CEDAR BLUFF – The 2020 football season will feature one of the smallest rosters the Cedar Bluff Tigers have had in quite some time. The Tigers have just 21 players on the varsity squad this year.
But of those 21, the Tigers do return experience in several key spots, mainly along the offensive and defensive lines.
Sophomore Dylan Kinard, who started on defense as a freshman, will line up at left tackle. Senior Corey Teague, a four-year starter, shifts from tackle to left guard. Senior Jacob Stowe, a three-year starter, lines up at right guard. Senior Marcus McKinney moves from center to right tackle.
“Those guys have played a good bit of football,” head coach Jonathan McWhorter said. “We’ve got a couple of young guys who will be rotating in, but for the most part, most of our starters are returning starters. We’ve got a couple of guys here and there, but most of them started last year for us. We’re trying to build some depth with the ones we have.”
One advantage the Tigers should have along the trenches is size, led by the 6-foot-3 Teague and Stowe, who stands at 6-2.
“We have great size for the numbers we have,” Teague said. “We take a lot of pride in being physical. I think returning three starters on the offensive line and having a lot of guys getting game reps in is going to help us a lot.”
Those guys will be blocking for junior quarterback Jacob Burleson, running backs Nick Clifton and Bucky Leek, and fullback Preston Burt. With the exception of Burleson, who was recovering from injury, all of the Tiger backfield started last season.
“Jacob did not play in a game last year. He’s trying to get polished back up from where he was a year-and-a-half ago. He practiced and was on the team, but was not fully cleared for contact.” McWhorter said.
Senior Anbre Leek leads the Tiger receiving corps, which also includes Cade Browning and Bucky Leek.
A lot of the same names are featured on the defensive side of the ball. Teague, Stowe and Kinard will start on the defensive line. McKinney and Burt, along with Browning and Clifton will be linebackers. The Leeks will be at safety. Austin Richardson returns at corner, along with newcomer Artie Duvall.
“It’s actually his (Duvall’s) first year playing,” McWhorter said. “He’s really done a good job picking some things up and has really done a good job earning that spot.”
McWhorter said his players have responded well to the changes, both on and off the field. Like all other high school teams across the country, the Tigers have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic that hit back in March. It wasn’t until June when teams were cleared to return to group workouts. Until then, the Tigers worked out individually.
“It was an experience, but you just have to want it and get better every single day. Even the days you don’t feel like it, you have to push yourself,” Anbre Leek said. “That was the hardest part about the whole experience. After you got over that, we pretty much got back on schedule.”
Another change in store for the Tigers this season is the move back down to Class 1A. For the past two years, Cedar Bluff competed in 2A, Region 8 along with the likes of Fyffe, Collinsville, North Sand Mountain and Sand Rock.
Now the Tigers are in 1A, Region 7 along with Appalachian, Coosa Christian, Gaylesville, Sumiton Christian, Valley Head and Woodville.
“(Class) 2A was definitely tough for us, with Fyffe, Collinsville and North Sand Mountain, but they got us better the past two years,” Stowe said.
“A lot of people think ‘You’re dropping back down. That’s a lot easier’, but that’s not our focus,” McWhorter said. “Our focus is just to do the best we can do, prepare and expect to do well every week against whoever we play.
“Whether we’ve got 21 or 71, it doesn’t matter. We still expect to do well, and that’s kind of how we’ve approached things this summer and throughout practice. This is what we’ve got. We’ve just got to get ready to play.”
No matter how many players or who the Tigers have on their schedule, Teague and McKinney both said they’re just ready to have a great senior season.
“I think all of our guys are really focused and wanting to have a really great season this year,” he said. “We’ve gone back down to 1A, but we really can’t let that affect the way we work. We always expect to be successful, but we know we’ve got to work hard to accomplish the goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
“I believe we can push through all the adversity and changes we’ve had to make,” McKinney added. “I can remember the first time I ever started. I remember watching players like Ivory Starr and Isaiha Jones. I was just like ‘I have a responsibility to take on that role, to push the team farther than it’s been. I’m really excited. I think we’ll do fine.”
