#VK17FB: North Redskins preview

Coach: Scott Moshier, first season

League: City League

Last season: 0-9

Returning starters: 11

Offense: Spread Single Wing

Defense: 4-3

Schedule: Sept. 1, South; Sept. 8, East; Sept. 15, at Southeast; Sept. 22, Liberal; Sept. 29, at Heights; Oct. 6, at West; Oct. 12, Northwest; Oct. 20, Pittsburg.

Projected record: 1-7

Top returning players

Three keys to the season

1. After losing all nine games last season, Mosier’s key is to teach the team how to compete. Once North finds the that passion, Mosier said the wins and losses will take care of themselves. “I told the kids this summer that you kids inherited this program,” Mosier said. “It’s not always about the wins and losses. It’s about the steps in the process.”

2. Mosier said that there was a lack of accountability in the past, which is part of the reason for last season’s failure. Once the team can lean on each other and that they can see the “bigger picture,” Mosier thinks that the program can turn around.

3. Making sure that the team feels loved. The coaches want to make sure the team knows that they care for them, hoping that will lead to caring for their teammates. All nine North coaches were present in the weight room and during summer workouts, with none getting paid for the extra time.

Five questions with coach Scott Moshier

1. How big of an adjustment has it been coming to North and the City League?

“It’s been a great summer for me and an eye-opener in terms of having more numbers to work with at all times. I guess the tough part of it has been some of the consistency, but it sounds like from talking to my friends in the City League it’s that way all the way around. What surprised me was that I was working with 40 to 50 kids in the summer, then all of a sudden the season gets here and now I’m up to 80 and I’m hearing that 15 more coming out. That’s something I’m not used to at Meade. I had them all for camp and we knew exactly who we had out for the team. So that’s a thing that’s a little bit tricky is that you’re trying to catch up everybody because you want them all to know the same things. But it’s a great thing because it means kids are interested in our program.”

2. Are you going to try to do a lot of the same things you tried to do at Meade?

“Well, one thing we did decide to do is we’re going to make sure that kids are learning at least two different positions. In the past, North has been a platoon offense and defense. But we’re just trying to figure out which kids are going to be the best at each position. We’re treating it a lot like Meade, but it’s hopefully going to be more efficient because we have more numbers. I’ve split our coaching staff up and we’re basically having practices where kids are split up and work with one set of coaches, then we have a transition period with a new set of kids. We’re just making sure we’re teaching our kids different positiosn and hopefully that will optimize our lineup.”

3. Why does the Single Wing give you the best chance to win at the 6A and City League level?

“Just in terms of the Single Wing and the direct snap, you automatically have an extra blocker. The quarterback is not handing the ball off. A lot of the plays are designated for the tailback to carry it and that gives us an extra blocker and presents some different blocking angles and unbalanced looks. It’s not something that teams see very often with the big schools. But it’s an offense that I feel very strongly about and it helped us win two titles at Meade and I believe it was beacuse of the Single Wing offense. I know it gave us an advantage and we’re always evolving the offense to adapt to our personnel. People will inevitably figure it out, but we are going to change what we do. I really think this will fit our kids here, though. I’ve been really happy with Thomas Kucera on the line and then we have a kid in Troy Jones who we feel really good about at our tailback spot.”

4. How is the defense looking?

“We’re going to stick with our base 4-3 and that’s something we’ve worked really hard on in the summer. Last year I think they gave up almost 500 points, so that’s like 55 points per game. We’ve got to be better and I’ve got my son, Jordan, who came with me and is working as the defensive coordinator. We’re working hard to get our kids in the right spot and really a lot of spots are still up in the air on that side of the ball. We think we’re getting a really good kid in Zach Sterner, who is new to football and is a really tall, long-armed basketball player. We’re trying to piece the rest together. Our seconday is looking promising with Chris Zaricki and Troy Jones.”

5. What has to happen for North to reach its potential this season?

“I think believing in themselves and trusting each other. That’s something that they’ve struggled with in the past from what I’ve been told. We retained seven of the coaches that we had here last year, so the coaches who have stayed are doing a great job. It’s just about getting the right kids to stick it out and believe in the program and believe in what we’re trying to do. We’ve got to find out if these kids trust each other. When they do, then I think they’re going to go a long way. We’ve got to be better at tackling and then keep trusting and believing in one another.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "#VK17FB: North Redskins preview."