By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY - Optimism is abound for the Missouri Western football team as the Griffons get set to begin the 2022 season.
That optimism, as it turns out, may be well founded.
After a 2-4 start in 2021, the Griffons won four of their last five games last year to settle for a 6-5 record - a third consecutive winning season.
Enter 2022, and the Griffons have much higher hopes. Missouri Western returns 19 total starters, with starters back at all 11 positions on offense.
Matt Williamson, now in his sixth year as the Griffons' head coach, says there’s an energy within this group that he's never really seen before.
"In the 26 years of me coaching, we pry have the best football team chemistry that I've ever been a part of and that I've ever seen," Williamson said Tuesday at MIAA Media Day in Kansas City.
"A lot of those guys are back. They've been around, they've won games together. Some of them have won a lot of games together in between all of the different seasons we've had and with COVID and all of this stuff. But, you walk in there, and it's like they've been friends forever. It's a great environment."
Accompanied at media day by senior corner D.J. Sturgis and junior tight end Cam Grandy, Williamson is particularly excited about his team's offense.
"We didn't lose any starters from last year," he said. "We were second in the (MIAA) in scoring. Had a lot of success and finished up really strong offensively. Just to move the ball around and put it in different people's hands, and to have people be a little worried about defending those kids, it's fun to watch."
The Griffons finished second in the MIAA last year with 34 points per game, and were second in the league with 207.5 rush yards per contest.
MIAA Freshman of the Year Brandon Hall leads a talented group of running backs, as Hall led the team with 627 rushing yards on 93 attempts and five touchdowns.
Jared Scott will also compete for time at running back this fall. He missed all of 2021 with injury, but had a productive 2019 season with 297 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 46 carries.
Dual-threat quarterback Reagan Jones is the leader in the clubhouse at that position. He accounted for 1,520 all-purpose yards and 11 all-purpose touchdowns in 10 appearances.
"He's electric with his feet," Williamson said of Jones. "He does a great job of making people miss. He's going to have a throwing weapon now, too. We have a lot of weapons out on the edge and a bunch of tailbacks who do a bunch of different things, too. So, it's going to be fun to watch (Reagan) distribute the ball. And sometimes keep it, too."
Veteran wideouts Cooper Burton and Traveon James are back. They each had over 600 yards receiving last season and combined for 11 receiving scores. Meanwhile, Grandy and Tycen Gray look to provide leadership at tight end.
Gray had 20 catches for 267 yards and a touchdown in Grandy's absence last year, while Grandy had five TD catches in 2019 to go with 261 yards and 20 total catches.
Grandy, who was out for all of 2021 with injury, seems to be fully healthy - both mentally and physically.
"I've worked my butt off to get back to where I'm at," Grandy said. "I'm definitely hungry and ready to go out there and help the team get some wins for sure."
Defensively, Missouri Western must replace all-MIAA linebacker Evan Chohon, who led the league last season with 11.6 tackles per game. Also gone is corner Sam Webb, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in April by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Starting linebacker Terrance March is also gone, but otherwise, nine total starters are back on defense, including Sturgis, who had a team-best nine pass breakups in his junior season last year.
Going into his senior year, Sturgis says he's never felt more excited for a season.
"If I have to be honest, this is the most excited I've ever been," Sturgis said happily. "Final season, one last ride. So, I'm just trying to get out there and do my thing."
Missouri Western had a young group on defense last year, with eight freshmen getting either starting experience or significant playing time. That showed at times, as the Griffons allowed 30 points and over 400 yards per game in 2021.
Yet, the Griffons showed flashes of brilliance on defense last season. Western allowed only 126 rush yards per game in 2021, while also forcing 19 turnovers, including a league-best six interceptions by Kobe Cummings.
Bottom line, Sturgis is hopeful for more consistency on defense.
"We never played as one whole team," he said. "Then, we started putting that together when we started getting points on the board and getting stops on defense. So, I would say just play on one accord."
Missouri Western's 2021 season can largely be summed up by the 'what ifs.' Their first two losses, at Central Oklahoma and then at Washburn, were decided by six or fewer points. The Griffons trailed Nebraska-Kearney 7-0 at halftime - only to fall 35-14.
A 2-4 start ultimately pivoted to a 6-5 finish, including a three-game winning streak to end the schedule.
Sturgis says the team failed to play together effectively early on, but he saw that change in the back half of last year, and he's optimistic that mentality has carried over to 2022.
"Last season, I would say we weren't really playing as one like we should be," he reiterated. "It was always individual. Offense or defense had games, but we never played as one. So, hopefully we can put that together."
The Griffons, picked seventh out of 14 teams in both the MIAA preseason coaches and media polls, opens its season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at home against Central Oklahoma. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
It's an intriguing opener, with former Northwest Missouri State coach and national champion Adam Dorrel now leading the UCO sideline.
Combined with a Thursday night, first-week-of-school atmosphere at Spratt Stadium, Williamson couldn't imagine a better stage for a season opener.
The first chapter in what Williamson and the team believe will be a special season in St. Joseph.
"We're going to do it at home and it's Thursday night," he said excitedly. "There's nothing better in St. Joseph, Missouri - a Thursday night at 7:00, the first week of school. It's going to be crazy. I can't wait for it. I know these guys can't wait for it. We're ready to go."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.