Seniors look to lead this year’s Wildcats

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Seniors look to lead this year’s Wildcats

Tue, 07/30/2019 - 15:13
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IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING that seniors are looked to for their leadership both on and off the field each year during football season. This year will be no different for the Wildcats. Seniors Bill Koetting and Rhet Pennington both spoke about stepping into that role this year as they look to lead Canadian back to Arlington in December.

“We all just want to lead by example,” said senior wide receiver and safety Bill Koetting, son of head coach Chris Koetting. “That is the best tool to get your teammates to play their best, and that is how we grew up. We all looked up to the starters and to the upper classmen when we were in our first years of high school. They worked at a high level and did things right.”

“More importantly,” Koetting said, “they took us under their wing and now it is our turn to pay that forward.”

Pennington said he was excited for this year’s team because of close-knit relationships that the players have with one another.

“Our senior class and junior class have a lot of chemistry and we get along really well,” said Pennington. “That will be a great example for the players entering into high school this year to see and learn from.”

“As young kids, we looked up to the 2014 and 2015 teams that won back-to-back and we hope to do like they did for the other classes behind us,” explained Pennington. “We are a supportive group of guys and we have each other’s backs.”

Leadership takes on many roles, and attitude, intent and focus are all part of that. Koetting and Pennington were both very honest as they spoke about what their vision was for this team and for this camp.

Koetting said he loves what this high-octane camp offers. “I love this camp because it allows us to get a very high number of reps. It gets me ready for the season and cleans everything up. I feel like I am more in shape when two-a-days start because these guys run their camps like we run our practices with a ton of reps.”

Koetting said that the most exciting thing about Canadian’s offense is their ability to post staggering scores and stats in any given contest. “We have the ability to put up a lot of numbers,” said Koetting. “I think what makes us stand out from other spread offense teams is the crazy high tempo that we use. This offense is designed to go fast, but we go even faster than most, and that is the difference.”

“We know that we are not always going to be the bigger or faster team,” he said. “What I like about this offense for our players is it is a system that allows us to outwork our opponents who may have an advantage in size or speed.”

Pennington echoed his teammate’s comments, but with more of a focus on the responsibilities of the interior linemen. “Nothing works unless the line is doing their job—and that is offense or defense,” he said. “We get in there and get physical and we set the tone for the game. We work to be a rapid-fire team, but we also work to be the more physical team.”

Pennington said it’s important to establish control and assert your will. “We’ll hit them in the mouth as hard as we can and that tends to slow teams down quite a bit,” he said with a smile.

Canadian’s success is due to having high discipline, combined with duplication of efforts, he explained. “We do an insane amount of repetition drills with punching bags and running chutes. As linemen we strive to do the little things right, even making sure our stances and splits are correct for each play that is called.”

Even minor variances matter in the Wildcat’s offense according to Pennington. “Our coaches are diligent and watch us close, and they hold us accountable at every position.”