SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018

 CLINTON DAILY NEWS 5B

Explosiveness headlines CHS offense

BY COLLIN WIEDER
Clinton Daily News
Year one of the return
to the I-formation has
loads of fun players to
watch in the upcoming
2018 season, especially at
the skill positions.
Head coach John Higbee
is looking to build his of-
fense in a different mold.
The offense doesn’t boast a
25-carry-per-game I-back
right now. It does however
have some of the most
athletic backs in western
Oklahoma. Starting with
active leading rusher
DayDay Simpkins, the
running backs will be the
position group to lean on
this fall.
It’s a multiple, dynamic
and deep position group.
Simpkins along with Atrel
Bryson, Juan Guzman,
etc., would make any de-
fensive coordinator cower
with fear.
For Higbee, he described
his offense as a great
problem to have. The
team has so many weap-
ons on offense that it’s
hard to spread the ball
around at times, but he
wants to find a way as the
season progresses.
“It’s going to take time,”
he said. “The funny thing
is we’ve got so many guys
and skill kids. When I was
at Ada we’d go half line, so
we’d get lots of reps to our
tailbacks, because they
still have to see the cuts.
Just being fast doesn’t
make you a good tailback.
They have to have that
vision, whether it be a
tailback, a receiver com-
ing in motion or running
routes and understanding
coverages. That’s a lot of
moving parts.”
Obviously, some of
these positions can
change as the season pro-
gresses. However, Higbee
said these are the players
he’s relying upon early in
the season.
QUARTERBACK
Rarely is the quarter-
back one of the fastest
guys on the field, but that
statement is true this year
 this offense. They are two
Gage Gaunt completed 5-of-9 passes for 100 yards
and a touchdown and zero interceptions in the
season-opening scrimmage versus El Reno.
and Newcomb caught
three combined passes
for 43 yards last year.
They have some produc-
tion there. Denney is a
backup quarterback, so
he understands the plays
and what a quarterback
is looking for when scan-
ning the field.
Bryson is a burner on
the outside, while New-
comb and Denney provide
size at the receiver spot.
Both stand above 6-feet
tall, making them big tar-
gets to throw to.
Atrel Bryson will split
out as well. Senior No-
lan Tisdale will be a
contributor at receiver
too. He’s an athletic, tall
CDN | John Kinsey
tion of this position, se-
nior Valek Cisneros moves
back inside the numbers
for his final year as a Red
Tornado. He’s got some
experience at tight end
from his sophomore year.
He moved to wide receiver
last year and caught a pair
of passes for 19 yards. In
an interview during the
summer, Cisneros said
he’s eager to move back
and start at tight end.
He has been working on
blocking technique to pre-
pare for the move.
Fellow senior and start-
ing fullback Holden Powell
will also play at tight end.
Higbee said he isn’t just a
tight end because of his
deeper running back
group in District 4A-1.
Clinton football carries
loads of talent at running
back. Simpkins, as men-
tioned earlier, is the team’s
active leading rusher. In
parts of the last two sea-
sons, he’s rushed for 724
yards and seven touch-
downs while averaging
more than six yards per
carry. He’s a small, shifty
and hard-to-tackle back
for the Reds.
Along with Simpkins,
Atrel is a dangerous
option with great periph-
eral vision and speed. The
sophomore didn’t get a
chance to carry the ball
last year, but he did take a
punt 87 yards to the house
against Anadarko. He’s
got that “it” factor when
he touches the ball. His
field awareness at know-
ing where a defender is, is
off the charts.
His brother, A.T., could
also be back there when
he’s not at receiver. Hig-
bee said he wants to make
sure and get the ball in his
hands if the passing game
is out of sync.
There will be a lot of
spillover for a few of
these runners. Guzman
and Austyn Brown will
double as both running
backs and fullbacks in
experienced seniors with
a nice blend of power and
speed.
FULLBACKS
Back from a breakout
junior campaign, senior
Powell will start at full-
back. His bowling ball
approach to the run game,
ripped off 5.8 yards per
carry in 2017. He ended up
rushing for 468 yards and
two touchdowns. He’s a
strong body that can pave
the way for any of the
team’s backs.
He’ll lead the fullback
position, while fellow
seniors Brown and Guz-
man give depth. Both have
received carries on offense
in reserve roles.
Guzman will take his
toughness from being
the team’s nose guard to
provide a hammer. Brown
is a scary option to stop up
the middle. If he gets past
the first level, he can take
it to the house, scoring two
long touchdowns against
Chickasha last year.
Gonzalez has yet to
show off his offensive
talents at the varsity
level. However, he was an-
other offensive weapon on
Clinton’s 2016 freshman
football team at running
back, so he could get some
carries. Sophomore Zach
Campbell rounds out a
four-deep position group
at fullback.
OFFENSIVE LINE
O-Line is an ever-chang-
ing and evolving position
for the Reds. Right now,
Higbee said the line is still
developing backups at
each position, but he does
have an idea of who is go-
ing to start.
Anchoring the two
tackle spots will be
experienced seniors
Reed Lindsey and Ruben
Gutierrez. Lindsey will
protect Gaunt’s blind-
side at left tackle and
Gutierrez will start at
right tackle. Both started
last year for Clinton and
solidify key spots in the
trenches. They’re also the
two biggest bodies with
Lindsey at 6-foot-5, 230
pounds and Gutierrez at
6-foot-1, 270 pounds. Both
are strong, road pavers
for the offense to trust.
At right guard, senior
Bryce Isaac is slated to
start. He’s back after tak-
ing some time off for a few
years. As a wrestler and
another big body, he’ll
line up well with Gutier-
rez. Andrew Roque’s back
hindered him at fall camp.
Higbee said he was vying
for the starting job before
he got hurt. It’s possible
that he could fight for that
job once he’s back to full
strength.
Reid Butcher will start at
center with Isaac back-
ing him up. Butcher is a
career center that started
on the freshman team two
years ago. Ryan Walters
provides depth there.
Malachi Scarlett rounds
out the starters at left
guard. Scarlett, the fastest
of the offensive lineman
by far, will work well in
pulling plays. Backing
him up will be Walters too.
Matt Zurline gives depth
to the position group and
is one of the many young
players Higbee said he is
counting on to step up.

