Sometimes a football team makes a change out of necessity, and sometimes because it just makes sense.
Both reasons apply to turning Jude Pribish into the Fox quarterback this fall. The senior had played running back the previous three seasons on the varsity. Chandler Price graduated in the spring and took his team-leading 986 rushing yards, along with 382 passing yards, with him.
Much like Northwest senior QB Cohenn Stark, Pribish is the type of student-athlete who props up entire sports programs.
“We think Jude is the guy right now. There isn’t a QB controversy,” Fox head coach Brent Tinker said, “We’re all pretty excited about it. We’ve loved him for a long time. Friday nights aren’t new to him, but the position is, so we’re going to be patient and keep things within his skill set. There’s a good energy around him because of the great person he’s been.”
Sophomore Jace Nichols is the second string QB, but Tinker and the Warrior coaches will find ways to get Nichols onto the field because his talent demands it. Since Pribish is a senior, Nichols could be the heir apparent. Plus, this year, Nichols will play defensive back.
“He’s got an outstanding future,” Tinker said. “We expect him to be a big name for us. I want to bring him along at the proper speed.”
The other big hole on offense strip-mined by graduation was of DJ Cox, who had about 1,000 yards rushing and receiving and nine TDs. Sophomore Jacob Edwards got the most reps at RB at last week’s jamboree. Senior Ryan Joggerst is another Fox player who’s equally adept at rushing or receiving. Juniors Cole Theobold and Carson Younger had a few carries last year.
Plenty of productivity is expected from junior wide receiver Robbie Twitchel, who scored his only TD of the season in the Class 5 District 1 win against Poplar Bluff. Senior WR Nehemiah Glanville caught a TD against Seckman last year and has good skills out wide. Cox’s brother, sophomore Cam Cox, has already shown signs of having pure WR skills, Tinker said.
“I don’t feel I have a lot of slot receivers,” Tinker said. “We have some good outside receivers.”
The last time senior Gavin Pecoraro competed for Fox, he won the Class 5 state javelin competition in May. He returns to the gridiron as the tight end and with more of a substantial role at linebacker.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Tinker said. “I didn’t play him enough at linebacker last year and when I did, he showed me how wrong I was.”
The tight end is equally important in the option run game as the OL. Juniors Brendan Wielert and Isaac Whaley can play either TE or OL, where junior Will Peralta already has 11 varsity starts at guard. Juniors Cayden Biggs, Myles Black, Kaden Vogt, Maxx Holt and Carter Spink and seniors Ben Lessor and Eli Spicer round out the candidates for OL. Spicer and Spink switch over to the DL.
The jamboree against Herculaneum and Hazelwood Central helped Tinker narrow the field of starters.
“We know where we need to work,” he said. “We had some kids (not at the jamboree) for different reasons. The best thing for us is we played a ton of kids. We’re only going to travel with 40 or so kids this year, but we played almost 40 last night. We had some questions to answer. There are still some battles going on for who’s the first man in.”
The first Warriors in on tackles are likely linebackers Joggest and Pecoraro.
“Both are very physical,” Tinker said. “Ryan is more polished, but Gavin’s bigger. Together, they are important for us on defense.”
There aren’t likely to be many players larger on the field than Fox senior Aiden Zepeda, who is 6-8, 350 and plays on the DL. Tinker said Zepeda is making consistent progress as a football player.
“He’s gigantic, but we have to get him moving faster. I fully expect him to play a solid amount of reps at Mehlville.”
In the Fox defensive backfield are returners Twitchel and Glanville, Nichols, Cox and Leroy Campos.
Handling the kicking duties will be Carson Kraemer, who plays soccer for the school this fall, Cox and Pribish, who is the team’s best long snapper. But the snapping job belongs to Caden Nguyen.
Fox kicks off the season on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mehlville. Both teams are in the Suburban Conference. After years of competing in the Red pool, the Warriors fell one pool into the Green with Ladue, Parkway West, Parkway Central, Hazelwood West and Riverview Gardens. The Yellow pool is the top in the conference.
“Even though we were competitive last year, we didn’t have the wins they wanted,” Tinker said. “Deep down our kids are trying to figure out what they can do, so a fast start is imperative.”