Red Devils Ready to Embrace Fall Pressure Again
EUREKA – The fans know it, the coaches know it and the players know it.
There's just something about football in the fall that hits different.
The Eureka football team did everything it could to get the most out of the spring 2021 season. Young players gained experience and stepped into new roles, seniors were able to conclude their careers on the field, and the coaching staff had a unique chance to try new things.
There were emphatic wins and impressive milestones, tough losses and unprecedented obstacles. For better or worse, it was definitely an experience.
But it wasn't fall.
On Saturday, Eureka will play its first fall football game in 658 days, when the Red Devils take on Nebraska Wesleyan on the road at 1 p.m. to open the 2021 fall season.
"We're just excited to be playing football in the fall," said EC coach Kurt Barth, the winningest coach in Eureka's 118-year history with 62 wins. "It's been two years since we played in the fall and had that sense of a normal football season. I'm excited about guys having that opportunity.
"I think that experience is a big part of what they want when they come to Eureka."
Eureka has seen a lot of roster turnover since the last time the team played fall football.
A lot of the household names of the 2019 squad have moved on to the next part of their lives. Two of them – former fullback Wesley Burris and tight end Kolbi Crittenden – are on the coaching staff. Former quarterback Drew Barth is the quarterbacks coach at Bethany College.
But be that as it may, there is still quite a bit of returning experience on the 2021 roster – perhaps more than you might expect or realize.
"We've got a good group of returning players," Barth said. "I feel very strong about our recruiting class as well. Now it's time to get out there and put it all together."
After a strong past few weeks of preseason training, Nathan Garard was named the Week 1 starting quarterback for the second straight season. The junior from Gibson City got an eye-opening introduction to college football during the five-week spring season, and he's earned the chance to show what he's learned since then.
He'll be joined in the backfield by senior running back Peyton Doughty, who is looking to play at full strength for the first time since his season-ending injury at the beginning of 2019, as well as returning starting fullback, junior Ben Bernabei. The former rushed for 306 yards and one touchdown on 68 carries as a freshman in 2018 and saw some action in the spring, while the latter contributed 3.4 yards per carry on 20 carries and scored a memorable touchdown off a fumble last spring.
The Red Devils receiving corps have lost a few key contributors since the spring, but it returns leading receiver Pierce Bradford and welcomes a slew of talented newcomers. Bradford, the emotional leader of the squad, hauled in 17 receptions for 286 yards and five touchdowns in four games last spring.
Malek Folston showed off his speed, agility and athleticism as a defensive back and kick returner last spring. This fall, he's switching over to the other side of the ball to bolster the receivers.
Freshman Sebastian Hill made a flashy debut in maroon and gold with a touchdown dash into the student section up the hill at McKinzie Field in the Knox scrimmage last week, and Barth says there's much more to come from him. He's the headliner of a deep group of freshmen that includes CJ Hopkins, Kerensky Rhoden, Christopher Hale, Braden Damerell, Austin Swiech, Ethan Keedy and Caelan Webb.
There are also returners, such as juniors Kobe Newman and Drew Payne, who will be in the mix as well. It gives Garard, Barth and offensive coordinator Sam Durley a lot to work with.
"I really think this group has potential to be the most elite group of receivers we've had in our program's history, that we've had at one time," Barth said.
Whereas the wideouts offer excitement and possibility, the offensive line offers stability.
Seniors Martin LeCesne and Corbin Heiken are both accomplished, four-year starters at left tackle and center, respectively. Seniors Ben Appel (left guard) and Bryce Ohrt (right guard) were both starters last spring and Ohrt started part of the 2019 season as well. Another senior, Chase Parkinson, made the first start of his career in the last game of the season and will be starting at right tackle in Week 1.
The Red Devils are also waiting for sophomores Hugo Garza and Jake Benninger to return from injury later in the season and follow in EC's rich offensive line tradition.
The defensive side of the ball brings back even more experience.
The defensive line features the likes of senior defensive end Jon Jackson, who came back from injury last spring after being sidelined for part of the 2019 season following an all-conference 2018 campaign. He finished the spring with tied for a team-high 37 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and three sacks. Fellow defensive end Alexander Brittan was the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Freshman of the Year after racking up 48 tackles and three sacks in 2019, and has high expectations after a solid spring.
Juniors Keegan Kerr and Donovan Hathaway are versatile multi-year starters at defensive tackle and senior Bryson Smith is another capable lineman returning with experience, along with senior Ried Morrell. Freshmen linebacker/lineman Deondre Guyton is another player who could contribute to the pass rush.
Behind them stand a core of upperclassmen linebackers who were all either starting or in the mix in 2019 and spring 2021, including seniors Amari Smith (23 total tackles, six tackles for loss and one sack in spring 2021), Colton Walsberg (25 total tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks in spring 2021) and junior Brendan Durr (a team-high 37 total tackles and 2.5 for loss in spring 2021). EC also welcomes back Mason Diederich, who was a back-to-back all-conference honoree in 2018 and 2019.
Sophomore Stefon Humphrey and freshman Eric Martinez are two young players next in line.
The Red Devils have their share of multi-year starters in the secondary, as well.
Junior cornerback Kwentin Brookins has had starting experience since his freshman year, while sophomore Anneus Riggs started last spring as a freshman. Senior Nehemiah Butler has been a key safety since his freshmen year, and junior Jack Arnett started every game as a junior last spring.
In addition, sophomore Garrett Wayne gained starting experience as a freshman last year, and sophomore Joe Jackson is primed to contribute to the secondary unit, too.
The Red Devils also have impressive depth in special teams. Steven Bartkus, a freshman out of Seneca, joins sophomore Sam Bartels as a dependable option at kicker and punter. Both have hit 55-yard field goals at practice. In Week 1, Bartkus will kick and Bartels will punt, but that could change week to week.
Barth says it's hard to know what to expect from Nebraska Wesleyan. This will be the first meeting between the teams in their programs' respective histories. The Prairie Wolves only played one game in the spring, and a lot has changed since they've played fall football, too.
The team plays in the always-competitive American Rivers Conference, and under the direction of 26th-year coach Brian Keller. It has a well-earned reputation.
"They are going to be a strong, physical group that does things right," Barth said. "They're going to make you play mistake-free to beat you.
Any time you go on the road, especially seven hours away, you have got to avoid a slow start and avoid that home team getting any kind of momentum."
The pressure will be on for the Red Devils – and that's exactly what they've been waiting for.