eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association

01.11.2014 Views
14 THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 NORTH HARDIN TROJANS The 2012 North Hardin Trojans ORGANIZING COMMITTEE TRAINING SITE: Radcliff. POPULATION (2011-12 school year): 1,460 (Grades 9-12). TEAM COLORS: Blue and white. HOME FIELD: Ray Story Stadium (capacity 2,500). 2011 GAMES: 6-6. LAST MEDAL ROUND: 2011 (lost to John Hardin, 31-10 in the second round of the Class 5-A playoffs). LAST MEDAL WIN: Defeated Bullitt East, 35-14 in the first round of the Class 5-A playoffs in 2011. TEAM NORTH HARDIN HEAD COACH: Brent Thompson (first season at North Hardin). ASSISTANT COACHES: Shaun Boykins, Mike Carroll, Mike Reed, Jerome Davison, Jose Rivera, Terale Harrison, Carslo Lowery, Quintarial Parmes, John Simmons, Carlton King and Henri Baynham-Baker. ATHLETES: 61 (Grades 10-12). TOP STATISTICAL RETURNEES Rushing: Michael Brunson (118 att., 523 yards, 7 TDs). Passing: Michael Brunson (28-for-60 for 513 yards and 6 TDs). Receiving: Vincent Dobbins (14 catches, 186 yards, 5 TDs). MEDAL HOPES ■ North Hardin seniors Vincent Dobbins and Kirk Oxendine should thrive in a pass-happy offense. ■ North Hardin senior Johnny Hopkins should be a front-runner for Area Lineman of the Year. ■ The Trojans should be good, but they need senior Michael Brunson to push them over the top. NORTH HARDIN TROJANS MEDAL CHASE 2012 SCHEDULE Aug. 25 GREENWOOD # Aug. 31 MADISONVILLE NORTH- HOPKINS Sept. 7 at Louisville Fairdale Sept. 14 CENTRAL HARDIN Sept. 21 GRAYSON COUNTY Sept. 28 at Jeffersontown Oct. 5 at Louisville Iroquois Oct. 12 at John Hardin Oct. 19 at Meade County Oct. 26 at Owensboro Catholic Home games in all caps BOLD indicates Class 5-A, District 3 game # denotes Joe Jaggers Bowl at North Hardin 2011 RESULTS Def. South Oldham, 48-28 Lost to Madisonville-North Hopkins, 34-21 Def. Louisville Fairdale, 42-16 Lost to Central Hardin, 27-24 Def. Grayson County, 53-0 Lost to Jeffersontown, 33-13 Def. Louisville Iroquois, 70-14 Lost to John Hardin, 51-21 Def. Meade County, 27-22 Lost to Owensboro Catholic, 35-16 Def. Bullitt East, 35-14 Lost to John Hardin, 31-10 PAST GAMES 2011: 6-6 2010: 6-5 2009: 2-8 2008: 4-7 2007: 3-8 GOLD MEDALS None 2006: 6-5 2005: 6-5 2004: 9-4 2003: 4-7 2002: 7-4 2012 ROSTER No. Name Position Height Weight Class 1 Michael Brunson WR/DB 6-1 215 Senior 2 Kirk Oxendine WR/DB 5-11 175 Senior 3 Bryan Carroll WR/LB 5-9 175 Senior 4 Detlef Turner QB 5-10 195 Sophomore 5 Vincent Dobbins WR/DB 5-9 165 Senior 6 Mack Taylor WR/DB 5-10 170 Junior 7 Dominique Gully WR/DB 5-8 160 Junior 8 Dante Johnson WR/DB 5-9 165 Junior 9 Justin Penney WR/LB 6-2 195 Junior 10 Dontre Woodruff WR/DB 5-10 180 Senior 11 Darius Walters WR/DB 5-10 175 Junior 12 Hunter Raj WR/DB 6-2 185 Senior 14 Andrew Rugerio QB 5-9 170 Junior 15 Seth Duncan LB 5-10 185 Junior 16 Doug Wright RB/LB 6-0 185 Junior 17 E.J. Babauta WR/DB 5-8 160 Junior 18 Paxton Wiley WR/DB 5-10 155 Sophomore 19 A.J. Morales QB 5-9 155 Freshman 21 Tavon Graves RB 5-7 155 Freshman 22 Alex Blackmore LB 5-9 155 Sophomore 23 Maxwell Maxwell WR/DB 5-9 155 Sophomore 24 TreVon Johnson RB 5-10 185 Senior 25 Jonathan Little RB/DB 5-7 150 Freshman 28 Andrew Holland Captain N/A N/A Freshman 30 Roderick Williams WR/DB 5-9 