Brad Drehle enters second season as Waynesville head coach

3637080

Waynesville coach Brad Drehle is entering his second season at the helm for the Tigers.  He took over for Rick Vernon, who was the Waynesville head coach for the previous 33 seasons (1981-2014).
 
Head Coach: Brad Drehle
2015 Record: 4-7
Top Players: Elton Bradford (DL/RB), David Adams (RB/DB), Ethan Brown (QB/DB), Pablo Cuevas (OL/DL), Nick Clary (OL/DL), Ethan Gatzmeyer (OL/DL)
 
The Tigers’ season ended with a loss to Battle in the district semifinal game last year.  This 2016 group is eager to improve upon last season.
 
“The kids have worked hard,” said Drehle.  “The things that we’ve been talking to the kids about, it’s the way that we act, the way that we interact, the way we react to situations and the energy we bring to practice, and our kids have shown some good leadership.  They’ve done a good job of hustling place to place.  The tempo of practice has been good.  We’re excited about things we’ve seen.”

CLICK HERE FOR ALL FOOTBALL PREVIEWS
 
Waynesville lost a tremendous player in Sam Roberts to graduation last year.  Roberts was a first team All-State defensive lineman – Waynesville’s only All-State player from 2015. 
 
Despite the loss, the Tigers should be stout in the trenches.  They return three starting linemen from last year in Pablo Cuevas, Nick Clary and Ethan Gatzmeyer.
 
“They were first-time players last year,” said Drehle of his linemen.  “Some of them were sophomores, several of them were sophomores.  So when we went to West Plains, that was the first time they’ve ever been on a varsity football field, the first time under the lights.  So they will be in a lot better place as far as their preparation for the game and knowing what to expect.  They’ve done a great job out here in leadership.  They get things lined up.  The biggest thing is, we’re bigger and we’re stronger than we were a year ago.”
 
Seth Hedrick and Ethan Brown both split time at quarterback last season.  With Hedrick now graduated, Brown is competing for the full-time quarterback position as a junior this year.  Also, look for junior running back David Adams to contribute rushing the ball out of the backfield this year.
 
“We’ve got some competition in a lot of different spots.  Quarterback is one of them,” Drehle said.  “It’s fun to watch our kids compete.  That’s the thing that we want to get to, and they compete, but at the same time they respect each other’s abilities.  It’s alright to go out and compete, it’s alright to want to do that job, but you want to have your teammate and your brother have success.”

CLICK HERE FOR WAYNESVILLE PRACTICE PHOTOS
 
Waynesville will have their hands full in the Ozark Conference this year.  Kickapoo is fresh off of a semifinal appearance in the Class 6 state playoffs.  West Plains finished runner-up in the conference with a 10-2 record.  Lebanon and Joplin both recorded seven wins last year and should be stout again.
 
Drehle pleased Waynesville alums by beating rival Camdenton twice last year, but the Lakers return some star players and will be motivated heading into this season.
 
“The way that you compete is you prepare each week as though it’s the best team in the state of Missouri,” said Drehle.  “And you go out and you work as hard as you possibly can.  The whole thing to it is, our conference is very competitive, top to bottom… So each week it forces you to prepare a little bit differently, and our kids ability to accept coaching, to understand the offense and defense that they’re going to see each week, and most importantly to go out and execute and do the things that we do as well as we possibly can.”
 
Coach Drehle is just as concerned with molding young men as he is with winning football games.
 
“There are two different things.  You can define success, and you can define winning.  When we talk about success, it means that we’re doing the things the right way.  Not only on the football field, but in the classroom, in the hallways, in our community, we’re being good student athletes.  If we’re doing those things and we’re successful there, when we can come out here on the field then we have an opportunity to win.  We get to win.”
 
The Tigers will welcome in West Plains on Aug. 19 to kick off the 2016 season.
 

Related Posts

Loading...