Unaka to be anchored by seniors in the trenches

ELIZABETHTON — A youth movement that began in the 2024 season is expected to continue this fall on Stoney Creek.The Unaka Rangers last year had to lean on inexperience to get through the season, and it showed in their record. They went 1-9 with a win over Hancock County, but head coach O'Brien Bennett believes the team was able to get better over the course of the year.He especially commends his group for getting through the year after Helene, where his team played five games in 14 days."We had a lot of young kids put in a situation that was really unprecedented and they stepped up and they really grew from it," Bennett said. "That was our goal last year. We understood where we were in terms of experience. As the season went by, I thought we were playing our best ball at the end of the year. Was it great football? No, not yet. But, it was much better than where we were at the beginning of the season."One of the biggest young contributors to the Unaka offense was freshman wide receiver Ashton Fuller.The team's leading receiver in his first season, Fuller had over 500 yards receiving and six touchdowns in the Rangers' 10-game season. Now a sophomore, Bennett said the returning wideout can expect to get the ball in a multitude of ways."I told Ashton that if we can't throw it to him, we'll toss it to him," he said. "If we can't toss it to him, we're going to hand it to him. And if we can't hand it to him, we're going to snap it to him. The football is going to be in his hands, some way, some how. He's too dynamic of a football player."Unaka's head coach also compared Fuller to a former standout freshman at Unaka in Devin Ramsey. Ramsey went on to have a strong career for the Rangers, including a stellar senior season in 2021.He was named a member of the Elite 11 Team that year. Ramsey caught 85 passes for 1,485 yards and 18 total touchdowns, on top of a strong defensive campaign.The offense for the Rangers in 2025 will look a bit different than the past few years.Unaka is likely to lean less on the straight dropback passing game, due to its quarterback situation. On top of potentially seeing Fuller take snaps, both Ben Shutko and T.J. Parenteau have been getting reps under center."We put a lot on the quarterback in our offense," Bennett said. "So those guys are going to have to grow and learn. As they grow and learn – the offensive line accelerates the process – we'll be able to expand the playbook."That offensive line will be led by three seniors. Chris Good will hold down the center position while he'll be joined in the trenches by Nathan Bailey and Cristobal Estrada-Lopez.Having a veteran-laden group will allow for the younger skill position group to settle in quicker, as well as for the offense to get into the best play call."I can't call a perfect play," Bennett said. "But Chris can get us up there, and if we've got a play call, they're in a front that gives that trouble, he can get us up there and he can check us.""That's where experience comes in," he added. "That's stuff that we didn't necessarily have last year up front."The Rangers will open up the 2025 campaign at home against Happy Valley on Aug. 22. They open Region 1-1A play at Cosby on Sept. 12, the first of seven conference games with the region expanded to eight teams.No. Name Pos. Class1 Brayden Otey RB/LB So.2 Ashton Fuller QB/WR/DB So.5 Levi Fisher RB/LB So.8 Dylan Davidson WR/DB Jr.11 Ben Shutko QB/RB/DB So.14 Asher Dunn WR/DB So.21 Nick Britt RB/LB Jr.22 Colby Hamm RB/LB Fr.23 Maddox Pickel WR/DB Fr.25 Jacob Shaffer WR/DB Fr.15 T.J. Parenteau QB/DB Jr.50 Brayden Hardin OL/DL Fr.51 Kaden Candelaria OL/LB So.62 John Mendez OL/DL/K Jr.63 Oden Parlier OL/DL Fr.64 Ayden Turner OL/DL Jr.66 Nathan Bailey OL/DL Sr.70 Cristobal Estrada-Lopez OL/DL Sr.71 Chris Good OL/DL Sr.Head coach: O'Brien Bennett.