By Josh Vardaman
While Father Ryan won just four games a season ago, it’s hard to fault the Irish because of the schedule they played.
Few teams in the state of Tennessee put up a six-game stretch like Father Ryan last year.
Starting with second-ranked Montgomery Bell Academy in Week 6, their last six games of the season consisted of matchups with top-ranked and state champion Brentwood Academy, third-ranked Baylor and two games, including a state playoff first-round loss, to eighth-ranked Ensworth.
Father Ryan enters this season in the midst of a culture change, as Brian Rector – formerly the head coach of Centennial High School – takes over the program.
Rector comes to Father Ryan after five years at Centennial. Last year, he led the Cougars to their best season in school history with a 12-2 record and state semifinal berth.
Irish Offense
The Irish have their starting quarterback in senior Jay Shoop, but the offense is young and will have to become experienced quickly. Last season’s quarterback, top three leading rushers and top receiver all graduated, leaving a lot of room for new guys to step in and take over the offense.
Shoop, senior offensive lineman Alex Jarquin and senior receiver Sage Warren will lead the offense, along with junior receiver Gray Erwin and junior offensive lineman Jack Boutte. Junior running back Will Lombardi, junior receiver Quinn Warren and senior lineman Nick Bellante are also poised to make big contributions.
While their offense will be inexperienced to start the season, Rector said he wants to see his Irish itch to get better.
“We expect all of our kids to give maximum effort and compete,” he said. “We are establishing a new culture and part of that is the understanding of how to compete as well as be smart football players.”
Irish Defense
Where Rector can have some experience to lean on is in his linebacking corps, as senior backers George Hooker and Patrick Beacom return after leading the team with 75 and 74 tackles a season ago.
Rector has shown his defenses can be dangerous when he has talented linebackers to work with. Last year, his defense shined at Centennial behind Texas A&M linebacker Tyrel Dodson. The Cougars gave up just 16 points per game, registering two shutouts.
Father Ryan will have to show improvement this season on the defensive side after giving up 28 points per game to opponents last year.
Overview
If the Irish are going to be successful in their first year under Rector, they will have to become experienced in some spots very quickly.
In order to improve in the early part of the season, Rector said they have to focus on playing solid fundamental football.
“We must do important things like take care of the football, create turnovers on defense and find ways to move the chains as well as limit big plays against us,” he said.
They better learn from Rector quickly and gain experience early, because with the same schedule this year as in 2015, tough games will come in the latter part of the season.
Their first game is Aug. 19 at Hillwood.
