By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
What a difference a year makes for Mt. Vernon’s senior class.
Last fall the football team had just one 12th grader on the roster – Dominic Dawson, who was an honorable mention All-Big 8 center – and the Mountaineers finished with a 1-10 record just two years after a 10-1 season.
This fall, though, head coach Tom Cox has a senior class of a dozen players as Mt. Vernon looks for a bounce back.
“Playing with one senior in the Big 8 is just a recipe for struggles,” Cox said. “Dominic Dawson was a true warrior for us but he hurt his ankle in the very first game against Cassville and he struggled to get that thing well. He wouldn’t sit out to save his life and I’m super proud of him, he’s playing at Evangel this year. We played a lot of young players and some other injuries towards the middle and end of the season had us starting four freshmen and four sophomores. Against Hollister we ended up having to play a freshman running back at quarterback because we didn’t have a single quarterback healthy for that game. The good news is we’ve got all those guys back.”
The list of returning players starts with sophomore running back Braden Dodson, who was forced into action as a freshman and rushed for 910 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He added 88 receiving yards and also passed for 73 yards in his stint at quarterback. He also rushed 41 times for 187 yards in the game against Marshfield and earned honorable mention All-Conference and All-District honors as a running back.
Last year’s starting quarterback suffered a concussion in that Marshfield game and wasn’t able to finish the year; he won’t be playing this season. That leaves Ashton Cottrell and Gavin Johnston as the team’s quarterbacks. Cottrell is a senior who started the district win against Stockton but tore his ACL on the second play; he completed 11 passes for 104 yards last season and hopes to be cleared around week one this year. Johnston, a sophomore, took over in the Stockton game and started the season finale. He completed 16 of 32 attempts for 108 yards and has the inside track to start this year with Cottrell still recovering.
Senior Alex Watts, who didn’t play last season, is back out this fall as a running back and slot receiver with really good speed, something last year’s squad was missing, Cox said. Junior Cody Downing returns at running back after gaining 115 yards on the ground and 91 through the air.
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Layton Pendleton is a junior receiver who had 28 catches for 252 yards and earned All-District honors. Jarrett Zerby started as a freshman at receiver and had five catches for 36 yards. Senior Wyatte Fowler returns at receiver after making three catches; he’s 6-2 and close to 190 pounds, adding good size to the unit. Senior Caleb Rinker had 103 receiving yards but broke his arm playing baseball this summer and won’t be cleared to return for a while. Senior Clayton Turner also returns as one of the team’s top receiving threats; he had 18 catches for 242 yards and will play at tight end and in the backfield this year. He was also a first team All-Conference and All-District punter. Braxton Horton, a junior, played tight end last year and will be back, as well. And sophomores Grayson Gann and Juliun Hernandez both saw some time at the slot receiver and out wide.
Up front the team returns seniors Payton West and Ny Wells; junior Kade Jenkins and sophomores Danny Fields, Payton Jones and Bryce Rinker.
“We’ve got some guys offensively that can play,” Cox said. “In the first few days of camp I noticed guys have a lot more confidence in what they’re doing. I don’t care how smart you are, it’s tough to play in the Big 8 as a freshman and even as a sophomore sometimes. We’re looking forward to having these guys with that senior class.”
Cox said players like Fowler and West have gotten some college looks, and others could find themselves playing at the next level, as well.
Defensively, the team returns Dodson, an honorable mention Big 8 linebacker and All-District defensive back, and Downing, another honorable mention Big 8 linebacker who also had All-District honors. Rinker will play outside linebacker when he’s cleared to return, and Turner will play the other outside linebacker spot.
Senior Aiden Morton, who played as a freshman and sophomore, is back this year and will see time at corner. Junior Jake Leeper started at corner last year and will return once he’s cleared from an injury. Gann and Hernandez also saw time in the secondary as freshmen last season.
In addition to Turner, the All-Conference punter, the Mountaineers return senior Malachi Hennum, who was a second team All-Conference and All-District kicker. Cox said he’s worked hard in the weight room and could be one of the area’s best kickers this fall.
Cox said the team’s overall numbers are “okay,” with just over 50 players out.
“We’ve got a good mixture of seniors, some juniors and then quite a few sophomores,” Cox said. “We’re hoping we don’t have to play any freshmen. A couple kids might contend in there but in all my years I had only started one freshman ever and we ended up with four last year.”
While the team has a lot of skill players, Mt. Vernon is still lacking depth on the offensive and defensive lines. But the Mountaineers will be bigger and stronger overall than they were last year and come into the season with that valuable varsity playing time.
“Just from a physical standpoint that’s going to be important,” Cox said. “The young guys knew the plays last year but when you’re young like that you don’t have the experience with the little nuances like where am I supposed to go if there’s somebody there. I think we’ll be able to throw guys open better and we’ll be able to take care of the ball better. We’ll be more balanced than we were last year. We didn’t throw it a ton and we have a history of throwing the ball a lot. Where we’ve always been good is if people didn’t know if we were going to run it or throw it. We’ll be able to have that advantage of people not knowing if we’re going to run it or throw it because we can do either one in this situation or that situation. That’s what my hope is for this year.”
Mt. Vernon will host a jamboree with Forsyth, McDonald County and Neosho. The Mountaineers open the season at home against the Mustangs.
