Hard work has Clovers excited for improved season

Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Cloverdale quarterback Drew Boyette either makes or fakes a handoff during Friday's scrimmage against South Vermillion as Tyce Jackson waits to continue the deception.

CLOVERDALE -- Tony Meyer likes what his Cloverdale Clovers have done since the end of the 2015 season.

Having been hired just a few weeks before practice started last summer, Meyer was lacking for precious time it will take to turn Cloverdale into a winning program.

"We started Nov. 1 in the weight room, and went until end of school," Meyer noted. "The day after school ended, we started on conditioning and we've been going since June 1".

The work and time has paid off, Meyer said.

"We are so far ahead of where we were last year," he said. "We are already ahead of where we were at end of the season last year. Practice has been great, and I couldn't be happier."

Numbers are up, and more bodies will allow Meyer to rotate more personnel to cut down on injuries and normal wear-and-tear both during games and over the course of the season.

Haiden Davis (18) finally gets tackled after a good gain against South Vermillion.

"The biggest focal point for us is offensive and defensive lines," he said. "If you watched us last year, we made up for being small by being slow and weak. Those were the cards we were dealt."

Meyer had six total offensive linemen last year -- "that didn't work out very well," he said -- but that number is up to 15 this year.

"Nine of them are legit and can play," he said. "They have been in the weight room working on foot speed, and we have seen great improvement."

Meyer realizes that based upon the experience level of his team, better days are ahead for the Clovers.

"We are still a young team," he said. "A majority of the guys who will be starting this year are sophomores and juniors, with a few freshmen. We will be starting one senior on offense and one on defense.

"It's a good mixture."

Junior Drew Boyette is taking over the quarterback position, and Meyer couldn't be more pleased.

"Our quarterback is going to be an upgrade," he said. "Drew has a great mental approach to the game, and understands the offense we are running. That will help us out quite a bit.

"He may not be the most physical kid, but what he lacks in physicality he makes up for in intellect," Meyer added. "I can't give him enough praise."

Four juniors have been at the forefront of the upperclassman leadership effort. Wingbacks Tyler Kaeff (a state finalist hurdler in the spring) and Haiden Davis join tight end Nick Winders and tailback Tyce Jackson as the leaders by example for their younger teammates.

"They have been the leaders in workouts and have all played for two years," he said. "Their knowledge and experience will pay off."

The Clovers will have a deep running back corps to take advantage of the improved offensive line, and showed their strength by marching down the field to score early in Friday's controlled scrimmage with South Vermillion.

"Tyce has dropped some weight and really worked on his foot speed," Meyer said. "He has a very good grasp of offense. Jordan Berardi is a quick, quick study and will provide good depth. He's a very solid athlete."

Kaeff was the team's leading receiver last year from his wingback spot, while Davis may not rack up huge numbers but still has a valuable role.

"If Tyler is not the fastest kid in the county, he's one of the top two," Meyer said. "We hope for much of the same from him this year. Haiden [also a junior] is a gritty, tough mean guy. We have a solid setup back there."

Winders is another player who Meyer credits with having a great mental approach to the game.

"He has the best hands [along with Jackson] on the team," Meyer said "He is a key in both blocking and receiving, and he is another who has a good grasp of the offense. He studies all the time."

Meyer went through four different centers last year, but junior T.J. Hagymasi has taken 99 percent of the snaps after recovering from injuries last year and should bolster the middle of the line.

Junior Ethan Radford was also hurt last year, and junior Nick Smith has undergone a growth spurt in the past year and has been "fantastic" at tackle, Meyer said.

Senior Tate Combs will start at right guard and has been "doing an outstanding job," Meyer said.

Senior Zeb Holder hasn't been with the Clovers for much of the summer, but the defensive lineman hasn't been slacking.

An early enlistee in the U.S. Army, Holder has been what Meyer terms a "weight room monster" and has put on 25 pounds since last year.

Other defensive linemen are junior Ethan Radford and sophomore Logan Abner (who has grown 4.5 inches, added 25 pounds).

The linebacker corps consists of Jackson, Winders, senior Sean Johnson and Noah Duby, while defensive backs are Boyette, Davis, Berardi, Kaeff and sophomore Trey Henry.

Meyer also notes an improvement in special teams.

"We have a kicker," Meyer said of Henry, which is not an automatic assumption for small school high school football teams.

"Last year was the first time we made an extra point in 4-5 years and we made three last year. Trey has experience and he will help us a lot."

Last year, Meyer thought his team was good for a quarter or a quarter and a half, but would start slowing down before halftime.

"We have tried to separate the number of plays so guys have more in the tank," he said. "We are trying to avoid what hurt us last year."

Meyer's team competes in the East Division of the Western Indiana Conference, and he knows it's not an easy task.

"Owen Valley, Edgewood and [newcomer] Indian Creek are beasts," he said. "They are all just flat out tough.

Cloverdale's Nolan Gibson (63) and a teammate take a breather in Friday's scrimmage at South Vermillion.

"I think we'll see more parity with county schools this year," he said. "NP was loaded last year, but lost several great players. South Putnam is much the same. Greencastle had a down season last year, but will be better this year."

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