Eric Sloan doesn’t mince words with his players. Entering his first season as head football coach at Houston High School, Sloan said he has been blunt with his team about the state of the program
“We talk about it,” Sloan said. “Salem laughs at you. They make fun of you. You need something to motivate you? Think about that.”
It has been a decade of struggles for the Tigers since they made back-to-back state semifinal appearances in 2004 and ’05. They are a combined 11-80 under four different coaches since then and have endured five winless seasons, including last year when Houston failed to win a game at any level.
There is no elephant in the room with Sloan, who isn’t shy to discuss the past with hopes of keeping it there.
“If we’re not pointing out the problems, we’re only making it worse,” Sloan said. “There is no reason to sugarcoat it.”
Instead, Sloan is doing his best to change the culture since he was named Billy O’Neil’s successor in February. He and assistant coach Vince McCrosky together fundraised $7,000 to place a middle school team for the first time in the Ozarks Football League. They also held a clinic for students in grades 3-6 just before school started in the hopes of beginning to build a foundation for the future.
At the high school level, Sloan took the Tigers to two varsity team camps and emphasized the weight room and conditioning – with an average of 37 participating during the summer. Several players have shed 20-30 pounds and most are substantially stronger on their core lifts.
Now it’s time to line up Friday nights and find out how much progress the Tigers have made.
“These kids need to taste just a little success,” Sloan said, “and then anything can happen from there.”
Sloan is completely overhauling the offense as the team transitions from the double wing to a spread set similar to Auburn University. Houston will go no huddle –– speeding up the tempo when they wish –– and from a shotgun formation.
Although the look is typical of a pass-first team, the Tigers will often put the ball into the hands of running back Chance Hunter, a junior who transferred from Cabool. Hunter carried the ball 168 times for 948 yards –– an average of 5.6 yards per carry –– and five touchdowns last season.
Houston lost its top two rushers – Ty Wilkins and Scott Logan – to graduation, but the duo together had just 50 more yards than Hunter accumulated his sophomore season with the Bulldogs.
“He’s a kid that can pound it up the middle and also has the speed to get outside,” Sloan said of Hunter. “He’s a threat in many different ways.”
Senior Matt Knarr, who averaged a team best 6.7 yards per carry on 30 attempts last season, and Stetson Welch will back up Hunter.
The offense again will be under the direction of senior Nathan Poynter, who returns to the position after throwing for 635 yards with two touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season. Lucas Kelley is his backup.
Knarr and Ethan Kelley, who rejoins the team for the first time since his freshman season, are the starting wideouts. Connor Clifton, Steven Logan, Caleb Adkison and Lucas Kelley will also see time at receiver.
Whitley Welch, Kyle Wilson and Michael Clayton are vying for the starting job at tight end. Austin Shock, who sat out the jamboree in Strafford with a shoulder injury but is expected to start the season opener, will start at fullback.
Sloan said the Tigers will give opponents many different formations – from trips and trey to double tight ends and unbalanced – with the goal of getting his players in space to make plays.
“I feel like speed is going to be our biggest strength,” Sloan said. “We have guys at our skill positions that can run a little bit. We’ve got 3-4 kids that at any time might break one.”
HHS returns a veteran group in the trenches with four returning starters: Matt Wheeler (left tackle), Keegan Spurlin (left guard), Ross Wells (center) and Seth Goff (right tackle). Brad Wilbur and Travis Schock are battling to start for Spurlin in the opener.
It has been the one newcomer to the group – Andy Edwards at right guard – who has made an impression in the preseason.
“He has almost decided that it’s his offensive line as a junior,” Sloan said. “He is making a lot of calls and demanding a lot. It’s been a pleasant surprise.”
Defensively, the Tigers will again play an aggressive 3-4 base defense under the direction of assistant coach Ken Cooperman.
Wheeler, a first team all-conference selection as a junior, anchors the defensive line as he moves from tackle to nose guard. He was second on the team in 2014 with nine tackles for losses. He will be flanked by Wilson, who had three sacks last season, and Edwards with Wilber and Jon Bressie also part of the rotation.
Houston lost last season’s top linebacker with the graduation of Kolby Walker, whose 115 tackles were 39 more than anyone on the team. But they gained a key addition in Hunter, who had 128 tackles – 12 for losses – last year at Cabool. He will start at weakside linebacker.
Schock and Whitley Welch are vying for playing time at strongside linebacker. Stetson Welch is the “razor” linebacker and the trio of Clayton, Josh Hurst and Carson Miller are candidates at middle linebacker until Spurlin returns.
Sloan said the secondary is full of athletic options as Lucas Kelley, Ethan Kelley, Clifton, Knarr and Logan are competing for the four starting positions. Knarr was an honorable mention all-conference selection last year and had 12 of the team’s 27 deflected passes.
“If you had to pick the weak link, I don’t know who that guy would be,” Sloan said of the options in the secondary. “They are all playing really well. That’s a good problem to have.”
Since he took the reigns of the program, Sloan has emphasized playing with confidence. He said he was pleased with his team’s performances at summer camps, and the Tigers held their own in last week’s jamboree against heavyweights Strafford, Mountain Grove and Ava.
Now come the games that matter beginning with Friday’s season opener at Hollister. Houston will look to end a 16-game losing skid – dating back to a 40-36 victory Sept. 20, 2013, against Cabool – with the hopes it will catapult the team to a successful campaign.
“I don’t know what is realistic coming off 0-10,” Sloan said. “I think we can play with anybody on our schedule. We can go 10-0 as easily as we can go 0-10. If our minds are right, that will dictate how the season goes.
“This is a good foundation for what we’re trying to do. Kids have been willing to do what they are asked to do, and this community is excited and supportive. I think the pieces are lining up. Now we have to finish the deal.”
“We talk about it. Salem laughs at you. They make fun of you. You need something to motivate you? Think about that.”
-ERIC SLOAN