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THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 13
JOHN HARDIN
BULLDOGS
The Gold
Standard
Bulldogs look to continue success despite losses
By CHUCK JONES
The News-Enterprise
The John Hardin Bulldogs have
been the premier program in the
area. They are the gold standard
that other teams are trying to reach.
The Bulldogs have won 12 or more
games the last five years, taking 49 of their
last 50 regular-season games. They’ve
won or shared the district championship
six of the last seven years. The Bulldogs
have reached the Class 5-A state semifinals
the last four years and the championship
game in 2009.
While those accomplishments are
great, John Hardin hasn’t accomplished
the one thing the Bulldogs covet more
than anything – a state title. The Bulldogs
want to change that this season.
“Nothing less than 15 wins,” John
Hardin senior linebacker Domonick
Brown said. “That’s our main focus. We’ll
settle for nothing less than a state championship.
That’s our goal.”
Not that the Bulldogs needed anymore
motivation, but they are reminded of how
last season ended on a daily basis. In last
year’s state semifinals, Bowling Green
handed John Hardin an embarrassing 62-
20 defeat.
That score is written on the whiteboard
in the locker room and the coaches bring
it up in practice when things aren’t going
smooth. It was a humbling loss for the
Bulldogs, who lost the previous year to
Christian County in the same point of the
playoffs.
“Over the years, there’s that one hump
we can’t seem to get over,” John Hardin
senior halfback/cornerback Jalen Fleming
said. “We’re reminded of that loss every
practice. We want to get over that hump
this year and show people what John
Hardin football is about. We want to
prove people wrong and show them we
can win a state championship.”
This year’s senior class is no stranger to
winning a state championship. When they
were eighth-graders, the seniors led
Bluegrass Middle School to the state title.
“A state championship is the goal,”
John Hardin senior fullback/linebacker
Garrett Ray said. “We’ve had it since
eighth grade. There’s a lot of pressure and
hype on us, but nothing else matters than
winning a state championship.”
It will be a difficult challenge, considering
the losses on both sides of the ball
from last year’s 13-1 squad.
“It’s always the same thing,” John
Hardin coach Mark Brown said. “You always
lose a bunch of really good players
and you don’t know how you’re going to
replace them. But new guys step up.
That’s the way it is in high school.”
No more will the key losses be felt than
on the offensive side. The Bulldogs lost
nine starters, including the entire backfield.
Gone are quarterback Eli Mitchell,
halfbacks Jeremy Harness and Quensie
Brown and fullback Kyle Laing.
Harness, last year’s Area Offensive
Player of the Year, rushed for 1,562 yards
and caught a team-best 29 passes for 447
yards. Harness scored a team-high 28
touchdowns. Quensie Brown added 986
rushing yards and 18 scores, while
Mitchell threw for 1,809 yards and 25
touchdowns.
Junior Patrick Anderson, who threw
only one pass last season, takes over at
quarterback. Mark Brown said Anderson
is a different type of quarterback than
NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise
John Hardin players, from left, Domonick Brown, Chris Smith, Wade Holtsclaw, Jalen Fleming
and Garrett Ray look to continue the program’s winning ways.
Mitchell. Anderson is in the mold of former
John Hardin quarterback Jerren
Morning.
“I’ve been working on passing fundamentals,”
Anderson said. “I’ve been
working on my footwork and my throws.
I’ve been working with Jerren and he’s a
really, really good coach.”
Taking over in the backfield at halfback
are senior Wade Holtsclaw and Fleming.
Junior Khalil Frazier, who is the team’s
leading returning rusher with 167 yards,
will split with Holtsclaw and Fleming.
Mark Brown said he plans to use a rotation
at fullback with Ray, Domonick
Brown and junior Chris Smith sharing
time.
The offensive line was hit hard by
graduation as well, as only senior right
guard Chris Doss returns. The Bulldogs
will begin the year with a bunch of new
faces in new places.
“We’re picking up the offense pretty
quick,” Holtsclaw said. “It’s hard to replace
guys like Jeremy, Eli and Quensie.
But we’re going to work with what we’ve
got. Experience will come and we’ll start
clicking.”
Last year’s offense put up some huge
numbers, averaging 44.1 points and 399.9
yards per game. It might not be as explosive
as last year, but the Bulldogs think
they can be just as effective.
“Our offense was great last year,”
Anderson said. “People say we’re not going
to be as good as last year. We’re not
going to have the big plays that we did last
year with Jeremy and Quensie. We’re going
to have to get three to five yards at a
time and put drives together.”
John Hardin will look to its defense to
carry the load, especially early in the season.
The defense has some great blocks to
build around in last year’s Area Defensive
Player of the Year Domonick Brown, Ray,
Holtsclaw, Fleming and junior Matt Elam,
last year’s Area Defensive Sophomore of
the Year.
“Obviously, early on defense will be
our strong point,” Mark Brown said. “We
don’t return everybody, but we return five
players. Our linebackers have a lot of experience.
I think we’ll have a good secondary
and we’re just trying to fit the
pieces around Matt on the defensive line.”
