By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Willard will welcome a new era of football with Ozarks’ native Frank Tristan taking over. Tristan comes with a wealth of experience including stops at Western New Mexico and Southwestern Assemblies of God – both head coaching positions – as well as stops at Kickapoo, Hillcrest and Evangel.
He now takes over a Tiger team that has had three consecutive losing seasons, but does return 14 starters from last year.
“We will establish a family environment where football is fun and a priority,” said Tristan. “The players and coaches know that we genuinely care for one another.”
The majority of the returning experience is on the offensive side of the ball where Willard brings back eight starters.
Senior quarterback Tyler Janes will again be under center with classmates Kessler Heiney and Blaine Willard expected to be two of his go-to targets. All three seniors will also see time in the secondary.
Senior Jordan Nutall will look to anchor the offensive line after starting in 2020. He’ll likely be clearing holes for senior Carson Dotson and junior Owen Bushnell. Both running backs will also get reps at linebacker.
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Tristan has been pleased with what he’s seen from a few newcomers. Brecken Murray, Karon Johnson and Isaac Shaw should all see playing time on the offensive and defensive lines.
Klayton Kiser, Jaxton Berry and Matt Tardie will all see reps at receiver and are also competing for roles in the back half of the defense.
“We have the same approach defensively, offensively, and special teams; being committed to putting our guys in positions to have success,” said Tristan. “We are still learning from each other and identifying what we are going to hang our hat on. Knowing Coach Edwards (defensive coordinator), he will make sure our defense will play fast and disciplined.”
Tristan will look to again have Willard at the top of one of Missouri’s toughest conferences in the COC.
While he’s never coached in the league, he recruited players from it for more than a decade, understanding the overall and individual team talent that exists in the Ozarks’ premier league.
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The Tigers aren’t looking to win a state championship in August, just trying to build a program that can be competitive every Friday night.
“Our expectation for this conference season is to control what we can control,” said Tristan. “Give our collective best effort and be in each game in the 4th quarter.”
“To compete at that level we will need a complete team effort with some exceptional individual efforts. Winning in this type of conference takes special performances and we are working to be that type of team.”
Willard will open the 2021 season with a jamboree at Parkview on Aug. 20 before starting the regular season on the road against Carl Junction on Aug. 27.
