By Chris Parker
The 2020 season was a successful one for the Skyline football team. The Tigers finished 9-2 overall and won a conference championship for the first time since 2015. Their season was ended in a 44-36 loss to eventual state champion Windsor in the district championship game.
Skyline graduated six offensive and five defensive starters from last year’s team, which means five offensive and six defensive starters do return.
Leading those returning players is quarterback Lawson Beem. Beem was a Class 1 Second-Team All-State selection last year after he threw for 2,717 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 67.3% of his passes. Beem also rushed for 319 yards and six more touchdowns.
“Lawson will be starting for the third year at quarterback this year,” Skyline head coach Brandon Shelby said. “He has a very good grasp of what we are trying to do and I expect him to be even better this season.”
CLICK HERE FOR A FULL SEASON SCHEDULE
Beem might have the area’s best receiving corps returning with classmates Zack Williams and Jaytin DeFreece both back. That duo swept the Class 1 All-State wide receiver honors last season. Williams had 58 catches for 1,030 yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 17.8 yards-per-catch. DeFreece hauled in 72 catches for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Zack is an exceptional talent at wide receiver. He gives us a good deep ball threat, and he’s very good in and out of his breaks. When he is locked in he is really difficult to cover. Defensively, he does a great job for us at corner and gives us the ability to do a lot of things defensively with his coverage skills,” Shelby said. “Jaytin Defreece is a very good football player for us. He has been starting on both sides of the ball since his freshman season and physically he’s better than he’s ever been this year and so we expect him to take another huge step this year.”
Kourt Cheek and Sam Miller also return at wide receiver. Mason Beck will be at tight end in his senior year.
Up front, Will Blankenship and Azlen Metscher return on the offensive line. Brylie Turner and Jordan Long will also play on the offensive line.
“Will has worked really hard to get himself in shape and looks to have another tremendous season for us on the offensive and defensive lines. He’s a very smart player and he’s able to help out a lot about other lineman making calls at the line of scrimmage,” Shelby said. “(Metscher is a) super talented junior that had a great year for us playing tackle on the offensive line last year. He has put in a tremendous amount of work in the off-season and looks to be in line for a really big year on both sides of the ball. He is a great leader, and someone that every person on our team respects.”
DOWNLOAD THE O-ZONE APP NOW!
APPLE – CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
ANDROID – CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Ricky Woodhouse will play running back this year.
“Ricky has potential to have a breakout season for us this year at running back. He is a big strong athletic body that makes big plays whenever he’s in the game,” Shelby said. “He has put in tons of work this past year and knows what to do when the ball is in his hands. He competes every play and expects a lot from himself and everyone around him. He plays weak safety for us, and has the ability to cover as well as come up and make plays in the run game.”
Defensively, many of the same names will make an impact. DeFreece was an all-conference linebacker last year after he had 45 tackles and one interception. Turner, Beck and Miller will also play linebacker.
“Mason (Beck) had a really good year playing outside linebacker for us last year and we expect him to be even better this year. He is a long, athletic kid. He will be able to do some really good things for us at tight end and in the blocking scheme,” Shelby said.
Williams and Cheek return to the secondary. Williams had 36 tackles and three interceptions.
“This will be Kourt’s third year starting at defensive back for us. He’s a very smart player that has a good grasp of what’s going on and what our opponents are trying to do,” Shelby said.
Expect Beem to see time in the secondary as well. Woodhouse will also play in the secondary
Blankenship and Metscher will anchor the defensive line as well. Long will also be on the defensive line.
Newcomers to watch include: Weston Stoner (sophomore OL/DL), Maddox Moore (sophomore OL/DL), AJ Dampier (sophomore QB/DB), Jacob Merritt (freshman OL/DL), Carter Millbern (freshman OL/DL), Dillon Moore (freshman OL/DL), Quintion Butts (freshman WR/DB), Clayton Gronninger (junior WR/LB), Cecil Cunningham (sophomore WR/DB), Auszrah Stevenson (freshman OL/DL), Tyler Henry (freshman QB/LB) and Jayden Moppin (freshman OL/LB).
CLICK HERE FOR ALL OF THE FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
“We return several talented players on both sides of the ball. Our big question will be depth. We must avoid the injury bug. If we can stay healthy and stay together, we have some great opportunities for having a very successful season. We have a very good core group of guys. If things shake out alright, we can be playing our best ball come post-season time,” Shelby said.
Skyline travels to Warsaw on Aug. 20 for a jamboree with Buffalo, Osage and the host Wildcats. The Tigers open the season on Aug. 27 against a Valle Catholic program that is one of the state’s most storied programs.
