August 26, 2014 San Tan Valley, AZ -
By Charles Guthrie (special to Kinghornet blog)
The Southeast Pop Warner Pee Wee Airmen are ready to get
their season underway this Saturday. The off season has been a great time for preparation
but the players, coaches and fans are ready to see what the new season will
bring. “There isn't a bad day playing
football, but games are what we look forward to” says tight end and defensive
lineman Dodge Chapman. Chapman is a returning
player from last year’s playoff team. The Airmen return the bulk of their players
from the team that missed the state championship game by 1 point. The Airmen are returning again to division
three and are ready to get a step or two further than last year’s team was able
to achieve.
“Our team has changed this year, we have more speed and more
experience. We kept a lot of the same kids and that really helps” says head
coach Ben Johnson. Of the 17 that
returned positions didn't change much. The big change is a new starting quarterback,
Kai Millner. Kai joins the team as one
of six new players. Kai was on the 2013 Southeast Pop Warner Flames that won
the division two state championship. Last
year’s starter for the Airmen at QB Jaden Masse has now moved over to be the go
to receiver but will still see time at QB. “Coach has me playing everywhere
this year. I’m a receiver a running back, a quarterback and now I play defense
too.” Masse says. Coach Johnson has long
held onto the rule that if a player plays QB his defense time will be limited. Also returning from last year’s team is
running back KeShawn Calip. Calip led the team with 21 touchdowns last year. He
was the big play threat every time he touched the ball. “Having that one running back was the key to
our success last year, but this year is different” says Coach Jeff Whiting the
Airmen offensive coordinator. Teams won’t
be able to just key on number 22 this year. There are plenty more players that
are a threat to go all the way at any time.
Other running backs include returner Tre Reynolds and Caden Brewer, both
who are back to handle the rock and play tough defense. Also newcomers Kyle Pointer and Crew Jackson from
the Flames are both experienced running backs.
“The real strength of our team is our offensive line” says
Coach Johnson. Indeed it appears to be.
This offensive line goes ten deep and returns four of last year’s five starters.
This is a huge line headed by Harrison
Hibbs who moved to center from tackle and Dayne Taylor who anchors the line at
right tackle. Another starter from last year’s team is Cody Walker. Cody is
starting at guard but can play all five o-line positions if needed. Newcomer Marcus Stratton is holding down the
left tackle spot and is the backup center. Returner Zach Swain has moved from a TE or
receiver to help the offensive line playing the RG spot so far this year. Others include Bryson Payne, maybe the biggest Airmen this year, returners Lucas Corrveau, Ronin Kelly, Gabriel
Hidalgo and new comer Andrew Hill. “Without
a good line we don’t score at all” says Tre Reynolds who as a full back knows
what he’s talking about.
Defensively the Airmen are up to any task. Each player has to really know what they are
doing. Moving positions this year was needed as many players grew or gained on
last year’s experience. “We shuffled some kids to help them be more successful”
receivers/defensive back Coach Drew Johnson said. Adam Murset and JJ Evans are
two of the kids that moved from defensive line to be corner backs. “It’s a lot
more fun to play corner back then d line” said JJ. Shawn McDougal and Tyler
Jones are corner backs that changed positions also. Shawn has moved to safety
and Tyler has moved inside to line backer for this season. “It helps me do what
I like to do: Hit” says Jones. These moves have quickly shown promise in practice. Another key to the Airmen’s defensive depth
is returning linebacker Pri McSwain. Pri is the leader of the linebackers and
knows all the formations, everyone’s job and can help out his teammates at any position
on the defensive side. “I love defense and
blitzing” Pri said.
The Airmen are looking forward to seeing what they really have. “Games are your paydays” Coach Johnson tells his players often. “We’ve been working hard and running a lot and have a real chance to be good. But we won’t really know until Saturday” Coach Johnson is right. Saturdays in September and October are when the Airmen will really know what they have and whether they can get a few steps further in their pursuit of a state championship.