170 Sophomore 31 Jonathan Phelps LB 5-9 175 Senior 32 Jordan Murray WR/LB 6-2 170 Junior 33 Thomas Henning RB/LB 5-8 160 Sophomore 34 Shadarrion Youngblood WR/LB 5-9 165 Freshman 36 Cameron Savage LB 5-10 175 Sophomore 38 DiAngelo Walker WR/DB 6-1 175 Sophomore 39 Isaiah Becker LB 5-10 175 Sophomore 40 Demarcus Champion DL 5-7 185 Senior 42 Jeremiah Draper TE/DE 6-0 211 Sophomore 43 Jacob Jones DL 6-2 190 Junior 50 Todd Holbrook OL/DL 5-10 193 Sophomore 51 Sharod Brunson OL/DL 5-10 213 Sophomore 53 Matt Hughes OL/DL 6-0 222 Sophomore 54 Darrius Parrott OL/LB 5-10 213 Junior 55 Johnny Hopkins OL/LB 6-2 255 Senior 56 Eric Callens OL/DL 6-2 205 Senior 58 Marcus Branson OL/DL 5-10 193 Senior 59 A.J. Hampton OL/DL 6-2 225 Sophomore 61 Griffin Gould OL/DL 5-10 210 Sophomore 62 Kyle Peropat OL/DL 6-3 215 Senior 63 Mike Miller OL/DL 5-8 210 Sophomore 64 D.J. Lee OL/DL 5-6 202 Junior 66 Hunter Lucas OL/DL 6-1 218 Junior 68 Sawyer Hall OL/DL 5-11 204 Senior 70 LaMichael Johnson OL/DL 6-1 209 Sophomore 71 Justin Hornback OL/DL 6-1 265 Sophomore 72 Patrick Williams OL/DL 6- 335 Sophomore 73 Malcom Williams OL/DL 6-3 300 Junior 74 Malik Williams OL/DL 5-10 217 Sophomore 78 Maurice Diggs OL/DL 6-2 285 Junior 79 Charles Dogan-Edwards OL/DL 6-2 296 Senior 81 C.J. Morales WR/DB 5-11 170 Junior 84 Kendall Nichols WR/DB 5-9 155 Sophomore 87 Justin Musselman K/P 5-7 145 Junior 88 Lucas Scott P/DB 6-0 180 Senior PROJECTED STARTERS OFFENSE QB: Andrew Rugerio, 5-9, 170, Jr. — Good-decision making wins him the job. F: TreVon Johnson, 5-10, 185, Sr. — Becomes the featured back in the offense. H: Vincent Dobbins, 5-9, 165, Sr. — Electrifying player who should have breakout year. X: Kirk Oxendine, 5-11, 175, Sr. — Receiver with good size and speed. Y: Michael Brunson, 6-1, 215, Sr., or Jeremiah Draper, 6-0, 211, So. — Job still up in the air. Z: Dante Johnson, 5-9, 165, Jr. — Another track standout on the outside. LT: Johnny Hopkins, 6-2, 255, Sr. — Only returning starter on the offensive line. LG: Kyle Peropat, 6-3, 215, Sr. — Forms a great duo on the left side with Hopkins. C: Sawyer Hall, 5-11, 204, Sr. — Will anchor line in the middle. RG: Maurice Diggs, 6-2, 285, Jr., or Hunter Lucas, 6-1, 218, Jr. — Battle goes on. RT: Eric Callens, 6-2, 205, Sr. — Shifts from tight end to tackle. K: Justin Musselman, 5-7, 145, Jr. — Takes over for the graduated Tyler Vanderwedge. DEFENSE LE: Kyle Peropat, 6-3, 215, Sr. — Callens figures to see playing time here. NG: Matt Hughes, 6-0, 222, So. or Demarcus Champion, 5-7, 185, Sr. — Both will play. RE: Sawyer Hall, 5-11, 204, Sr. — Callens figures to see playing time here. OLB: Doug Wright, 6-0, 185, Jr. — Has ability to stop the run and defend the pass. ILB: Darrius Parrott, 5-10, 213, Sr. — Will benefit from a year of experience. ILB: Johnny Hopkins, 6-2, 255, Sr. — Moves from end to linebacker this season. ILB: Seth Duncan, 5-10, 185, Jr. — Should make an immediate impact. OLB: Cameron Savage, 5-10, 175, So. — Had a strong offseason. CB: Vincent Dobbins, 5-9, 165, Sr. — Should anchor secondary. CB: Dontre Woodruff, 5-10, 180, Jr. — Forms a strong duo with Dobbins. S: Hunter Raj, 6-2, 185, Sr. — Smart player on the back of the defense. P: Justin Musselman, 5-7, 145, Jr. — Takes over for the graduated Tyler Vanderwedge.

THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 15 NORTH HARDIN TROJANS Ready To Make Some Racquet Thompson and Trojans look to take another step forward this year after 6-6 season By CHUCK JONES The News-Enterprise The North Hardin Trojans took a huge step forward last season, and despite undergoing major changes in the offseason, they hope to make some more noise this year. The Trojans went 6-6 last season, winning a playoff game for the first time since 2004. It was exactly what the once-proud program needed. Making the second round of the playoffs has served as motivation during the offseason. “That definitely helps us out,” North Hardin senior lineman Kyle Peropat said. “We got a little taste of it and we wanted to go further. We’re looking forward to a great year.” Although they have big expectations this season, the Trojans will have a new look this year. Brent Thompson replaces Crad Jaggers, who resigned in March after going 18-26 in his four-year tenure. Thompson was an assistant at Elizabethtown and Pelham, Ala., before serving in the same role for Jaggers last year. He brings a new energy and fastpaced offense to the program. Thompson has adopted the motto of “All In” which Auburn used during its national championship run two years ago and the players have bought in. “We’ve been together for a while,” said North Hardin senior Vincent Dobbins, who will start on both sides of the ball. “We’re closer on and off the field. We’re more of a team. When one person goes down, someone else steps up. Everybody is on the same page now and it’s going to make us a better team.” Jaggers isn’t the only change. North Hardin lost a number of players to graduation. Gone from the offense are running backs Mathew Brownell, David Hickman and Antonio Simmons, wideout Avery Price, tight end Jeremy Brown and linemen Kris Cornett, Aaron House and Cameron Padget. On defense, the Trojans will have to replace House, Hickman, NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise North Hardin seniors Kyle Peropat and Dontre Woodruff hope to help the Trojans make some noise this season. Simmons, defensive lineman Adam Hendrix, linebacker Josh Greenwell, linebacker Antonio Jackson and defensive back Jarard Williams. The cupboard isn’t barren of talent, though. Senior Johnny Hopkins and Dobbins both started on both sides of the ball last year as did senior Michael Brunson, who hasn’t been with the team much during the preseason. “We didn’t return a lot,” Thompson said. “We don’t have a lot of experience. The good thing is we don’t start district games until like the fifth or sixth week, so by then, we hope to have things in place to make a good run at this. We have lofty goals, like every team in Kentucky we want to win a state championship and that’s what we’re working for.” After reaching the second round of the playoffs, the Trojans believe they can make a deeper run this season. “It was more disappointing than anything,” Hopkins said of last year’s 31-10 loss to John Hardin in the playoffs. “We should have won or could have won that game. We need to continue to work on those things that we didn’t do well last year. Everyone is buying into it this year. If we do that, the sky’s the limit for us.” It starts with the offense, which will use a fast-paced, spread system made popular by Tony Franklin. The Trojans, who averaged 31.7 points and 276 yards a game last season, are excited about the changes. “We can be good offensively,” Dobbins said. “We have the potential to be good. We’re going to play fast. We need to focus, but we can be really good.” Junior Andrew Rugerio takes over at quarterback, replacing Brunson. Thompson praised Rugerio’s decision-making, being able to get the ball to the right spots. He’ll have plenty of options on the outside in Dobbins, Brunson, senior Kirk Oxendine, sophomore Jeremiah Draper and junior Dante Johnson. “We have three or four kids that run track and you can’t say enough about our track program,” Thompson said. “That bodes well for us. We want to get them the ball in space. We have speed and that puts pressure on the defense.” But don’t look for the Trojans to be one dimensional. Thompson plans to run the ball – and run it effectively. Senior TreVon Johnson will run behind an inexperienced line with only Hopkins returning. “No matter what offense you run or how good your passing game is, you have to run the football,” Thompson said. “We’re going to try to play at a fast pace. It’s the same way we practice. We want to get our guys one-on-one battles where if they make someone miss they have an opportunity to score a touchdown. But we’re still going to run it. We have to be able to run it.” Defensively, the Trojans will stick with the same defense as they used the last couple of years. They allowed only 198.5 yards per game last year, but they still managed to give up 25.4 points – a number they must improve on this year. “We’re definitely going to be younger this year,” Hopkins said. “That doesn’t mean we’re not as talented. We have talent; they’re just inexperienced. We’re getting them ready in practice, so when we step on the field they can just play. The young players will do just fine. We need to eliminate the mistakes and not give up the big plays.” If they can do that, the Trojans believe they could take another huge step forward this season. “We want to make it farther than last year,” Dobbins said. “Last year, we won one and then we lost one. We lost focus and we wouldn’t bring back that same focus the next game. We need to be better. We need to be more consistent this year.” If they are, the Trojans could make a lot of racket this year. Chuck Jones can be reached at (270) 505-1759 or cjones@thenewsenterprise.com. Serena Williams of the United States won the women’s singles gold medal as well as the women’s doubles gold with sister Venus. Middle Hitter Johnny Hopkins loves contact and he should get plenty of it after move to inside linebacker By CHUCK JONES The News-Enterprise North Hardin senior Johnny Hopkins always finds himself in the middle of the action no matter what side of the ball he’s on. