but they do say what needs to be said and don’t yell at one another,” Weldy said. “They have helped with line calls and making sure younger guys go to the right spot, and the younger ones have picked it up pretty well. The older ones lead by example and have worked hard in the weight room in the offseason. I’m proud of how hard they’ve worked through their careers and especially this last offseason.”
As far as leadership goes, Reuter has shown his mettle in recent years, recovering from two hand injuries that he has not let affect his play.
“Joseph was a center for us last year and is working at center, guard and tackle this year,” Weldy said. “He’s one of those kids who shows leadership qualities and can go wherever we need and make us better. He’s an intelligent kid who played center as a sophomore and junior, and both years he broke his snapping hand.
“He was able to come back with a cast and learned to snap with his left hand. That tells you all you need to know about the kind of kid he is. He’s tough, versatile and will do whatever the team needs him to do.”
Most linemen can go both ways during the season, Weldy said, and the tight ends have also been working on the defensive line.
