SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP – When attempting to rebuild a football program, it’s usually going to be a work in progress.
For second-year Shawnee head football coach Frank Crea, the goal is simple.
“Our focus is the same every year,” Crea said. “Our main focus is that we are going to work hard every day to get better. That is our focus. That is our battle cry. That is our creed. If we keep doing that, then maybe good things will happen.”
Crea is hoping to improve on a 1-9 season (1-8 Western Buckeye League).
Shawnee returns 22 letterwinners from last season. With all the experience, Crea is going to lean on the returners.
“I think a lot of it comes down to our senior leadership,” Crea said. “It’s their (seniors) football team. So, they have to take control of the football team. They have to raise the spirits up of the underclassmen. The underclassmen see what the seniors want to do and they pick it up. So, we preach to our seniors to be positive, be a leader and do those types of things.”
In 2016, Shawnee finished last in the WBL in scoring defense, giving up 39.6 points per game.
This season, Crea and his staff want to sew up the defense and give its offense an opportunity.
“We’re trying to get after it defensively,” Crea said. “Last year, we just gave up way too many points. We have to get better, defensively, if we’re going to be competitive in this league. We’ll run a 3-5 multiple (formations). We’re going to run some zone, and we’re going to run some man.”
Added returning senior linebacker/running back Ivan Smith (5-foot-9, 165), “I think, defensively, we’re looking a lot better this year. We’re definitely having people step up this summer. We’ve had a lot of sophomores step up. We’re definitely getting better as a team. From the first seven-on-seven (scrimmage) to the last seven-on-seven, we’ve made some improvements.”
Jacob Cowan (5-11, 165, Jr.), who led Shawnee with 133 tackles in 2016, returns at a linebacker position.
On the offensive side of the football, Shawnee is going to look to spread it out. Last season, the Indians’ offense scored 16.6 points per game (seventh in WBL), with the passing attack being the main emphasis (199.1 yards per game, third in WBL).
“Offensively, we’re still trying to run the Tony Franklin system,” Crea said. “It’s a pass-based offense from the shotgun. We’re running routes, trying to get kids open, and we’re going to try to establish the run, of course. We’ve got a couple tricks up our sleeve that we are going to work on, really hard this summer.”
Shawnee’s quarterback from last season, Ray Manley, has graduated. With the vacancy at quarterback, there’s been an ongoing battle for the starting job this summer between sophomore Matthew Bean (6-4, 230) and junior Johnny Caprella (6-2, 190).
Senior Grant Wheeler feels like the team is starting to come together. Last season, Wheeler led the Indians with 1,000 all-purpose yards.
“We’re getting better every day on both sides of the ball. We’re just coming out here and working hard and competing,” Wheeler said.
Crea wants to get as many athletes as possible involved.
“We’re going to count a lot on some of our sophomores to step up and play big this year. Our goal is to play as many kids as possible. I, myself, don’t like playing kids both ways, but there might come a time when we have to play kids both ways, just because of our numbers,” Crea said.
Javion Daniels (5-11, 180), a senior defensive back and wide receiver, said there is a different attitude around camp this summer.
“I feel like there’s more adrenaline. If you take responsibility and don’t worry about anything else, it will hopefully all come together,” said Daniels.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
