'22 GRIDIRON PREVIEW: Mustangs expect big things from Bryant, offense

Stanhope Elmore coach Jacob Bryant is back to lead what should be a potent offense in 2022. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Stanhope Elmore coach Brian Bradford thought he had the Mustangs’ football program headed in the right direction after a 9-3 season in 2019. You could throw out the COVID season of 2020, but the Mustangs’ 2021 season did not resume the path most fans would have wanted. 

“I thought we had a really good year,” Bradford said. “I know our record doesn’t show it. We got beat in two games (Prattville and Calera), then in three games our losses were either by one point (Pelham and Wetumpka) or the last couple of plays in the game (Helena). We were in a position to win all three of those games. Different factors that played into that, that we’ve got to be better at this year.”

That 5-5 season included four regional losses that kept the team out of the playoffs. The good news is that many of the same starters, seven on offense and seven on defense, return to give the Mustangs a determined group of experienced players. 

“We’ve got a lot coming back on offense, especially the trigger man (quarterback Jacob Bryant) for two years in a row, which is always huge for any program,” Bradford said. “Defensively, we lost a couple of defensive linemen but we’ve got two starters back and one that played a good bit back and a lot of our secondary back along with two linebackers back.

“A lot of the players that weren’t returning starters played a lot last year so we’re real excited about this year.”

In addition to Bryant, running back Kneiko Jackson returns with highly touted freshman Arthur McQueen, senior offensive linemen Avion Johnson and Davion Brown return, along with a solid group of eight seniors at wide receiver and tight end, giving the Mustangs the best receiving corps in the area. 

And while Bradford notes that type of talent means “it’s quite possible” the Mustangs put the ball in the air more, the game is still won and lost in the trenches. 

“The game is won on the offensive line and the defensive line and that’s never going to change,” Bradford said. “If you want to be a great football team, that’s where it’s won. Now, we are going to utilize our receivers. It is a very good perk to have Jackson (Thomas) and the other receivers.”

If the game is won in the trenches, having defensive linemen Jaquize Buycks and Kaleb Stokes returning should be an asset for the Mustangs. 

“That entire defensive line, from top to bottom, is some of the most respectful, smart and hustle-oriented guys you can have around,” Buycks said. “Everyone of them are going to come in and work. We’re destructive. We get after you, we’re physical, we play hard. To have most of those guys back is a blessing. It’s won up front, so we want to dominate guys.”

And across the line of scrimmage during the spring and summer, Buycks likes what he sees from his offensive line counterparts. 

“Those guys took the extra mile to get the extra reps in,” said Buycks, who praised the Mustangs’ new offensive line coach, Ralph Brewer, and how he has motivated his unit. “Especially when you have a group that doesn’t have a lot of returning starters, it’s the little things that matter. They’ve made strides.”

While the Mustangs have a rugged non-region schedule that includes Shades Valley, Eufaula, Prattville and Minor, the region will have a different look this year. Gone are Calera, Helena and Pelham (three losses last year), replaced by Carver, Lanier, Park Crossing, Pike Road and Russell County along with arch rival Wetumpka. 

“It brings a little different style of football for this year,” Bradford said. “Playing in Birmingham and playing in Montgomery is two different types of football. It’s not that one is better than the other but it is a little different style. We’re excited about playing some teams we haven’t seen in a couple of years.”

The players like the idea of playing teams closer to home. 

“It feels amazing,” Buycks said. “Some of these guys you hear about, now you get a chance to play them. It’s all the competition you want.”

“I’ve been waiting on it for a minute because we haven’t played those guys in a long time,” Thomas added. “It’s good to be able to go right up the street and play Pike Road, Lanier, Carver, those teams we haven’t seen in years.” 

This is a new season, Buycks points out, but the disappointment from last season still remains with some of the seniors.  

“You have stuff that lingers on your mind,” he said. “For me, losing to teams that we shouldn’t have lost to, like Wetumpka, plays in my head every day. Being able to play those same teams again, it’s unfinished business. We can beat these teams. And then to go to the playoffs and beat them again? There’s no better feeling.”