By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Stanberry Bulldogs were one game away from yet another state championship game appearance in 2020.
Stanberry went to five consecutive state title games from 2012-2016, and were close to getting back there in 2020 after a 3-8 mark in 2019.
The Bulldogs went 7-1 in the regular season, won a district title and blew past Platte Valley and Rock Port in the playoffs. They snuck by East Atchison in the quarterfinals, but lost to North Andrew 42-22 in semis.
With seven starters back on both sides of the ball, head coach Shane Hilton feels quietly confident about where his team is heading into the 2021 campaign.
"We've graduated only three seniors in each class these last two years," Shelton said. "These guys who are juniors and seniors now, they had to play as freshmen and sophomores, which is not ideal. I mean, obviously they're playing with kids that are a lot more mature than them, but now, we kind of have the script flipped on that, and we're looking forward to a good year and having that senior leadership is going to go a long ways toward that."
Stanberry returns several key leaders, including dual threat quarterback Austin Schwebach, who accounted for over 1,300 yards and 25 touchdowns on the offensive end last year before suffering a season-ending injury in the quarterfinal win over East Atchison.
With Austin's twin brother Tyler also back after being the lead receiver last year, and with Tyler getting seven sacks in that time as well, Hilton is excited to see how these brothers can lead the way heading into their senior year.
"(Austin) is more of an example leader guy," Hilton explained. "His twin brother Tyler is the vocal leader. But, (Austin) just goes out and does it. You know how that goes with quarterbacks. If they have that nice, calm composure about them, they do what they're supposed to do and the rest of the team tends to follow that."
In the backfield, Stanberry was blessed with freshman Tucker Schieber last year, who played beyond his years in 2020 with over 1,400 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns.
With he and Gavin Cameron both averaging six yards per carry last year, Hilton is confident that duo will again be able to wear down opposing defenses this fall.
"We found out pretty early we could ride (Tucker) for about 25-30 carries a game," Hilton said. "When you know you can do that, you have Gavin Cameron as the other running back, who's basically your home run hitter, you can wear them down with Tuck and then you have that other element in your backfield. It's a pretty dangerous combination."
Stanberry, ranked No. 1 by MO 8-Man Football, opens its 2021 season at Appleton City/Montrose/Ballard, and will also travel to No. 2 King City/Union Star, Pattonsburg/Gilman City/North Harrison, No. 7 East Atchison and No. 8 Worth County.
The Bulldogs will host Albany, Osceola, No. 6 North Andrew and North Shelby.
Expectations are high, as Stanberry seeks consecutive district titles and its first state title game appearance in five years. But that aside, Hilton is optimistic that the fall of 2021 will be at least be easier to navigate than the season that preceded it.
"There's a better structure on what to do and how to take care of the whole team and the ones who may end up getting (COVID)," Hilton said. "So, definitely a clearer mind. It's at least a little less stuff to worry about."
Hear our full conversation with Coach Hilton here.
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