Cullman Times, Football Preview 2020 | Page 38

were too much of a big-play offense at times. Our scoring drives were either a huge pass or a huge run. We didn’t have those 10- to 12-play drives that took six to seven minutes off the clock and ended with a touchdown. “Having said that, you’re never going to complain any time you score or have big chunk plays. But we need to be more consistent in having long, sustained drives, especially if we’re coming off a long defensive series. We want to be able to move the ball with consistency.” DEFENSE Kendrick Johnson and Moore are the cornerstones of Hanceville’s defensive line, while Schultz, Gonzalez, McDonald and L.J. Smith will rotate in at the other spot along the three-man front. Wilbanks — the Bulldogs’ top defender in 2019 — returns at linebacker, where he’ll be joined by Preston McClerren, Brosnan Ward, Hardin and Guthery. Campbell and Shadden will handle cornerback duties in the secondary, while Joles and Brady Cleek are slated to start at safety. After giving up 38.2 points per game in 2018, the Bulldogs cut that down to 23.3 in 2019. McCain is hoping that trend continues this fall. “We felt like outside of the Fairview and Locust Fork games last year that we played pretty well on defense,” he said. “Especially considering our roster size and the size of our kids. We were giving up so much size to everybody we played. But that unit made big improvements from our first year to last year. That group did enough for us to win a few more games than we did.” McCain added he’ll be making all defensive calls this season. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve done it since 2012. We just want to use our team speed to our advantage and try to be aggressive on that side of the ball.” SPECIAL TEAMS Brandon Huckaby is likely to handle kicking duties, while Joles will be called upon to punt. Campbell and Guthery are set to return kicks and punts. The Bulldogs haven’t made the playoffs since 2013. They did, however, take positive steps in Year 2 under McCain and are looking to reverse their fortunes this fall with several experienced playmakers returning on both sides of the ball. The move to 4A and a competitive Region 6 that includes Etowah, Good Hope and Oneonta — among others — will make the road a bit tougher for the Purple and Gold, but that hasn’t prevented McCain from placing his own expectations on this year’s squad and the ones that follow. “Based on our numbers and how things are calculated now, this isn’t a one-and-done move for us,” he said of the climb from 3A to 4A. “It looks like we’re going to be in 4A for years to come. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, though. They aren’t going to take it easy on us. We’ve got to elevate ourselves to where we’re competing with the best teams in our region and beating the middle- to lower-level teams to get our program where we want it to be.” 38 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW