The Press-Dispatch
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D-6 Fall Sports Preview Wednesday, August 21, 2019 The Press-Dispatch The goal is for everyone to see the improvement from year one to year two. We want to be more cohesive on offense and defense, take care of the ball better, and play faster and more physically. That is my goal for us this year. I hope we have the opportunity for our depth to develop and for us to stay healthy so we can get a fair chance to show what we can do." -Head Coach Dave Stephens CHARGERS Pictured above is the 2019 Pike Central football team. They are, front row (l to r): Connor O'Neal, Levi McCarter, associate head coach Cole Stephens, head coach att Frasure, Caleb Zazzetti, Samuel Coleman, Gunnar Earley, Adon Sanchez and Issac Marchino; fourth row: Jager Dent, Braden Howald, Matthew Long, Chance Wolfe, se Spurgeon and J.J. Howald. See REBUILD on D-7 350 W. Main, Petersburg • Next to Double J Collision Call for Carry-Out or Faster Service (812)354-2606 HOURS: Wed. & Thurs. 5pm-8pm • Fri. & Sat. 5pm-9pm A FAN FAVORITE Joe Mama's Pizza Pizza • Sandwiches • Salads • Carry-Out Dining Room & Carryout Available! Lana R. Hel ms, DDS , MSD, PC Making and sharing SMILES! Be a Winner! Stay in school, study hard and prepare for a great future. Board-Certified in Orthodontics for children, adolescents and adults Appointments Monday-Thursday 812-254-4500 2116 State Street, Washington www.lanahelms.com Pike Central rebuild continues under Stephens, but challenges loom By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central football appears to trending in the right direction in Dave Stephen's second season as head coach, but the team still has a long way to go to get where it wants to be. Charger fans should expect to see some major improvements, af- ter the team finished 1-9 in 2018 and scored just 93 points, while surrendering 433. "The goal is for everyone to see the improvement from year one to year two," Stephens said. "We want to be more cohesive on offense and defense, take care of the ball bet- ter, and play faster and more phys- ically. That is my goal for us this year. I hope we have the opportu- nity for our depth to develop and for us to stay healthy so we can get a fair chance to show what we can do." One of the major hurdles Ste- phens had to overcome in his first season as head coach was the Chargers' lack of any consistent weightlifting program. "That tremendously hurt our program, beyond the challeng- es that we already face, and has been a mountain for us to climb," he said. "Those kids had a year and six months where no one was touching weights unless they were in a strength and condition- ing class." A testament to the progress Pike Central has made is the fact that when Stephens took over, the program had just one player in the 700 -pound club. Players join the club by having their big-three lifts (bench press, swat and pow- er clean) equal more than 700 total pounds. The Chargers now have two players in the 800 -pound club and five in the 700 -pound club. "Those aren't the numbers that we want, but those are huge im- provements," Stephens said. Pike Central's biggest advan- tage this season might be in speed and quickness, but not just physi- cally. Stephens said he believes his players have a better understand- ing of the scheme he wants to exe- cute, which he believes will result in quicker decision-making and re- action time. The Chargers will run a true spread offense this season, with three different tempos at which they will play. "That field is 100 yards long and 53 and a third wide, and we want to use every bit of green grass on it," Stephens said. "We also want to spread the ball around. This isn't really an offense where we want to have one guy dominate they ball. We want to mix it around to all of our guys." Pike Central has some talented players, but overall depth, and of- fensive and defensive line play has Stephens concerned. "I'm concerned about our abil- ity to hold up against some of our run-heavy opponents, stami- na-wise, not toughness-wise," he said. "The question is do we have enough guys and depth to keep that going for four quarters. I don't know. We like to go no huddle and go fast, and that's got us a lot of yards in the past, but we will have to see how much we can do that be- cause it could end up being a det- riment to our team." The Chargers will be led by cap- tains Connor O'Neal, Levi McCart- er, Wyatt Fraser and Lars Utter- back. McCarter and