Wildcats still determining kickers, returners

Special teams roles for the Cassville football team this fall are up for grabs.

Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said even just two weeks away from the start of the season, no one spot has been locked down.

“We are still working on special teams at the moment, so there are no set people in any position at this point,” he said. “We are still looking at players right now, so we will have a better idea when we get through the next couple of weeks.”

The special teams upheaval is partially credited to the loss of Bodee Rose to graduation in the spring, as he filled multiple roles.

“We will have the duties divvied among multiple players this season,” Weldy said. “We are looking at several people for punter, holder, kicker, and returner. We had Diego Haros kick for us last year and he was an All-Conference kicker, but he is coming off an ACL injury he got in the spring so even our kicking spot is up for grabs currently.”

Kickers vying for time on the field include: Noah Driskill, Preston Driskill, Dade Zajac and Colton Roark.

Roark may find himself in multiple spots this fall.

“Colton and Carlos Barrientos have been working on punting,” Weldy said. “We start out every summer working rugby-style, but if that doesn’t work with this current group, we will change to adjust to them. Last year, rugby didn’t work for us, so we changed it. It is determined based on how our punters feel the most comfortable.”

Roark and Barrientos are also in the mix for kick and punt returns, along with the likes of Kamden Beebe, Masin Bryan, Chance Freed and Mace Bredeson.

“Obviously, you have to be able to catch the ball, but that is not always an easy job, especially on punt return,” Weldy said.

Long snapper and holder are also key positions for the Wildcats, and multiple players are seeking to lock down those roles.

“Long snappers we are working right now include: Zach Myers, Sky Yang, Isaac Luney and Brylar Beranek,” Weldy said. “Those guys are also working on short snapping as well. For our holders, we’re looking at Jaren Stearns, Andon Goutney and Easton Hughes. We want our snappers to be consistent, because bad snaps lead to turnovers or missed scoring opportunities. The quicker they can snap the ball back to our holders or punters, the lower our chances are of kicks being blocked.

“Holders need to be able to catch the ball and get it down on the block quickly so we can get kicks off. Both the jobs of the snappers and the holders are not easy and change the difference in the outcome of a game.”

Cassville’s season kicks off on Aug. 29 with a home contest against Seneca.