WEST LIBERTY – After becoming the first NCAA Division II team ever to lead the nation in scoring and total offense in back-to-back seasons, West Liberty football coach Roger Waialae is facing the daunting task of replacing one of the largest and most decorated senior groups in Hilltopper history.
But the veteran head man had a smile on his face as West Liberty’s spring football drills wound down this week.
“This is the fun part of coaching at the college level. You get a different mix of kids every year and the challenge is to develop them and give them the opportunity to excel,” Waialae said. “People were worried about what we were going to do when we lost guys like Jay Gullion, Eddie Hills and Derrick Stickles but we’ve had the ability to not only replace outstanding players in past seasons but to grow from it, as well.”
Gone from last year’s Hilltopper squad are the leading passer in NCAA Division II annals (Zach Amedro), the leading receiver in the nation (Ryan Travis) and the man who ran for more touchdowns and scored more points (Kevon Calhoun) than any player in West Liberty history along with All-America linebacker Clay Beeler – the WVIAC Defensive Player of the Year – and All-American center Nick Madia. Those would be heavy losses for any program but fortunately for Waialae and the Hilltoppers, the cupboard is far from bare at Russek Field.
“Our main objective this spring was to find out where our younger skill players were at in terms of their development,” Waialae said. “It was a similar situation on the other side of the ball with all of the linebackers we lost but we’re pretty pleased with what we’ve seen so far. “
Larry Wreidt and Ryan Scaperotta – an honorable mention All-WVIAC pick – are back at offensive tackle with Dan Srch and Sawyer Russell at the guards. Jose Baez, a guard last year, returns to his natural center position. Also pushing for playing time are Isaac Herrera, Nate Maleski, Randy Lemus, Mark Jarrett, Brian Wells and Tyler Tanner.
Defensively, sack leader Isaac Omaits is back along with Matt Betz, Leonidas Redding, Jake Lilly, Nathan Parry and Nick Augustyn, who returns from a knee injury. Betz, Omaits and Redding earned honorable mention All-WVIAC laurels.
“One of the things that’s helped is that we have a lot of kids back on the offensive and defensive lines. This is the first time I can remember being so good up front while being relatively unproven at the skill positions but I’m pretty excited. We’ll look for the lines to carry us until we’re able to get our skill kids to the level they need in order to perform.”
Tyler Tucci, Amedro’s backup last fall, has the inside track at quarterback with pressure from Chris Kiedaisch and Brandon Hyler, a transfer from Fairmont State. Sophomore Arvin Bell and redshirt freshman B.J. Hendrix have been running out of the tailback spot.
Brandon Carver and Brandon Schroeder are returning starters at wide receiver. Lloyd Phillips has shown breakaway speed while Scott Victorio, another Fairmont State transfer has been splitting reps between slot receiver and tailback. The versatile Tucci also opened some eyes when pressed into service at the slot receiver.
“Arvin and Tyler Tucci are probably the two guys who have jumped out the most this spring,” Waialae said. “Arvin has a good grasp of the offense and he’s running hard. B.J. has looked good coming off his knee injury and has a good burst. Tucci has just been getting better and better at quarterback.
“The thing that surprised us about Tyler was how well he performed when we gave him some reps at (Ryan) Travis’s old position. We weren’t planning on looking at him at wideout. It just evolved with all the injuries at that spot and Tyler was every bit as impressive there as he had been at quarterback. He’s just a good football player.”
The Hilltoppers made a minor defensive adjustment with Alec Wood, last season’s WVIAC Defensive Freshman of the Year, moving from weak safety to strong safety this spring. Waialae expects competition – both now and in August camp – to sort out the rest of the defensive secondary.
“Alec and (Josh) Quinn have looked pretty good at strong safety but right now it’s pretty wide open at free safety and weak safety,” Waialae said. “We need to see more consistency there. Justin Black has been a real bright spot for us at cornerback. He started some games for us last season but he really seems to have stepped up.
“We’ll be putting the finishing touches on our recruiting class over the next few weeks and we’re pretty excited about some of the kids we’ll be adding to the mix in August. Some of those guys are capable of coming in here and making an immediate impact if they can pick things up quickly enough.”
The Hilltoppers’ spring sessions conclude Saturday with the annual Black and Gold intersquad game. Kickoff is set for noon at Russek Field with the offense taking on the defense in a controlled scrimmage. The game is open to the public.
Discussion about this post