2014 Cloverdale Football Preview

Friday, August 22, 2014
Cloverdale's Ethan Boyd drags a Linton defender for a few extra yards in last Friday's scrimmage. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

CLOVERDALE-- Looking for a fresh start, the Cloverdale Clovers football program is looking to gain some momentum this year as coach Jarrod Duff returns for his second season at the helm.

Duff came to Cloverdale last year following several years of coaching at the Greencastle schools. Previously, Duff had served as basketball coach at the high school, assistant softball coach as well as helping out with the football program.

"I have told a lot of people, I learned so much about teaching and coaching from working for Doug Miller, John Fallis, Stan Ward and Jim Spencer," Duff said. "Looking back on it now, I was coaching with and learning from four of the best coaches and people I have ever been around."

Cloverdale's Duke Duff uses a block to avoid the defender and makes a pass while on the move during the scrimmage against Linton. The pass was completed to Max Secrest who turned the catch into good yardage for the Clovers. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

Although Duff got out of teaching and coaching for a brief period, he came to Cloverdale with the hopes of starting fresh and creating a winning program at Cloverdale.

With the Clovers having a less than satisfactory season last year with a record of 1-8, Duff believes that number will improve this year and for years to come as he aims to not only rebuild the high school program, but the youth programs as well.

"This is an exciting time for the Cloverdale football program in grades K-12," Duff told the Banner Graphic. "Taulbee Jackson has done a wonderful job getting our youth program organized. He has the kids, parents and coaches really excited about football. I have been around some different youth programs and our program here at Cloverdale is the best one I've been associated with. It is a huge asset and is creating a foundation that will benefit our program, school and community for many years into the future."

A cluster of Clovers make a tackle on a Linton defender. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

Duff noted that the youth programs will implement both the offensive and defensive concepts that are done at the high school level, in hopes of building a foundation for the students prior to playing at the high school level.

"It is obviously a condensed version of what we do," Duff explained. "Then when our guys go on to the next level and play middle school football, these concepts will be built upon. So we have a continuity between our youth, middle school and high school football teams."

This year, Cloverdale has a total of 42 students out for football in grades 9-12, a number that has greatly risen from the previous season.

"This is very exciting for us, especially since we started last year with 26 kids in those grades and ended the season with about 15 or 16 guys healthy," Duff noted. "We did not have enough guys to play JV games last year and that is not going to be the case this year."

Although, it may seem that the work has just begun for the Clovers, students began working out in the weight room this past winter and have continued during the spring and summer, which is something Duff credits to the increase in interest in the program.

"The guys who have been in our program have done a great job leading by example," Duff explained. "They know how we want things done. They have set the tone for our younger guys and those young guys have caught on very quickly."

With some key players returning, Duff believes that they will continue their mission of improving with every game.

On the offensive line, senior Tyler Lotz, junior Brayden White and junior Robert Buskirk will return along with senior Brock Dickison.

Freshman Ethen Radford will begin on the offensive line as well with freshman Brandon Hughes serving as the flanker.

"Lotz, White and Buskirk also played for us on the defensive side of the ball last year," Duff said. "We also have seniors Freddy Fislar, Max Secrest and Troy Davis returning as starters on both sides of the ball this year as wide receivers and defensive backs. Those three guys will be major contributors on both sides of the ball. They are three of our leaders and they have worked extremely hard in the weight room."

Duff is also excited for senior Ethan Boyd, who will serve as tailback this year.

"Ethan (Boyd) is a guy who gets better each and every day," Duff said. "He is an intelligent guy with great instincts and is very coachable. I think he is going to do great things running the ball this year."

This year, Scott White will serve as the defensive coordinator, a change that Duff believes will provide a much-needed fresh start for the program.

"We changed defenses and we are excited about the improvements we have seen in practice on the defensive side of the ball," Duff stated. "We have some freshmen who will join some of our upperclassmen, who will start on offense and defense, on the defensive side of the ball."

Freshmen Steven Allen, Tyce Jackson and Haiden Harbert-Davis are all players who will see significant varsity time on defense this year. Juniors Jackson Szczerbik and Kylar Galloway are also upperclassmen who will play a lot on the defensive end as well.

"We have more depth this year and we have more guys who will contribute in different ways, including on special teams," Duff said. "Our goals for this year are the same as they will be each year in our program. We want to play the right way, get better every day and the winning will take care of itself."

Sophomore Duke Duff is set to take the place of Cloverdale graduate Mark Osmialowski as the Clovers' quarterback this year, a player that gained valuable experience last year at the varsity level and one that has made a major commitment to the weight room over the last eight months.

"Duke split quarterback with him starting during the second week last year, until he broke his thumb against South Putnam," Duff noted. "I think some of the things Duke brings to position are that he is an intelligent kid with a high football IQ. He is going to make mistakes because he doesn't have a ton of varsity experience, but he continues to gain confidence each day. His teammates have confidence in him as well. His football IQ and approach to the game are pluses especially with the type of offense we run."

Duff was set to open the season Friday against Brown County. However, following a hard hit in the scrimmage against Linton last Friday, Duff suffered a minor injury and is now listed as day-to-day.

"He is questionable for Friday," Coach Duff told the Banner Graphic. "It will be a game time decision. We are preparing for Brown County. We are working on getting better at doing little things right. We are excited about the progress we are making as a football team and look forward to opening our Friday season on our field."

Long term, Duff wants to build a program that students want to be a part of, one that plays for championships. A program that the Cloverdale Community can get behind and be proud of.

"We also want to do things the right way in the classroom," Duff said. "It will always be a goal of ours to have a team GPA of 3.0 or higher."

Cloverdale is set to kick off its season against Brown County on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"Brown County will be much bigger physically than we are, which will be the case in many of our games," Duff said. "In order to be competitive with them we have to execute, limit mental mistakes and play with an increased level of mental and physical toughness."

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