Varsity 541

PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWS '09

St. Mary's adjusting to adversity

Projected starting QB Brock Cory is out for season with a dislocated shoulder

Adversity arrived early into Derek Davis' first season as St. Mary's head football coach.

Already with scarce depth, Davis lost a critical component before the first game when projected starting quarterback Brock Cory dislocated his shoulder in a preseason practice.

Cory, a senior, is out for the season.

The loss of Cory means senior Conner O'Boyle will move from wide receiver to quarterback, where he played last season.

"It (the loss of Cory) hurts us from a leadership role, and it hurts at wide receiver," says Davis, who takes over for Tim Pflug. "I've got a good starting 11, but when one goes out, five have to rotate positions to fill in. O'Boyle could have been a first-team wide receiver. Losing him out at wide receiver limits any vertical passing game we pretty much have."

The loss is a major hit for a program already low on numbers with 24 total players, seven of whom are freshmen.

"All of them will see action," Davis says. "There's no way of getting around that."

Six offensive and six defensive starters return for the Crusaders, excluding Cory. Senior Chris Clark and junior Jason Lawrence return along the offensive line. Lawrence also plays defensive line.

Juniors Taylor Freeborn and Derrick Martin were offensive and defensive linemen last season, but will change positions this season. Freeborn moves to running back and defensive end, while Martin will play tight end and defensive end.

Juniors Alex Lewellyn and Clint Johnson return at linebacker. Lewellyn will also see action at running back.

A pair of freshmen, fullback Dan Leavens and offensive lineman Jon Reader, will start. Senior Ryan Butler, who did not play last season, junior Mike Johnston and sophomore Peter Riehlman complete the offensive line, which averages only 197.5 pounds.

Junior Spencer Anderson is the leading candidate to replace O'Boyle at wide receiver.

The Crusaders are coming off a 1-7 record and were 0-4 in the Southern Cascade League.

"We are really getting back to the basics," Davis says. "We are trying to explain why we are doing things because if they understand why we are doing them, they will do it a lot better.

"The kids are going to get remarkably better, week to week. We have really smart kids."

Davis says his main concern is St. Mary's lack of size.

"Normally what you do if you aren't as big as they are, you are as fast as they are, and you try to use your speed to counter that," Davis says. "That's what we are going to try to do. Having athletic linemen, we are going to be pulling them a lot. We don't have the big horses, but by pulling them a lot, we might have an advantage."

Davis says he plans to run a multi-formational offense with the ability to tackle a variety of defenses. To offset the lack of size, he hopes to isolate his players on the edge to work one-on-one against defenders. Defensively, Davis says the key for his defense is to control the line of scrimmage, allowing his linebackers to attack.

Davis arrives at St. Mary's after most recently coaching at Rogue River Middle School. He led that program to its first undefeated season in nearly two decades in 2005.

Davis, a native of Antioch, Calif., continued his playing career at the Naval Academy from 1980-83 and later served as a graduate assistant at Utah State.

This is his first varsity head coaching position.

He's not calling for miracles in his first season, but expects St. Mary's to be improved.

"Our No. 1 goal is to win after we lose," he says. "When you lose, you have to come back harder. Our No. 2 goal is to have a winning season and our third goal is to win two league games."