AURORA, Mo. — The feel good story of 2015 was in Aurora. The Houn' Dawgs' march to the Class-3, state semifinals was fun to watch. Aurora was one play away from playing at the Dome for the state title.
Head Coach: Kale Kilgo (2nd year)
2015 record: 9-5 (lost to Odessa in Class-3 state semifinals)
Players to Watch: Kaleb Baker (WR), Malik Baker (TE/DL), Clayton Dunning (DB/WR), Payton Evans (QB), Preston Naylor (WR), Connor Savage (RB/LB)
"Last year was a lot of fun. They really gelled at the right time and really had a lot of fun. And we hope winning breeds winning, and that's what we're going to go with."
The Houn' Dawgs know they can't rest of their laurels in 2016 thanks to having just three returners coming back in 2015. Having graduated is first-team, all-state lineman Mason Husmann (Univesity of Louisiana-Monroe) as well as three second-team, all-state selections.
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"It's a building year; it's looking good," head coach Kale Kilgo said. "As I told (the team) we're going to take stepping stones and work toward the end, towards districts and that's what it's been – it's been a process."
The centerpiece of this team is quarterback Payton Evans. In 2015 Evans proved a dangerous dual threat throwing for 2,236 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 610 yards and 11 scores.
"He's real special," Kilgo said. "It's fun to watch Payton do his thing. He can read a defense very well, and he enjoys being a leader; he's a quiet leader."
Evans won't have Skylar Cahill to throw to anymore but the Houn' Dawgs have talent at wide out. Preston Naylor is the top returning receiver from 2015 with 13 catches for 137 yards.
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But also in the mix is Kaleb Baker who's moving from quarterback to receiver and Clayton Dunning. During camp, all three route runners were impressive with Dunning turning heads with his sharp turns and soft hands. Clayton is also Aurora's leading tackler from last year with 60 as free safety.
A Big-8 rival coach said Aurora continued to improve throughout 2015 better than anyother team. The Dawgs had four losses during the regular season including a nail-biting 21-20 game to open the season at Cassville. What followed were losses to Lamar (Class 2 state champion), Carl Junction and Monett.
Aurora got its' revenge in district by knocking off the Cubs, and that win propelled them to the state semifinals. Not bad for a team whose head coach took over the reigns a few days before the start of the season.
"Last year we went with what we were doing in years previous," Kilgo said. "This year, we're throwing in our own little kinks and trademarks that's special to me."
Aurora starts the season as KY3's Game of the Week when it hosts Mountain Grove in a rematch of last year's Class-3 state quarterfinal, Friday night at 7.
