Football preview: Skill position players bring high hopes for Cape Central

The philosophy for coach Nathan Norman and the Central Tigers football team has been simple, yet effective.

The Tigers have amassed a 20-15 record in three seasons under Norman, whose expectations don't necessarily begin with wins and losses.

"We want these kids to be good citizens," Norman said. "We want them to be good people. We want them to be good students, and we try to teach that. We want them to learn how to work hard, how to show up every day and how to be dedicated. Those are our goals, and we know if we are good at those things, we will increase our chances of winning on Friday night."

Central returns plenty of talent from last year's squad, which finished with a 9-5 mark and saw its season end with a 46-0 loss to Webb City in the Class 4 semifinals.

"It's a whole different group. I try not to talk too much about last year except for the fact that we're going to build on the success that we had at the end of the season," Norman said. "It's a new start and a new ball game. We just preach to them that you're not going to win any ball games just because you made it to the semifinals last year. You've got to start fresh. You've got to work hard. You've got to put in the time."

Repairing an offensive line that graduated seven seniors will be the Tigers' first key in carrying over last season's success, but a boost in skill position talent has Norman optimistic for a smooth transition.

"Our strength would be our skill position players. We're very athletic," Norman said during the team's first week of practice. "If I had to grade them right now, our line would be a little bit behind. They're all new linemen, so we've got our work cut out for us there. But they'll be fine. They work hard. They're a good group of kids."

Junior wide receiver Al Young leads the way for Central. Young enjoyed a breakout season last year, finishing with 1,682 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns. He'll be joined by senior Jalen Reddin, junior Nikylus Thompson and sophomore Kway'chon Chisom.

"We're both returning receivers, so we've got that bond with each other," Reddin said of his relationship with Young. "Whenever we need something to happen, we just communicate. It's easy to communicate with him. ... We just let the game come to us."

Norman believes a productive offseason from running back Braion Owens should go a long way toward filling the gap left by last year's star running back in Mikey Jones, who finished his senior campaign with 2,076 rushing yards and 27 scores. Norman said Young and Reddin will also see time in the backfield.

"We look for him to do big things. He's a talented running back," Norman said of Owens. "He's gotten stronger this offseason and worked hard. He's a senior, and he's got that mentality that he wants to be the man.

"He got a lot of reps last year. It wasn't all Mikey Jones. We had two good backs last year, and we'll do the same this year. We'll be running back by committee again."

Peyton Montgomery throws a pass during a game last season as a junior quarterback for Chaffee. Montgomery transferred to Central and should provide the Tigers with a valuable offensive threat. (Southeast Missourian File)

As for quarterback, newcomer Peyton Montgomery brings plenty of experience to take over as the team's starting signal caller. The Chaffee transfer led the Red Devils to a 9-2 record and their first conference championship in more than 30 years last season. He posed a threat in both the running and passing game, finishing with 1,404 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air and 712 yards and 18 scores on the ground.

"He's a great leader," Norman said of Montgomery. "He works hard, and he's a senior. He's been there in the game situations. He's just comfortable there, and it shows. He's made some very nice plays with his feet, and it's because of his decision making."

Senior Jaylen Flye-Sadler leads Central's offensive line, while senior Max Abbott and junior Vince Long bring valuable varsity experience at center and tackle, respectively.

Norman said Flye-Sadler has been working hard to become a leader in the trenches.

"He wants to be the man. He's done a great job, so we look for big things from him," he said. "I feel comfortable with all my linemen."

Flye-Sadler understands the challenge of replacing seven seniors from last year's squad. He's focused on getting better as a unit.

"I have to step up a lot, and it's not just me. Us as an offensive line have to step up. ... Everything is mental. I know no one physically can match me, so it's all mental," Flye-Sadler said. "Practice has been very intense. We compete a lot with each other. That's what makes us better. We know that anybody can take our spot. We go hard in practice."

