2013 High School football preview: Maroons building off '12 playoff experience

Source: The Montana Standard, ButteAug.儲存倉 30--It's time to even things up in the Mining City.Last year the Butte Central Maroons football team watched as their rivals in Purple and White captured a Class AA state title and the hearts of football fans.As for the Maroons, they went 4-6 with a first-round playoff loss to Frenchtown.The Bulldog success, mixed with a young Central team going through the bumps and bruises of a season was a perfect blend for an even better cocktail:A Central football program so blessed with pride and a precedent for success given a shot of additional purpose."There is nothing really like seeing a team from the same town as you pass you up not only in skill, but to be a better team," senior Connor Schulte said."So this year we are working harder and just having a better mentality. Everyone knows what to do, so there will be lot less mistakes. We will be an all-around better football team. We are all best friends here, we are all family, we all have each others' backs."Central head coach Don Peoples Jr., entering his 24th season, believes the combination of a strong group of Maroons and a winning football vibe can only create the perfect elixir for the Maroons."Our kids saw the excitement and the thrill the Butte High kids experienced last year," Peoples said. "We went to the playoff games and the state championship and that was exciting for our kids to watch kids they know experience a state championship. It was exciting for Butte High School and it motivated our kids to set a goal ourselves."So motivated that one look at the Maroons following their scrimmage last weekend it would be hard to miss the number of boys who grew into young men over the summer as their size at almost every position illustrated added muscle mass and presence."We were pretty young, but we have a good group of leaders here and we are willing to do whatever we can to go and get some wins," senior Wyatt Kingston said. "It's a different mentality around here. We are working harder and doing things to get faster, bigger, stronger. There are just a lot of things that are different around here."The coaching staff acknowledges inexperience played a huge part in last year's rollercoaster ride of a season."We had some ups and downs last year with a very young football team," Don Peoples said. "There were lot of times we had six sophomores starting on defense. Our non conference schedule last year was brutal with perennial powers. It was difficult. We dropped a heartbreaker to Anaconda where we had it in hand and let it slip away so that was disappointing. Then the next week we go have a big upset over Stevensville. Our kids got a taste of success and a big taste of disappointment and it motivated them for the offseason. I think we are ready to play and the kids are ready to come out and have a great season."Senior Connor McGree who is the poster boy for the Central players' evolution into bigger, stronger, better Maroons, also likes what he sees."We are looking a lot faster and more up tempo, we are getting after it a lot more," he said. "We have more knowledge and we are getting ahead of the ball and not falling behind like last year. This year we can call a play and everyone knows what to do which is nice because we can get through things quicker and practice more stuff. It makes it better to game plan too. We are older and we know what we need to do. We practice harder every play because we can't take a play off."Danny Peoples will step in as the team's quarterback and the junior, who replaces graduated Brady Tippett, has enough experience to be ready to go."We have been throwing all summer and spring and its nice to come out in practice to get up tempo," senior Kale Guldseth, one of the receivers Danny Peoples will throw to, said. "We are connecting on our routes and our timing is good. Our concentration is up. All-around he has a good arm, good accuracy and we trust him to make good throws. He's a good enough athlete too where he can make plays for us when he runs."The offense will have a nice stable of 迷你倉價錢unning backs and receivers that could only make Danny Peoples' transition to a full-time signal caller that much smoother."That's a misnomer of the spread offense that it is a passing only offense, we want to run the ball," coach Peoples said. "Right now we have three running backs that are really capable. Kaemen Richards is a big 210-pound kid we want to run the ball with. Wyatt looks really, really strong and was MVP of the Tech camp this summer so we are excited about him. Kyle Harrington is our best 100-meter kid in the school and he looks really capable. So we are really excited about our running backs."We have two all state receivers with Connor McGree, an all-state tight end and Kale as an all-state receiver," Don Peoples said. "We think Wyatt will be more of a running back than a receiver but he's caught 60 passes the last two seasons. We have Chad Peterson and Dalton Sessions who got experience with us last year. We have sophomore Cole Harper and Cal Hollow both who are capable so we have a bunch of kids we think we can throw to."Defensively, Tom Peterson moves over from linebackers' coach to the defensive coordinator slot and has revved things up a bit."He brings a lot of fire and energy to our defense and hopefully we will play to his personality which is fiery and intense," Peoples said of his new defensive head man. "We are lot bigger and stronger and more experienced, so we are excited about our potential on defense."One true test of how much the Maroons have evolved comes via a schedule that's as tough as they come, as Beaverhead County, Stevensville, and Hamilton should be tough opposition in the Southwestern A."Anaconda also have got that winning thing going on, so I think they will be solid as well and Corvallis has huge, fast kids but they have struggled to find wins," Don Peoples said. "From A to Z if its not the best league we will be as a good as any league in Class A."With great leadership and the most mature team Central has fielded since their 2010 state semifinal run, the squad brims with confidence."We want a state championship that's what we set out for and anything less we won't accept," Kingston said. "We are going to go get it.""We are going to have to be stronger and better and be all around better football players," McGree said. "Mentally we are going to have to know what we have to do and just get it done."They start their journey on Friday night when Belgrade comes to town for a 7 p.m. clash at Montana Tech's Alumni Coliseum and Bob Green Field. Belgrade beat Central 33-20 last season."Our kids are very excited to take the field Friday night," Don Peoples said."They have prepared very hard for this season and we are very excited about playing our games on the new Bob Green Field. Last year's game was a very close match-up with the Panthers . Many of the same players from both teams will be on the field again Friday night so it will be a real battle."Butte Central MaroonsHead coach: Don Peoples Jr. (24th season)2013 Overall Record: 4-62013 League Record: 3-2 in Southwestern A2013 Post Season: Lost to Frenchtown in the 1st roundReturning offensive starters: 8Returning defensive starters:9Key Losses: Northey Tretheway, Joe Joyce, Brady Tippett, Frank JoyceTop Newcomers: Dalton Sessions WR-CB, Danny Peoples QB,2013 Roster: SENIORS -- Brant Ahlborn, Kale Guldseth, Wyatt Kingston, Connor McGree, Jesse Reinke, and Connor Schulte; JUNIORS -- TW Bolton, Mike Cooney, Liam Doran, Marcus Ferriter, Frank Hendrickson, Devin Maloughney, Danny Peoples, Chad Peterson, Kaeman Richards and Dalton Sessions; SOPHOMORES -- Sean Cooney, Liam Devine, Cole Harpe, Kyle Harrington, Cal Hollow, Colin McArthur, Jake Michelotti, Kyle Schulte and Ethan St. John; FRESHMAN -- Blake Burton, Tanner Kump, Archie Petritz, Ryan Ashby, Sam Johnston, Paul Thomas LaFleur, Nate McGree, Ryan Richards, Riley Richardson, and Jared Schneider.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) 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