Friday, Aug. 28, 2009

CARLYLE: Indians new coach vows club will play hard and compete

CARLYLE -- For any other rookie head coach, the plight of the Carlyle Indians would seem like an unnerving and demoralizing task.

Coming off a 1-8 season, the Indians must try and compensate for the loss of the team's top three running backs and starting quarterback and remain competitive in the Cahokia Conference with a thin roster consisting of just three seniors and 12 juniors.

Randy Dooley has seen this act before. An assistant coach at Carlyle for the past 29 years, Dooley was elevated to head coach after Keith McGlasson's teaching position was eliminated.

Dooley has experienced the highs and lows of Carlyle football. He was on the sidelines when the school was down to 12 players in 1984. In 1988, he was by Gary Wheeler's side when the Indians went 14-0 and knocked off Aledo 21-13 in the Class 2A state title game.

"It is what it is," said Dooley, 50. "Even during the good times, we didn't have great numbers. But, the ones that we do have have been quality for the most part. That's what we're looking for with these young men. What they go through is going to help them when they get older and be productive in society.

"I'm not going to lose with a bunch of losers. If we get beat, they're going to be winners."

Carlyle opens at home today with a 7 p.m. game against Chester.

Dooley is the Indians' fifth head coach since Wheeler, his best friend, resigned following the 1999 season. Wheeler, who died of cancer last year, held the job for 18 years. He was followed by Joe Wilkerson, Joe Clark, Josh Cavanaugh and McGlasson.

Dooley felt he owed it to the school district, which did not have a teaching position to offer an outside candidate, and Wheeler's memory to take the job.

He said he'll employ many of the tenets Wheeler preached.

"Football is pretty much simplicity, morale and discipline," Dooley said. "For us, it has to be simple. By simple, I mean you're here on time, you care about what you're doing and you try as hard as you can. There's no missing practices, and you're going to have to make it in the classroom.

"I'm not putting up with any nonsense. I don't have time to baby-sit. I care about you, but at the same time, we have to put a football team together to try and compete."

Which may be a challenge for the Indians in the Cahokia Conference.

"We're sitting here as a small 2A school, not far from 1A, and you're playing 3A schools like Columbia and Freeburg and Central," Dooley said. "We have three seniors, and it's pretty obvious that our work is cut out. But, you chose to come out and ... we'll put together a team and try to win every ... game."

Sophomore Jordan Smith will be thrust into the role of starting quarterback. The younger brother of former All-State basketball player Courtney Smith, Jordan Smith will run a no-frills offense for the Indians.

"You can't have him do a whole lot," Dooley said. "You have to start at step one. He's a good athlete. He has good bloodlines and plays all the sports, but he's just a sophomore. We're going to have to run the football. We have some backs that will get up in there and get off the ball. We have some size to throw the ball a little bit."

Juniors Jake Ade and Joe McGee each got a handful of carries last year and will be in the backfield along with junior Todd Edmund, a transfer from O'Fallon, and fullback Jake Beckmann.

Sophomore Zach Voss and senior Kyle Fulton both stand 6-foot-5 and offer two inviting targets for Smith at wide receiver. Juniors Jared Linton and John Knolhoff also figure into the flanker mix.

Seniors Clinton Michael (5-11, 225) and Matt Hellmann (6-0, 185) bring some experience to the offensive line. Juniors Brett Deiters (5-10, 205), Gage Miranda, Jordan Palmer (5-10, 200), Nick Wiebler (6-4, 195) will see plenty of time on the line, while junior Brady Hempen and sophomore Carson Van Dorn will split time at tight end.

Dooley, who expects to have six or seven two-way players, said the players are excited despite the circumstances.

"They're high-school young men that chose to come out and play extra-curricular high-school football," he said. "We'll try and put them in the right spots and get them in the best shape we can."