The River Valley Report 2024 Football preview | Page 26

26 THE RIVER VALLEY REPORT FOOTBALL PREVIEW | 8.11.2024

HAROLD MCILVAIN II

SPECIAL TO RIVER VALLEY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

COAL HILL— After winning the most games since 2017 and with plenty of experience back, the excitement level might be at an alltime high for Johnson County Westside.

“ This is kind of the year everybody has had circled,” Rebels Coach Jeff Stewart said.“ I don’ t want that to go to our head. This is probably the most seniors we’ ve ever had with nine. If we are able to stay healthy across the board, we are going to be competitive.”

Johnson County Westside returns nine starters back on offense and defense after a 3-7 year in 2024. Highlights included a 22-20 win over Magazine and a 46-43 victory over Mountainburg.

Cooper Hilton, Kyle Waln, Hayden Edwards and Peyton Williamson guide the backfield. Clarksville transfer Nathan Powell looks to play a key role on offense. Levi Gregory( 6-7, 300) and Dontay Parker( 6-3, 315) clear the way with their size.

“ Offensively, I’ m excited about it,” Stewart said.“ We’ ll have Cooper at quarterback again. But I expect Kyle to come in and give us something, too. He was huge in our games. It’ s a pretty good race speed-wise between the two of them. Powell hasn’ t been here very long, but he is a player. The backfield should be pretty salty. We’ ve got some guys up front that can win their assignments. Gregory played basketball last year and his footwork has really improved. Division II schools need to be looking at him.”

JOHNSON COUNTY WESTSIDE REBELS

HAROLD MCILVAIN II

SPECIAL TO RIVER VALLEY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

MAGAZINE— For the Magazine Rattlers, the tradition of winning football games runs deep. Just ask Magazine Coach Ryan Chambers, who was on the school’ s lone state championship team as a player in 2010.

After a down 1-8 season last year, he and his team are excited to get back to their roots and push for a playoff spot with an experienced bunch hungry for the win column.

“ We are looking forward to the potential of a good year,” Chambers said.“ This is a program that has won games. We feel we have games on the schedule that we will be very competitive in. If we play well, we can definitely win more than last year.”

Magazine returns nine starters back on both sides of the ball. King Vang will guide the team from the quarterback position. Kolton McCubbin and Chakong Yang last year combined for 800 rushing yards.

“ Vang is just a junior this year,” Chambers said.“ He is super smart and athletic. He makes good decisions. And he is a good leader. He is exactly what you want in a quarterback. We have Chakong Yang and Kolton McCubbin returning in the backfield, too. Traditionally,

MAGAZINE RATTLERS

when you have a team with a Yang, Vang or a Moua at Magazine, you are in good hands.”

The Rattlers will have additional options in the backfield this year with Daniel Green moving up after a successful junior varsity season. Booneville transfer Nate Smith also returns back to where he started his career at Magazine.

Bryson Smith sets the tone up front on the line with the help of Zayne Allen and Michael Stanley also being standouts.“ I brought back my entire offensive line with them being all sophomores and a freshman last year,” Chambers said.“ Our line should be a nice strength for us. Bryson Smith is leading the way there. He is really good on both sides and will anchor us. We’ ve got a few others that are pretty good around him, too.” On the defensive side of the ball, Yang, McCubbin and Vang all were bright spots last year and project for even more success this year.

“ Yang and McCubbin really lead our defense,” Chambers said.“ They are our leading tacklers. We’ ve got some guys with talent around them as well. Vang is the leader back there in the secondary. He helps get everybody in the right spot.”

* – Denotes 2A-1 conference game. All kickoffs 7 p. m. unless noted

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