By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
ROSENDALE - The North Andrew football team looks to defend its title in Missouri 8-man football this fall after graduating 10 seniors from the year before.
There's also a new, but familiar face in the head coaching role.
Following the retirement of Dwyane Williams, his son and offensive coordinator, Dustin, was named the new head coach for Cardinal football this past February.
Dustin has been on staff at North Andrew since 2018, but he’s sought feedback from his father and others, as his first season at the helm draws closer.
"If you're not always asking other people for help or reaching out or asking questions and trying to do it all yourself, you're not going to be as successful as you think," Williams said. "The other coaches in the 8-man community have been great. I've talked to other coaches at other schools, and they've kind of helped with some of our practices and things like that."
North Andrew ran the table in 2022 and went 14-0, winning their seventh state title in program history and the first since 2016.
With a somewhat younger team this year, junior and all-state quarterback Braxon Linville knows this group has something to prove once again.
"This year, we're coming in thinking we have to work the hardest we've ever worked to prove people wrong and prove ourselves right to be better than what people have stapled on us," Linville said.
As far as other returning personnel goes, junior Avery Miller looks to play a bigger role this season. He started two games in 2022, but was sidelined with injuries. Senior Matthew Evans is back as well after making six starts last year.
Payton Simmons looks to make an impact in his senior year with plenty of playing experience under his belt. Juniors Blaise Patterson, Hunter Lee and Cooper Grishow are all set to see the field more as well after waiting their turn behind a big senior class.
"We've moved some kids around to different positions and I think that'll help them be successful," Williams said. "We've told the kids all along that it's not a sprint. It's a marathon. We're trying to make sure we're healthy and the best version of ourselves come playoff time."
Senior Jayden Wall is back as well, anchoring the line as center and defensive tackle. He says the key to maintaining last year's success boils down to listening to the coaches and taking things one day at a time.
Bearing in mind, running it back at any level is hard to do.
"You have to listen to what Coach (Williams) says," Wall said. "He always tells us, as long as we follow by his book, we'll be successful. We just have to go with the process. To be able to run it back would be absolutely amazing, but we have a lot of hard work to do."
Many players on the 2023 North Andrew team were a part of that championship run last year. They helped hoist the trophy at Faurot Field, got a ring, got to celebrate and contributed to the effort.
However, Williams says this year's team is comprised of many players who didn't get to contribute on the field quite as much as they would have liked to last season.
In order to make 2023 just as special as the year prior, Williams says it's up to this current roster to write their own story and make this season their own.
"A lot of these kids did win one last year," he said, "but they didn't get to put their stamp on it. So, we've talked a lot about, if that ring is special to you, because it is an awesome experience and awesome thing we were able to obtain. But this year, if they were to go out and obtain one themselves, it's one that they've earned."
North Andrew opens the season at home against Nodaway Valley on August 25th.
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