Coming off back-to-back 4-6 seasons – an unquestioned upgrade in Northwest’s recent football fortunes – second-year head coach Corey Toenjes hopes his senior-laden team can reach or exceed the .500 mark this fall.
He can well remember his first three years as an assistant for the Lions, when they went 5-25 from 2013 through 2015.
“The culture has changed at Northwest,” Toenjes said last week after a spirited practice session. “I have a great staff in place; our seniors went undefeated as freshmen, and a lot of them have stayed (with us). We have a great process, based on a tough, physical style of play. And if you look at us being 4-6 last season, there were two games we let get away.”
Toenjes is counting on 22 seniors to take the next step. The juniors on the team posted seven wins two years ago as freshmen.
Now that perennial rushing leader Caleb Camacho has graduated, three seniors are expected to take leadership roles. Quarterback Seth Fortner, tight end Rylan Depew and running back/wide receiver Tanner Campbell are all returning starters.
“Seth, by far, leads our offense,” Toenjes said. “He was able to take over the (QB) position at the midpoint of last season; (he’s) a smart kid and great game manager who takes care of the football. He’s had a dramatic improvement in arm strength and throwing motion. And with Campbell and Depew on the outside, Seth is a guy who can get them the ball.”
Fortner completed 47 of 96 passes last year (a 49 percent completion rate) for 717 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions.
Toenjes said Campbell, an all-state performer in track and field, is the Lions’ best athlete since he took over as head coach in 2017.
“He’s an explosive type who plays with a nasty edge,” Toenjes said. “Depew is a three-year starter at tight end, but he’s also our best route runner and probably has our best hands. As good a receiver as he is, he’s also a very good blocker.
“Campbell will get some time at running back, but we’re also expecting contributions in the backfield from Jacob Pirkle and Robbie Spencer.”
Campbell, who said he wants to compile similar numbers to Camacho, rushed for 754 yards on 87 carries last year, an average of 8.7 yards per run – well ahead of Camacho’s 6.6 yards per tote. Campbell accounted for over 1,100 total yards from scrimmage last season, second only to Camacho’s 1,421.
“Someone has to fill his shoes, so I have to try and keep up with his rushing yards, in addition to catching the ball,” Campbell said. “I feel like this is a better group of kids, who are taking it more seriously, and if we all play together we can be really good.”
As much as Toenjes is expecting out of his veteran offense, the head coach thinks the Lions can be equally as tough on the other side of the ball.
“We’ll have nine or 10 seniors starting on defense,” Toenjes said.
Toenjes called senior outside linebacker John Huskey the team’s best defensive player. Huskey was second on the team in 2017 with 53 tackles (41 solo), including four sacks. Northwest’s top returning defensive lineman, Toenjes added, is senior Brendan Rickenbaugh.
“Brendan has nice size, but is also athletic enough to play some fullback for us when needed,” Toenjes said.
The team’s first job, the coach said, is not to let winnable games slip away. Other than that, he hedged on what to expect from his improving program.
“As any coach will say, we just go week-to-week with the schedule,” Toenjes said. “But there’s not a team we can’t compete with, week in and week out. Our main goals are to win (the Suburban West Conference National Division) and get that (district) home playoff game.
“Our seniors need to take pride in the fact that this is their time, and they have to want to create some history. We have a lot of good kids who have bided their time the last three years, and they expect to win now.”
The Lions face a somewhat different competitive landscape in their new district assignment announced by the Missouri State High School Activities Association last week. After two years in an entirely local Class 6 District 1 grouping with Eureka, Fox, Kirkwood, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Mehlville and Seckman, Northwest has moved to Class 6 District 3 and retains Eureka, Kirkwood, Lafayette and Lindbergh but adds distant foes Joplin (8-2 last year), Springfield Kickapoo (2-8) and Ozark (7-5).