Football Preview: Powers leads senior-heavy Kelly into year two with new attitude

Saturday, August 15, 2015

sports@standard-democrat.com

BENTON -- New head coach Lance Powers has noticed a change since taking over for the Kelly football team.

Attitudes, mentality and discipline are all things he points to when discussing how his team handled the somewhat surprising departure of former head coach Kenneth Riedinger just one month ago.

With its second head coach in just its second year as a varsity team, the Kelly Hawks have a new direction under Powers led by a senior-heavy roster that's taken the coaching transition quite well.

"My group of seniors that I have they've really adapted to it, they like it and they're leading more," Powers said. "That's something I like to see from our senior group."

Powers has been involved with the Kelly football program since its birth in 2010. He served under Riedinger, who resigned July 2, as the offensive coordinator last year and was the junior high head coach before that.

"The biggest change that the team has faced is our attitude and mentality. We come in to work every day and we're a lot more disciplined and a lot more accountable for what we do on and off the field."

Kelly finished its first varsity season with a 4-6 record, which in the minds of most, was labeled a successful inaugural year. The Hawks won its first game against St. Vincent in Week 3 and continued with Fulton County, Ken., Charleston and Chaffee.

Powers, who led the offense to just over 21 points a game, felt there were wins that slipped away. Injuries to a somewhat thin roster didn't help either.

"Yeah, 4-6, I guess that's good. There's always room for improvement," said Powers. "Never want to have a sub .500 season and I thought we were better than a .500 team last year. We had some things not go our way and the injury bug got us some. With a Class 2 school, you've got small numbers and if that injury bug comes around that's hard on your program. If we can stay healthy, we hope to improve on that record that year."

Though they lost leading receiver Dalton Huffman to graduation, the Hawks return 17 seniors and last year's starting quarterback, junior Kyle Fitzgerald. Kelly will also feature senior running backs Matt Burford, who was sidelined last season after straining an ACL, and Class 2 state track champion Maurice Davis.

Along with seniors Jacob Black, Bryan Rogers and Zach Hahs, Powers has been pleased with what his seniors have shown as far as on the field and the leadership of the team.

"We're senior heavy this year and those guys have really stepped up," Powers said. "They've bought in to what we're trying to do as a program and as a system."

Deciding not to return was Kelly's leading rusher Ethan Faires. Faires, who ran for 764 yards and eight touchdowns on 137 carries, took over for Burford when the featured back suffered his season-ending injury in Week 5 against Fulton County.

Davis returns after winning the Class 2 100-meter dash state championship in late May after posting a winning time of 10.97.

"He's fun to watch," Powers said. "He's been a good senior and he's been working hard trying to improve every day at practice. He's not just sitting on his accolades. That's what we want out of a senior."

With a dash of both Burford and Davis, Powers feels the running game could be a strength this season.

"The running back position, we're excited about it," said Powers. "We've got Matt back and he looks good so far and we've got Maurice that we'll put in there a little bit. We're focusing on Matt and Maurice and those guys have been working hard and looking forward to getting things going."

Hahs (5-11, 175) will anchor Kelly's offensive line who will look to make room for its runners and protect its quarterback. Fitzgerald enters his second year under center and impressed Powers throughout summer workouts and preseason practices.

"Kyle did a great job last year as a sophomore and he's had a great summer," Powers said. "He's improving all the time and looking good. I know he's looking forward to the season."

On the other side, Rogers (5-10, 165) will be looked upon to lead the defense from his linebacker position. He'll also have Black (6-3, 185) on the defensive line to cause pressure up front.

Kelly's season ended in the first round of the Class 2, District 1 tournament after a 63-14 loss to Caruthersville. Including Caruthersville, the district includes last year's winner Malden, Portageville, Charleston, East Prairie, Hayti and Scott City. Kelly was the district's seventh seed during last year's tournament and will no doubt have another tough hill to climb if success is to be had during playoff time.

"No doubt we have a very tough district," Powers said. "We want to compete and put a good product on the field and that's what we're going to try and do. If we just keep working hard and continue to improve on the fundamentals we should improve."

2015 Schedule

Aug. 21East Prairie
Aug. 28at Crystal City
Sept. 4at St. Vincent
Sept. 11Confluence Prep
Sept. 18at Central (Arnold)
Sept. 25Charleston
Oct. 2at Caruthersville
Oct. 9Portageville
Oct. 16Chaffee

2014 Results (4-6)

at East PrairieL7-29
Crystal CityL18-20
St. VincentW20-14
at Conf. PrepL6-37
at Fulton Co. KyW41-0
at CharlestonW36-6
CaruthersvilleL18-60
at PortagevilleL7-48
at ChaffeeW48-18
Caruthersville*L14-63
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