McLean County football enters the season at a crossroads. A year ago, they finished with a strong 8-3 record, but the Cougars lost multiple key contributors due to graduation and are looking to replace that production.
“We only lost six seniors from last year, but those six seniors played very significant roles on both sides of the ball, and some of them played both ways for us,” head coach Zach Wagner said. “They all left big shoes to fill, especially on our offense. We lost our QB and fullback. We think we have guys that can step into those roles, but they know they have big shoes to fill.”
Taking over at QB is Ayden Rice, a baseball player who was able to practice with the team last spring. The coaching staff has been pleased with his progress, complimenting him on how he’s matured and asks questions. A run-heavy team, Rice’s strengths from his time last year as a fullback and blocking wingback will add an extra wrinkle that opposing defenses must focus on.
“His strength is anytime he can pull it on a read, run play, or a pass, he’s going to seek out contact to run over somebody rather than juke them out,” Wagner said.
He added that they have multiple dual-threat athletes on the squad and plan to lean on them for their athleticism on some deep shots down the field.
Defensively, McLean will run a 3-3-stack defense. Overall, Wagner said the defense lacks size but makes up for it with their quickness. Up front, the Cougars return everyone but one starter. They also returned their primary linebacker, who was third in the league in tackles. Someone to keep an eye on is Aden Bolden, who was the team’s starting cornerback last year.
“He comes back stronger and quicker as a junior,” Wagner said. “We’ve moved him to our outside linebacker/stud. We will try and lock him up on the opposing team’s number one and be able to set the edge for the wide side of the field for us.”
McLean will open the season on the road against neighbors and long-time rivals Ohio and Muhlenberg County. They follow that with a home game against Grayson County before beginning district play the following week against Hancock County.
Owensboro Times will travel to Calhoun for the Week 4 matchup to commemorate the first year of regularly covering Hancock and McLean Counties since launching OT in 2018.
The Cougars will finish district play with contests against Todd County Central, Union County, Hopkins County Central, Webster County, and Trigg County. They will wrap up the season against Class 5A Marshall County at home on November 1.
McLean had some recent scrimmages, and Wagner pointed out that the teams still have some cleaning up before the regular season starts. He wants to see his players become more physical and aggressive.
The Cougars have their eyes set on hosting and winning a home playoff game this year.
