By RICHIE HALL
The Westfield football team will start its season with a long road trip tonight.
The Shamrocks will open their season at Harrison, with kickoff at 7 p.m. Westfield may be traveling far in Week 1, but ‘Rocks coach Jake Gilbert is more pleased with how far his team has come heading into the season.
“I’ve been happy with our practices,” said Gilbert. “We are competing well against each other. I feel like we are much farther along this year than last. I think we are starting to come together, but still need to turn the corner from a leadership standpoint. I am excited to coach this team.”
While several good seniors graduated from last year’s team, there is a decent amount of experience on both sides of the ball for Westfield. On offense, junior Camden Simons will play quarterback; he got some varsity snaps last year as a sophomore, completing 10 of 14 passes for 79 yards. Senior Dorian Henson is the top returning rusher, gaining 161 yards last season.
Senior Kyle Pepiot will lead the receivers; he returns 24 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns. Other receivers back are senior Pat Beam and juniors Dane Wheeler and Eli Patchett.
The line will be experienced as well. Senior Drew Johnson is back; Gilbert said he “is a very good guard. Aiden Parker, Ross Krieg, and Mark McLaurin also return with experience up front.” All three are juniors, as is Levi Kaster, who returns as tight end.
Senior kicker Alex Bales is back, as is senior snapper Sam Lupear. Bales kicked 39 extra points last season.
“They are both excellent and should have huge years for us,” said Gilbert.
As for the defense, Gilbert said that senior linebacker Colin Caldwell is the Shamrocks’ best returning player; he made 71 total tackles last year. Henson and junior Owen Ogle are back in the secondary, while seniors Ryan Mahoney and Cam Frye return as defensive ends. Frye led in sacks last season with 4.5.
“I expect our team to come together,” said Gilbert. “We limped to the finish line last year, but were able to play a ton of young guys in the process. We are happy to return so much varsity experience. This is the second fastest and strongest team we have ever had, so we hope to play really well.