Seniors T.J. Pearson, Deandre Banks and T.J. Marquis return for Central's defensive line. Pearson had 59 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss last season. Sophomore Lamarcus Johnson will also contribute.

"This year I've got underclassmen looking up to me and taking my coaching advice. I'm just trying to better myself to be a better role model for them," Pearson said. "They actually accept it because they understand that I'm trying to make them better."

Senior Jordan Franklin, who had 70 tackles last season, will lead Central at linebacker. Trevon McClard, Josh Jones and Khane Booker should also see time at linebacker.

Reddin returns 101 tackles from last season and should contribute again as a defensive back.

"There are quite a few kids in our secondary that will make up the strength of our defense," Norman said.

It's been an impressive transformation for a program that went 3-27 in a three-year span from 2007-09. The Tigers stumbled to a 1-4 start last season but finished the year 8-1. Norman is hoping the program can continue its ascension.

"We learned it's easy to get down when you're not very successful early in the year, but if you hang in there and get good kids that will believe in you as coaches, things can change. We turned it around," he said. "I hope these kids get a confidence boost. We can compete with anybody, and I hope it doesn't take them long to figure that out this year."

Tigers Roster

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

1 Al Young 11 6-0 170 DB/WR

2 Kway'chon Chisom 10 5-9 155 DB/WR

3 Jalen Reddin 12 5-8 170 DB/WR

4 Matthew Riordan 11 6-1 180 LB

5 Nikylus Thompson 11 5-10 155 DB/WR

6 Blake Harris 10 6-0 180 DB/WR

7 Tevyn Wright-Hunt 11 5-9 140 DB/WR

9 Josh Morse 12 6-0 180 DB/QB

10 Peyton Montgomery 12 6-0 180 DB/QB

11 Trent Leimer 10 5-8 165 LB/QB

15 Khane Booker 11 5-11 175 LB/RB

16 Jordan Franklin 12 5-11 180 LB/RB

19 Cody Dubbs 10 5-11 170 LB/WR

20 Brennan Redinger 12 5-10 160 DB/WR

21 Braion Owens 12 5-11 190 LB/RB

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

24 Leon Nelson 12 5-8 160 DB/RB

25 Trevon McClard 11 5-11 165 LB/RB

29 Tyler Banks 10 5-10 170 LB/RB

31 Deandre Banks 12 5-9 215 DL/FB

34 Christian Mitchell 10 5-11 205 LB/FB

40 Samuel Lemon 10 6-1 210 DL/OL

44 Joshua Jones 12 5-8 175 LB/FB

48 Brandon Dillon 12 5-10 185 LB/WR

50 Jonathon Bohnert 10 5-8 180 DL/OL

51 TJ Pearson 12 6-1 210 DL/OL

54 Colt Sweet 10 6-0 220 DL/OL

55 Kegan Bramlet 10 5-10 230 DL/OL

56 TJ Marquis 12 6-2 190 DL/OL

57 Hunter Limbach 10 5-11 240 DL/OL

58 Max Abbott 12 5-10 240 DL/OL

No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos.

61 Bennet Robinson 10 6-2 175 DL/OL

63 Jacob Holter 11 6-0 275 DL/OL

65 Harrison Ayers 10 6-1 220 DL/OL

66 Darren Svendson 10 5-10 220 DL/OL

70 Noah Jones 10 5-11 220 DL/OL

71 Patrick Buck 11 6-3 240 DL/OL

74 Austin Clubb 10 5-10 275 DL/OL

75 Jon Long 11 6-3 280 DL/OL

77 Casey Vaughn 11 5-8 260 DL/OL

78 Jaylen Flye-Sadler 12 6-7 310 DL/OL

79 Zach Stevens 10 5-10 240 DL/OL

81 Andre Statam 12 6-6 230 DL/TE

85 Dionte Kyles 11 6-0 165 DB/WR

87 Nathan Mecum 12 5-10 180 K

99 Lamarcus Johnson 10 5-11 310 DL/OL