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Hopkins is the only returning starter on the offensive line. On defense, he is shifting from lineman to middle linebacker this season. It’s a move that fits Hopkins’ personality. “I’m looking forward to it,” Hopkins said. “I like to hit. It’s more about taking anger out. I’m not mean; it’s a part of football. It’s different but I like playing linebacker. I didn’t think I would, but I get to hit.” Making the move to linebacker has been a smooth transition for Hopkins. He’s still picking up all the intricacies of the position. “I’m picking up all the little things,” Hopkins said. “All the things people know that’s been playing there longer. I’m only learning the position this year. I’m trying to work hard and play fast.” Hopkins said the key is getting to the point where he is just going on instinct and not thinking so much about where to be or what to do. “You want to play fast,” Hopkins said. “Stuff happens so fast. You want to react and attack. You don’t want to be thinking and then attack. You just want to react. I’m getting there.” First-year North Hardin coach Brent Thompson said moving Hopkins was an easy choice. Not only does he have great size, but Thompson said Hopkins’ speed sets him apart. “He could be a really good one,” Thompson said. “He is great at running downhill and he’ll hit you when he gets there. He moves pretty well. He worked a lot on his speed and in the weight room. He’s definitely doing the right things.” What Thompson likes about Hopkins is he’s always placing the team first. Like the move to linebacker, Hopkins did it because it made the team better. “To me, he’s the prototypical leader,” Thompson said. “That’s why he’s one of the captains of the team. He’s one of the best kids on the field and in the locker room. He has stopped practice and said we need to do that again. He’s taking ownership of this team.” Hopkins has become more vocal this season than in the past. He realizes this is his final season and he wants to go out with a bang. After going 6-6 last season, Hopkins said the Trojans have bigger goals this year. The Trojans won a playoff game for the first time since 2004, and they envision a deeper run this season. “It’s not about focusing on myself, but getting everyone on the same page,” Hopkins said. “I knew I had to take more of a leadership role. He (Thompson) talked to me about becoming more of a leader and what he expected. And it’s what I should expect from myself.” While Hopkins will be the heart and soul of the defense, Thompson said Hopkins will also be the anchor on the offensive line. NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise North Hardin senior Johnny Hopkins will anchor the offensive line and start at middle linebacker. Hopkins is entering his second year at left tackle. Left tackle is such a vital position because he protects the quarterback’s blind side. Thompson said Hopkins has the physical tools that you can’t coach. “He has long arms and he’s athletic and he has speed,” Thompson said. “He has great speed so he’s not going to get beat off the edge. He has long arms to be a great tackler. He’s such a good pass protector.” Thompson recalled first meeting Hopkins two years ago. He noticed he had the physical gifts to be a special player, but he had no idea Hopkins would develop this much. Hopkins’ work ethic is what separates him from other players, according to Thompson. It’s that work ethic which has driven Hopkins to become one of the area’s top linemen and attracted attention from colleges. But Hopkins’ only focus is helping the Trojans reach their goals. He wants to leave his mark on the program and restore its onceproud tradition. “I’m looking forward to it, but I’m dreading it at the same time,” Hopkins said. “I’m dreading the day I take that jersey off for the last time. Hopefully it will be a win. We want to go further than last year and we have an opportunity to do that. The sky’s the limit for this team.” Get Ready For Fall! Chuck Jones can be reached at (270) 505-1759 or cjones@thenewsenterprise.com. 1302 Old Elizabethtown Rd. • Hodgenville (270) 769-2727 (270) 358-3333 M02964 MO2964 $10 OFF Heating System PrecisionTune-Up (270) 358-3333 Air Conditioning & Heating Reg. $89 • Expires 9-30-12 *Not to be used in conjunction with other coupons or specials M02964 $50 OFF Duct Cleaning (270) 358-3333 Air Conditioning & Heating (270) 358-3333 Air Conditioning & Heating Expires 9-30-12 *Not to be used in conjunction with other coupons or specials M02964 $200 DISCOUNT Central Heating & Cooling System Expires 9-30-12 *Not to be used in conjunction with other coupons or specials M02964

Page 2 and 3: 2 IN THE MIDDLE 10 — KEEPERS OF T

Page 4 and 5: 4 THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012






hardin

sophomore

freshman

thompson

louisville

meade

offensive

knox

elizabethtown

hopkins

etearsheet

kentucky

association

kypress.com

eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association

eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association ... View more eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association

Delete template?

Save as template ?

eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association