Former Wildcat Takes Over Whitko Football Program
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Mohr, who replaces Wayne Swender, played for the Wildcats and graduated from Whitko in 1996.
He has been on the staff as an assistant coach for 11 years.
Now he has the top job at his alma mater, and he has plans of returning Whitko to its glory days.
“I have a lot of Whitko pride, obviously,” said Mohr. “There’s no other place I’d rather be. I think it’s important for the kids being familiar with me. They know my expectations and my way of doing things. There wasn’t a big transition.”
The Wildcats, who open the season Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Wawasee, were 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Whitko, which has long prided itself on its running game, returns its two leading rushers in juniors Devin Gerding and Tanner Hughes, but must replace three-year starting quarterback Alex Stoddard.
Stoddard was also a four-year starter in Whitko’s defensive secondary.
“We want to run the ball, but we also want to be able to mix things up and throw it too,” said Mohr. “We’ve got three backs, all juniors, who can run the ball. Devin and Tanner led us in rushing last year, and throw in Trace Killian and we’ve got some pretty good ball carriers.”
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Gerding led Whitko in rushing last year with 769 yards on 97 carries.
He led the team with seven rushing touchdowns and averaged nearly eight yards per carry.
The 5-9, 215-pound Hughes rushed for 726 yards and six scores on 156 carries, averaging just under five yards per attempts.
The early question will be what kind of production will the Wildcats get out of the quarterback position.
“At quarterback, Ethan Nicodemus has stepped up and is taking over,” said Mohr. “He’s got big shoes to fill. He’s got to learn quickly.”
While Nicodemus adjusts to being the field general, he does have talented running backs behind him and experienced linemen in front of him.
Back to do battle in the offensive trenches are three-year starter Tyler Hinora and two-years starter Ian Keirn and Zach Baughman.
Among those that could be hauling in passes are juniors Cole Kessie and Zach Snep and sophomore Tanner Gaff.
Defensively, the Wildcats return five starters, including linemen Chris Baker, Jacob Silveus and Doug Bolinger.
The other two returning starters on defense are linebackers Gerding and Nicodemus.
With a mix of a talented junior class and some senior leadership, the Wildcats may just have the right ingredients for a winning season.
Mohr said that his team’s motto this season is “focus and finish everything we do.”
“We definitely want to work hard and prepare,” said Mohr. “We went to focus and finish everything we do. I want us to play hard for 48 minutes, give everything we’ve got every Friday night. We lost three conference games last year by a combined 12 points. We need to finish the job.”[[In-content Ad]]
Mohr, who replaces Wayne Swender, played for the Wildcats and graduated from Whitko in 1996.
He has been on the staff as an assistant coach for 11 years.
Now he has the top job at his alma mater, and he has plans of returning Whitko to its glory days.
“I have a lot of Whitko pride, obviously,” said Mohr. “There’s no other place I’d rather be. I think it’s important for the kids being familiar with me. They know my expectations and my way of doing things. There wasn’t a big transition.”
The Wildcats, who open the season Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Wawasee, were 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the Three Rivers Conference.
Whitko, which has long prided itself on its running game, returns its two leading rushers in juniors Devin Gerding and Tanner Hughes, but must replace three-year starting quarterback Alex Stoddard.
Stoddard was also a four-year starter in Whitko’s defensive secondary.
“We want to run the ball, but we also want to be able to mix things up and throw it too,” said Mohr. “We’ve got three backs, all juniors, who can run the ball. Devin and Tanner led us in rushing last year, and throw in Trace Killian and we’ve got some pretty good ball carriers.”
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Gerding led Whitko in rushing last year with 769 yards on 97 carries.
He led the team with seven rushing touchdowns and averaged nearly eight yards per carry.
The 5-9, 215-pound Hughes rushed for 726 yards and six scores on 156 carries, averaging just under five yards per attempts.
The early question will be what kind of production will the Wildcats get out of the quarterback position.
“At quarterback, Ethan Nicodemus has stepped up and is taking over,” said Mohr. “He’s got big shoes to fill. He’s got to learn quickly.”
While Nicodemus adjusts to being the field general, he does have talented running backs behind him and experienced linemen in front of him.
Back to do battle in the offensive trenches are three-year starter Tyler Hinora and two-years starter Ian Keirn and Zach Baughman.
Among those that could be hauling in passes are juniors Cole Kessie and Zach Snep and sophomore Tanner Gaff.
Defensively, the Wildcats return five starters, including linemen Chris Baker, Jacob Silveus and Doug Bolinger.
The other two returning starters on defense are linebackers Gerding and Nicodemus.
With a mix of a talented junior class and some senior leadership, the Wildcats may just have the right ingredients for a winning season.
Mohr said that his team’s motto this season is “focus and finish everything we do.”
“We definitely want to work hard and prepare,” said Mohr. “We went to focus and finish everything we do. I want us to play hard for 48 minutes, give everything we’ve got every Friday night. We lost three conference games last year by a combined 12 points. We need to finish the job.”[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092