Experience fuels optimism for Shiner
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
by Mike Forman, Advocate Sports Editor
AdvoSports.com Article | Comanche Football | Shiner Comanche Sports Home Page
SHINER – Lane Nevlud expects his senior season at Shiner to be a memorable one.
Shiner's Donyai Taylor makes a one-handed catch during the Comanches' practice on Monday ( August 20, 2018 ) afternoon. all photos by Matthew Westmoreland, Victoria Advocate
[ click on any photo to enlarge ]
The Comanches return eight starters on offense and eight on defense from a team that advanced to the Class 2A, Division I area playoffs and finished with an 8-3 record.
Shiner enters the season ranked No. 4 in the state poll.
“My freshman year, we had a bunch of seniors,” Nevlud said. “My sophomore and even last year, we had guys who played, but it was always the first year of playing. This year, with all the experience, we have to be able to pass on our knowledge to the younger guys. Guys have been there and they’ve done their time and we’re going to see if we make a run.”
Shiner starts the season with 55 players and coach Steven Cerny was pleased that over half of them participated in summer conditioning drills.
“We’re excited this year because we got a lot of kids back,” he said. “Last year, it was like starting over in some aspects. It really took us a long time to get things in. We feel like we’re way ahead of that. We’re adding some new things too, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Comanches will still be based out of their traditional veer offense, but will also run plays out of the wing-T formation.
Shiner coach Steven Cerny speaks to his players after Monday's ( August 20, 2018 ) practice.
“It’s a lot of the same schemes we had, but I think it’s a lot more movement and misdirection,” Nevlud said. “We have great depth in the backfield, which is the one thing we haven’t had in a while. So we’ll be able to keep fresh legs in there and keep it moving.”
Shiner has traditionally relied on its defense and has no plans to alter its philosophy.
“We have eight people coming back,” Nevlud said. “We had to fill in a couple of spots, but I know the people coming back were backups last year. They got into some games and got some crucial minutes so they’re ready to rock and roll this year.”
Cerny is pleased with how quickly the Comanches have picked up on the offensive changes, which has allowed his staff to accelerate the learning curve.
“You never want to get too crazy with it,” he said. “But you come back and you’re ahead of the game. Defensively, you really never want to change what you’re doing there. But we’ve got a lot more maturity and it’s allowed us to do a lot more.”
The Comanches know staying healthy will be crucial, but hope their talent, depth and experience will set the stage for a lengthy playoff run.
“We all know each other real well so we’re going to work good together,” said senior Collin Bujnoch. “We didn’t lose very many guys and we just bust our butts everyday at practice to try and get better. We want to beat those good teams in the playoffs where it really matters.”
MORE PHOTOS
[ click on any photo to enlarge ]
The Shiner High School Comanches run defensive drills during practice.
Members of the Shiner High School football team take a few moments of rest during a particularly hot day of practice.
The Shiner High School Comanches run defensive drills during practice.
Noah Matthews, corner back for the Shiner Comanches, holds off a fellow player during defensive drills.
Mike Forman is the sports editor of The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at mforman@vicad.com.
Matthew Westmoreland is a photojournalist for the Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-574-1206 or mwestmoreland@vicad.com.
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