POPLAR BLUFF MULES: PLAYOFF QUALIFIER LOSES AREA'S TOP QB, RETURNS BIGGER, STRONGER LINE

Stan Revelle's gone.

Travis Tinsley is gone.

And so is Poplar Bluff.

Whoa, hold your horses.

Despite losing some of the area's best players, Mules coach Mark Barousse is confident his team will be in the mix again as one of the top teams in Southeast Missouri.

The first order of business was finding a quarterback and Barousse thinks he has one to step right in.

Enter Michael Crunk. Crunk, a 5-foot-9, 165 pound senior, will take the position left by the area's top quarterback.

Revelle passed for almost 2,500 yards last year, but Barousse likes Crunk, who completed 6-of-6 passes, including one for a touchdown in his only varsity action last year.

"He's a pretty good one," Barousse said. "We went to a 7-on-7 camp at SIU and he threw really well. He's smart and throws a good ball."

He also runs well.

Poplar Bluff won't take to the air as much as it did in the Revelle era.

"This year, we're a little bit bigger and stronger up front so we'll be able to run better and open the passing lanes more for Michael," Barousse said. "I expect us to be surprisingly good."

Poplar Bluff will have more speed at the running back position this year, too, with Maurice Moss likely to get most of the carries.

Travis Tinsley, Poplar Bluff's tight end/fullback caught more passes than any other player in the region last year, but he graduated.

This year, Bluff figures to rely more on the speedy Brent Little who caught 28 passes for 618 yards last year for a whopping 22.1 yards a catch. He had nine touchdown grabs, tops in the conference.

Little loomed large in Poplar Bluff's 27-16 district championship upset over Jackson, burning the Indians deep a couple times.

On defense, the Mules will miss standout linebacker Jeff Mannon. This year's defense will be led by defensive end Bob Larkins.

The Mules finished last year at 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the SEMO North.

Their losses came to Jackson (Tenn.) Northside, Columbia Hickman, Springfield Hillcrest and Parkway South. Poplar Bluff lost 45-0 to Parkway South in the first round of the playoffs.