By Chris Parker
Parkview football began its first season playing outside of a conference as an independent and found success going from no wins in 2023 to four wins last season.
The success brought confidence to the program.
“It (being an independent) has been good for our program,” Parkview head coach Cam Bruffett said. “Having success independently has built confidence around our program and in our players. Our independent schedule was designed to be very competitive and features a lot of good programs. Overall, it has been a good move for us short term, but we are ready to be in a conference now.”
This year, Parkview will look to stack even more wins with a schedule that has the Vikings playing eight of their nine regular season games in Springfield city limits.
“We played most of our games on the road last year and we have the same schedule with majority of our games at home, meaning that we are looking at this year ready to win a lot of games,” Bruffett said. “We plan to take another step forward this offseason and that has already shown by winning our college team camp this summer at Evangel.”
Offensively, six starters return.
Willie Otto had a strong first season as a starting quarterback throwing for 1,492 yards and rushing for another 241.
“I have developed a lot of quarterbacks in southwest Missouri and usually Year 2 of being the guy, they take a big step forward. Willie can do that this year,” Bruffett said.
Sophomore Marcus Grube is also in the running to get snaps at quarterback.
“Sophomore Marcus Grube had a great freshman year at the JV level and even saw time last year varsity at the quarterback position,” Bruffett said. “Right now, Willie and Marcus are both battling for the job. They are both high level varsity talents and will be given equal opportunities to earn the job this summer.”
Grube threw for 163 yards on 13 attempts last season.
Khayse Highley returns to the backfield as one of the area’s top running backs. He rushed for 1,420 yards and 16 touchdowns on 235 carries last season.
“Khayse is special, and he made a name for himself last year. We fully plan to feature him again this year. His greatest asset is his competitiveness to be the best player on the field every day,” Bruffett said. “He naturally sits at around 190 pounds and has really taken to the weight room this off-season. He has combination of speed, agility and vision that is just natural to him. Adding additional muscle and explosiveness, he is setting himself up for another big year.”
Sophomore Olliven Gennerette and senior Jermaine Townsend are also in the mix for carries.
They will be running behind a star offensive lineman in left tackle Trevor Christman. Bruffett says the 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive lineman is receiving Division 1 interest.
Xzaviar Teal, Scotty Salmatau, Ben Fata, Landon Rhine, Roger Holcombe, and Brayden Nolan will all also handle offensive line duties.
Isaiah Hampton is the team’s top returning receiver. He had 32 catches for 423 yards and two touchdowns last season. Redje Levielle also returns after seeing limited targets last season.
Josiah Dickerson, Kalyhri Rolins and Zay Bousquet are all transfers with the ability to make an immediate impact at wide receiver. Gennerette, Cordell Lewis and Donald Taylor are also newcomers who will contributed at wide receiver.
Bruffett wants the unit to be balanced, but the run game, led by Highley, will be at the forefront.
“We like to attack defenses on the ground and through the air,” Bruffett said. “Establishing the run game first through tight end and fullback sets or even from the spread. It is common for us to have 30 pass attempts and 30 rush attempts in the same game. It could easily be 20 pass to 40 runs depending on the week, but we do like to establish the run game. Khayse makes the whole thing go. If they load the box, we are confident in passing it with solid quarterback play and the athletic wide receivers that we have. Khayse is special enough to still get touches into loaded defensive fronts and it be successful, but play action deep throws are things we like to do as well.”
Six starters also return on defense.
“The identity of our defense is to create confusion and stress on the offense,” Bruffett said. “We send a ton of blitz and stunts with splitting coverage and man coverage. We pride ourselves on being a hard-nosed defense with no backing down.”
Up front, Teal, Jeremiah Ferguson, Scotty Salamtua, Owyn Spyres, Jeremy Myers, Landon Rhine and Roger Holcombe will be on the defensive line.
Look for D’Shun Wright, Townsend, Zay Bousquet, Jerell Burgos and Philip Brandon at linebacker.
The secondary will feature Highley, Dickerson, Leveille, Otto, Khalyei Rollins, Gennrette and Grube.
“We work hard in the weight room, tough practices, and grind in the off-season,” Bruffett said. “It took us a few years to build our confidence up but now it is like a machine. We don’t cut any corners; we do the little things right. Very athletic and skilled, combined with weight room success and it has shown in powerlifting meets late last year and against other teams this summer. (We are a) tough and gritty team that is very unified in what we all want to do. That is win games and do it the right way.”
Parkview travels to Bolivar for a jamboree on Aug. 22 with Bolivar, Casville and Willard. The Vikings open the season on Aug. 28 at home against Marshfield.
“(We want to be) hosting a district playoff game again, (and) taking the next step and winning a district playoff game and continue our season,” Bruffett said. “The development and the work has been put in. We are looking forward to and expecting great success this year.”
