By Brock Sisney (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
For the new season, the Houston Tigers return eight starters from a team that finished 3-5 overall last season.
“I’m excited to get back to normal,” Houston head coach Eric Sloan said. “Summer has been pretty normal for the most part. I’m hoping we never see anything like last season again. I think these kids just need ‘normal.’
“We want to compete every Friday night. We lost a lot of guys to graduation or transfer who had a lot of experience. We need guys to step in those roles and be ready to pick up the slack. We have several guys that got some experience last year because of others quarantined. Hopefully, this helps as they play bigger roles this season. We have to stay healthy. We have no depth in any position and get young in a hurry if someone gets hurt or quarantined.”
The returning starters are running back Bailey Hurst, tight end Korbyn Tune, offensive and defensive lineman Alex Swallow, offensive lineman Casey Merckling (who missed the last four games last season with a broken ankle), linebackers Harold Lasiter and Zach Fuwell, defensive back Zac Williams, and linebacker and fullback Anthony Carroll.
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Lone first team all-SCA selection Trevor Mitchell (defensive end) graduated, but Merckling earned second team and Hurst, Tune, Swallow, and Carroll each picked up honorable mention honors.
Hurst rushed for 661 yards on 125 carries and caught four passes for 70 yards, and he generated seven total touchdowns. Tune grabbed 14 passes for 144 yards and three scores.
Defensively, Carroll made 45 total tackles, 15 of them for loss, and four quarterback sacks, while Swallow added 41 tackles and nine for loss, Lasiter 37 and four, Williams 25, and Fuwell 24 total tackles. Tune led the team with two interceptions and his two fumble recoveries shared the team lead with Carroll.
Wyatt Hughes, a sophomore, has been slated for the starting quarterback job and he was among five different players who attempted a forward pass last season. Hughes completed 1 of 10 passes for three yards and threw a pair of interceptions, and finished with a net of negative 25 yards rushing due to losses.
Seventh-year head coach Sloan highlighted three young men who could make a name for themselves on Friday nights this fall: receiver Nathaniel Garnica, Williams, and offensive guard and linebacker Dmitri Zveniatchovskii.
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Sloan on Garnica: “Speedy track kid who is playing this year after sitting out the past two seasons. He’s had a really good summer.”
Williams: “[Zac Williams] is a kid who started the back end of our schedule at cornerback. He has had a really nice offseason and summer. Really good cover guy.”
Zveniatchovskii: “He moved in last winter from out of state. Dmitri will start on both sides of the ball.”
Additionally, Sloan mentioned that Lassiter, a junior, has taken on a vocal leadership role and has been voted a team captain for this season.
The Tigers officially open their 2021 season Aug. 27 at home against Sarcoxie, part of three straight at home to start the season (their most alliterative part of the schedule, all ‘S’ schools with St. James and Salem following up opener Sarcoxie).
On the Friday night the week before their season opener, the Tigers take on host Mountain Grove, Thayer, and Willow Springs in the annual jamboree Missouri high schools play as dress rehearsal for opening night.
