By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Thayer is under new leadership following the retirement of legendary coach Billy Webber. Webber moves on after more than 20 years and 150 victories in his time at Thayer, handing the keys over to former assistant Briar Hancock.
“I am so fortunate to be at the helm of such a tradition-rich program,” said Hancock. “I am grateful that I was able to learn under Billy last year. The first thing that we established is accountability. The biggest thing that I try to get the kids to understand is that I don’t want them to “buy in” to what we are trying to do, because I am not selling anything to them. I want them to believe in what we are doing, and once we established that belief, we saw a major shift in our effort, mentality, and accountability as a unit. Our guys understand what it takes to be successful and we are working towards our goals every opportunity we get.”
Thayer returns three starters on each side of the ball.
Senior Peyton Mills and junior Mark Spencer will see a lot of the carries this year. Thayer will still be a run-heavy offense. Senior Cole Cates is a veteran lineman and will look to set the tone on both sides of the ball.
“Our base formation will be split back, running veer/midline,” said Hancock. “This year, we have some guys who can create space on the perimeter, which in turn opens up the run lanes. That will be a major benefit for us this year offensively.”
Rowan Cates, the twin brother of Mark, is someone else that will see carries out of the backfield while also being split out wide.
Senior Nick Gorham, sophomore Cooper Clark and freshman Zeb DuBois will see time on the offensive and defensive lines.
A staple of Thayer Football has been line play and while they’ll be young, Hancock is excited about the group.
Brendan Bigger will take over quarterback duties after playing wide receiver in the past.
“He has come a long way since the start of the summer,” said Hancock. “He has a great frame, and executes our offense at a high level.”
Peyton Mills will also run the defense from his inside linebacker spot, which is an important spot in Hancock’s 3-3-5 stack defense. Classmate Weston Rogers will set the tone inside at defensive tackle. Mark Spencer and Dalton Poulette – who is fully recovered from an ACL injury that caused him to miss last season – will man the outside linebacker spots.
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“Our defense relies on our players understanding their assignment based on alignment and doing their job each snap,” said Hancock.
For Thayer, life in the SCA will continue to be a lose-win situation that the program wouldn’t want any other way. The Bobcats play bigger schools week after week, just to get into the playoffs and make deep runs when they start playing Class 1 competition.
The conference underwent a major facelift with multiple long-time head coaches moving on to fishing and golfing instead of film and football.
Even with the changes, the conference will still be a gauntlet that Hancock is confident will help prepare his team for what comes in late October.
“The SCA is a tough conference and I do not expect that to change,” said Hancock. “We are fortunate that we get to face quality opponents week in and week out in our conference. I do not believe that the amount of new coaches will impact the SCA. It will still be a top-tier conference in our region.
“We must prepare at an extremely high level for each opponent on our schedule week in and week out. Our guys understand the work that needs to be put in to be successful so reiterating our standards and expectations daily to our guys has been a key factor in our previous success. Staying healthy will be a huge factor for us as well.”
Thayer will jamboree at Mountain Grove with Houston and Willow Springs before visiting Linn on Aug. 26 to open the 2022 regular season.
