Preview: Frankston Debuts New Coach; Brook Hill Begins Title Defense

FRANKSTON INDIANS
VS.
BULLARD BROOK HILL GUARD

7:30 p.m. Thursday
Herrington Stadium, Bullard

Coaches
Frankston: Matt Nally
Brook Hill: Terry Pirtle

Next week
Frankston: at Elkhart
Brook Hill: Open

Playmakers
Frankston

QB/LB Tye Griffin, Sr., 6-3, 190
OL/DL Dustin House, Sr., 6-3, 255
RB Caleb Williams, Sr., 5-9, 185
DL Tre Hatton, Jr., 6-0, 235
DB Cory Winks, Jr., 5-8, 150
OL J.J. Kummer, Sr., 6-4, 240
OL Will Marshall, Sr., 5-10, 195
WR/DB Gage Hart, Sr., 6-2, 170

Brook Hill

OL Mason Dickey, 6-2, 275
QB Will Weathers
DB Michael Greening
OL Bailey Franklin
C Matthew Seammands
LB Ryan Young
WR Chase McDermott
RB T.J. Dunks

Just the facts

Frankston will be debuting Matt Nally at head coach following four years under Sam Wells, who took the the head coaching job in Elkhart over the summer.
The Indians are without star running back Treston Coleman (UT-San Antonio), but bring back Williams, who averaged 12 yards per carry in 2011 with six rushing TDs. He also added three scores on kickoff returns.
Frankston also loses the production of quarterback Michael Warren, who's now at Rice. Nally figures to go with Griffin, who attempted 10 passes a season ago.
Brook Hill's quest for back-to-back state titles won't be easy with the Guard's move up from TAPPS Division III to II. It's even tougher after the graduation of star running back Gunnar Dorsey, who caught fire in the playoffs and finished with more than 1,700 yards last year.
With uncertainty in the backfield, expect Weathers to carry the load for a while on offense after passing for 24 touchdowns as a junior.
Brook Hill doesn't return much from last year's squad, but the defensive duo of Young and Greening is back. Young racked up 83 tackles in 2011, while Greening had four INTs.

Key matchup: Brook Hill's offensive line vs. Frankston's defensive line. There's not much in the way of returning skill players for either team, but the Guard's Weathers is the most accomplished. If the Indians' pass-rushing tandem of Hatton and House, who combined for 17 tackles for loss in 2011, can't get enough pressure on him, it could be a long night for the Frankston defense. With Brook Hill's inexperience at running back, the Guard figure to put the ball in the air quite a bit early on the season and have a solid offensive line -- anchored by Dickey -- to provide protection.

Don't be surprised if: Points are hard to come by in this one. Frankston returns nine defenders from last season, while the Guard are only bringing back three on offense. And the Indians are facing the unenviable taks of replacing two Division I players on offense as well.