It would be easy for the Grandview football players and coaches to settle for lower expectations than what the Eagles accomplished last season.
After all, 13 seniors who were one drive away from the school’s first district championship in decades graduated in the spring. That included three-year quarterback Brendan Martin and leaders Wyatt Keim, Tucker Rhinehart and Isaac Walker, among others.
More than the outcome of the Class 1 District 1 championship in Ware against Van-Far, the pregame injury to Keim that kept him from playing will be the most lasting memory from that game. His absence was probably the difference in a 22-18 defeat that left Grandview with a record of 7-4 and with a whole new sense of identity as a program.
So forgive head coach Cory Hanger for not throwing in the towel before the season starts. Practice for fall sports began on Aug. 10.
“We lost a huge, huge, huge senior class with a lot of guys that contributed a lot for us,” Hanger said. “We knew we had some guys coming back.”
Martin rushed for 13 touchdowns and passed for 10 as Grandview’s leading scorer last season. Senior Brock Poole returns at running back after scoring 12 TDs, including the first one of the game against Van-Far. Poole averaged almost 10 yards per carry and rushed for 890 yards. A 1,000-yard season could be dead ahead for the returning first-team all-Quad County Conference pick a year ago.
“We’re going to be relying on him a lot,” Hanger said.
“It’s probably going to be a lot more difficult because we won’t have Aaron as a lead blocker,” Poole said. “And without him (at RB), defenses will probably focus on me a lot more.”
Junior Christian Volner takes the reins at QB. Last year, Volner filled in at wing back when an injury hit the backfield, and he chipped in with more than 300 yards of offense rushing and receiving and scored three TDs.
“I took a lot of inspiration from Brennan, and I feel like I kind of mirrored my game after him off of his footwork, and how he just ran the team and how he was the leader,” Volner said.
“That varsity time was really good for (Volner) because he got a lot of quality experience that he may have not gotten otherwise, and that definitely prepared him for the role he’s about to play for us this year,” Hanger said.
Along with Rhinehart, Smith was a key to the Eagles on the defensive front. Smith was a starter on both sides of the line, but could miss the season with a broken foot. Hanger had planned on moving Smith to the backfield to take advantage of his size and strength. Grandview had a lot of success doing the same thing with Walker. Smith injured the foot recently at a football camp. He was also slated to kick for the Eagles.
Smith was in a walking boot at practice last week. He was taking the injury in stride. If Smith has surgery to repair his foot, he said it could be nine to 12 months for it to fully recover.
“I went to the doctor after the trainer said it wouldn’t hurt to get an X-ray,” Smith said. “No tendons or ligaments are torn as of what I know right now, so that’s good.”
Hanger said whether he’s wearing a uniform or not, Smith will be with them for games and a big part of the team.
“A lot of young guys are going to be having to step up into roles, right?” Hanger said. “I can guarantee you right now, if he’s not playing, he’s going to be another coach. And if he is able to play, he’s going to be a monster out there.”
Senior Max Moore and sophomore Evan Wofford are the new tandem in the Eagle backfield. Wofford was primarily used as a blocking back and Moore was on the OL last season.
“(Moore’s) been a kind of our Swiss army knife throughout the summer,” Hanger said. “We’ve been putting him in a lot of different spots because of his athleticism. He had a great offseason.”
Without Smith and Rhinehart, senior Johnny Schmidt is the new anchor on the OL. With more responsibility, Schmidt helped out the coaches over the summer. Sophomore Blake Ogle could start on the OL.
“We’re going to have four new guys in those other spots,” Hanger said. “If (Schmidt) plays at the level he played at over the summer, like he’s definitely going to be an all-conference type kid.”
Like most Class 1 schools, most of the Eagles will stay on the field and play defense. The linemen flip flop, the running backs are the linebackers, and Volner will step into the secondary. Sophomore Zach Donahue is a candidate to start in the secondary. Hanger said Moore appears to be the leader of the linebacking corps. Moore was honorable mention all-QCC at LB.
“He was actually the guy who stepped in when Wyatt got injured (before the Van-Far game),” Hanger said, “and he did a phenomenal job. When Wyatt did come back, we found a position for him because he became so valuable for us on defense.”
Grandview kicks off the season on Friday, Aug. 28 at Louisiana. The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 55-48 in the district semifinals. Martin and Walker shredded Louisiana with more than 200 yards rushing apiece.
“We had high expectations for every kid going into the first week,” said Hanger, who like the other coaches in the county had to contend with hotter than normal temperatures. “It’s not like last year, where we knew exactly what we had on Week 1. I think we’re going to be a completely different team from week to week.”