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THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 19
MEADE COUNTY
GREEN WAVE
Jumping Forward
Green Wave look to bounce back after disappointing season
By JOHN GROTH
The News-Enterprise
Larry Mofield is sticking
with his gut. After installing
the Wing-T offense
after injuries took a toll on
the team midway through last
season, the Meade County football
coach will keep the system.
Honestly, the veteran thinks he
should’ve turned to it years ago.
“I really like it from an offensive
line standpoint. I’ve probably never
liked something as much as I’ve
liked this because we have rules,”
Mofield said. “I think the play-action
passing game is good out of it.
It’s a run-oriented offense, I’m not
going to try to skirt around it. It relies
a lot on misdirection, deception.
And all offenses or defenses
should be team-oriented, but it really
is team-oriented because the
guy that is faking the ball is as important
as the guy that is carrying
the ball.”
Coming off a disappointing 4-7
season, Meade County has a number
of holes to fill. Thomas Wilson,
the team’s top quarterback and one
of its leading rushers, has graduated,
as have top running back Max
Cundiff and the Green Wave’s top
three receivers (Bo Wilson, Brady
Smith and Tylor Pinkard) and tacklers
(Thomas Wilson, Cundiff and
Cody Hoskins).
So with a host of new starters,
Mofield will go with a more balanced
offensive attack.
He hopes it can turn out to be as
successful as the kind of Wing-T attacks
that John Hardin and Scott
County run. John Hardin has
reached the Class 5-A semifinals
each of the last four years and the
5-A state championship game in
2009.
Scott County has reached the 6-
A semifinals the past three straight
years, including a title-game appearance
in 2010.
With a veteran offensive line,
which includes returning seniors
Ryan Webb, Evan Kenealy, Connor
Williams and Alec Mielke and
junior Matt Millay, Mofield can do
that.
Senior Jake Wilson will remain
at quarterback. He started the
Green Wave’s final six games after
Thomas Wilson suffered an injury
to his non-throwing hand last season
and completed 29-of-74 passes
for 448 yards with five touchdowns
and two interceptions.
But Meade County’s backfield
will have an entirely different look
after its top three rushers graduated,
as will its receiving corps.
Senior John Clark will take over
at running back. He rushed 59
times for 204 yards and four touchdowns
last year, ranking fourth on
the team. Juniors Devonte Duncan
(11 carries, 103 yards) and Antwan
Ferguson (five carries, 42 yards)
will split time at fullback.
Mofield said Clark is probably
the team’s fastest player and gives
Meade County a speed back –
something it hasn’t been known for
in recent years. Clark has adjusted
his running style accordingly,
learning to zip to the outside more.
“I think it’s easier really – being
able to use my speed and get
around the corner instead of having
to drive up the middle,” he
said.
Senior Zeb Wilson and junior
Jobey Embrey will be at wideout.
Zeb Wilson caught five passes for
69 yards and a touchdown last
year, while Embrey, who didn’t
play last season, is 6-foot-2 and 172
pounds and gives the team a physical,
tall wideout. Junior Travis
Jenkins, who returns after not playing
last season, will work as the
team’s tight end. At 6-3 and 240
pounds, he gives them another big
body.
Mofield said about 60 to 65 percent
of the team’s offensive sets will
be tight-end oriented, leaving them
with just one receiver on the field.
“We really don’t have any burners
out there so to speak. But I like
our kids as far as running routes
and the possession-type receivers
that we have,” he said. “In high
school football, if you get a burner
out there, you’re blessed. If not,
you better make sure they can
catch, run good routes and block
for you.”
Meade County’s defense is
filled with veterans, with 10-of-11
starters either juniors or seniors.
That includes two-way players
Hogan, Webb, Ferguson and
Duncan on the line, along with
senior Sean Graham, junior Luke
Wilson and senior Kippy Caro and
Clark as linebackers and senior
Zach Kullman and junior Nick
O’Brien in the secondary.
Caro didn’t play last season after
tearing the meniscus in his left
knee during spring practice. But he
learned plenty – like how to read
blocks better – from watching on
the sidelines.
“I think we have a really strong
defensive group right now. Sean
Graham, he’s started all three
years. He’s really good. Luke
Wilson’s coming up. He’s a junior
but he’s a really good inside linebacker
and so is John Clark. He’s
an outside linebacker. (We’re)
tough cause we have people who
NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise
Meade County seniors Sean Graham and Alex Hogan hope to lead the
Green Wave to new heights this season.
like to hit,” Caro said. “Cody
Hoskins, I know he’s gone. I hope
I can fill his shoes because he was a
really good inside linebacker. He
was really smart, too. And he
would hit. Losing Max Cundiff
and he was really good too. He was
a big leader on defense. But I think
we have enough leadership here to
make up for it.”
