New faces in place: Missiles have lots of big shoes to fill
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MILLEDGEVILLE – When Carrigan Hunter looks around him in the Milledgeville backfield, there are not a lot of reminders from last year’s run to the state semifinals.
In front of the senior fullback, Dillion Eich is taking snaps from center. Surrounding him in the backfield are last year’s backup quarterback, Keegan Neubauer, and Kurt Landis, a tight end in 2008.
Even when Hunter looks to the sideline for the next play, there’s a new head coach looking back. Former assistant Jason Wroble has taken the Missiles’ reins from longtime coach Gary Hartje.
“It’s a lot different, to look around and not see guys like Kirk [Engelkens] and Greg [Fredericks] and Jake [Workman],” Hunter said. “But it’s our turn now, and we’re ready to go out and start playing and prove what we’ve got.”
What this group has, according to Hunter, is less size and speed and lower numbers than a year ago. But the effort, dedication and desire to build off of last year’s 12-1 record will help fill some big shoes.
Most eyes will first fall on Eich, who steps into a quarterback position in which Engelkens has excelled the past few seasons.
“I don’t even want to think about it,” said Eich with a laugh, referring to the length of Engelkens’ shadow.
“I played behind him in baseball and football, and Kirk’s head and shoulders better than me. I just did my best to learn from him, and now I’ll try and do things as best I can.”
His go-to guy is one of the few returning starters for the Missiles. Hunter moves from a wingback/halfback position a season ago to the fullback spot, which was manned by Fredericks the last two seasons.
“I’m going to try and pull a little more weight and help get the rest of the guys where they need to be,” Hunter said. “I know what it takes to compete at this level, and I want to show these new guys, help them learn.”
Neubauer is also in a new position. He served a lot of mop-up duty at QB a year, and he’s been a signal-caller since he started playing in junior high. This season, he’s looking to carry the load after taking some handoffs.
“I’ve always wanted to play running back, so I’m definitely ready to take advantage of my chance,” Neubauer said with a smile. “A few of us have a lot more weight on our backs now, and we have to step up and fill the positions as leaders. I’d rather be somebody the other guys look up to; I like that role.”
Right now, the Missiles are looking for guys to talk more, communicate better and actually relax a little more and not put so much pressure on themselves. Wroble may be in a new role as head coach, but he and assistant coach Tom Digmann have been on the sideline for a while now as part of Hartje’s coaching staff.
The one thing that will stay the same in Milledgeville is the hard-nosed, never-give-up attitude the Missiles have had for as long as anyone can remember.
“We lost a lot of great players, but we still feel like we’ve got guys who can make plays and get the job done,” Eich said. “We put in a lot of work in the offseason, and that gives us confidence that we can have success.”
Milledgeville Missiles
Last year: 12-1 (8-0 NUIC Upstate); lost in 1A semifinals to eventual runner-up Stark County, 27-24
Captains: Carrigan Hunter, Kurt Landis, Tanner Neuschwanger
Key losses: Drew Davidson, Nate Ebersole, Kirk Engelkens, Greg Fredericks, Ryan Imel, Andy O’Brien, Jake Workman
Key games: Sept. 25 at Galena; Oct. 16 at Dakota; Oct. 23 vs. Polo
FYI: Last season’s run to the semifinals was the third in Milledgeville High School history, after trips to the final four in 1998 & ’99. ... The Missiles have qualified for the playoffs 19 times since 1974. ... 2008 was the 11th time the Missiles have finished the season with just one loss.
Kurt Landis breaks down the Missiles
Our strength is: Our special teams. Kick returns and coverages have gone pretty good so far, and we want to make it happen in the third phase of the game.
We need to work on: Knowing our jobs. We’ve had some struggles on offense and defense with realizing who needs to be where.
Strongest Missile: Tanner Neuschwanger. He’s a big guy and he’s in the weight room a lot.
Fastest Missile: Keegan Neubauer. He’s got quick feet, and he gets a lot of good training running the 400 in track.
Smartest Missile: I think I’m doing pretty good in class and on the field.
Funniest Missiles: Neuschwanger and Neubauer. They both crack jokes all the time.
Breakout player: James Shamp. He goes hard all the time, and I think he’ll open some eyes this year.
Team goals: We want to make another run for conference [title] and the playoffs.
Can’t wait to play: Galena and Polo. Galena just came into the picture as a team we have good games against all the time, and Polo’s been a rival forever.
Opposing player I respect most: Scott Scholl of Polo. He works hard all the time and never quits.
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