BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — After advancing to the 2014 Class A state semifinals, Clay-Battelle’s 2015 campaign ended without a postseason appearance and 5-5 record.
The Cee Bees finished the year by winning four of their final five games, but a winless September and a 1-4 start put coach Ryan Wilson’s club in too deep of a hole.
“We went through some growing pains last year,” Wilson said. “But they never gave up. We finished the year at 5-5 and I give them a lot of credit. When you’re sitting at 1-4, a lot of teams could have thrown in their uniforms, but we didn’t. These guys are expecting big things and we have some team togetherness. I’m excited to see what this team can do.”
With standout quarterback and all-around playmaker Jarret Hockenberry moving on to become a preferred walk-on at Marshall, it’s senior Tanner Burnette who will take over that starting QB role this season.
The 6-foot-4, 220 pound Hockenberry threw for 2,811 yards and 32 touchdowns, while rushing for another 1,538 yards and 24 scores in his two years as the starting quarterback.
“The first thing people will say when they look at Clay-Battelle is ‘well, the Hockenberry kid has moved on,'” Wilson said. “But Tanner was our backup last year and threw for over 700 yards. He has a great arm and knows the offense. I look for big things from him.”
Seniors Chris Wolfe, Tim Hall and Elijah Steele, along with junior Gunner Brummage, all expect to be some of Burnette’s top receiving targets.
“We have some nice backups behind them as well,” Wilson said. “I like our receiving core. They aren’t big receivers, but they got stronger in the weight room in the offseason. They’ve been running good routes and have gotten a little faster. They’ve been doing everything right and they catch the ball well.”
At running back, juniors Logan Forquer and Travis Dille are anticipated to get a majority of the carries, stepping in for the graduated Zack Bane.
But after giving up over 32 points per game last season, Wilson hopes the biggest improvement with his group will be on the defensive side of the ball.
“As a team last year, we just weren’t very strong defensively. We were playing a lot of sophomores,” Wilson said. “They took care of that in the offseason and they did hit the weight room.
“We have more kids benching more than what they were last year and as a team we will be stronger,” he continued. “That will help our defensive unit out there. We’re stronger now at every position and they’re a year older with some experience and they’ve been through the wars.”
Clay-Battelle will open the season with a long road trip to Valley (Fayette) and return home in Week 2 for a matchup against Beallsville, Ohio.