By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The first season for head coach Nick Griffin at Skyline was a rebuilding one for the Tigers, who finished with a 2-8 record that included a pair of one-point losses.
“We lost a bunch of really good players from some good teams that had gone deep in the playoffs but we hit the ground running with the new offensive and defensive philosophy and we had a really young team,” Griffin said.
Skyline, which partnered with Macks Creek, was able to field a junior varsity squad for the first time in several years and that helped with program development.
As the Tigers turn their attention to 2023, they’ll return seven players with extensive experience on both sides of the ball, but they’ll also have to replace a “once in a generation kid” in Ricky Woodhouse, Griffin said.
Woodhouse, who’s now playing linebacker at Southwest Baptist, was a first team Class 2 All-State running back who also earned first team all-region honors and was the offensive player of the year in the Mid Lakes Conference. He was also a second team all-region defensive back. He rushed for 1,695 yards and 21 touchdowns, caught 35 passes for 608 yards and nine touchdowns and recorded 101 tackles with three interceptions, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
“He’s irreplaceable honestly,” Griffin said. “We used him like a chess piece, had him all over the field on offense and defense and teams had to key on that. Our approach is we’re going to have to utilize multiple kids to fill that role. We’ve got a lot of young talent and a lot of kids are going to get their opportunity to shine at running back and receiver.”
The team’s offensive line should be a strength this fall with three players returning on the interior. Sophomore Wyatt Stoner returns at center, three-year starter Maddox Moore returns at guard and three-year starter Weston Stoner, a second team all-conference pick in the Mid-Lakes and honorable mention all-region player, returns at the other guard spot.
Senior AJ Dampier returns at quarterback and earned third-team all-conference honors. He passed for 1,067 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 172 and 3 in his first year at the position. Junior Tyler Henry returns at running back after playing behind Woodhouse last season. Senior Aiden Battles caught 17 passes for 126 yards last season to lead the receiving group. Junior Jayden Moppin caught four passes for 47 yards last year at tight end.
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“I think we’re going to be pretty dominant in the interior,” Griffin said. “We’ve got three dudes that have experience right there, two of which have three years of experience in our conference and with our schedule – they’re good and I feel comfortable running the ball behind them.”
Sophomore Paxton Foster will likely replace first team all-conference tackle Azlen Metscher on the left side and it’s an open competition for the other tackle spot. Junior Quintion Butts and sophomore Brigham Willis are battling it out for the other running back position. Freshman Carter King should be one of the better athletes in the conference, Griffin said, and he could play multiple positions including quarterback to allow Dampier to play at another skill position. Junior Carter Millbern missed last season with an injury and could play receiver and tight end.
Moore (third-team all-conference) and Weston Stoner return as three-year starters at defensive tackle. Foster, Moppin, Millbern and Wyatt Stoner are competing for two defensive end spots.
The anchors of the defense returning are Henry and Dampier. Henry earned second team all-conference and honorable mention honors as a linebacker and is the leading returning tackler after recording 87 last year with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Dampier made 39 tackles with an interception and fumble recovery.
“AJ is the quarterback of our defense,” Griffin said. “He’ll be making all our adjustments and coverage calls on the back half.”
Battles (39 tackles, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery) returns at corner, as well.
Willis and Butts are in the competition at safety and King could play at corner.
Skyline will play in the Warsaw jamboree along with Buffalo and Osage on Aug. 18, and opens the regular season on Aug. 25 against Grandview (Hillsboro), located south of St. Louis. That game replaces Agape on the schedule and will be played at a neutral site at St. James High School.
“With us being Class 1, it sets us up nice playing those bigger schools every week,” Griffin said. “Should give us a decent seed going into our Class 1 district schedule. Big game against Buffalo (Sept. 15). Our kids love playing Buffalo and the two city schools Fair Grove and Strafford. We look forward to playing them, too.”
