By Staff

Fall 2019 Preview: Skyline Football

By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Brandon Shelby is entering his 17th season at Skyline and this group has the chops to be yet another explosive team.

The Tigers are coming off a 7-4 campaign that saw their season end in the district semifinals. But, Shelby and Company will reload behind 13 returning starters and a ton of overall speed.

“We are very excited about the upcoming season,” said Shelby. “There are lots of question marks as we lost several three year starters to graduation, but our incoming players are very talented. I think our success will depend on how quickly they adapt to the speed of the varsity game. We do have some quality skill guys on offense and a lot of experience on defense.”

Leading Skyline into 2019 will be four-year starter Gage Gunter.

He’s a two-way All-Mid-Lakes selection at running back and linebacker, after rushing for 1,000 yards a year ago. He will set the tone for the Tigers on both sides of the ball.

“He has the ability to not only carry the football, but catch the ball out of the backfield and he’s solid defensively,” said Shelby. “Gage has been the model of consistency for our program the last three years and I expect nothing less than the same this year. He is a quiet leader that leads by example every day.”

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He’ll be joined by several All-Mid-Lakes classmates.

Preston Scott is a shifty receiver, but also earned all-conference honors as a defensive back as well. Sophomore Jaytin Defreese was a two-way all-conference pick as a freshman.

Scott and Defreese will give opponents fits on both sides of the ball.

“Preston will be starting at receiver for the third year this year,” said Shelby. “He provides great route running and sure-handedness. On defense, he plays a solid corner for us and allows to play man.

“Jaytin returns for his sophomore season after having 715 yards receiving and five touchdowns. He is a tremendous player that has the potential to have another huge season. Defensively he had three interceptions to go along with 43 tackles.”

Junior Trey Swearingin will join them in forming arguably the best secondary and receiving corps in the league.

Shelby is especially excited about his senior-laden offensive line unit.

Seniors Chris and Connor Logan were both all-conference offensive linemen last season. Classmate Dalton Dorrell (6-2, 240lbs) was an all-conference defensive lineman and fellow senior Cody Pippins (6-0, 215lbs) has shown growth during the offseason.

That quartet will be looking to two-way action.

Senior Brad Curnutt (6-4, 245bs) will return to bolster the D-line.

Sophomore Lawson Beem is one of many newcomers that will be counted on to produce immediately. He’ll take over for three-year starting quarterback Trevor Russell as the next in a long line of dual-threat quarterbacks that started early on in their career.

“Lawson is an extremely athletic young man, that has the ability to make big plays for us,” said Shelby. “He has worked really hard with receivers this summer. Looking for him to do some really good things.”

Seniors James Miller (WR/LB) and Kaleb Pitt (OL/DL) will look to provide leadership and depth. Juniors Joey Harris (OL/DL) and Cameron Adams (RB/LB) are also in position battles. Sophomores Kourt Cheek and Mason Beck will join the receiver/linebacker groups and classmate Briley Turner will look for reps on the line.

Shelby is also excited about having a healthy Rhett Glor to help the offensive line and secondary. He also believes junior Antonio Irizarry and Zach Williams could become immediate playmakers on the perimeter.

For Skyline, it could be another tough regular season, but the Tigers are always building towards November.

The nonconference schedule does them no favors as the Tigers will visit Archie and Lighthouse Christian, while also hosting Summit Christian, among others.

Being a Class 1 in a Class 2-3 conference always presents its challenges, but it has also been the catalyst behind several deep Skyline runs.

This fall could see that history repeat itself.

“As we say every year, every game is a big game for us,” said Shelby. “We are playing up every week and that requires us to be at our best week in and week out. Fair Grove and Strafford are always a handful for us because of their talent and depth. We feel that our schedule does a great job in preparing us for postseason play.

“Hopefully our kids will compete hard every day in practice and push to be playing our best football at the end of the season. I like the chemistry of this team. Depth is a major issue with us this year, so we must stay healthy.”

Skyline will open the 2019 season at home against Forsyth on Aug. 30.