eTearsheet - Kentucky Press Association

THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE FOOTBALL 2012 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 7
ELIZABETHTOWN
PANTHERS
The Redeem Team
Panthers want to put last season behind them and focus on the future
By NATHANIEL BRYAN
The News-Enterprise
After an 0-11 season, the
Elizabethtown Panthers
are leaving the
past – and the pass – in the past.
Second-year coach Adam
Billings has scrapped the spread
for a pro-style I-formation power
run game that focuses around
getting explosive and athletic
senior Josh Williams the ball as
much as possible.
“Last year is done and we’re
not looking back at that,” said
Dalton Swank, a senior strongside
offensive guard and defensive
tackle. “Every aspect of
E’town football has changed
since then. Attitude, hard work,
everything.”
There are plenty of changes to
be had as the Panthers look to
end the 12-game losing streak
they find themselves heading
into Friday night’s season-opener
against area rival Fort Knox. It
could be the final meeting between
the teams at Doug Smith
Memorial Stadium as the
Panthers hope to play on an oncampus
turf field in 2013.
There have been many assistant
coaches to come and go.
The roster size has more than
doubled, which is nearly unheard
for a struggling team. The
coaches’ office has been redone,
players have matching practice
uniforms and practices are now
being taped and rewatched at
6:30 the next morning.
“It’s not fun, don’t get me
wrong, but we know it’s necessary
and it’s helped out a lot,”
Swank said of the early mornings.
“Nobody likes getting up at
6:30 in the morning, but I’m
thankful to have a coach that
does that for us.”
Billings is thankful to be heading
back to his tried-and-true offense,
which he used with great
success as a coach in Wisconsin
and North Carolina before taking
over the pass-happy Panthers.
“Regardless of what scheme
you use, you have to have disciplined
players,” Billings said.
“On defense, you’ve got to have
guys flying to the football. You
look anywhere in the country
and you’ll find all sorts of successful
teams that run different
systems. So it’s really not about
the system, but it’s more about
getting your kids the discipline
enough to know what they’re
supposed to be doing when
they’re supposed to be doing it
and playing hard on Friday
night.”
That much was evident during
last week’s home scrimmage
with Louisville Moore as the
Panthers bounced back from an
early two-touchdown deficit to
tie the Mustangs, 21-21. It was
also good for the Panthers because
the Mustangs came out
and stuck nine players in the box
to stop Elizabethtown’s running
game – partly because Moore
coach Eric Dick is a buddy of
Billings who had spent all year
listening to his friend talk about
the Panthers’ offensive changes.
Williams, who had more than
700 yards combined rushing and
receiving last season, is ready to
accept the pressure that goes
along with being the featured
back in a run-oriented offense.
“Our whole team is pretty
much depending on me to run
the I-formation since it’s all running
backs, so I’ve got a big job
to do,” said Williams, who also
led the team in tackles last year
as a safety. “Coach comes to me
to be a leader, so I have to help
the team out and stay on them
and keep them in shape. I’m going
to do what I can to help my
team.”
Williams has plenty of help
around him.
Seven other starters – senior
fullback Jaque Abram, senior X
NEAL CARDIN/The News-Enterprise
Elizabethtown seniors Josh Williams and Dalton Swank don’t want a repeat
of last season.
receiver Devaughn Miller, senior
Z receiver Nathan Cleary, senior
tight end Kennedy Simon,
Swank, junior strong-side tackle
Brandon Cochran and junior
weak-side guard Austin Correll –
are back offensively. Simon was
the second-team All-Area tight
end last year, while Cochran was
the Area Offensive Sophomore
of the Year and an All-Area honorable
mention.
Senior Austin Campbell, who
takes over at quarterback for the
graduated Kyle Todd, said
switching to the I-formation from
the spread hasn’t been that
rough.
“It really wasn’t that bad and
the pressure’s a whole lot different,”
Campbell said. “In shotgun,
you have a whole lot more
time after getting the ball from
the center instead of getting the
ball right off and having to drop
back. You can feel more of a
rush, but I trust my line. Dalton
Swank and Brandon Cochran
are a big part of my line and I
trust them.”
The defense was among the
worst in the state last season, allowing
386.5 yards and 59.5
points per game. The Panthers
hope to drastically change those
numbers with a more-aggressive
approach coupled with experience.
Nine defensive starters return
in Williams at safety, Miller at
cornerback, senior Evan McKinley
at outside linebacker, Abram
and junior Jaylen Nixon at middle
linebacker, Swank and
Correll at the tackles and
Cochran and Simon at defensive
end.
“We’re a lot hungrier and
once we get that first victory,
we’re getting on a roll. It will be
over,” Cochran said. “We look at
this season as a winning season.
We’re going to be good. We’re
going to win.”
Those wins might not be immediate,
but Billings is confident
the team’s luck will change as
long as it sticks together, believes
in the changes and keeps working
hard.
“Losing is not fun,” he said.