O'Neal are se- niors and returning starters, while Utterback is a junior and Fraser is a sophomore. Pike Central will be led by a tal- ented group of skill position play- ers. "We are going to make teams pay for trying to load the block this year," Stephens said. "We are hurting in some other ways, but we have some dudes that can roll." McCarter (6'1", 220 pounds) is a great blocker and a weapon in the pass attack. The returning start- er at tight end committed himself to the weight room during the past year and increased his bench press from 170 to 245 and his pow- er clean from 160 to 245. "You can't sleep on his athleti- cism either," Stephens said. "If he gets the ball, he can move, too. It's not a slow plotting 225, he can pick it up and put it down." O'Neal (5'9", 160) returns at wide receiver after making 79 re- ceptions for 518 yards and a touch- down this past season. "[Conner O'Neal is] as tough as nails," Stephens said. "They always talk about the pound-for- pound champions. I would say pound-for-pound he is the tough- est guy in our conference." O'Neal may not be the most physically imposing player, but he plays fearlessly. "He has a great skill set," Ste- phens said. "He has the strength to block linebackers and he has the speed to burn safeties and corners. He's a difficult match- up and he's a guy who is still go- ing to get his offensive stats with teams knowing that he's our pri- mary option." When he's not making spectac- ular catches, O'Neal is also a re- lentless blocker who never shies aways from contact. Stephens said he has been re- ally impressed with O'Neal seam- lessly stepping into a leadership role. "Last year, Connor was a good player," Stephens said. "He was quiet and he was focused on being the best player he could be. This year, he's taken a leadership role. No one had asked him to do that, but you hope that your best play- ers are your leaders, too." Coaches have noticed O'Neal correcting the younger players and coaching them up when some- one isn't doing something the right way. "He's not afraid to challenge someone," Stephens said. Junior Stephen Krieg is another dangerous weapon at wide receiv- er and possibly tight end. Krieg has good size at 6'1", 190 and has great hands. "When we get the ball to the pe- rimeter, he should be able to mix it up with the outside linebackers and safeties," Stephens said. "He should be fine in one-on-one block- ing situations with cornerbacks, too. I don't think anyone is going to bully him." Colson Dillard (6', 165) is anoth- er exciting athlete with playmak- ing ability. The junior has a quick burst, speed and top-end speed, and played a little varsity a season ago. "He has performed so well dur- ing the summer, that we are go- ing to be forced to find ways to get him the ball," Stephens said. "We always test guys in the 40 -yard dash with no shoulder pads and helmets, but he might be the fast- est kids that we have in pads and we have some kids that I think are burners." Stephens said Dillard has done some greats things all summer when he has touched the ball and could also possibly get some car- ries this season. Senior Brandon Goeppner (5'10", 145) is the team's next op- tion at wide receiver. Stephens said he has really im- proved is coordination and athlet- icism during the offseason. Freshman Brayden Howald (5'10", 135) is another player who could see some varsity playing time at receiver. "Physically he doesn't have a varsity football body yet," Ste- phens said. "But he has more than enough heart and toughness. He's a coach's kid, so he knows what to do and he's tough as nails. We know we could put him out there if we would in a pinch." A lot of the team's success will likely depend on the play of the quarterback. Junior Lars Utterback (5'10", 170) steps in as the Chargers' sig- nal caller after starting the team's final game of 2018. "He could be really good for us if we can get him to take care of the ball," Stephens said. "There have been times where he has shown he's capable of doing that and there's been other times where he's shown he still needs some de- velopment in that area." Stephens said he's confident in Utterback's ability, but ball secu- rity will play a pivotal role in the gunslinger's success this season. "We can't turn the ball over," Stephens said. "You can't go broke taking a profit. I know he wants to throw it 20 yards downfield every play, but he has to take what the de- fense gives and check downs when its open." Stephens said Utterback has a