CAIRO COACH ALWAYS FILLED WITH OPTIMISM

Cairo (Ill.) High School football coach Ron Woods is known for his jovial personality and eternal optimism.

Woods, entering his 15th season in charge of the Pilots, generally has high hopes for every season. So it is with the 2000 campaign, which begins Friday night at Carterville.

No matter that Cairo went 1-8 last year or that the Pilots are just 6-38 over the past five seasons. Woods refuses to look at the glass as half-empty. It's always half-full in his mind.

"I think we're going to be all right," said Woods. "We have a pretty good group of guys and probably the second biggest group I've had. We're experienced everywhere but running back. If we can stay healthy and the backs come together and play well, we're going to have a decent football team."

Added Woods with his trademark laugh, "We're going to try to have a good year. If we don't, we're going to have a good time. We just go out and have fun. That's always been our philosophy."

The Pilots have 17 returning players and, although not all of them started, most saw extensive action for last year's young squad that featured just three seniors.

One of Cairo's biggest losses did not come through graduation. Byron Wright, one of the top receivers in southern Illinois and an exceptional all-around athlete, will miss the entire season with knee problems.

"That hurts us," Woods said. "He would have been our best player on offense and defense."

Cairo's quarterback will be senior Brandon Harris (5-feet-9, 202 pounds), who played fullback last year.

"He's worked hard," said Woods. "He's got good leadership skills and he's a good passer and strong runner."

The Pilots will be featuring all new starting running backs. Two returning squad members are senior Earl Williams (5-7, 170) and junior Rasheed Cusler (5-9, 175). Woods is also high on speedy freshman Gary Williams (5-7, 145) and senior Rudolph Alexander (6-1, 175).

Wide receivers are junior Detrick Williams (6-3, 160) and sophomore Brandon Williamson (5-8, 145) while tight end will be manned by juniors Lee Willie Ivy (6-4, 240) and Marcus Simelten (5-9, 175).

A host of offensive linemen return, including seniors Dione Berry (6-1, 230), Grant Gardner (6-0, 245), Colt Wood (5-10, 240), Jeremy Riggs (5-8, 220) and David McNeely (6-3, 245); and juniors Scott Porche (6-1, 270) and Isaac Simelten (5-9, 180). Gardner is a three-year starter while Wood is a two-year starter.

Defensively, most of the offensive performers will turn around and play both ways. Some other defenders are senior tackle Sulando Davis (5-11, 300), junior linebacker Johnny Riston (5-8, 165) and sophomore backs Derick Williams (5-8, 145) and Joshua Booth (5-8, 135).

"Our biggest weakness last year was defense. We didn't stop anybody," said Woods. "The last two or three years, we played poorly on defense. I attribute it to myself, so I've changed some of the things I've believed in over the years. We're going to blitz a whole lot more, press more, use more man coverage, things like that."