Jr. Rangers ready to tackle 2018 season
Published 2:41 pm Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Fourth-year head coach Daniel McInturff and his coaches are set for another year of preparing future Rangers for the high school level.
And with the momentum Unaka High School head coach O’Brien Bennett has picked up since taking over last season, now is the time for the junior high program to send field-ready players up to the high school, said McInturff.
“I think that the junior high program is one of the most important parts of building the foundation for the high school,” said McInturff. “It is our job to get these kids ready for the high school level and teach the fundamentals. I think if we stay on the path that we are on that big things will happen. Coach O’Brien is doing a great job of getting kids out and teaching kids how to play. He is visible to my kids, and that is what you have to do. Just like college, you have to sell kids on coming to your school and wanting to play football. They are doing a great job of that right now.”
This season, the Jr. Rangers will look to Landon Ramsey to lead the Jr. Rangers from the quarterback position. Ramsey has played under McInturff for the last three years, and the coach is expecting big things from the QB.
“He will probably compete to be on of the better players in the league,” said McInturff. “He is an all-around athlete. He will probably also play middle linebacker for me. He is a good kid and does well in the classroom. He is a big leader, and I am going to expect a lot out of him this year.”
At the running back spot, the Jr. Rangers are banking on a handful of players to get the job done, with McInturff naming eighth graders Harley Berry and Taylor Yater as potential contributors in the running game.
“With what we do, we can alternate these guys from the outside to the inside,” said McInturff. “I am looking for big things out of Yates, as well, because he is a kid that has been with me for two to three years. He knows the process and what is going on.”
On the line, the Jr. Rangers will be contending with youthfulness, said McInturff.
“For some reasons during the three years that I have been here, we have struggled a little bit on the line,” said McInturff. “A lot of the kids that come out have never played. You have to teach them from the ground up. I am hoping we are sending some linemen up to the high school that know what is going on and can continue to get better.
“I feel like we are going to be decent in spots and are going to have to work in other spots,” added McInturff. “That is just the nature of the beast for us right now.”
McInturff said he feels that seventh-grader Marcus Shomaker could be a key player on the line for the Jr. Rangers.
“He is a big kid,” said McInturff. “He is raw and very strong. He has got to realize how strong he is. I think when he realizes that, the sky is the limit for him.”
The Jr. Rangers will open up the season with a short trip over to Happy Valley this Thursday.
2018 Unaka Jr. Rangers Schedule
August
9—@Happy Valley
14—@Hampton
September
6—CHUCKEY DOAK
13—JOHNSON COUNTY
18—AVERY
20—HAMPTON