By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was a tale of two seasons in Todd Hafner’s first campaign back at Carl Junction.
Act One
The conference schedule saw the Bulldogs go just 1-8 in COC play as the league’s smallest member school. CJ’s lone win was against Neosho, but the team had several competitive losses with Ozark, Carthage, Willard and Branson all being tight games.
Act Two
The postseason run where Carl Junction made a Class 4 – District 7 championship appearance after beating Lincoln College Prep and Harrisonville, even giving Nevada a game in the championship.
“Last year we had a group of kids that were extremely tough and dedicated to each other; it was all about the team,” said Hafner. “We preached all year that we wanted to be playing our best football at the end of the year and we were. Our kids were bought in and when we had a chance to win games we did. It was a great group to be around and they set the standard of how we want to do things moving forward.”
Year Two will see Hafner have some continuity with six returning starters on each side of the ball and a full year to understand the terminology and nuance of Hafner’s system.
The program will still value running the football and tough defense, as well as out-efforting opponents.
“The expectation has been set and the kids have done a great job showing up,” said Hafner. “We have a system in place on offense and defense and now we can really start to add to what we did last year.”
The triggerman for this season will be junior Mason Gilbert, who Hafner feels has had a great offseason in the weight room and is growing within the position.
Carl Junction does have some continuity in the trenches, with junior Gavin Beachner back after starting every game last season. Sophomore Aiden Lundien saw time as a freshman last year and will start at guard this year.
Junior Kane Clark returns to his starting spot at defensive end but could also see time on the offensive line as well.
Running behind that line will be junior Marcus Lopez-Durman and senior Tony Stewart, who will also be the soul of Carl Junction’s defense from his linebacker spot.
Lopez-Durman had several highlight-reel runs last year and will be one of the breakout backs in the Ozarks.
“He is willing to do what it takes to get better,” said Hafner. “He had a great wrestling season after football and has dedicated himself to getting bigger, stronger and faster this summer.”
Senior Ryder Pyles is one of the best track athletes in the area and his skills will be very useful at receiver and also in the secondary, where he will be joined by junior Joe Ballard.
The defensive line will be anchored by senior Oni Mondestin-Key, who returns after starting and being extremely productive in 2023.
Senior Gavin Cowgar will retain his kicking duties as well.
Maybe the biggest change for Carl Junction won’t be a player or coach, but the shift in leagues. CJ leaves the COC for the newly formed Ozark Mountain Conference which features schools that are similarly sized.
The league is made up of Bolivar, Branson, Marshfield, Rogersville and West Plains, as well as the Bulldogs.
The change in conferences comes at the expense of rivalries with Webb City and Carthage, but it will help CJ be more competitive during the regular season.
This is now a program that can regularly compete for conference and district championships.
“I’m not sure anyone would miss playing Webb City, but it will be different building new rivalries,” said a light-hearted Hafner. “The new conference has some great teams. There are many teams that have won conference championships recently and played for and won district championships. I expect it to be a grind, where anyone could beat anyone on a given night.
“We will have to play our best football every week to compete. We will have to prepare and play tough, hard-nosed football week in and week out. Just like last year, we want to be playing our best football at the end of the season. Winning championships takes toughness, determination, a great team environment and some luck. We will have to stay healthy and be tough, both mentally and physically.”
Carl Junction will jamboree at Carthage with the Tigers and Nevada before opening the 2024 season at Capital City.
