FAN’S GUIDE TO THIS YEAR’S COPPER BASIN COUGARS
Coach: Patrick Daley (23-40 here in six seasons and overall)
Stadium address: 205 Cougar Drive, Copperhill, TN 37421
THREE STRENGTHS
1) The offensive line returns four starters, and Coach Daley likes the progress being made by those competing to fill the open spot.
2) New starting quarterback Dylan Boggs played sparingly there last year but is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds and a hard runner. His toughness was shown by the fact he led the team in tackles a year ago, but it’s his decision-making on the triple option that enabled him to earn the quarterback job.
3) Copper Basin had some problems in the secondary last year, but two juniors return with a year of experience.
THREE CONCERNS
1) Numbers are up from 21 in 2011 to 35, but that also means that many more inexperienced players.
2) Coach Daley said he feels good about the starting units the Cougars will send out, but finding quality backups is more challenging. The defensive line must also come up with new starters at one end and at noseguard.
3) Copper Basin went from a team that won twice in postseason in 2010 to a team that missed the state playoffs last year. How the returning players respond early on will be a telling sign.
Three questions with ...
DYLAN BOGGS
(Senior quarterback and linebacker)
Q. Between quarterback and linebacker, which do you think you’ll enjoy playing most?
A. I think I’ll enjoy quarterback a lot, but playing linebacker is something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid. It’s always been fun. I can’t really say if I’ll like one more than the other, but I guess if I had to pick I’d say linebacker.
Q. What are your thoughts on opening the season with three consecutive home games?
A. What we’re really hoping for is to get off to a good start like we did two years ago when we had a pretty good season. Starting off like we did then, we were able to build momentum and keep it going for sure.
Q. What is your biggest concern coming into the season?
A. The young kids stepping up into starting positions. We’ve got some in key positions on defense.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 — Home dates for Copper Basin among its first six games.
6 — Times the Cougars scored at least 20 points in a game last year, although half of them ended up losses.
33 — The fewest points Copper Basin scored in a game on the way to an 8-0 start in 2010 with five shutouts included.
2011 STATS LEADERS
RUSHING Att Yards Avg TD
*Denzel Brown 107 586 5.5 6
Matt Ray 145 310 2.1 4
*Dylan Boggs 45 226 1
PASSING Comp-Att Yards Int TD
Matt Ray 103-192 1,467 11 16
*Dylan Boggs 7-17 113 0 1
RECEIVING Att Yards Avg TD
*Stephen Spargo 37 629 8
Blake Satterfield 23 428 3
TACKLES Solo Assists Total
*Dylan Boggs 75 25 100
Blake Scott 64 19 83
*returning player
Recent history
After Patrick Daley’s first two seasons, Copper Basin is 22-21 since 2008. The Cougars made state-playoff appearances in ’09 and ’10, advancing as far as a quarterfinal in the latter. Here’s a look at the regular-season win total for the last five years:
Season
2011 ———(3)
2010 ————————(8)
2009 —————(5)
2008 ———(3)
2007 (0)
Schedule
Aug. 17 Whitwell
Aug. 24 Sunbright
Aug. 31 Hayesville, N.C.
Sept. 14 at Silverdale Baptist*
Sept. 21 Towns County, Ga.
Sept. 28 Grace Academy*
Oct. 12 at Marion County
Oct. 19 at Lookout Valley
Oct. 26 at Boyd-Buchanan*
*District 5-A game
ROSTER
1 Stephen Spargo Senior
2 Trevor Jones Junior
4 Tyler Miller Freshman
5 Denzel Brown Junior
10 Bryce Nicholson Senior
12 Aaron Dotson Senior
14 Joey Sparks Freshman
15 Dylan Boggs Senior
19 Aaron English Sophomore
20 Jackson Ledford Freshman
24 Collin Thomas Senior
30 Justin Vazquez Junior
31 Ryan Brooks Sophomore
32 Dustin Brown Freshman
40 Quantavious Brown Sophomore
44 Riley Crisp Freshman
53 Daniel Brooks Junior
54 Ben Galloway Freshman
55 Dakota Sosebee Junior
57 Dylan O'Neal Junior
58 Jeremy Wilson Sophomore
61 Isaac Akins Freshman
62 Clayton Campbell Junior
64 Trent Raper Junior
65 Chris Phelan Senior
67 Elijah Deal Senior
68 Cody Adams Sophomore
79 Koby Shroth Freshman
75 Levi Franklin Senior
78 Bristol Ray Sophomore
82 Caleb Deal Freshman
84 Ben Kimsey Junior
85 Dristan Raper Freshman
87 Oliver Deal Freshman
88 Zach Banks Freshman