Meade County gave up 30 or
more points three times last year
and eight opponents scored at least
20 points. The Green Wave allowed
290 points overall, the thirdmost
they’ve given up in a season
during the 2000s. But with their
athleticism, Mofield thinks they
can better that performance.
“I think we’re as athletic as
we’ve been in several years,” he
said. “As good as defensive line is,
if our defensive line can get off the
ball and help control the line of
scrimmage, our linebackers will
make plays.”
John Groth can be reached
at (270) 505-1754 or
jgroth@thenewsenterprise.com.
Brittany Reese won the long jump in London, becoming the first American woman to win the event since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1988.
By JOHN GROTH
The News-Enterprise
Jake Wilson insists
the inconsistent passing
problems have
dissolved.
Now that he does not
have to fill in on the fly,
Meade County’s senior
quarterback is armed with
plenty more knowledge
and comfort this year.
He’s still steamed with
the way last season ended,
with the Green Wave losing
their final three games,
recording only their second
losing season since
2004.
“I’m definitely coming
with a chip on my shoulder.
I definitely want to
prove to everybody that
we’re not the same team
we were last year,” Jake
Wilson said. “We just want
to come out and prove
people wrong – just from
last year, the 4-7. We’re capable
of being better than
that.”
Wilson also thinks he’s
capable of being a healthier,
better quarterback as well.
Wilson has struggled
staying on the field each of
the past two seasons.
In 2010, he tore an
acromioclavicular ligament
in his left throwing shoulder
and missed two weeks.
Last season, he suffered a
concussion and missed
three weeks before taking
over for Thomas Wilson,
who broke a bone in his
non-throwing hand in a 21-
14 loss at Jeffersontown.
With Meade County
running a new Wing-T offense,
Jake Wilson guided
the Green Wave to two
straight wins over Nelson
County and district rival
Central Hardin before
they lost three straight
Target Practice
After struggles last year,Jake Wilson hopes to be on the mark this season
games. He went 5-of-8 for
105 yards and one touchdown
against the Cardinals
and 9-of-12 for 149
yards and two scores
against the Bruins before
opponents started to figure
him out – forcing him to
make quick throws and defending
wide receivers
deep and tighter on the
corners.
Jake Wilson finished the
season going 29-of-74 (39.2
percent) for 448 yards, five
touchdowns and two interceptions.
“Once Thomas went
down, we pretty much said
once Jake got healthy he
was going to be our guy.
We felt like he had the tools
and he still does,” said
Meade County coach Larry
Mofield. “I tell you what he
does give us – he gives us a
kid that can see over the defense.
He gives us a kid
with a strong arm. We will
not run him near as much
as we ran Thomas. But I
also think that as time goes
on, he’s going to have to be
a runner for us a little bit,
too. I think there’ll be some
designed runs.
“He’s a big boy, 6-3, 6-4,
200-something pounds, so
we’ve got to be able to utilize
that occasionally,” he
added. “And, I think, Jake’s
kind of a laid-back kid. But
I also think when the lights
come on, he’s a competitor
out there. I think he wants
to win. And I like that
about him.”
That competitiveness
has come alive this summer.
Now that he’s just playing
quarterback and not
defense, Jake Wilson has
dedicated himself to that
position more.
Disappointed by his
late-season swoon, he has
NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise
Meade County senior Jake Wilson completed 29-of-74 passes
for 448 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions last
year.
worked on his passing accuracy.
Mofield has emphasized
a shorter passing
game during summer practice,
making Jake Wilson
work on hitting receivers
from 10 yards or less.
With nearly an entire
new receiving corps,
which includes 6-foot-2
junior Jobey Embrey, 6-0
junior Zeb Wilson, 5-10
senior Brandon Kennedy
and 6-3, 240-pound junior
tight end Travis Jenkins,
Jake Wilson needs to develop
some chemistry with
them. Zeb Wilson (five
catches for 69 yards and
one touchdown) and Kennedy
(one catch for 14
yards) are the only two
who caught passes last
year, so it’s about finding
timing and patience.
“Coaches have really
emphasized the short game
this summer during practice,”
Jake Wilson said.
“But we’ve just got to continue
to make sure our
route-running schemes and
just mix it up – go long, go
short, go short couple times
then go long. We’ve just got
to mix it up and we should
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jgroth@thenewsenterprise.com.
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