Despite all the changes, the Bulldogs
haven’t changed their goals. They enter
this season with the same expectations as
previous ones.
“Win 15,” Holtsclaw said. “That’s been
drilled in our heads and that’s what we
want. Since eighth grade, that’s been the
goal. People have thought this would be
our year. There’s pressure there, but I like
this type of pressure. We believe this is the
year we get it done.”
Chuck Jones can be reached at (270) 505-1759
or cjones@thenewsenterprise.com.
The United States won 104 medals this year at the Summer Games, including 46 golds - the most of any country.
Stick And Move
Chris Doss has to have the moves of a boxer in John Hardin’s Wing-T attack
By CHUCK JONES
The News-Enterprise
John Hardin senior
guard Chris Doss
looks to his left and
then to his right. He
immediately notices a difference
from last year to
this one. Doss is the only
returning starter.
Last year, the entire
John Hardin offensive line
returned intact, but Doss is
the only remaining link.
The 5-foot-10, 235-pound
Doss said it’s a challenge
going from the young one
of the group to the veteran
that everyone else is looking
to for answers.
“It’s definitely different,”
he said. “Everyone is
working hard and learning
the plays. We have a whole
bunch of chemistry. Everyone
is working to get on
the same page and we’re
starting to come together.”
John Hardin coach
Mark Brown said Doss has
been the rock of the offensive
line. It shouldn’t come
as a surprise since Doss has
been starting at guard
since he was a sophomore.
“Chris is Mr. Steady,”
Brown said. “He started
playing when he was
young, and now he’s the
grizzled veteran. He’s become
a lot more vocal. If
players are unsure what to
do, they’ll go to him. It’s always
nice to see that, to see
a player step up like that.”
Doss realized during the
offseason he was going to
have to become a bigger
leader. In the past, he always
deferred to the upperclassmen,
but he has
doesn’t have that luxury
this year.
“I’ve been stepping up
CHUCK JONES/The News-Enterprise
John Hardin senior Chris Doss is a three-year starter at guard.
and keeping everyone focused,”
Doss said. “I’m
making sure everyone is
learning the plays. I know
we lost a lot of good linemen
from last year, so I
need to step up in their
place. I’ve been making
sure everyone is hitting it
hard and not slacking off.”
Not only is Doss working
with a new line, but the
entire backfield is different
as well. He said it’s different
blocking for this year’s
halfbacks – seniors Jalen
Fleming and Wade Holtsclaw
and junior Khalil
Frazier – as opposed to last
year’s duo of Jeremy
Harness and Quensie
Brown.
“It changes how you
block a little bit,” Doss
said. “Jeremy always
looked to cut it to the outside.
Wade and Jalen follow
the blocks more and
use me to lead them.”
Being a guard in the
Wing-T offense is much
like being a boxer. The
guard is required to pull on
a number of plays. When
he pulls, Doss is expected
to deliver a hit once he gets
there to clear a path for the
running back.
“You’ve got to be quick
on your feet,” Doss said.
“You have to make quick
cuts because everything
happens so quick. You
have to be ready to hit the
linebacker or corner(back).
You can’t focus on one person,
but rather a group of
people. When you get
there, you better deliver a
blow.”
Brown said guards in
the Wing-T system don’t
have to be overly big as
long as they can move
well.
“He’s not overly big,
but he weighs enough,”
Brown said. “He has good
size. In our offense, you
need to be able to run and
pack a punch once you get
there. He always has something
behind his blocks.”
Doss said he picked up
so much from former John
Hardin linemen like Patrick
Crowe and the late
Jeff Richard.
“I learned a lot from
Jeff. He taught me to never
give up,” Doss said.
“Patrick taught me about
staying on contact and
making sure you make the
right blocks. I’ve worked
with a lot of different tackles
and I’ve learned a lot of
from them.”
Brown said the coaching
staff realized Doss’
freshman season at linemen
camp that he could be
a special talent.
“He was just so aggressive,”
Brown said. “I asked
Andrew (Hundley) about
him because he was at
Bluegrass (Middle School)
and he said he could be a
good one. He was really
aggressive on the defensive
side of the ball. He proved
he could play and we
found a spot for him.”
Doss caught the attention
of the coaching staff
with his play on defense at
that camp, but he’s always
started on the offensive
side. That could change
this season as Doss might
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see time at defensive end.
“I’ve always wanted to
play defense,” Doss said. “I
know I might get to this
year. To go both ways, you
can get tired real fast, so
I’ve worked to get in better
shape.”
There’s a reason Doss
was driven to work so hard
in the offseason. The last
two years, the Bulldogs
have reached the state
semifinals only to suffer
disappointing losses. Doss
and his teammates are
hoping to change that
trend this season.
“Everyone is working
for the same thing,” Doss
said. “We’ve worked as
hard as we can. That loss
last year motivated me a
lot. I want a state championship.
We all do.”
Chuck Jones can be reached
at (270) 505-1759 or
cjones@thenewsenterprise.com.
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