Football preview: Chaffee faces tough challenges after key losses

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- It won't be an easy act to follow.

The biggest challenge facing the Chaffee Red Devils football team this season will be living up to the standard set by last year's squad.

Led by an experienced senior class, Chaffee rattled off eight consecutive wins to begin the season and claimed its first SEMO South Conference title in 34 years, but that doesn't discourage coach Charlie Vickery, who believes the Red Devils have enough returning talent to turn last year's success into a trend.

"We lost a lot of seniors, but we've got a lot of linemen and team players coming back," Vickery said. "Hopefully the experience they had last year will carry over to this year."

The Red Devils' season came to a close with a 28-22 loss to Thayer in the semifinals of the Class 1 District 1 playoffs. They finished the season with a 9-2 record.

"Nothing really surprised me. I wish we'd have gone just a little bit further, but we played well throughout the season," Vickery said. "We were satisfied with the way we finished up."

With a new year comes a new transition for Chaffee. Most of the team's varsity experience is on the offensive and defensive lines, and the Red Devils will rely on more inexperienced players at the skill positions.

"We don't have a lot of experience, but we have a whole lot of kids coming back that were on the team. Hopefully they can learn from [last season]," Vickery said. "The guys that are coming back have been in the fire and know what it takes to be successful. We just want to build upon that.

"Without a question, our lines are our strength. We've got really good size up front, especially for a small school. ... The kids are fairly athletic. They're not just the short and heavy type of kids. Most of them hover around 6-foot and 6-foot-2."

Vickery believes talent on the offensive line should enable running backs and wide receivers to grow into their roles.

"It's going to allow them to come along a little slower. If they're sitting around constantly getting beat up, it makes it a lot more difficult for them, but I think it will allow our skill position guys to come around and learn," he said. "The skill people we've got all played last year, but they were mostly behind somebody else. ... I think this is their chance to step up and show what they can do."

Chaffee's most valuable returner is Trevor Morehead, who Vickery calls his team's leader.

"He's got the experience, and he was lineman of the year in our conference last year," Vickery said. "He's a very good player. He's a good practice player as well as a good game day player. He's a good player all the way around."

The 6-foot-2, 291-pound Morehead has been a leader for the Red Devils on both sides of the ball. He finished with 68 tackles and a team-high eight sacks last season.

"There are no excuses now," Morehead said. "I'm a senior, so I feel like I've done a good job being a verbal leader and leading by example. Now I just feel like I've captured their attention since I'm the upperclassman and the top dog on the food chain as a senior."

Morehead plays defensive tackle and moves between guard and tackle on offense. His size and versatility has garnered the attention of several colleges, including Southeast Missouri State, SIU Edwardsville, Western Illinois and Missouri. He's verbally committed to playing at Austin Peay next season.

"If I come out and have high energy, I can definitely feel everyone else feeding off it," Morehead said. "I just feel like it helps us have a much better practice because everyone has that high tempo and high energy. They get pumped up."

Senior Brody Swinford (6-2, 285 pounds), junior Bradyn Swinford (5-10, 245 pounds) and sophomore Augie Knutson (6-1, 284 pounds) join Morehead on the offensive and defensive lines.

The biggest individual loss for Chaffee will be at quarterback. Peyton Montgomery had 1,404 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions as the Red Devils' signal caller last season. He also added 712 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

Montgomery transferred to Central for his senior season, leaving sophomore Brennen Miller and junior Jordan Wilburn to battle for the spot. Wilburn played his freshman year but skipped his sophomore season.

"I think they're pushing each other really well," Vickery said of the quarterback battle. "They're coming along fine."

Senior Jake Perkins will move from the offensive line to take over at running back, along with sophomore Ryan Holderfield and Poplar Bluff transfer Kendall Eads.

They'll stay busy replacing last year's star in Jimmy Golden, who scored eight times and ran for a team-high 911 yards on 149 carries.

"We've got a lot of younger guys coming in and stepping up, and I feel like we can still do the same thing we did last year," Perkins said. "I think we can carry over pretty well."

At wide receiver, the Red Devils will look to seniors Logan Chapman, Thomas Robbins and Kodi Ballard to fill the void left by Devon Yahn, Charlie Montgomery and Layton Tenkoff.

Defensively, Chapman and Robbins will also contribute at cornerback, while Robbins will play at linebacker.

Vickery understands the challenge that awaits the Red Devils this season. He's hopeful his team can take it one step at a time.

"Last year we came out of the gate pretty strong because we had all the experience from the people we had. That's not the case this year, so hopefully we can get better every week," Vickery said. "The way we've been working, I fully expect us to do that."

Red Devils Roster

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

1 Brennen Miller 10 5-8 149 QB/LB

2 Jeremiah Burton 9 5-8 135 WR/DB

8 Jordan Wilburn 11 6-0 170 QB/DB

11 Ryan Lohman 12 6-1 212 WR/DB

12 Devon Nanny 11 5-9 156 RB/LB

17 Ryan Holderfield 10 5-8 175 RB/LB

21 Logan Chapman 12 5-9 166 WR/DB

22 C.J. Boer 10 5-6 149 WR/LB

24 Kendall Eads 10 5-6 149 RB/LB

30 Tyler Whistler 9 5-9 155 WR/LB

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

32 Austin Copeland 9 5-9 159 WR/LB

34 Thomas Robbins 12 5-10 171 WR/LB

42 Jake Perkins 12 5-10 181 RB/LB

48 Brandon Glueck 10 5-7 148 WR/LB

52 James Wallace 9 5-11 175 OL/DL

54 Devon Foulk 9 6-0 228 OL/DL

55 Brandon Ivester 11 5-6 176 OL/DL

56 Nick Palmer 12 5-9 185 OL/LB

60 Aaron DeRossett 11 5-9 195 OL/DL

62 Austin McFerron 10 6-0 207 OL/DL

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

64 Andrew Jobe 10 6-0 270 OL/DL

65 Augie Knutson 10 6-1 289 OL/DL

66 Brody Swinford 12 6-2 284 OL/DL

68 Bradyn Swinford 11 5-10 245 OL/DL

74 Dalton Peeler 12 6-3 185 OL/DL

75 Jordan Kinder 10 5-10 196 OL/DL

77 Trevor Morehead 12 6-2 291 OL/DL

80 Ethan Dockins 9 5-11 139 WR/DB

82 Austin Winchester 9 5-6 135 WR/DB

85 Jaxson Van Pelt 9 6-0 149 WR/LB

86 Kodi Ballard 12 5-9 140 WR/DB