Rip your heart out and wear it on your sleeve. That’s something an old teammate once told me. It has always stuck with me, and after watching the gritty play of the Klein Collins Tigers’ this year, that phrase continues to remind of them. Not many people had this team going very far following the injury to star QB Bryson Powers. Yet, in the most poetic way possible, backup senior QB Brett Bridges took the reigns and never looked back: beating teams like Tyler and Spring Westfield in the playoffs on what was a magical journey that no one on that Collins coaching staff or football team will ever forget.
Inability to be athletic was never the issue with this team and won’t be an issue for the foreseeable future. But, talent will certainly be lacking after this years group of stud seniors will leave.
This isn’t to take away from a team that went 9-1 in the regular season with their single loss coming to top dog Katy. Klein Collins is a very good football team. The Tigers swept defensive line all-district honors and took home District MVP with Powers.
Painfully, none of that matters as 44 of 77 players are currently seniors. If lack of talent doesn’t kill a team, the next thing is usually lack of depth/experience.
Key Losses
QB Bryson Powers, DL Grayson Strawn, RB D’Anthony Doyle
Losing a quarterback like Powers wouldn’t have stung as much if backup QB Brett Bridges weren’t a senior as well. Bridges filled in for Powers when necessary, leading the team to a monumental win over former district foe Spring Westfield, which propelled them to their state semifinal appearance against eventual state champs DeSoto. However, losing both Bridges and Powers will certainly affect the production in the passing game.
Collins will also lose D’Anthony Doyle, a running back who was just 80 yards short of eclipsing the 2000 yard rushing mark this season, allowing the passing game to be opened up at times due to his ability to ground and pound. Grayson Strawn is also departing this year; Strawn was by far the most outstanding player on defense, which was already stacked with stellar DB’s and other defensive lineman. Strawn’s ability to both man handle opposing lineman and chase down speedy running backs will be dearly missed on a Klein Collins football team that is losing so many seniors.
Key Returners
RB Josh Powell, LB Donavan Mutin, DB Cameron Godfrey
Luckily, there were some underclassmen this season that proved they may be capable of taking over next year and carrying the team on their shoulders. While not a starter this year, junior running back Josh Powell still managed to rush for over 600 yards on more than 55 carries and scored 12 touchdowns in the process.
Junior linebacker Donavan Mutin was an absolute wrecking force this year, with his district defensive MVP award proving his toughness and athletic play were more than just top notch. Cameron Godfrey has big shoes to fill this year as the Tigers’ defensive backfield will lose two first team all district DB’s in Aaron Buckley and Tate Thomlinson; however, Godfrey played well enough this year that the transition to a leadership role this coming season shouldn’t be to harrowing. Whether or not these underclassmen and many others like them can overcome the adversity of losing so many experienced, talented seniors will be the true tale of the 2017 season.
The Verdict
The fate of this year’s Tigers’ will lie within the integrity of the passing game. Losing two quality gunslingers like Bridges and Powers (that duo kind of has a ring to it) certainly sucks, but HC Drew Svoboda and his staff have done a mighty fine job of molding and fine tuning even the rawest quarterbacks. A lackluster receiving corp may hamper Collins ability to pass as much as they want to, but with the mammoth sized offensive line that they have, the possibilities for a successful and offensively productive year are not endless, but plentiful in chance.
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