By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
There were several coaching changes across the Ozarks, but no change will have a more seamless transition than Clay Weldy taking over at Cassville.
Weldy has roamed the sidelines in black and gold for 14 seasons in different capacities, being a part of state championships, district championships and conference championships.
Now he gets the opportunity to put his own personal touch on the sparkling tradition of Cassville Football, an honor he doesn’t take lightly.
“I’ve been at Cassville for 15 years, so the players and community know me,” said Weldy. “I didn’t want to make any major changes because I’ve been a part of our program for so long and I believe in how we do things. So the changes that have been made are more subtle than if I was just coming into the program from the outside.
“In my time in Cassville I’ve been very fortunate to work under two outstanding coaches who are both my mentors: David Large and Lance Parnell. I learned so much from both of them, as far as program, practice, and weight room structure. They both were great on how they handled coaches and the players. My job is to now take what I learned from them and apply it while still being myself and putting my personal spin on it.”
Weldy will have plenty of talent to work with entering the fall. Cassville went 3-7 last year but return 16 starters from 2021 with the strength being along the line.
All-Big 8 senior Christian Tidwell (5-9, 230) will be joined by classmates Austin Revolorio (5-10, 220) and Brennen Cieslinski, as well as junior Joseph Reuter with all four having starting experience. Senior tight end Issac Hadlow is also back.
They’ll be blocking for All-Big 8 senior Jake Anthoysz who is a two-way starter at running back and defensive back.
Seniors Hernan Hernandez and Peter Littlefield are also returning after All-Big 8 junior seasons.
Seniors Keaton Shallenberger and Trey Wilson, as well as junior Bryson Jacobson will look to provide defensive leadership.
Weldy is also excited about several newcomers that will push for varsity snaps.
Seniors Ethan Morgan and Josh Yount, as well as juniors Richard Fohn (6-0, 220) and Bryson Hendrix (5-10, 260) could see time on either side of the line.
DOWNLOAD THE O-ZONE APP NOW!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR APPLE
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID
Senior Frank Osborn and junior Dakota Bowen will see time at receiver and in the secondary. Juniors Joseph Burton and Angel Vail will look for time at linebacker.
Junior Garrett Ewing and sophomore Bodee Rose are both expected to make major contributions after starting last year before injuries derailed their seasons.
Schematically, Cassville will look very similar to previous years.
“We will not be making any major changes to our offense or defense,” said Weldy. “I’ve been the offensive coordinator the last 10 years at Cassville so there won’t be any major changes there. On defense, Ben Glidewell is now our defensive coordinator and he has been on our staff going on 5 years. There are always little tweaks we make each season, but overall no major overhaul to what will do.”
Late in the season Cassville gave McDonald County and Mountain Grove fits on the road. Those were two teams that played for district championships in games where the Wildcats were short-handed.
Coming back in 2022 healthy and experienced is important as Weldy and company will try to navigate one of the state’s most competitive conferences that also shares many of the same district opponents.
Weldy is hopeful the group will buy into incremental growth with the plan of being prepared to make a run late.
“Our conference is tough year in and year out, and it will not be any different this season,” said Weldy. “Looking at our schedule, we know it will be a fight every Friday night. There are no give me games in this conference. Once again, I think there will be several teams in our conference that will make deep postseason runs.
“We will try to improve as the season goes on. Our goal is to get better each day, and to be playing our best football at the end of the season when districts come around. We will lean on our returning starters and our seniors to provide the leadership that it takes to win those games that are played in the latter part of the season.”
Cassville will host Aurora on Sep. 2 to open the 2022 regular season.