for Clinton. Gage Gaunt is
a true dual threat player
for Clinton. He’s racked up
805 total yards (574 receiv-
player that will see time
at the position along with
sophomore Zade Cisne-
ros. Cisneros is also a
a p r o u d
We’re r of the
fullback skills. Powell can
run routes and, “hit oppo-
nents in the mouth,” when
asked to block.

su p p o r t e
s !
ing, 215 rushing, 16 pass- former quarterback that Junior Eddi Gonzalez is
ing) and nine total touch- took a curl route 61 yards the final player here. He

o r n a d o e
downs in his career. He
accomplished all that on
almost 12 yards per play
for a touchdown against
El Reno. The team will
have a lot of options to
played slotback last year
but focused mainly on de-
fense as the team’s lead- R e d T
that he’s involved in. get the ball to in the pass- ing tackler at linebacker.
He hasn’t had a chance ing game. Higbee said he feels confi-
to throw the ball often, dent about putting those
backing up Conor Wyer. TIGHT END three at tight end.
But, he can spin it, as he Things won’t shift too
proved in seven-on-seven much at the tight end. RUNNING BACKS
and versus El Reno. He With the re-implementa- There might not be a 580-323-0226 • 1501 W. Gary Blvd. • Clinton
also has the knowledge to
make this a smooth transi-
tion. Higbee said he’s like
another coach on the field.
Gaunt would agree with
that statement, carrying
an extensive knowledge of
the I-formation. We Take “Tornado Pride”
“Freshman year we ran

In Delivering “Quality Service”

a lot of the I (formation),”
Gaunt said. “I took what
I learned from freshman
year with Coach (Mike)
Blackburn and Coach
(Eugene) Jefferson. We
ran the I-formation a lot.
We had similar plays and
packages as we do now.”
Behind him Clinton has
a wealth of signal callers.
“Lifetime Advantage Checking”
Junior Dalton Denney has
been at the position for
An account designed just for students.
two years in high school. See our new accounts department for details.
He started on the fresh-
man team two years ago.
Sophomore Zade Cisneros
is back to provide depth
along with freshman start- Oklahoma Bank and Trust Company
ing QB Caden Powell.
www.oklabank.com
WIDE RECEIVERS PO Box 99 PO Box 130
A loaded group makes
up this year’s receivers Clinton, OK 73601 Arapaho, OK 73620
for Clinton. Juniors A.T. Phone: (580) 323-2345 Phone: (580) 323-3212
Bryson, Ty Newcomb
and Denney have all seen Fax: (580) 323-0018 Fax: (580) 323-5754
time in practice and in
seven-on-seven. Bryson