By Chris Parker

2019 Fall Preview: Camdenton Football

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By Chris Parker

Camdenton head football coach Jeff Shore brought a seismic change to the Camdenton offense last year, and it couldn’t have gone better.

The Lakers, long known for controlling the ball through the run game, flipped the switch and became one of the most pass-heavy attacks in Missouri.

It paid off with an 11-2 overall record and a district championship. The Lakers lost to Webb City 28-27 in the Class 4 quarterfinals.

“It (the offensive change) has been fantastic. We ended up with the No. 1 offense in the state of Missouri last year according to MaxPreps,” Shore said. “It has really given us a shot in the arm I guess you could say. It makes the kids want to keep practicing. They don’t want to stop.”

Camdenton scored 602 points in 2018 for an average of 46.3 per game. The offense was led by quarterback Paxton DeLaurent who threw for 3,858 yards and 43 touchdowns last season.

He is poised for another big year as a senior.

“It will be hard for him to match the year he had last year. Sometimes things just fall just right, so I won’t put that pressure on him,” Shore said. “He has worked really hard all off-season. He has gotten stronger and faster. He has really taken hold of that success he had last year and (continued) working. He hasn’t been satisfied.”

His offensive weapons at wide receiver will have a bit of a different look with the top five leading receivers from last season’s team all graduating.

A pair of juniors in Cooper Ezard and Jase Nicklas will be the top receivers to watch after each had their sophomore season’s cut short by injury. Ezard caught 19 balls for 202 yards and six touchdowns across nine games last year. Nicklas had 17 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in just four games.

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Eli Griffin and Jadin Faulkoner also return looking to do damage out of the backfield. Griffin had 74 carries for 316 yards and 16 touchdowns. Griffin’s best game of the season came in a 57-35 win over Helias in the district semifinals when he carried the ball 22 times for 113 yards and five touchdowns.

Up front, Jeremiah Wilkens will be the leader of the offensive line.

It is a unit that has taken on a different look with the switch to a pass-heavy attack.

“It is a different type of animal there (on the offensive line). You don’t have to have a massive 6-foot-3, 290-pound guy. (You) need maybe a guy who is quicker on his feet,” Shore said.

Mason Kinney will return to the offense as a tight end who may split out wide more this season. He was a Second-Team All-Ozark Conference selection as a tight end last year. Kinney is also a defensive leader after earning first-team all-conference honors at defensive end last season.

That defense for Camdenton will have to be versatile thanks to the offense’s unique abilities.

“The defense has to be ready to switch their mentality and be ready for the other team’s offense to throw a little different game plan at them. If you are behind three or four scores you start to do some things you wouldn’t do in your normal offense, so from a defensive perspective you have to be ready to switch gears a little bit and be ready for game plan number two from the other team,” Shore said. “The other challenge is there is an ugly side to the offense. If you go out there and throw three incompletions you run eight seconds off the clock and punt it the defense is right back on the field. They have to be ready to play quickly.”

The anchor of that defense will be Ryan Maasen. Maasen was a Class 4 Third-Team All-State selection at linebacker last season. He was second on the team with 42 total tackles last year.

Marcus Stephens and Cort Petty will join Kinney on the defensive line. Collin Thomas, Connor Thomas and Talon Randazzo will be the key players to watch in the secondary.

Camdenton will look to make a deep playoff run yet again this year. Their unique offense offers a big advantage come playoff time.

“What we are doing offensively is so unconventional that you definitely have an advantage. It is hard for a team to prepare for an unconventional offense when they haven’t seen anybody else that does it,” Shore said.

Camdenton opens the season on Aug. 30 at home against Waynesville.