By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last season, Stockton football nearly turned the corner. The Tigers posted a four-win season for the third time in four years with three of their losses coming by one score.
Entering head coach Luke Rader’s fourth season, Stockton is looking to get over the hump in 2023.
The Tigers have the pieces in place to have success with a plethora of skill players back and key weapons on the backend defensively.
“We return all of our skill positions from last year,” Rader said. “That should be a strength for us and we will need those guys to play well as our linemen improve early on. I think the mental part of the game will be a strength for us as well. We have a lot of kids that are intelligent and get along well with each other.
“Like on offense, we return a lot on the backend of our defense. We are hopeful we will have several guys rotate up front to go along with experience on the backend.”
Junior athlete Easton Hubbard is back after earning All-SWC honors last season as a unanimous selection. He paced the ground game with 1,645 yards on 258 carries and scored 19 touchdowns while completing 22 of 50 passes for 428 yards and three TDs.
Hubbard will also slide in as a linebacker on defense.
“Easton is very talented and competitive,” Rader said. “He can do a lot of different things well on the field. He is a leader on our team thanks to his competitiveness.”
He’ll be joined by fellow All-SWC picks in seniors AJ Scott (TE/DL), Aiden Ellifrits (WR/DB), Lawson Page (WR/DB/K) and Trevor Johnson (OL/DL), as well as juniors Preston Rains (WR/DB), Jack Rickman (RB/DB) and Quade Ayers (OL/LB).
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF OUR FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
Rickman ran the ball 71 times for 409 yards and had one TD last season while hauling in six passes for 60 yards. Scott added 385 yards on the ground in 57 attempts with three TDs, while Rains tallied 266 yards rushing on 42 carries with three scores and caught five passes for 105 yards and one TD.
“Jack is a smart and explosive kid,” Rader said. “The experience he gained last year should prepare him to take a big step forward this fall. AJ is a very selfless person and was a captain for us last year. He can do a lot of different things and is always ready to do whatever the team needs from him. We will need him to continue to be a leader for us this year.
“Preston is a multi-sport athlete that has the ability to do several different things to help us on the field.”
Rounding out Stockton’s returnees include juniors Landon Sexton (WR/DB), Brigham Lee (OL/DL) and Bowen Bird (OL/LB) in addition to sophomore Logan Reser (RB/LB).
Top newcomers to watch are seniors Riley Massie (DB/WR/RB), Jayce Sharif (DL) and Ryan Godsey (OL/DL), junior Bau Hall (OL/DL) and sophomores James Flora (OL/DL), Kale Rader (OL/DL) and Pierce Brogden (OL/DL).
“We felt like we were very close to getting the corner turned last season, but struggled with consistency at times,” Rader said. “Our biggest focus will be on ourselves this season. We need to focus on improving every day and making each other better.”
Stockton is at the Sarcoxie Jamboree on Aug. 18. The Tigers play at Marionville in Week 1 to open the regular season.
