Story by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Cavaliers face a lot of change with the season approaching, as they find themselves in an entirely new region from years past.
They also have a total of 16 new starters on both sides of the ball, meaning Head Coach Jimmy Maynord’s squad will do some learning on-the-fly in 2021.
“We’re very inexperienced,” Maynord said. “Unfortunately we’ve had some injuries in the preseason, which is unusual this early in the year…there’s going to be a lot of new faces out there, and it’s a work-in-progress right now.”
With all the new faces, there’s been an added emphasis on reps through scrimmages and 7-on-7 competition. Maynord says this has given his staff a chance to evaluate his players more thoroughly.
“We’re trying to get all of our offense installed and all of our defensive gameplans,” Maynord said. “Those are the main objectives: to try to evaluate our players and get them in the right position, and we’ll keep tinkering around until we do.”
The new region provides new challenges, though it’s not completely unfamiliar to the Cavaliers. Despite not playing all the Murfreesboro schools, Maynord still put together a challenging schedule that features tough teams each week.
“We’re familiar with everyone in the region, except Shelbyville,” Maynord said. “Our schedule is still as tough as it’s been, because we’ve added Alcoa. We’ve added Gallatin, and we still have Blackman on the schedule to go along with our games against Livingston and Upperman.”
One of the biggest players Maynord has to replace is Quarterback Stockton Owen. The most important position on the field will be filled by new shoes this season, and Maynord believes he has his guy.
“Right now, Mace Thomsen,” Maynord said. “Mace is a junior and a really good football player…he throws the ball exceptionally well. He’s a big kid, about 215 pounds, and he’s a kid that can run between the tackles and moves the chain. The only thing he lacks is game experience.”
The first two games against Upperman and Livingston will serve as a test for Thomsen, as well as the team before their first region game.
“It’s important that he gets his reps,” Maynord said. “We’re going to have to be patient. We’ve had an experienced quarterback the past two years, and we just have to be patient and understand that he doesn’t have that experience, but he does have a good skill set.”
One factor working in Thomsen’s favor is the stable of running backs the Cavaliers possess. When asked about the group as a whole, Maynord says he likes the depth they bring and their ability to help at other positions.
“We feel like we have three tailbacks, and we actually have four or five, but a couple of them are playing receiver,” Maynord said. “We felt like it would give us a better chance to put our best athletes on the field. We have Evan and Waylon Whited and both of them will be seniors. We also have Jourdyn Burruss, and he’s shown a lot of promise as a sophomore…we feel good about where we are at the running back position.”
Injuries have bitten the receiving corps, but it doesn’t change Maynord’s confidence level in the group when everyone is available.
“We think when we get everyone healthy, we feel like we’re pretty good and two-deep at every position,” Maynord said. “Donovan Sullivan obviously is a returning starter from a year ago, and he’s a guy that possesses good speed. Dontay Dillard has been down for a little bit with a knee situation, but he played a lot last year. Brock Owen is a very good receiver, and then Jayden Baker is another guy that’s going to be a good player for us. Austin Davenport might be our most explosive player. We feel good about our receiving corps.”
The group hit most by graduation has been the offensive line, where Maynord will be replacing four starters.
“That’s where the big question mark is, because we return one player there,” Maynord said. “Sam Harness started for us last year at Center and Guard…the past couple of years, we’ve looked like a 6A football offensive line, and now we don’t look that way. Harness is about 260, but everyone else is 240 or less, so we’re not very large. Those guys are working hard and have shown some promise, so hopefully we’re a little bit quicker than we’ve been in the past.”
The defense will also be replacing six starters, and injuries haven’t helped much there. Even with that, they return one of their biggest playmakers in Senior Cade Apple.
“We’ve had to shuffle some people around, but again, Cade is a returning starter and our leading tackler from a year ago,” Maynord said. “He’s gained some strength and size. Our other linebackers are not very big. We’ve got both the Whited kids that are playing, and Seth Kincaid is one of our outside linebackers. Jourdyn Burruss gives us some depth there, along with Abe Goolsby and Carter Rathunde. We’ve got some pieces there that we can shuffle around a bit.”
For Maynord, a couple strong showings are crucial for the team heading into region play, but that’s nothing new for this staff.
“That’s always important, just from a confidence standpoint,” Maynord said. “It’s going to be tough and we know that…it’s always important if you can get off to a good start and play well and obviously, win if you can.”
The Cavaliers face Upperman at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 19 at 7 P.M. The game will be live-streamed on the Upper Cumberland Reporter’s Facebook page.