Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / Dan Hockett -Photo Credit
Jayden Nanthan took the high school football world by storm a year ago.
After serving as an understudy to Quincy Collins and Blake Wilson as a freshman, Nanthan broke out in a big way as a sophomore, rushing for 1,276 yards and 10 touchdowns for West Burlington-Notre Dame.
Just what can Nanthan do for an encore?
How about 2,000 rushing yards?
That is his goal, but the bulldozing 5-foot-7, 190-pound bruiser would much rather see the Falcons compete for a district championship and make a deep run in the playoffs.
WB-ND is loaded with talent and experience and coach Joe Bowman believes his team is ready for a breakout year.
“I think like a lot of teams we’re excited about our guys. If we stay healthy I think we have a good shot in every game that we play. Like a lot of teams, if some key guys go down, we’ll be juggling to get people in their place,” Bowman said. “I think the biggest thing for us is when I got here we talked a lot about culture. I understand that’s a buzz word with coaches. It’s people — high character, hard working young men. The good thing is our entire team is full of those guys. We’re really happy with our guys and the effort they’ve put in. If we stay healthy, we will be in a good spot.”
WB-ND went 3-5 last season, but just 1-4 in Class 2A District 6.
In order for the Falcons to take that next step, they must not only stay healthy, but diversify the offense to take some of the pressure off Nanthan and the ground attack.
“We have a basically our whole offense back. We have a really good O-line, really good wide receivers and Kellen (Porter) is obviously developing and getting better. This year from last year he’s gotten a lot better,” Porter said. “It will be good. I just want to show what our football program is about and what we are capable of when we play hard and do the right things. Bowman wants us to be good people. He wants us to be accountable.”
QUARTERBACK
Porter is coming off a solid freshman campaign in which he completed 47-of-107 passes for 610 years and three touchdowns with four interceptions. He also rushed for 130 yards and three scores. With a year of experience under his belt, Porter is looking to make a big jump this fall.
“You talk about a good athlete, but a better person,” Bowman said. “Again, he wants to be coached hard. He listens with his eyes when you are talking to him. He’s a kind that’s had success. He played in the state basketball tournament. he competed at the state track meet. He has a high expectation level and he allows you to hold him to it. I expect him to have a big year, as well.”
RUNNING BACKS
Nanthan was among the best in the state last season and is bigger, stronger and faster this season. He is coming off a phenomenal soccer season and looks to continue that momentum into his junior year.
“Jayden Nanthan is a guy that played really, really hard last year,” Bowman said. “He got banged up from time to time, but he’s had a tremendous offseason. That year of maturity is going to be really, really big for him. In practice he’s playing at a different level. He’s playing with confidence. There is an understanding. When they get to the point where the game slows down, that’s when they start playing really well. The game is definitely slowing down for Jayden.”
Sam Dzawo is coming off a big season on both sides of the gall. He rushed for 151 yards last season.
RECEIVERS
If the Falcons are to open their offense and take some pressure off Nanthan, they will need big seasons from seniors Tatum Warner and Jezden Nupp and sophomore Garrison Reid. Warner caught 11 passes for 164 yards and one score last season, while Nupp caught 16 passes for 236 yards and two scores and Reid hauled in four passes for 36 yards. Senior L.J. Harris also will see time at tight end.
“I don’t think there is any secret that we like to run the football,” Bowman said. “We are a better team when we can be more balanced. We want to pass the ball. We weren’t there last year. But again the development of Tatum, Garrison Reid and Sam Dzawo and Diesel Cox has been tremendous. They’ve put in a lot of work that’s going to allow us to push the ball down the field, which is going to get more guys out of the box which is going io open it up for Jayden and Jared Glendening, who is going to play some running back for us.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Falcons aren’t the biggest team up front, but they are a cohesive unit that works together. They are physical and beat many teams off the ball.
Senior Garret Bence is switching to center this season and leads the way on the front line. The Falcons have plenty of depth and talent on the line.
“Everybody talks about size when it comes to offensive linemen,” Bowman said. “That’s important, but just because you are big doesn’t mean you are a good football player. There has to be determination, a motor. We don’t have five guys that play with high energy. We have about eight. We are very confident with our offensive line. We may not be the biggest in the world, but we’re going to be fast and physical.”
KICKER
Evan Vanerstrom graduated after converting 13-of-15 PATs last season. The Falcons will rely on some help from some of the ND-WB soccer players from a team which lost in a substate final last spring.
“We have a lot of guys that can kick. A lot of them with soccer backgrounds comes into effect,” Bowman said. “Garrison Reid can kick. Tatum Warner can kick. Jayden Nanthan can kick. Jezden Hupp can kick. Theo Reif can kick. We have quite a few guys to pick from there.”
DEFENSE
The Falcons forced seven turnovers last season and allowed just 20.6 points per game through the first five games. But Wilton, West Liberty and Mid-Prairie outscored the Falcons, 138-14, in the final three contests.
“You can’t have a good defense without high motor guys. You can give myself and the other coaches a marker on a white board and we can stop any offense all day long. But that’s not where the game is played. You have to have guys that not only want to work hard and can get to the right spots, but understand what the offense is trying to do to them, what are checks are, are able to communicate and then effectively execute those checks.”
DISTRICT
With Wilton and Mid-Prairie head and shoulder above the fray entering the season and West Liberty looking strong again, the Falcons will need to beat Mediapolis and Central Lee and perhaps knock off one of the Big 3 to have a chance to advance to the playoffs.
“Mid-Prairie is preseason No. 2. Wilton is preseason No. 4. West Liberty stuck it to us last year. Mediapolis is traditionally a great program. Central Lee, in their fourth or fifth year under Coach Dodds, they are going to be executing at a higher level,” Bowman said. “We have to stay injury free and play really hard every single night because we have no easy games on our schedule.”