QUEEN CITY, Texas Queen City is ready to find success.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs had one of the best summer strength and conditioning programs under head coach Eric Droddy, in his second year of his second stint with the school.
"Our guys have responded to coming back really well," Droddy said. "When we started our summer strength training, we had the best attendance that I've seen in my time here. Our kids have gotten after it.
"All the social distancing stuff, we have to stay on them from time to time, but they're just kids. They've handled it pretty well."
The Bulldogs will keep the same offense as the installed last season, but Queen City is changing the defensive scheme.
QC returned 14 lettermen half its roster from last fall and have five starters back on either side of the ball.
"I believe they've had good retention from what we did last year," Droddy said. "We're changing defensively, and so that's where the biggest learning curve will come. But we're simplifying things, so we're not going to do much teaching. The kids have been catching on pretty quick."
OFFENSE
Offensive lineman Justin Lance (5-10, 235), and receivers Damir Rascoe (5-11, 180) and Josh Davis (5-8, 160) are senior returning starters for Queen City. Junior T'Angelo Neal (5-7, 155) is a junior starter back, and Jeremiah Drayton (5-7, 165) started last fall as a freshman running back.
Junior Alex Shelton (6-0,160) has been taking the snaps at quarterback.
"Offensively, everything is the same," Droddy said. "So we've had some newcomers and underclassmen moving up, and we've added some tweaks here and there, but it's mostly the same. They've taken it in stride, and our coaches would say it's been better than we expected."
Senior Kieran Droddy (5-9, 175) and junior D'Clayvion Jiles (5-8, 180) will help in the backfield. Seniors Noah Perkins (5-9, 220) and Derrick Alexander (5-10, 255) are expected to transition into starting roles after helping on the offensive line last season, and junior Aaron Jones (6-3, 230) will also figure in on the line. Senior Spencer Schmidt (5-10, 215) did not play last season but will help up front, also.
"There's some familiarity with the kids and the coaching staff; we had to replace two from our high school staff and brought in three guys," Droddy said. "The consistency has been good, and we've got a strong senior group this year."
Helping at receiver will be seniors Spencer Warren (5-7, 160) and Tallen Boone (5-7, 160) and juniors Manasseh Drayton (5-8, 160) and Elijah Webster (5-7, 155).
DEFENSE
"We'll have 12 seniors, and they've been together for a while," The coach said. "They've been through some rough patches, but I feel we've got a player-led locker room, which is one thing we didn't have last year."
Jeremiah Drayton, Davis and Neal will return in the secondary. Shelton, Webster and Manasseh Drayton are expected to help in the secondary, as well.
Lance is a starter on the defensive line, and Rascoe is back at linebacker. Warren, Boone and Jiles will help in the linebacking corps.
"We need to develop some depth at certain positions, and we want the kids to understand the urgency of the situation," Droddy said. "We're playing on borrowed time; we don't know when it might end. So we're pressing upon them to make the most of the time that we do have and make the most of it."
Senior Nathan Cooper (5-10, 215) is expected to take over a starting job on the defensive line after helping last season. Jones, Alexander and Perkins will add depth up front.
PLAYING FOR THE TEAM
"We're excited about this year," Droddy said. "The enthusiasm has carried over from finally being able to start working out to the fall camp, and it's not just at practice. I know they're supposed to be social distancing, and we can't do much once they leave campus, but they're really with each other and investing in each other. There's a strong bond, not just with the seniors, and they seem to have bought into each other.
"I'm excited to see how that plays out when we get the chance to line up against another team."