A familiar pattern has set in on De Soto’s football team.
The Dragons have a record of 14-16 over the last three years – with two 5-5 finishes – and they were beaten by Mississippi Area Football Conference Red Division rivals Festus (2016, 2018) and Hillsboro (2017) in the Class 4 District 1 playoffs. In each season, De Soto was more competitive with the Tigers and Hawks during their regular-season meetings, but that didn’t carry through to district play.
Last year, head coach Chris Johnson was able to scratch an item off his personal bucket list when his Dragons beat Hillsboro, snapping a losing streak to the Hawks that stretched back to 2010.
This fall, Johnson said his team has more team speed than in the recent past.
“We’re definitely ahead of the game in a lot of areas,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces on the varsity. The good thing is they’ve been in the program for two or three years. Now the terminology is all the same. It’s a matter of taking what they’ve learned and applying that to playing on Friday nights. There will be a lot of new faces so there will be some hiccups along the way.”
After being selected as a unanimous first-team all-conference selection on the defensive line in 2018, senior Wyatt Moser opted not to play football this fall. Moser used his 6-7, 300-pound frame to move offensive linemen and disrupt the line of scrimmage. Johnson said he also had plans to insert him onto the offensive line.
“There are a lot of things out of the control of the coaches,” Johnson said. “We get them for a little window at the end of school and in the summer, we try to get them in to do some lifting and get them ready for camps. You try to get a kid to understand they might regret this decision (to leave the program) down the road. But we don’t get to make the choice for him. We talked to him multiple times.”
Fortunately, the Dragons have two all-conference offensive linemen returning for their senior seasons in Trystan Hendrix (honorable mention) and Landon Porter (first team). Senior Mitchell Appleton is also a returning starter. Senior Chase Greenlee, a state wrestling qualifier in February, and junior Hunter Houston are the other two starting linemen. That’s a solid foundation to lead the way for a new pack of skill players.
Lost to graduation were leading running back Cole Watson (180 carries, 840 yards) and wide receiver Clayton Snudden (55 receptions, 929 yards). Watson and Snudden each scored seven touchdowns, but the coach said he’s not overly concerned.
“We’ve got a ton of kids who are capable of making big plays on Friday nights,” Johnson said. “Whether it be running the football, or catching it, we have a large junior class who’ve been successful. As far as the competition side goes, we’ll distribute the ball correctly to make sure everyone stays engaged.”
Briar Fischer started all 10 games at quarterback and has been the starter for the last year and a half. He completed 134 of 253 passes (52.9 percent) for 2,089 yards and 17 touchdowns. When he needed to complete a pass on third down, his primary target was Snudden, but five other Dragons hauled in at least 132 yards of passes. Ball distribution is one of Fischer’s strengths. His 47-yard touchdown pass to Snudden with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter stood up as the game-winning score against Hillsboro.
“He’s put on good weight and is definitely a leader,” Johnson said. “When you’ve got new skill players all around, it’s important having someone like Briar who can line up everyone quickly and call the play. Playing QB is second nature to him now.”
The Dragons are deep at running back with juniors Dominic Punjani, Will Rector and Ethan Reissing and seniors Jacob Kerbler, Kameren Brooks and Garrett Hardin. Brooks rushed for 97 yards last year, the highest amount among this year’s backfield.
“The last year or two we went with a one-back, fullback running game,” Johnson said. “Cole Watson was a heavy downhill runner. We tried to be smart with the football and eat up the clock. This year we have some speed and stronger, heavier-type kids. We’re looking at playing to their skill sets.”
A trio of juniors – Reissing, Levi Fischer and John Whited – and sophomore Brody Fischer will try to combine for Snudden’s output. Whited runs good routes and seems to always be around the ball. Senior Jerry Chandler has been nagged by hamstring issues going back to last season, but Johnson said if he gets healthy, he can post big numbers outside. Hardin will also line up out wide.
“This is where it’s going to be week to week because we have six kids who can have an eight- to 10-catch kind of night,” Johnson said.
The starters on the offensive line might not get as much rest on defense because of Moser’s absence. Johnson also must find someone to plug into inside linebacker to replace Dominic DeMarco, who was a first-team all-league pick the last two seasons. DeMarco piled up 234 tackles in his last two years.
“It’s going to be hard to get one guy to do what he could do,” Johnson said.
Kerbler and Rector will play inside. Hardin is a two-year starter at linebacker. Punjani will play a hybrid position of linebacker and close to the line of scrimmage.
“The last year or two we’ve been physical and liked to hit. But we weren’t tackling very well,” Johnson said. “For us, it’s about finding 11 guys who can tackle. When you hit and don’t tackle, it doesn’t turn out well for you.”
In the secondary, Reissing is at free safety, with Levi and Brody Fischer at corner and safety, respectively. Whited, senior Matt Kozloski, sophomore Caleb Coleman and junior Grant Hearst will all start.
For the first half of last season, the kicking game was in flux as De Soto soccer head coach Nate Reiser sent player after player to Johnson to try and kick start a unit that flourished with Mayson De Rousse (a 2017 graduate). When the dust settled, Bradley Hunt earned the right to try again this year. Johnson said Hunt joined the football team for summer weight training and looks to be someone he can count on.
“We had no faith in our kicking game,” Johnson said of last year. “It will be nice if we start out with a solid kicking game and it will make it easier on me as head coach to not chase points. We work around (Hunt’s) soccer schedule. When he’s here, we practice special teams. When he’s not, we don’t.
“He put on 10 or 15 pounds in offseason lifting weights.”
De Soto beat Perryville 6-3 in last year’s season opener. The Pirates visit De Soto on Friday night to kick off 2019.
Johnson said all eyes are on Festus as far as conference favorites.
“It’s hands down, Festus,” he said. “There’s not a coach or kid in the conference who doesn’t know what Festus has brought back. (Head coach Russ Schmidt) has talent like Hillsboro had a couple of years ago. The rest of us have to do what we can to stay in there with them. It’s not as though we can’t play with them. You have to contain their team speed to think you’re going to have a chance.”