BUTCH HARMON
Sports Scene
Numbers are up for Potterville football this season. Not only do the Vikings have a good turnout of players, but they will be playing a full nine-game schedule this season after playing a partial varsity schedule last fall.
A large group of players return from last year’s squad including quarterback Ezariah Taylor. Taylor, who plays defensive back on defense, is looking forward to the season.
“We are looking good,” Taylor said. “We have been practicing really hard and putting in the work in the offseason. I think we will be strong in all areas. Running, passing, I think everything”.
Keegan Bennett is another returning veteran who likes how the team is shaping up. Bennett is a wing back on offense and plays linebacker on defense.
“I think our running game will be a strength,” Bennett said. “We have a lot of versatility between fast running back and hard-hitting, power runners.”
Isaiah Woloscyn will also see playing time at wingback on offense and at linebacker on defense. Woloscyn sees playing with a high level of intensity throughout the season as being a key to success for the Vikings.
“The key will be our intensity” Woloscyn said. “We have to keep that up through the whole game and not letting off the gas at all.”
Potterville also brings back a solid group of linemen on both sides of the line. Left offensive tackle Keaton Bush is one of the leaders along the line along with Andrew Morales who also plays linebacker on defense. Bush also sees time along the Viking defensive front.
“Our defensive line is good,” Bush said. “We will get a whole lot of penetration right up the middle.”
One area the team is concentrating on during pre-season practice is developing the secondary.
Potterville also returns running back Markeil White who is the fastest player on the team. Cam Wood is a returning defensive end who is one of the leaders on the defense. Returning at the other starting tackle for the Vikings is Luke Ward (6-foot-4, 260 pounds).
With improved numbers the Vikings are poised to make gains on the field this fall and are looking forward to the season.
“We have about 30 kids out for the team which is great for Potterville,” said Viking coach Jason Baker, who is going into his second season as head coach. “The guys have been working hard in the offseason. We’ve been focusing on conditioning and getting the boys physically ready to play the game. We only lost one senior from last year so we have the core coming back. We’re also young, everyone but Ezzy and Keaton are juniors or sophomores or freshmen so we have a good couple years ahead of us for this program. We are going to be competitive this year. We have a tough schedule, but I feel like we stack up well against it.”
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