Fair Grove football has become one of the most consistent programs in the Ozarks over the last half decade. The Eagles are 38-10 with four consecutive district runner-up finishes.
More consistency and better mental focus will be key to getting Fair Grove past the district championship hurdle according to Fair Grove Head Coach Bill Voorhis.
“We have to be more consistent in our effort and production. Too many times last year in big games when things didn’t go our way our effort dropped or our focus dropped. We weren’t quite the same guys we were when things were going good,” Voorhis said. “The biggest thing for us will be to become more consistent and overcome some of those things that are out of our control but are still a big part of winning a football game.”
The first thing Fair Grove must do this year is replace a quarterback who threw for more than 2,600 yards for the second consecutive year. Two years ago Jayden Kensinger accomplished the feat before Rhett Hill threw for 2,648 yards and 29 touchdowns last year.
The next man up running the RPO for Fair Grove is senior David Oplotnik.
“He is a kid, who in my opinion, probably could have started for lots of other schools. (He) could have started for us except he has had two really good seniors in front of him each year,” Voorhis said. “(He has) a big, tall frame at six-foot-six. He is really athletic. He has just had to wait his turn a little bit. Now he is up. He can flat spin it. His biggest attribute is that his football IQ is off the charts. Most of the time the biggest thing for me is to get out of his way and not to over-coach him.”
Oplotnik was a first-team all-conference selection at linebacker last year. He completed one pass for three yards and a touchdown in 2018.
In the backfield, Hale Beckley will be the lead back after splitting carries with Elijah Young last year. Beckley carried the ball 90 times for 529 yards and eight touchdowns.
“He is going to get the lion’s share of the carries. Hale is going to have to be the workhorse,” Voorhis said. “He is the prototypical blue-collar kid. He is not necessarily the fastest or the shiftiest, but he is hard-nosed and will pick up a yard when we need a yard.”
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On the edges, Cole Gilpin and Dominick Hoskins will be the top receivers. Gilpin, who already owns the career record for touchdown catches at Fair Grove, caught 48 balls for 806 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
“Cole is the kind of kid you can throw the ball short to. He is kind of a security blanket for a quarterback to know you can throw a five-yard hitch and Cole can turn it into a 60-yard touchdown,” Voorhis said. “You also have the confidence in that, if you have to throw it deep, Cole can go out there and out-jump people. He is a real mismatch for teams.”
Hoskins will move to the edge after earning second-team all-state honors at tight end.
“Dom is another 6-foot-5 player that can jump. He is not going to break as many tackles as Cole will, but he will definitely high-point a football and come down with a catch,” Voorhis said.
Up front, Fair Grove has two first-team all-conference selections in Blake Bridges and Cody Jeter leading the way on the line.
“Those two guys give us the confidence that any time we need to pick up short yard, we feel like we can line up and run the ball behind those two,” Voorhis said. “They have experience and size and good footwork. They are just a security blanket for us to know that we have that side locked down.”
Sophomore Kyle Fritz will man the center position with senior Darin Oplotnik seeing time at guard. Senior David Perryman and sophomore Lucas Crutcher are also competing for time on the offensive line.
Defensively, everything starts with Darin Oplotnik at defensive end. Oplotnik was a Class 2 Third-Team All-State selection last year and Mid-Lakes Conference Defensive Player of the Year after an eight-sack season.
“He has such a high motor. He doesn’t take plays off. He is the kind of kid you have to scheme around. You can’t just not account for him on a play because he will make the tackle. He made so many big tackles in key moments for us last year,” Voorhis said.
Fair Grove will run a four-man defensive front with Bridges, Jeter and Fritz rotating in the middle.
Linebacker will be a source of strength for the Fair Grove defense with three all-conference and an all-district linebacker returning. That group includes David Oplotnik, Gilpin, Beckley and Garrett Cross.
“It (the experience) means we get to pick up more from where we left off as opposed to having to start from scratch,” Voorhis said. “It is going to allow coach (Ryan) Buffington (defensive coordinator) to be more elaborate. It is going to allow him to do more things week to week because guys have a grasp of the basics instead of having to reload that spot.”
Cross will also be a factor on offense moving around the skill positions.
The secondary will be anchored by senior Bryce Thorton who was a First-Team All-Mid-Lakes selection.
“He (Thorton) had seven picks last year. He could have been the defensive player of the year in the conference if Darin hadn’t had such a great year,” Voorhis said. “He directs traffic back there. He can see the whole field. He is as tough as it gets. He played all last year with a broken wrist. They don’t get any tougher than Bryce. The rest of our defensive backs are going to be young, so we are going to rely on him to get them lined up.”
Tanner Lumley will move from cornerback to safety this year. Lumley started at corner last year as a sophomore.
Fair Grove will lack some depth this year, so keeping players healthy and on the field will be one of the biggest keys to success.
“Keeping guys on the field is going to be a big deal, but putting our kids in a position to be in those big games, have a chance to compete for a conference championship, have a chance to compete for a district championships. You have to be in those games to win those games, so I think if we continue to give those guys that chance, we will look back at this season as a successful season because not very many teams get a chance to play in those (big) games,” Voorhis said.
Fair Grove opens the season on Aug. 30 at home against Mountain Grove.
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