Oak Mountain prep football preview

Oak Mountain finished the 2015 season strong, winning five of its last seven. The problem was in the first three games, as the Eagles fell behind the 8-ball quickly with and 0-3 start to the campaign.

“We’ve got to do a better job this year, start a little faster,” head coach Cris Bell said.

As with any high school team, there are vacated spots to fill, leaders to replace and obstacles to overcome, but the pain of last year has the 2016 group determined to right the wrongs of a season ago.

“This group feels like they have something to prove,” Bell said. “Nobody was real satisfied with the results from a year ago. Certainly had some bright spots, but we had a couple early that we’d like to have done a better job with.”

The Eagles will have to replace a handful of players that were the powerful force behind a 10-2 record in 2014. Quarterback Warren Shader, offensive lineman Justice Hammond, defensive lineman Armond Lloyd and others have graduated and left large voids, literally and figuratively.

“We’re going to be young in spots, especially on defense. We’ve got a lot of folks we’ve got to replace there. We’re probably going to be a little bit undersized, but that’s OK too. We’ll make up for it by giving great effort,” Bell said.

Oak Mountain competes in the always tough Class 7A, Region 3, which houses defending state finalist Spain Park. After reclassification, Huffman takes Hewitt-Trussville’s spot in the region, while the rest remains the same. Hoover and Vestavia Hills also made the postseason last year, while Thompson and Mountain Brook are expecting improvements in 2016.

In non-region contests, the Eagles add games against Chelsea and Hazel Green to go along with Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.

Offense

First and foremost, Oak Mountain has to find a way to replace Shader, a three-year starter at quarterback for the Eagles. The positive is that senior Wyatt Legas got two starts last season in relief of an injured Shader, and was 1-1 in those two games.

“In his second start, he played really well,” Bell said. “He’s a senior and he’s ready to play.”

Bell emphasized the importance protecting the football from the signal caller, not fumbling or throwing interceptions.

The offensive line lost its leader in Hammond, but returns the other four starters from last season. 

“That’s a pretty big hole to fill, but we’ve got some guys that we think are ready to do it,” Bell said.

Coleman Reeves departs at one of the halfback positions but Daniel Salchert is back to man the other one. Bell said Salchert really knows the offense, and some options to replace Reeves are Jaylin Gaines, Connor Wilson, Ethan Duncan and Glyn Humphrey. 

Bell believes that his team is as deep at running back as its ever been in his time at Oak Mountain.

Carson Bobo will be counted on to take over the tight end spot for the Eagles, and Noah Egan, Nathan Jones and Garret DeAraujo will team up to give the team some production at receiver, despite the loss of Payton Youngblood.

“Offensively, I feel like we’ve got a chance to be pretty good…Those are big shoes to fill but the guys we have that are competing for that spot, we like the guys that are around them,” Bell said.

Defense

The Eagles have to replace Armond Lloyd and linebacker Avery Holsomback. Jordan Davis is a name Bell mentioned that could make an impact along the defensive line.

“We’ve really got to work hard up front to improve,” Bell said.

Thomas Pechman is the only man back in the secondary, and Bell said the Eagles have a lot of work to do to replace the departures, but he feels like he has some options.

Brett Cruce, Zach Nelson and Davis Manning will compete for time at cornerback, while Manning and Jackson Murphy could potentially crack the rotation at the safety spot. Bell also mentioned Connor Webb and Hunter Martinez to fight for snaps in the secondary.

Bell said, “We’ve got a lot of guys that have put in an awful lot of time and work to make themselves better and now’s their opportunity to see what they can do out there.”

Special teams

Shader handled the punting duties for Oak Mountain, so the Eagles will need to find a new man for the job. 

Nick Carney returns as the place-kicker, and punted while Shader was out last year, and could potentially handle both if needed.

Garrison Frisch and Christian Hood could also find their way on to the field at both spots.