KEENE CHARGERS
11-man charge
Aug. 4 marked the first practice in Keene Charger history as an 11-man football team. Hired in February as the program announced the transition, head coach Ethan Stepp never doubted the kids could learn; it was a matter of how fast. After the first practice, Stepp was amazed.“ I got home about eight o’ clock and I didn’ t stop talking my wife’ s ear off till about 12:45,” said Stepp.“ I was so excited because I didn’ t expect it to be that great. I’ ve been at places that were established before and I’ ve had to take over. It wasn’ t as good as this on day one.”
Outside of the first 20-30 minutes of the first practice, where the players were bombarded with information so quickly, the Chargers expressed no frustration this summer.
“ We’ ve been progressing and moving a little faster than we thought we would,” said quarterback Dalton Benkim.
Along with Stepp, Keene hired multiple staff members with 11-man experience to assist in the change.
“ The coaching staff did such a great job of really pushing the rules and responsibilities of each individual group,” the head coach said.
According to wide receiver Gabriel Contreras, the coaches have found the connection from 6-man to 11-man through recognizing similar habits and finding the proper terminology.
Not all players will experience 11-man for the first time, as running back / safety Harold Moure returns to Keene after spending his sophomore and part of his junior year in Florida. Playing football in the Sunshine State brings an internal teacher to the roster.
“ I have the knowledge to help them because I’ ve been through that path before,” said Moure.“ They know they can come to me and get on the right path. It’ s been a nice ride so far.”
From his time as a Charger from seventh grade to freshman year, Moure senses plenty of progress in the program he returns to.
“ They’ ve made a lot of big jumps,” stated Moure.“ They’ re more developed in every way.”
As practices go well and the feeling around the program exponentially grows, so has the number of kids interested in playing football.
Stepp mentioned the spike in the roster after the first few practices, which has now reached double his initial thought when he arrived.
“ We’ re maxing out at the seams in our locker room right now,” said Stepp.“ Those are great problems to have.”
Offense
Even with the ability to keep his installation of the offense at a normal speed, Stepp believes it’ s too early to tell what the strengths of the unit are.
One point of emphasis for the Chargers coach is the offensive line with the switch to 11-man. Calling it the“ battery” of the offense, Stepp stresses how important the players up front are to make the rushing attack look good.
Planning on implementing two running backs in many formations, Moure and Dalton Benkim feature in the backfield.
Moure’ s confidence in the run game being the best quality of the Keene offense stems from his abilities and the trust he has already built in the line.
Stepp also said the offense will have a lot of moving parts, which excites one
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