NORTH MANCHESTER - Manchester coach Brandon Baker enters this season with a lot of experience in some areas, but not across the board.
"We have a lot of skill guys back," the fourth-year coach said.
Those returning skill guys include quarterback Derrek Freshour, tailback Blaine Miller, fullback Kyle Henderson, wingback Nolan Holloway and wide receiver Brecken Kennedy.A team may have all the experience in the world at the skill positions, but without blocking, the experience may not be worth much. For the Squires, starting offensive linemen Matt Mathias and Justin O'Brien return this year, with Clayton Johnson also returning, having received significant minutes a year ago.
"They're not doing too bad," Baker said of his offensive line, looking to replace Jake Emmert, Darr Parker and Yezan Al-Khateeb. "The guys got a lot of time last year, so they're not being thrown into the fire. Some things do need to be ironed out."
With his returning offensive personnel, Baker expects to change things up a bit this season.
"We're gonna spread things out a little more this year," the coach said. "We want to use our speed, although we're not lightning fast, to get to the perimeter."
The offensive scheme may be different, but for the fourth-consecutive year, Manchester's middle linebacker is the same.
"Blaine Miller is a four-year player at middle linebacker, and I'd say he's an All-State candidate," Baker said.
Because Baker is slim on linemen, the Squires plan to run a 3-5 defense this season. In the scheme, returnees Mathias and O'Brien will man two of the three linemen positions, with Ryan Byers likely to fill out the remaining spot. Joining Miller as returning starting linebackers will be Holloway and Kyle Henderson. The secondary will be comprised of returnees Freshour and Kennedy, with newcomers Skyler Howard and Blake Hudson vying for the third position, along with Ryan Henderson.
Of Manchester's 15 returning letter winners, many play on the defense, when they aren't also playing offense, so Baker is hopeful the guys pick the defense quickly.
"We're still learning the 3-5," he said. "We've got to be more aggressive. We can't just sit and wait, but we've been doing that and we did that in or scrimmage (last Friday against Triton)."
As far as special teams go, Baker's pleased with what he has in Broc Skaar, who'll also be playing on the Manchester soccer team this season.
"He's been going to (football) camps this summer, and has been doing well," Baker said.
The Squires open their 2007 campaign Friday at home against Mississinewa at 7 p.m. Following a match-up with Heritage on Aug. 25, the Three Rivers Conference portion of the schedule begins, a time when Baker hopes to disrupt some things.
"Tippecanoe Valley and Rochester are the two upper echelon teams - bringing in about 100 players," Baker said of TRC. "But if we can win the games we should - against the teams we match up against - and sneak one out against against Valley or Rochester, we should be all right. We have the talent and maturity of doing that job."
But even if the guys don't knock off one of the top teams, Baker hopes they don't fret.
"I have three personal goals this year," he said. "I want the guys to learn to play as a team, be disciplined and overcome adversity. If they learn those three things, they'll not only win games, but they'll also be successful in life."
