After graduating all but eight total starters from last year’s team, Carl Junction football will be using 2021 as a season for growth in the program.
The Bulldogs finished last season with a 6-6 record and graduated a bevy of experience. Carl Junction returns three starters on offense — all along the offensive line — and five starters on the defensive side of the ball with more than 30 players figuring to step into more meaningful roles at the varsity level.
“You go through all the summer weightlifting, conditioning and football camps to get to this point and I think the kids are definitely excited to play,” said Carl Junction coach Doug Buckmaster. “It’s time to play a game, so I am just happy that we have reached this point.”
“We lost a big group of seniors last year,” Buckmaster added. “We have a fairly large senior class this year. But in saying that, we are still going to be a young, inexperienced football team. We may go through some growing pains. I definitely feel like there is a bright future ahead. You don’t ever like saying this is a rebuilding year or something like that because we feel like we can go out and compete and play well in our conference. We just lack numbers and the depth that we’ve had in the past.”
Returning starters on offense for the Bulldogs are senior LT Darris Hill, senior RT Kameron Bennett and junior center Ross Craig.
Highlighting the players expected to make an impact at the varsity level on the offensive side of the ball this season for the Bulldogs is senior QB Kyler Perry, junior RB Chance Benford, senior WRs Shane Diskin, Jordan Woodruff, and Dalton Mills, junior WR Nathan Planchon and sophomore WR Dexter Merrell. Filling out the rest of the offensive line figures to be junior LG Josh McDermott and senior RG Michael Phipps.
The returning starters for Carl Junction on the defensive side of the ball are Phipps at defensive tackle, senior DE Josh Cory, senior OLB Carter Kennedy, junior OLB Braxton Dodds and junior DT Donnie Keith. Filling out the projected starters on the defense is sophomore CB Kyler Stewart, junior CB Ayden Bard, junior safeties Arlen Wakefield and Tony Stewart, sophomore linebackers Johnny Starks and Bentley Rowden and Hill at nose tackle.
“Our defensive side of the ball should be our strength,” Buckmaster said. “We have four or five returning starters on that side of the ball. Some of the kids who are stepping in to replace the ones we lost a year ago have a chance to be as good or better than what we played at in certain positions last year. And we were a pretty good football team on the defensive side last year.”
Carl Junction opens the season at 7 p.m. Friday with a home game against Willard.
“If we can keep them healthy, they are going to get better,” Buckmaster said about what he wants to see in terms of progression this season from his Bulldogs. “We just need to play well early in our schedule in the first three weeks. We need to go out and win a few football games. If we do that, it can set us up for a good season. And we have a good opportunity the first three weeks to put some wins on the board.”
