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2013 Putnam County Football Preview: Clovers hope wins will be byproduct of playing the right way
CLOVERDALE -- While Cloverdale High School returns an experienced team for the 2013 season, there are two noticeable changes on the sideline and in the huddle. Longtime quarterback Justin Wilson traded in his Cloverdale green and black for the scarlet and gold of the United States Marine Corps and new head coach Jarrod Duff is now commanding the team.
Hired in June, Duff quickly installed last year's No. 2 quarterback, senior Mark Osmialowski, as his starter, put in a new offense and got the team working in the weight room with a specified training program.
"The biggest thing we wanted to do was get kids in the weight room," Duff said. "The seniors have been great this summer. I just think the kids are hungry. They want to be competitive.
"They want to do things the right way."
Duff punctuates most of his thoughts about his team with that phrase.
On and off the field; strategically and socially; attitude and aptitude; everything comes down to details. Do things the right way. This isn't as vague as it sounds.
"Playing the right way is a lot of things," Duff says. "Playing hard, playing disciplined, using the right technique, having a good attitude and just doing that every single rep, every day in practice and every play in a game.
"Acting like we're a first-class program."
Having the right attitude and confidence will be a key for the Clovers. CHS finished last season 1-10 and hasn't had a winning record since 1996.
Duff said he's not focusing on wins and losses, or the move from the 1A playoffs up to the 2A playoffs.
"As far as wins and losses," Duff said, "we will never set goals this year, next year or the year after. ... Our goals every year will be the same.
"We have three goals. One is taking care of the classroom. We want, as a team, to have a 3.0 or higher GPA. The second is we're going to play the right way. And the third is we want to get better every day.
"If we do those things, winning takes care of itself."
Cloverdale lost a few key players from last season, but the majority of its offensive skill-position core returns.
Seniors Andrew Howard and Taylor Mescall are both back. The pair combined for nearly 900 yards last season and improved as the year went on.
Wade Warren, last year's leading receiver with more than 200 yards total and 14.93 per catch, may take on a bigger role in the offense.
The offensive and defensive lines lack size and were flawed last season, but Duff said the units have taken strides and improved immensely throughout camp.
In addition to the changes in personnel, the Clovers will also integrate a new offensive scheme. Last year's offense seemed to change dramatically from week to week. Short, rhythm passing was the goal, but it was rarely realized and the Clovers turned to a power run game as plan B.
While Duff is coy about the offense as he is hoping to keep his week one opponent from preparing, his history as an assistant suggests that it'll be an option-based run game that will benefit from the experience of his backs and a mobile quarterback like Osmialowski.
"I don't want to give any details of what we're going to be doing because I don't want Brown County to know," Duff said. "We have an offense that we run and that's what we'll run. ... We want to be balanced. We want to be able to pass or run any down, any situation and any spot on the field."
Defensively the Clovers are loaded athletically but will rely on their line to get pressure. Several players, including Osmialowski, Warren, Mescall and Howard are projected to start on both sides of the ball.
"We want to put the best kids on the field and have them on the field as much as possible," Duff said. "With only having 25 players we're definitely going to have people playing both ways."
The Clovers are focused and they're buying into playing the right way. As the season begins, the right way is whatever way helps them win on Friday at Brown County.
"We're worried about week one," Duff said. "We're just worried about the next drill of practice. We just go day by day and try to get better."