By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Branson’s football team showed a huge improvement in year two under head coach Aaron Hafner, with the Pirates going from a 1-9 campaign in 2022 to a 5-6 season last fall. The five wins were the most for the program since the 2013 season.
“I think the biggest thing is just kids buying into a new culture and a new style of play,” Hafner said. “We went from more of a spread-type offense when coach (Anthony) Hays was here to now we’re running the football and just trying to create a little different brand of being physical and putting a lot of our focus on the defensive side of the ball and hopefully the run game and the defensive play can complement us and it played out really good last year. We were very competitive in the COC, which we know is a very good conference. Our kids are just buying into everything we’re asking them to do, especially the weight room part of it.”
With the Pirates set to compete in the brand new Ozark Mountain Conference this fall, they’ll do so with plenty of returning starters and some varsity newcomers who have impressed in the offseason. According to Hafner, who served as defensive coordinator at Webb City earlier in his career:
“Nobody ever knew what was standing on the sidelines at Webb City and they just kept doing it over and over. You never know what a team has behind some of their good players. The big thing we’ve seen this summer is a lot of our kids have filled those positions that graduated and they’ve really filled them in a big way.
“We’re excited about our football team.”
Part of the reason for the excitement is senior quarterback Luke McCormick, a second team COC athlete last season, who will be a three-year starter for the Pirates in their flex bone triple option offense. He completed 50 passes for 943 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and rushed for 713 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“If you run that offense and you have a three-year starter, that’s a big deal,” Hafner said. “He’s a young man who’s bought in hook, line and sinker to everything we’re trying to do. I’m really excited to watch him in his senior year.”
And he’s far from the only reason for optimism. Senior linebacker Will Funderburk returns after garnering honorable mention COC honors following a season in which he totaled 73 tackles, three sacks and three caused fumbles.
“We had three really good linebackers last year and Will might have gotten overshadowed because the other two went and played college football, but sometimes he graded out better than those guys did,” Hafner said. “It’s his time to shine as a senior. We have a lot of guys back over there that have played a lot of football. Both corners, Zyere Fair and Ryder Schroeder, have played a lot of snaps. Our experience is just crazy. We played a lot of young kids my first year and this is year three so hopefully we can reap the benefits of that.”
There’s also senior kicker Dane Efird, who was a unanimous first team selection in the COC and a first-team all-state pick, and who Hafner says is probably the best kicker in the state. “He’s a big-time kicker and any time you can lean on something like that it makes a big difference.”
Branson’s offense averaged 327 yards per game last season––238 yards on the ground––but the Pirates also return a “dynamic” receiver in senior Tegan Asbury, who was far and away the team leader with 28 catches for 623 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s had an “unbelievable summer,” according to Hafner. He earned second team honors in the COC. Up front, Branson returns Erik Campos at center, who will be the only senior starter on the line and a three-year starter.
“He’s a leader of that group and alongside four other juniors, they’ve really grown together and they’re a really tight group,” Hafner said.
Skyler Slaton, a starter at defensive end last year, will see some reps at tight end this season and could be a “dynamic piece” of the team’s offense. The Pirates graduated both slotbacks, but junior Ryan Giles had a really good summer at the position. At fullback, sophomore Wit Miller and senior Brennan Phifer will replace Gage Depee, a second-team All-COC running back who led Branson with 1,058 yards.
The defensive unit, in addition to players like Funderburk (linebacker), Fair and Schroeder (cornerbacks) and Slaton (end), will include a “super athletic” safety in Hunter Reynolds, who started as a sophomore and had 62 tackles, six forced fumbles, five deflections and an interception. Fair led the team with eight deflections, and Schroeder had two picks and was second with five tackles for a loss. Slaton recorded 10 quarterback pressures. Senior Devlin Patton, who played some last year, has stepped up at defensive end, and senior Alex Lewis, who started at end last year (42 tackles, 7 pressures) will move to mike linebacker this fall. Miller and Phifer will also contribute defensively.
“We’ve moved some guys around but we just have a great group of kids buying into what we’re trying to do,” Hafner said. “Whatever we ask of them, they’re all about it.”
Branson’s defense must replace leading tackler Depee, who earned Class 5 First-Team All-State honors as a linebacker after making 111 tackles, as well as third-team all-state selection Marshall Storm, a defensive back.
Branson won’t participate in a jamboree this fall. The Pirates take on Harrison, Arkansas at home in week one before hosting Camdenton in Week 2. They open OMC play in Week 3 at Bolivar.
“I had a feeling there was a change coming and from a coach’s standpoint, you just play who you play and you hope that gets you ready for district play,” Hafner said. “For us, I think it was a great move to join the Ozark Mountain Conference, not just for football, for all our sports. This wasn’t just a football move. We’ll play some teams we used to play, and at the same time we’ll miss playing Ozark and Republic and teams like that, some of those rivalry games, but there’s a chance we get to play them in district play, as well.”
