How Kirkwood football aims to take next step after strong first season

Of course the ending hurt.

When Josiah Claybrooks ran into a posse of West Creek linemen in overtime last October, Kirkwood football's inaugural season ended just two yards short of the playoffs. But soon after that 24-21 heartbreaker , the Cobras were also able to reflect on what it took to get to that point.

"We just came together in the summer, our field was still getting built, our school was still getting built," senior wide receiver Gavyn Hunter said. "We had to practice at Austin Peay. That gave us a little hardship, but we got through it. ... We thought, we're gonna excel, we're gonna get as far as we can. We fell short a little bit, but now it's our time to pick it up."

Kirkwood, Clarksville's newest high school , is looking to build off a successful debut season and contend in Region 7-6A this fall. The Cobras, who went 5-5 last season with just two players who had ever started a varsity game before, now have "10 or 11" players on offense and defense with starting experience, according to coach Chad Watson. They also have, in Watson's words, a "home."

"The main (difference) is just having our campus ready," Watson said. "Having our own practice field and having some consistency day in and day out, being able to practice at our place. ... That and those guys having a year in the weight room, gaining some strength."

Watson doesn't anticipate Kirkwood's high-tempo offense, which averaged 26 points per game in 2023, to change much outside of some more elaborate formations and personnel groupings. Claybrooks, a junior who ran for a team-high 605 yards, runs behind an offensive line led by junior Kamari Blair , a 6-foot-6 tackle with an offer from Kentucky.

Hunter went over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2023 and scored seven touchdowns, but he won't be the only explosive playmaker on the outside. Senior Lee Buggs, last season's starting quarterback, will move to receiver to accommodate transfer Miles Reding, who had 1,807 total yards and 26 touchdowns at Todd County Central in Kentucky as a freshman.

MORE: New coach Wyatt Page wants to restore 'smashmouth' identity to Montgomery Central football

On defense, the Cobras return plenty of production up front. MJ Bigbee and JJ Chatman combined for over 20 tackles for loss last season, and will be joined in 2024 by Northeast transfer Moses Byrd (62 tackles, 16 TFLs, four sacks). Senior linebacker Perry Cross-Snead had 72 tackles, seven of them for loss.

Blair put on over 50 pounds during the offseason, and he's not alone. Last season, many Cobras "hadn't really touched the weight room for a year," according to Watson. But finally having on-campus facilities has allowed players to make major physical leaps. In addition, Watson coached Kirkwood's track and field team last spring and required every potential ball carrier to run track.

"The thing we're hanging our hat on is just some of the training we went through this offseason and everything that we've invested," Watson said. "Cobras don't quit. That's gonna be our motto for this season."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: How Kirkwood football aims to take next step after strong first season