FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: 2023 Cloverdale Clovers

After a pair of winless seasons in 2020 and 2021, Cloverdale found a ray of hope in 2022 with a win over Brown County and several more competitive outings under first year head coach Tyler Lotz.

Year two might feel a bit similar to year one, however, as the Clovers, despite growing the roster to 40 players ahead of the 2023 season, feature a squad that lacks the experience it needs at this point in time.

“It’s going well,” Lotz said about the preseason. “We’re growing and the biggest thing and challenge is the amount of new kids we have, to the point it feels like we’re teaching our system all over again.

“We had 11 seniors last year and with a couple others not playing, so while we had a large team, only about 15-of-30 players returned. We have around 40 kids out, a lot of them new faces and a lot who haven’t played for a while. It can be frustrating teach things over again but they are learning the system, how we practice and continue to get better.

“We’re not necessarily where we need to be yet but we’re working towards getting there,” Lotz added.

Tayt Jackson returns for a second year at quarterback with Lotz impressed with the way the junior has adjusted himself to the demands of the position during the offseason.

“From a maturity standpoint, Tayt has grown a lot this offseason,” Lotz said. “Being a leader is easy when things are going good but when they’re not, we need someone who can step up and circle the wagons and, as a returning junior quarterback, Tayt has to be that guy.

“He’s been working toward doing that every day. He’s also realizing how to take what the defense gives him and to not force things. He doesn’t have to be the hero every play, just to do what the coaches need him to do and things will work out.”

Alongside Jackson in the backfield is fellow junior Levi Johnson, a player Lotz said goes overlooked for reasons outside of his control.

“Levi is a great kid, leader and running back and it’s shame that those talents don’t always get to show with our play up front,” Lotz noted. “We’re glad to have him back another year after this as he forms a really good duo in the backfield with Tayt.

“Connor Ramsey and Connor Smith are the next two guys that would get carries though for us, if Levi needs a breather, it would more likely come on defense as we have some better players to step in there.”

The Clover skill position room has plenty of upside with seniors Scottie McGuire, Tyson Bridges and Jaxon Helton joined by junior newcomers Noah Betz and Drake Hoffa, giving the offense plenty of options in the passing game.

“It comes down to different concepts and trying to get the ball to certain people, something that will change week-to-week,” Lotz said. “We’ll watch film and try to find the matchups that help us most.

“If teams have short corners, we might attack with guys like Noah and Drake, both being at least 6’3”, while if we can use our speed to our advantage, we’ll get Jaxton, Scottie and Tyson involved more. It’s about trying to spread the ball around and get those kids involved.

“We have a lot of talent for a Class A school and our job as coaches is to get them the ball,” Lotz added. “We saw some success in the scrimmage but one of my firm beliefs as a coach is that you have to run the ball to throw the ball.

“We have to continue to get bigger and better up front, something we saw at the scrimmage against North Central.”

It is that concern that weighs heaviest on Cloverdale as the Clovers have little experience along the front line outside center Corey Branigan with several new faces being thrown into the grinder from the start.

“At left tackle we have Jesse Carroll, who is in his first year of football, who we threw to wolves early this summer but has gotten a lot better since,” Lotz said. “We have a lot of lighter guys up front but they have some length and do pretty well, so we’re excited to see this group when we get some weight on them and turn them into something.

“Levi Brown is at left guard, another kid maybe not 100 percent ready for Friday nights but he has the right mentality, is physical and is trying to get better every day. Corey is our anchor at center, starting every game since his freshman year. We’ve challenged him to be a leader, holding the other guys accountable and holding them up to our standards; he understands that for the team to go, it starts up front and he has raised his level of play.

“Jayden McDonald is a junior that wasn’t out last year but played as a freshman and is another kid with some size that likes getting into people,” Lotz added. “We have two guys competing at right tackle in TJ Hamilton and Logan Hamm while Hudson Young is a guy we might sub in and out.

“We have a lot of guys with zero experience so it was good that we had three scrimmages this summer as we needed the live reps against other schools. There is a big difference between middle school and high school play and, while things might look rough, we want these guys to continue to keep getting better and change the culture of Cloverdale offensive linemen.”

Lotz said the defensive side of the ball was more experienced overall though there were still some younger players on the defensive line learning their trade.

“Corey will be in the middle of our defensive line with Jayden as our other defensive tackle,” Lotz said. “We have some tall, lengthy dudes on the end in Jesse Caroll and Noah Betz.

“Noah has done a good job and had a couple of sacks at the scrimmage, knocking down some passes as well. He’s not the biggest guy in the run game yet as he needs to learn how you play certain blocks but we’re happy he decided to play.

“Levi will be in the middle linebacker role for us with Carson Caulkins at Will, Tayt at the Sam spot and Scottie as a weakside outside linebacker,” Lotz added. “We have a couple of variations in the formation and we have some depth with Isacc Helton, Connor Smith or Connor Ramsey as backups.

Helton and Bridges make for an experienced corner duo for Lotz while Artrevion Henderson will play in the safety role to start the season.

“At corner, we have two returning seniors in Tyson and Jaxton, players have a lot of faith in with their athletic ability outside,” Lotz said. “Trey Henderson will be at safety while Drake will look to get some time there as well.”

Jackson and Bridges will resume kicking duties for Cloverdale while Lotz said with the number of players available on the roster, there were opportunities for players to make plays on special teams.

“Tayt is our kicker and extra point guy with Tyson as our punter,” Lotz said. “With a roster of 40 guys, we have some guys who are close, athletically and physically, to starting that we can use on special teams and not feel like we’re putting in freshmen that aren’t ready.

“We have a big amount of linebackers and receivers that we can use on special teams so that we can give some guys that are playing both ways a chance to get a breather.”

Cloverdale opens with South Putnam in a tough early test of the team’s credentials while Edinburgh and Brown County follow while the back end of the season sees the Clovers face the largest teams on their schedule in Greencastle, West Vigo and Owen Valley.

Lotz said the group was going to face some stiff challenges during the season but had to make a determined effort to improve as the season progresses as the team continues its way forward in the 2023 season.

“South Putnam is obviously a very good team, a preseason top-10 team, but we can’t have the mentality of simply playing them; we have to see it as an opportunity to play against a really good team,” Lotz said. “They will show us where we lack and it’s a good first team to play.

“Edinburgh is in a similar spot to us as a program and we’re excited to play them. Brown County was our sole win last year and, when you’re struggling for wins, getting a win over a team like that will make the boys excited to play them again, similar in that want to play Edinburgh again as we felt like we let that game slip away.

“Our schedule is up and down as the season goes along but we wrap it up playing some bigger schools,” Lotz added. “It’s a tough schedule for where we’re at as a program, though there are some changes coming as we will play Riverton Parke and North Central in the future, moving Owen Valley and Cascade out and playing South Putnam in week nine in the future.

“We’re still inexperienced as a group and while we’re getting better, we’re not there yet. We need to continue work on us, continue to battle through the schedule and continue to get better.”