There have been more questions than answers for the Christian County Colonels during the preseason football workouts, but that hasn’t diminished the enthusiasm for the team and coaching staff.
First-year coach Ethan Atchley said his team may be slow to start the season, but he hopes to have a lot of the questions answered before the Colonels get into the meat of the season.
“We haven’t even come close to putting it all together yet (in preseason scrimmages),” Athchley said. “But we are starting to figure it out. I like our enthusiasm and our work ethic and hopefully all of that will help us as we go through the season.”
The biggest question for the Colonels is who will be under center? Jordan Miles graduated and took with him the 1,232 passing yards and 12 touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 730 yards. So, who will be replacing Miles?
“We’re going to play two guys, and I know that goes against the football bible, but that’s what we have here right now,” Atchley said.
Junior Sebastian Dazey and sophomore Jaiden Williams will share the signal calling duties this season.
The backfield will be led by sophomore Tristin Dillard, who transferred from Hopkinsville, and senior Jeiren Williams, who is coming back from a knee injury. Others who will see action at running back this year include Jordan Callit, senior Mikhi Boyd and freshman Jeremiah Smith.
“We have some depth there and we have some competition,” Atchley said. “We’ll go to some two-back sets with Callit and Boyd and Smith is going to be a good player for us. But Jeiron (Williams) and Dillard will get the bulk of the carries for us.”
The Colonels are deepest at wide receiver where six to eight players are vying for playing time.
Junior Aiden Jesse, junior Zyon Wharton, junior Josh Bridges, Boyd, junior Darius Finch, and junior Jimmarion Byrd all will be counted on for major minutes.
“It’s the most I’ve ever had anywhere I’ve coached,” Atchley said. “They can all screen, run, and block so it depends on who is on that night as to who gets on the field the most.”
Up front, the Colonels have a group of players vying for time and the competition has been fierce during the preseason.
Senior Isaiah Davidson will move over to center this year and has been the leader during the preseason. Sophomore Stephan Lovan and seniors Christian Robinson, Stacy Ladd, CJ McCarley, Chris Quarles, and Chris McIntyre fill out the offensive line.
Boyd, Finch and Jimmarion Bird all could see time at tight end.
Defensively, the Colonels are looking to improve on last year, when they allowed 44 points per game.
Leading the way will be the defensive line, which returns several experienced players including senior Demarkese Harris and junior Jimarrion Byrd at defensive end. Many of the offensive linemen will also play on defense.
The linebacker corps is led by Dillard, sophomore Deasian Harris, sophomore Jordan Catlett, sophomore Paul Abren and senior Jordan Morton.
“Morton played great at Fort Campbell (scrimmage) and Abren has looked good on the outside,” Atchley said. “I’ve been happy with my linebackers. They are an aggressive group, just a little young.”
Junior DeAndre Watkins, Boyd and senior Paul Grace will be seeing time at safety.
The cornerbacks include junior Lemarius Hawkins, junior Kemarion Ford, Bridges, senior CJ Banks, and freshman Jeremiah Smith.
“Ford has played really well at corner for us and Bridges and Banks are really good athletes for us back there,” Atchley said.
While most football coaches shy away from talking about special teams, Atchley said he is excited to see his group in action.
“We’re not going to get the ball kicked to us,” he said. “Whoever we put back there will be a threat.”
Senior Tyler Stokes, who plays soccer for the Colonels, will handle the kicking and punting chores. Morton could see time there if needed.
“We have as high of a ceiling as any team I’ve ever had,” Atchley said. “We aren’t staring at Danville or Louisville Male in our district. We’re going to focus on what we can do and get really good at what we can do.”
The Colonels are trying to rebound off a 2-9 season, which saw them get outscored 196-40 the last three games last season. Atchley said his team has to forget about that and focus on 2024.
“These kids don’t know how good they can be,” he said. “They lack the confidence and they kind of look for the bad to happen. It’s up to me to show them how good they can be. Once we see good things happening, I think things will turn around.”
The Colonels open the season Friday night at 6 p.m. against Warren East in Bowling Green.
