Prepzone Pigskin Preview 2017

ADAMS CENTRALPATRIOTS
AINSWORTHBULLDOGS
By: Austin Miller
The Adams Central 2016 season
could be described as a “what
could have been” campaign.
Despite a loss to open the year,
the Patriots won their next
two games and saw a path to a
successful season; but instead
they were hit hard by injuries.
Running back Dylan Glaser
was averaging over 100 yards
per game to start the year,
but suffered a season-ending
injury just three games in. Evan
Johnson came in as the starting
quarterback as a freshman and
threw for more than 1,500 yards
his first seven games, before
breaking his collarbone in week
eight.
The Patriots would end the
2016 season at 3-6, and while
the team returns six starters on
offense and seven on defense,
this year’s group will be
extremely young. Head coach
Shawn Mulligan expects to play
a number of sophomores.
“20 of our 62 players missed
a game (reserve or varsity)
because of injury. The injury
bug allowed a number of
younger players valuable
playing experience,” Mulligan
said.
In addition to Johnson under
center, the Patriots will rely
on a two-headed attack out of
the back field in Glaser and
Gabe Conant. Conant is only a
sophomore, but is a promising
running back. Last year,
Conant rushed for 103 yards
on 11 carries in a game against
Lakeview. If those two can stay
healthy, they could prove to
be solid chain movers for the
Patriot offense.
Defensively, the Patriots will
rely on Max Winkler to anchor
the front seven. Winkler was
yet another player that saw his
season cut short due to injury,
suffering a concussion in week
three. Winkler has started
the past three seasons for the
Patriots. As a sophomore,
Winkler led the team with 34
solo tackles and 55 assisted
tackles.
Adams Central is now four
years removed from a playoff
appearance, and despite the
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 @ Kearney Catholic
9/1 Milford-Dorchester
9/8 @ Cozad
9/15 Minden
9/22 Ord
9/29 @ Grand Island Central Catholic
10/6 @ Boone Central/Newman Grove
10/13 Columbus Lakeview
10/20 @ Columbus Scotus
youth there is talent on the
squad. However, the Patriots
will have a tough schedule to
navigate though. They’ll have
to face five teams that finished
above .500 last season, including
a road opener against a Kearney
Catholic squad that finished 10-
2. Regardless, if they can avoid
the injury bug, the Patriots have
a chance to return to postseason
play.
Key Players:
Evan Johnson (6’0” 170 lbs)
Soph. QB
Dylan Glaser (6’0” 185 lbs) Sr.
RB
Max Winkler (5’10” 190 lbs) Sr.
LB
By: Justin Biegel
After a thrilling 46-24 victory
over Ravenna in the 2016 season
opener, Ainsworth went on to
lose seven of its remaining eight
games. The Bulldogs finished
the year 2-6 in its first season
in class D1 and under first year
head coach Jake Nelson.
Nelson now hopes to write a
different narrative in 2017, as his
Bulldogs look to bounce back in
the win column. And it will start
with his returning players.
“We are returning a lot of
experience from last year’s
team,” Nelson said. “The team
improved a lot throughout the
year, but had a brutal schedule.
The main area of improvement
will be concentrating on this
year’s tackling in the open
field.”
The Ainsworth defense
struggled mightily to get stops
a year ago, surrendering an
average of 45 points per game.
The Bulldogs return six starters
on both sides of the ball,
headlined by quarterback and
defensive back Payton Allen.
The senior will start under
center for the fourth consecutive
season. He holds the school
passing record (2111 yards) and
began to better utilize his legs
as a junior. Allen was also the
leading tackler from both the
safety and linebacker positions.
This year’s team will also
feature some familiar faces
in different positions. One of
Allen’s favorite targets at wide
receiver – fellow senior Caeleb
Irwin – will transition to a
running back role this fall. At
6-foot, 180-pounds, Irwin will
likely get the majority of snaps
at tailback.
Another playmaker to keep
an eye on this year will be
tight end and linebacker Blake
Schipporeit, who received alldistrict
honors at the end of
his junior season. With his big
frame (6’2” 215 lbs), Nelson
knows he’ll have a difference
maker. Schipporeit has the
ability to both seal the edge and
block on run plays and take
off downfield. Although, he
doesn’t do that too often in the
Bulldogs I-formation offense.
His main contributions will be
on the defense, where he tallied
45 tackles as a junior, nearly 5.5
per game.
Like many other schools across
the state, Ainsworth will play
2017 SCHEDULE
8/25 @ Ravenna
9/1 South Loup
9/8 Hemingford
9/22 @ Clearwater-Orchard
9/29 CWCE
10/6 @ Boyd County
10/13 Burwell
10/19 @ West Holt
the same opponents in the
same order as it did in 2016
with home and away games
switched. That means the
Bulldogs will once again open
the year against Ravenna, who
they defeated last year. That
game will be held at the home
of the Jays on Aug. 25. The only
other win for the Bulldogs last
year came against Boyd County,
who they’ll travel to on Oct. 6.
Key Players:
Payton Allen (6’0” 185 lbs) Sr.
QB/DB
Caeleb Irwin (6’0” 180 lbs) Sr.
RB/LB
Blake Schipporeit (6’2” 215 lbs)
Sr. TE/LB
TEAM FACTS
Head Team Coach: Name: Patriots Shawn Mulligan
Career Class: C1 Record: 7-11
Assistant 2016 Record: Coaches: 3-6
Class: Playoff C-1 Appearances: 20
Team Head Coach: Name: Patriots Shawn Mulligan
Career Record: 10-17
Assistant Coach: Josh Lewis
COVERING CENTRAL NEBRASKA BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE
WEEKNIGHTS AT 6 & 10 PM
BRANDON RECTOR • SPENCER SCHUBERT • CATHERINE SILVER • JUSTIN BIEGEL
TEAM FACTS
Team Name: Bulldogs
Class: D1
2016 Record: 2-6
Playoff Appearances: 2
Head Coach: Jake Nelson
Career Record: 3-31
CENTRAL NEBRASKA’S HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS LEADER
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