FALLS TOWNSHIP — The corner has officially been turned at West Muskingum.
Gone are the days of hoping to compete with good teams and score a few touchdowns. For that matter, so are the days of a rickety stadium.
Now it's about leaning on the program to replace stars. That figures to be a true team effort.
With first-team All-Ohio running back Rashid SeSay now in the running back rotation at Ohio State, coach Nathan Brownrigg's squad will be more of collaboration in 2024. His Tornadoes are aiming for a second straight Muskingum Valley League-Small School Division title, something veteran New Lexington and others would love to claim for themselves.
With two-a-day practices in full force and a second scrimmage on the horizon, the Tornadoes aren't dropping their expectations.
"We're at the point where our goals stay the same at this point," Brownrigg said. "The goal is to build a program to not just have one good class come through with success and then come back down. From this point forward we expect to compete for league titles and playoff spots, and making runs. I feel pretty good about where we are."
Offense
There is a significant role reversal here, with veteran defensive coordinator Pat Reilly taking over as offensive play caller. Brownrigg, long an offensive coach, will now handle the defensive duties.
Reilly will have an experienced signal caller in senior Jake Anton (6-3, 170), perhaps the league's best safety who now figures to be even more involved on offense. In his third year as a starter, he passed for 1,364 yards and 12 TDs and ran 67 times for 456 yards in 2023.
He has one of the area's top underclassmen at his disposal in 6-2, 190-pound receiver Carter Smith, who caught 27 passes and started every game as a freshman on both sides of the ball. Fellow receiver Conner Hill (5-10, 145 sr.) hauled in 20 passes for 374 yards; Tavin Bennett (6-3, 180 jr.) is back after catching eight passes as a sophomore, while junior Braxton Brownrigg (5-8, 145) will step into a larger role on the perimeter.
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Senior Carter Winland, a powerful 5-10, 205-pounder, is back to lead the running back corps after a junior season in which he ran for 614 yards and four TDs. He's got a strong blocker to help lead the way in 6-2, 240-pound tight end Wes Houston.
"Rashid was a guy we put in all kinds of spots to get him the ball," Brownrigg said. "Gameplan-wise, we're trying to figure out how to get him the ball. Now it's about spreading that out.
"We don't have to worry about getting Rashid the ball, it's 'this guy plays here, and this guy plays here,'" Brownrigg added. "The nice thing is they are all good enough to spread it out. Hopefully it makes us more difficult to prepare for."
The line is mostly new, though many saw time in backup roles a year ago.
Senior Cale McGreevy (5-8, 210) is a veteran at guard and classmate Kaiden Fleming (5-8, 235) a mainstay at center, but seniors Ethan Garrett (5-11, 240), Evan Lewis (5-10, 190) and Joey Miller (6-0, 275) are unproven commodities. So is sophomore Carson Lewis (6-3, 270), the top backup.
"Those kids, even though they didn't play a lot, we've still got a lot of strong kids," Brownrigg said. "A lot of those guys would have been good enough be starters on other teams last year. We just had a lot of experience up front."
Junior Silas Kuhn is back to handle the place-kicking duties after hitting 48 of 52 extra points and a field goal as a sophomore.
Defense
SeSay was a mainstay at linebacker with the sort of athleticism and versatility to play multiple roles on Reilly's defense, while Colin Thornton and his seven sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss are also gone.
The top two tacklers are back in linebackers Winland and Houston, however, and they anchor a unit that forced 17 turnovers and scored a pair of touchdowns in 2023. Thirteen came via interception — five from Anton and two from Bennett, Hill and Smith in the secondary.
"The linebacker-tight end bodies are what we feel really good about," Brownrigg said. "We've probably got four or five guys that are 6-0, 200 pounds, maybe a little bit more. Guys that we think will be physical and still run pretty well."
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Like the offense, there are a host of new faces ready to emerge.
Junior Ashton Ansel, like a Houston a tight end, is another linebacker in the 200-pound range who will start on the outside. Sophomore Cooper McKenzie (6-0, 195) will also be in the linebacker mix, with senior Dray Robinson (5-6, 185) helping out on the line, senior Coleman Loyd (6-2, 160) at cornerback and sophomore Cohen McConnell (6-2, 190) at safety.
Brownrigg singled out Houston as a player who has stood out during the offseason. He and Winland are three-year starters who have been important players on teams that have won 19 games the past two years.
"We had big expectations for him coming in but he has really worked hard," Brownrigg said. "He's 245 pounds, and he has worked himself into an athletic 245. And just him from a leadership standpoint, it has been a pleasant surprise. He's like another coach out there on the field."
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Outlook
A rugged schedule awaits, especially in the first month. A road trip to Licking Valley (Week 2) starts a stretch that also includes home tilts with Sugarcreek Garaway (Week 3) and New Lex (Week 4). All were playoff teams in 2024.
Key games against Morgan and Maysville are also at home.
"The (MVL-Small) division has really good coaches," Brownrigg said. "There are some really good players and now you throw Maysville down in that mix. It's going to be tough, but I think it's a good thing. If you get through that, you will have had experiences that will prepare you for Week 11 and beyond."
2024 West Muskingum football schedule
Aug. 23 @ Lakewood
Aug. 30 @ Licking Valley
Sept. 6 Garaway
Sept. 13 New Lexington
Sept. 20 @ River View
Sept. 27 Morgan
Oct. 4 @ Crooksville
Oct. 11 Maysville
Oct. 18 Coshocton
Oct. 25 @ Meadowbrook
sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: No Rashid, no problem? West Muskingum football not backing off of lofty expectations
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