Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

RAYMOND CENTRALMUSTANGS
By: Josh Skluzacek
The Mustangs of Raymond
Central are looking to rebound
after a bit of a rollercoaster year
in 2016. After losing their first
four games, the Mustangs won
three in a row before dropping
the final two games of the
season. This year, they’ll hope to
find some more consistency, but
it won’t be easy.
Head coach Nathan Liess said
he expects Aquinas Catholic and
Boys Town to lead the class once
again, and those teams happen
to be the first two matchups of
the upcoming season for the
Mustangs.
But the schedule won’t be the
only difficultly for Raymond
Central. They’re looking to
replace some key positions left
void due to graduation, and will
need some players to step up
and fill the roles in order to have
a successful campaign.
However, the Mustangs should
have strong play in the trenches,
as they return four starters
along the offensive line and
three on the defensive line.
Now, the Mustangs need to find
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Mustangs
Class: C1
2016 Record: 3-6
Playoff Appearances: 10
Head Coach: Nathan Liess
Career Record: 42-49
Assistant Coaches: Steve Rose, Pat
Harington, Adison Kenning and
Corey Serrano
playmakers at other positions.
“Developing skill positions
on offense to play behind an
experienced offensive line,” said
Liess when asked what his team
needs to do to be successful.
“Defensively, we must rebuild
our secondary and replace lots of
tackles at linebacker, but expect
to be better along the defensive
line.”
It’s no secret that the play of
those filling skill positions for the
Mustangs will be a determining
factor in how successful the
team is this season. One of those
key positions they’ll need solid
play at is quarterback, and the
Mustangs could have a battle
for the spot between senior
Tucker Randall and junior Aiden
Urbom.
Despite the lack of experience in
skill positions, Liess is optimistic.
He said he likes the team they
have, in large part because they
have good attitudes, a good
work ethic, and people who are
ready to step into those bigger
roles.
The six players Liess and the
Mustangs will lean on this
season are OT/DE Jackson
Fowler, C/LB Duke Nelson,
OG/DE Nate Boyd, Randall, and
TE/LB Jett Burklund. The six
seniors all have at least one year
of starting experience and will be
relied on to play big roles both
offensively and defensively for
the Mustangs.
The other players the team will
2017 SCHEDULE
8/24 @ Aquinas Catholic
9/1 Boys Town
9/8 Douglas County West
9/15 @ Syracuse
9/22 Southern
9/29 @ Lincoln Christian
10/6 @ Milford-Dorchester
10/13 Fairbury
10/20 @ Ashland-Greenwood
look to when filling big roles
include DT Kody Swartz, LB/
RB Eli Pickel, DT/OG Garret
Moudry, LB/WR Easton
Albrecht, Urbom, LB/RB Dylan
Thornburg, and LB/RB Josh
Palensky. These seven juniors
will be needed to fill the void left
by some of last year’s seniors
and could be a big part of the
reason if the Mustangs are able
to improve upon last year’s 3-6
record.
Key Players:
Jackson Fowler (5’11” 220 lbs) Sr.
OT/DE
Tucker Randall (5’8” 155 lbs) Sr.
ATH/FS
Duke Nelson (5’9” 155 lbs) Sr. C/LB
176 2017 Prepzone Pigskin Preview www.1011now.com/prepzonepigskinpreview 177