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By Chris Parker
Pierce City had the tall task of replacing a wildly successful senior class that went 31-3 over its final three seasons. The Eagles did not miss a beat by posting an 8-3 record and advancing to the district semifinals. Two of the three losses were to a Marionville team that finished 12-1 overall with the other loss coming to 9-2 Lockwood.
“We were lucky enough to find (early) out what we did well and really homed in on getting better at it. I thought last year even our sophomores were good leaders. They were consistently there and consistently doing the right thing,” Pierce City head coach Brad Hocker said. “I think we’ve developed a good way of doing things in a system and timing and also a lot of luck goes into that as well.
This year’s version of the Eagles will look to keep up a run of success that has included five consecutive winning seasons.
“We’ve got some good athletic kids that know what is expected of them and they live up to those expectations. They really want to continue to get better. That’s what we’ve done in the past, and that is what we will continue to do in the future,” Hocker said.
The top returning player on offense is junior Clayten O’Hara. O’Hara earned second-team all-conference honors as a running back last year after he took 110 carries for 711 yards and 14 touchdowns. He will also see some time at wide receiver depending on the formation.
“(O’Hara will have) added workload. I would say at the same time you want don’t want to overwork him because you want him to be healthy at the right time,” Hocker said. “These kids know that so they understand what they are supposed to do in the weight room, and I think that’s very important.”
Zane Clayton will also see an expanded role on the offense at running back with some receiver duties sprinkled in. He had 7 carries for 61 yards and 5 catches for 38 yards last year.
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Senior Payton Moenigg will take over at quarterback.
“He (Moenigg) is athletically gifted, and we have got to continue to try to work on decision making skills and whatnot,” Hocker said.
Up front on the line, senior Levi Cooper returns after earning honorable mention all-conference honors last year.
“You can’t be a better leader than Levi Cooper in my opinion. He’s a hard-nosed kid and there’s never a wasted minute in the weight room. (He) is excellent in the classroom. You never have to worry about him,” Hocker said.
Fellow senior Will Allen also returns on the offensive line. He also was named all-conference honorable mention last season.
Lane VanNote, Sean O’Hara and Frankie Ibarra will also play on the offensive line.
Noah Crews and Brian Canales will see time at tight end. Crews also will see time in the backfield and Canales at wide receiver.
This Pierce City group has been focusing on gaining strength in the weight room to help lead to success on the field.
“If you get an opportunity to get enough kids to be able to bench press over 200 (pounds) and squat over 300 (pounds) at a Class 1 program then you’re going to have a lot of success, so that’s kind of what we’ve been doing, and it’s worked out pretty well for us,” Hocker said.
That strength and size will pay off on the defensive line where Pierce City will look to control the game.
Ibarra returns to the defensive line after being named honorable mention all-conference last season. He pulled down 47 total tackles with 14 tackles for a loss last year.
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Allen, Cooper, Dylan Carman, Jake Perry and Shawn O’Hara will also play on the defensive line.
Carman had 27 total tackles last year with 10 of those being tackles for a loss.
The linbacking corps will be anchored by Zane Clayton. Clayton had 110 total tackles last season on his way to second-team all-conference honors.
“Zane does some things naturally. There are kids that have a nose for the ball and he does,” Hocker said. “Early on when he was young, he would get away with some things in a JV game because he was so good and he was faster and everybody else. At the varsity level you can’t go under blocks, and he learned that quickly, and he did his job to perfection. He does some things naturally that you just you can’t teach and we’re excited that he’s heading up that linebacker corps. He’s a good leader. He’s smart. He knows what we want out of him and we’re excited to see what he does.”
Canales, Crews and freshman Evan Salazar will also play linebacker.
The secondary will feature Clayton O’Hara, Jackson Turner and Moenigg. O’Hara had 56 tackles and 9 tackles for a loss last year on defense. Moenigg had 41 total tackles and 3 interceptions last season.
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Hocker and the Eagles will once again look to find their identity early in the season.
“You try like crazy to see what these kids do well. Just like puzzle pieces, you try to put them together and hopefully that puzzle comes out looking pretty good at the end,” Hocker said.
Pierce City will open the season on Aug. 27 with a game that won’t count for the standings at Lockwood. The Tigers dropped down to 8-man football this year. The first game that will count for conference and district standing for Pierce City will be Week 2 on Sept. 9 at Diamond.
“I want our kids to stay healthy. I want them to have fun playing the game of football. I want them to be physically mentally ready to play the game. I don’t measure success by wins and losses. I feel like if we can get them up to speed physically and mentally that the wins will come on their own,” Hocker said. “I want these kids to have a desire and a passion to play the game of football, and you can tell by watching film who has that desire and who doesn’t. We’re going to work these kids hard and we’re going to try to live up to the expectations that this program has built throughout the years.”