“But you can have fun and not
win the football game. You can
still lose and walk off the field
and go, ‘Man, that was a great
game and I’ve got no regrets, so
let’s get better next week.’ That’s
what we want to do this year. We
want to have fun on Friday night.
We want to get after people. We
want to put a product on the field
that everyone wearing an E’town
shirt is proud of.”
Nathaniel Bryan can be reached
at (270) 505-1758 or
nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com.
The United States swept men’s and women’s basketball, winning gold in both for the second consecutive Summer Games.
The All-Around
Josh Williams will be asked to do a little of everything for the Panthers this year
By NATHANIEL BRYAN
The News-Enterprise
Adam Billings, although
not entirely
serious, has
said he may stake his
coaching job on the performance
of a single
teenager this season.
That’s how strongly the
Elizabethtown Panthers’
second-year coach believes
in Josh Williams.
“Let’s put it this way: If
he’s not injured and he
doesn’t have 2,000 all-purpose
yards, I probably
won’t be coaching high
school football very long,”
Billings said of the senior
running back and safety. “If
he stays away from injury
but doesn’t have a great
year, then we’re not having
a great year, either.”
In the Panthers’ spread
offense last year, Williams
averaged more than 12
touches (rushes and catches)
per game. He had 209
yards on 65 carries and 72
receptions for 543 yards
and one touchdown.
“You look at Josh
Williams and when you go
back and look at his highlight
tape and you’re like,
‘Man, that guy was on our
team last year,’” Billings
said. “He made some phenomenal
plays.”
This season, Williams’
number of touches should
be at least 20 and possibly
upward of 30.
“He’s going to make
things happen this year,”
Billings said.
Williams, who is also a
Elizabethtown senior Josh Williams will start on both sides of the ball.
basketball player and a
bodybuilder, relishes the
workhorse role. Especially
in the I-formation.
“I’m more comfortable
in it and I like it a lot more
than the spread,” Williams
said.
Last year, Williams was
the Panthers’ No. 3 option
offensively behind quarterback
Kyle Todd and receiver
Matt Morgan. Todd
threw for 27 touchdowns
and 3,028 yards, while
Morgan caught a state-leading
103 passes for 1,630
yards and 18 touchdowns.
“I feel like people overlook
me because of all of
Matt’s and Kyle’s accomplishments,”
Williams said.
“But it’s a new year and
we’re going to play ball.”
The Panthers are playing
ball – hopefully a winning
version this time – with
Williams leading the charge.
Senior Dalton Swank
loves Williams’ running
ability, but admits Williams
doesn’t make things easy
on the linemen blocking
for him.
“It’s hectic at times because
you never know
which way he’s going to
cut and stuff. So that makes
my job a little bit stressful,
but I love it because he can
bounce off one or two
tackles and all I have to do
is make my one block and
then he’s gone. He’s the
JILL PICKETT/The News-Enterprise
type of kid that just does
that,” Swank said. “He’s
real important to our team.
He’s the key player.”
Billings returns several
linemen and he’s instilled
in all of them to play disciplined
and maintain their
blocks. After that, the onus
is on Williams to produce.
“Josh is the type of kid
who we want to get to the
safety level and we’re not
blocking teams’ safeties,”
Billings said. “The safety
goes unblocked and we’re
hoping to get him to the
safety because if he gets to
the safety, there’s not a
whole lot of teams who
will have fun dealing with
him.”
Williams is in his third
season as a two-way starter.
Resting him would be
nice, but the Panthers can
ill afford to lose him on either
side of the ball.
Williams didn’t have
any interceptions last year,
but he led the team in total
tackles (40.5) and solo
stops (30) while being the
last line of defense. He’s
athletic enough to track
down any long pass and
stick with just about any receiver
on his schedule.
However, Williams has
been cautioned about getting
too aggressive.
“The way you’ll beat him
deep is when he comes up
on you,” Billings said. “Josh
will stick somebody, but we
have to work on his keys on
the play-action pass. He’s
ready to play a 12, walk up
to 10 and come screaming
up and make the tackle 40
yards down the field. That’s
great, but only if he makes
that tackle. It’s not great if a
tight end goes buzzing by
him for six (points).”
Williams agreed he
needs to be a defensive
quarterback first and an
enforcer second.
“I’ve got to control
everything even though I
like to come out and help
on the run game,” Williams
said. “I kind of get bored
sometimes. That’s when I
come up. But I’ve just got to
stay back there and help my
DBs out and still help out
the run game too. I’ve got to
become a complete player.”
Playing on a team that
has been overhauled in
several aspects, Williams is
ready to get the season
started.
For a program that
struggled every week last
year, that’s not the easiest
thing to bounce back from.
“We have nothing to
lose. I mean, we didn’t win a
game last season,” Williams
said. “It’s all or nothing this
time. We’ve got everything
to gain and nothing to lose.
Practice is totally different
now. We’re sprinting around
and not just jogging around.
Our shirts are tucked in.
Our whole team has totally
changed.”
Nathaniel Bryan can be
reached at (270) 505-1758 or
nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com.