Springville football ready to show its versatility

SPRINGVILLE - After consecutive seasons of leaning on one primary offense producer, Springville football is looking to spread it around by spreading it out.

Last season it was do-it-all Tyler McDowell (leader in rushing yards, passing yards, tackles and punting), who admirably shouldered the load following the stellar prep career of current UNI Panther Elias Nissen.

'This year we have a lot more people that are like them,” Springville senior tight end/defensive end Max Boland said. 'We have more diverse speed, not just one single player that can do it all.”

After narrowly missing out on a berth in the 8-player playoffs, the Orioles (4-5 last season) are implementing a new offensive alignment more in line with the increasingly-popular spread formations.

'I think we're going to be a lot more adaptive to certain circumstances and able to switch a lot more people up,” junior fullback/linebacker Seth Blake said. 'There's just a lot more people involved in different spots; more opportunities.”

The trigger man for Springville is senior Jacob Loehr, who threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns last season before missing the last four games with a broken collarbone. Blake will be counted on to carry the ball and open holes for a tailback rotation that includes junior Cavanaugh Riley, sophomore Henry Hoogland and senior foreign exchange student Niklas Brede, who played four years of American football in Norway.

'I would say we have a pretty good mixture of kids that are able to, if their turn is called, they'll be able to do a pretty good job with the ball,” fifth-year Springville Coach Joe Martin said.

The schedule makers dealt a tough draw as the Orioles open with three road tilts before beginning district play at home Sept. 11 against Elkader Central. Three of the first four opponents won 11 games last season, including Thursday night's opener at HLV.

'We've got to come out intense,” senior tight end/defensive end Andy Hagensick said. 'Get the energy from each other and just rely on that.”

Hagensick and Boland will bookend active defensive tackles Austin Kirchmann and Nick Stuppi. Stuppi led the team with five sacks last season, including three in the season-ending victory at Cedar Valley Christian. Along with a linebacker tandem led by Blake, the Springville defense will use shifts and movement to blitz and fill gaps.

Riley and senior Carter Gillmore - who tallied 10 tackles in the last two games of last season - will man the secondary.

'I think we've got a lot of young kids kind of stepping up,” Gillmore said. 'They're filling holes and just making tackles.”

SPRINGVILLE, at a glance

Coach:

Joe Martin (4 years, 25-16)

Last year:

4-5 (missed playoffs)

Key returners:

17 letterwinners, including QB Jacob Loehr, TE/DE Andy Hagensick, DL Nick Stuppi, TE/DE Max Boland, DB Carter Gillmore

Key losses:

RB/DB Tyler McDowell, DE Trevor Hulett, TE Greg Pauly, RB/LB Cody Blake

Key to making playoffs:

'We're going to benefit from having a hard first three games,” Springville Coach Joe Martin said. 'If you asked a lot of teams in the state if they'd like those three games, they probably wouldn't but I think the experience that we're going to gain from them and then going into our district play and being able to stay composed, not turn over the ball, obviously is a big one in football and just going hard.”

Games to watch:

Aug. 20, at HLV; Sept. 4, at Don Bosco; Sept. 11, Elkader Central (home)

Schedule (*district game)

Aug. 20 - at HLV

Aug. 28 - at Meskwaki Settlement School

Sept. 4 - at Don Bosco

Sept. 11 - *Elkader Central

Sept. 18 - *at Midland

Sept. 25 - *Turkey Valley

Oct. 2 - *at Central City

Oct. 9 - *Lansing Kee

Oct. 16 - *at West Central

Oct. 23 - *Cedar Valley Christian

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com