Chapin football looking to shore up defense heading into 2023 season
Eagles have Brady Albro back at quarterback after solid sophomore campaign
Chapin – Justin Gentry and his Chapin High School football coaching staff knew there would be a steep learning curve for their young team a year ago.
The Eagles started 3-1 but finished the year losing their final seven games. After giving up just 34 points in the first four games, CHS allowed 297 in the final seven for an average of over 40 a game.
Injuries at the linebacker position turned a promising start into the difficult finish.
“We went to a 4-man front because of our depth up front,” Gentry said. “We had some key injuries about midseason, that changed the dynamic of our defense. We lost a couple of key guys to injuries in what we try to do.
“It was in the linebacker corps and it was tough to overcome that. It is what it is though. The good part of it is we had a lot of guys who got reps (repetitions), and all of those guys coming back.”
Gentry said Chapin will have seven or eight starters back on defense and will be switching back to a 3-3 look on defense. That was an emphasis in spring practice.
“The 3-3 fits us best for the makeup we’ve got,” Gentry said.
Gentry was happy with the way the just completed spring practice went for his team.
“Spring practice in Chapin is a little different than most schools,” Gentry said. “We’ve got a lot of athletes who play sports in the spring. We were able to spend a lot of quality time with freshmen and they young guys, while we had others trickle in to us from baseball, soccer, track and golf even.
“I thought we had a very productive spring,” he added, “We’re very young on the varsity as a team. It was interesting to see how they have grown mentally and physically.”
Gentry is really excited to see how the offense progresses with nine starters returning. Included in that is junior quarterback Brady Albro. He carried a major load last year, completing 197 of 311 passes for 2,055 yards and 14 touchdowns against just five interceptions.
“He kind of got thrown to the wolves a little bit,” Gentry said. “He is so smart, makes great decisions. He’s one of the better high school quarterbacks I’ve had the opportunity coach in my career. He is outstanding both mentally and physically.”
Weldon Gunter is back at wide receiver after having 33 catches for 264 yards last season. Others who will be part of the receiving corps are Khalen Bostic, Jonathan Sheppard, Jacob Nerone and Isaiah Green. Also, senior Kai Fennell, a longtime soccer player, will be giving football a shot.
“We’ve been on him the last two years to play football,” Gentry said. “He showed us what we can do. He can fly. Obviously, we have to work on his hands a little bit, but he got the most improved receiver in spring,”
Gentry likes the attitude his entire roster has displayed during the spring and early on in summer workouts. He credits that to a leadership program he and his coaching staff established.
“As coaches we knew we just had to be patient and for them to keep working,” he said. “The boys are hungry; they’ve had a different mindset in workouts. So far we’re pleased with them. We've got a lot of leadership. Thisis a different kind of group.
“We started a leadership program back during football season. After season, it grew to where we had other student-athletes joining. They come in and do different book studies, we have different speakers come in. It’s been very productive.”
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