Win the game, ring the bell.
That’s been the Herculaneum football team’s tradition for decades.
Last year Cody Hunter was hired to bring the pride – and more bell ringing – back to Blackcat football. With a year under his belt and 14 more players than he had last fall, Hunter may lead Herculaneum to its first winning record since 2014.
The Blackcats were 3-4 after pasting Crystal City 30-0 last year, but then lost their final three games by a combined score of 141-6.
Simply put, the Blackcats beat the teams they were supposed to and couldn’t keep up as underdogs.
With senior running back and inside linebacker Austin Huson ready to put a charge in the opposition, the Cats could be a dark horse in the I-55 Conference this year.
“We’re getting the kids excited about our football program and bringing in some coaches who are familiar with the program and do a good job with the kids,” said Hunter, who played football at Herky in the 2000s. “We’re getting people excited about playing football and bringing back the tradition that might have been lost for a few years. We’re moving in the right direction as a program.”
Austin Huson has one direction on the gridiron: forward. He broke his collarbone on the play before halftime against Crystal City in Week 7 and didn’t return. When he went down, Huson was averaging 12 tackles per game and despite missing three games, he was the only Blackcat to rush for at least 100 yards with 396.
“In our first game against Cuba, it was fourth and goal, and offensive coordinator (Dallas Graham) looks at me and says, ‘Are we going to go for it?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, give the ball to Huson,’” Hunter said. “I want to put the ball in his hands and I expect him to put his shoulder pads down and fall forward.”
Jordan Duncan played quarterback last fall, but he opted not to return for his senior year. Duncan cited the injuries he sustained as one reason he didn’t come back, and he’s also interested in playing baseball in college. Duncan played for Festus in the American Legion World Series this month.
“Jordan came to me and said he didn’t want to play and I appreciated he told me about it eye to eye. I get it,” Hunter said. “He’s a baseball kid. Basketball is probably his second sport. And football’s his third. I wished him good luck. There are no hard feelings there. I never want to hold a kid back from his future.
“As a staff, we’re not going to skip a beat. We have two guys who can play the position. We just turned the page.”
Seniors Ethan Coy and Luke Teague have been working out under center in practice. Coy played QB as a freshman and sophomore, moved to Festus, then transferred back to Herculaneum last year. He was ineligible to play on the varsity but called signals for the junior varsity. Teague will get some snaps to ease Coy’s burden at times.
“Both do the job. Ethan can move. He’s a superb athlete,” Hunter said. “He’s gaining trust with his teammates. You don’t want different cadences. Ethan will start. Teague will be the backup. I told Ethan if he wanted to be our quarterback, he had to be at practice every day and he has been.”
Junior Cole Myers, freshman Mike Moloney and sophomore Cody Gibson join Huson in the backfield.
“We’re going to be big and aggressive up front,” Hunter said. “We’ve got backs who like to hit the hole. Our power game will set the tone for us.”
Lining up at wide receiver are Teague and seniors Tyler Ruder, Elijah Fischer and Logan Melton. Ruder caught 28 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Teague hauled in 15 passes for 169 yards and a pair of TDs.
Seniors Nick Horner and Cole Counts and junior Nick Miles started most of the games on the offensive line last season. They’ll be joined by seniors Lane Story, Cole Struckhoff, Chance Jenkins and Ayezack Tandy.
“It’s a tremendous advantage for us if we can rotate guys and keep them fresh,” Hunter said. “We have guys who are hungry and that helps us get better.”
Moloney will learn the ropes on defense playing alongside Huson at inside linebacker.
“Freshman or not, if he’s earned the spot, he deserves the right to play,” Hunter said. “He’s super strong and super coachable.”
The defensive line is manned by Story, Struckhoff, Horner, Miles, Jenkins and Counts. Hunter said for the first time in a long time, both lines have depth. That will prevent injuries.
“We’re not close to platooning, but if we have two or three guys who can come off the field on either side, that will help us tremendously,” Hunter said. “Last year we had to rely on the same 14 or 15 kids in all three phases. If we can rely on 20 to 25 kids in all three, that helps us over four quarters.”
Teague and Melton are slated to play at outside linebacker. Melton is a Seckman transfer who Hunter said had the hit of the year on defense in 2018 when he stopped a St. Pius X ballcarrier at the goal line.
“The more we saw him, the more we liked him. He’s become a Blackcat and all of the things for him are moving in the right direction,” Hunter said.
Ruder and Fischer play cornerback and Cole Myers returns at safety after picking off two passes last season.
Hunter will call the defensive plays this year.
“We’ve got a good defense. I think it’s going to be salty,” he said.
Because Duncan handled all the kicking and punting last year, Hunter said he’s still trying out players for those key positions.
The Blackcats open the season with two home games against Cuba on Aug. 30 and Fredericktown on Sept. 6.
“I’m excited about how much the community, coaching staff and kids have bought in,” Hunter said. “There’s a lot of excitement around Blackcat football right now.”