Chiefs looking forward to challenges

McIntosh had their best season since 2004 last year, recording a 4-6 record under coach Glenn Griffin and being one second away from a 5-5 record (The Chiefs lost 33-31 to Fayette County on the final play of the game). It was a big season for a team that has struggled in recent years, but there may be some more growing pains as the Chiefs must now find a way to deal with losing 26 seniors from last year’s squad, many of them starters.

“We’ll have many unproven guys in game situations,” said Griffin. “But I’ve been pleased with their turnout and their work habits. We’ll see how they perform under fire.”

McIntosh has four starters returning on offense and senior quarterback Cam Porter is one of them.

“Porter has had a great summer and has attended numerous college camps,” Griffin said. “He wants to play at the next level and he’s doing everything he can to get there.”

Porter will be fortunate to be behind two senior linemen, Michael Daugherty and Easton Stronach. Others on the line who have been doing well are center Bryan Reczek, guard Jonathan Hust and tackle Alex Ostendorf.

Senior Will Burke and junior Matt Salisbury will both play fullback, while tailbacks will be seniors Joe Trevena, Chris Cable and Jabarri Granston all of whom have been progressing.

Tight end Matt Fergus is another of the returning starters on offense for the Chiefs, but the receiving corps will feature a lot of new faces. Robert Trotter, a transfer from Landmark, is an explosive player who will also see time in the defensive backfield and returning kicks, while Evan Hall, Jake Turner and Philip Ojukwu, along with junior Tyler Price, are all showing the coaches some good things.

“Price is doing a good job of finding the soft spot and he’ll help us out a little on defense too,” Griffin said.

The McIntosh defense only returns two starters from last season, linemen Hust and Alex Ishmael. Salisbury and Trevena will play at linebacker with Ben Williams, while Turner, Nick Enzor and Hamilton Paul will join Trotter, Price, Tim Bryant and Matt Cichanski in the secondary.

“It will kind of be by committee back there,” said Griffin. “It’s a difficult place to play and we’ll want to pull them out and make corrections as we go.”

Kicking for McIntosh will be Dan Lenze.

“We expect him to have a great year,” Griffin said. “He’s worked very hard at some kicking camps and will handle kickoffs, field goals and extra points.” Lenze may do some punting, as will Porter, while Hust is the team’s deep snapper.

The Chiefs show a lot of versatility but Griffin just says they have to.

“They are a pleasant group to coach and we’ve made some progress. The team’s in better shape now,” Griffin said. “Losing 26 seniors could be difficult, but we’re doing the right things for the program and we’ll let the wins take care of themselves.”
One thing McIntosh wants to focus on is finishing stronger and last year’s loss to the Fayette County Tigers probably still feels raw.

“We just have to be more consistent and do the best we can at each position,” Griffin said.

It’s obviously a tough region, even without Sandy Creek in it, and games against Harris County and Upson Lee will make it more difficult. The Chiefs open at Pike County this Friday, a team that is one season removed from a nine win season.

Their first home game this year will be against their former coach, Dwight Jones, and his team, Jones County on Sept. 10.
“The teams from top to bottom are really good,” Griffin said. “It will be quite the challenge.”

It will, but McIntosh will present its own challenges to their opponents, especially for anybody who overlooks the progress the program has made in recent years.