HS football preview: Carmichaels
Senior QB Bubka leads the way for Mikes
Carmichaels has had a string of successful dual threat quarterbacks in recent years and Cannon Bupka fills the bill for the Mikes in 2025 after a solid junior season.
无毛视频淚n terms of a playmaker we无毛视频檙e going to be relying on, that无毛视频檚 Cannon,无毛视频� Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l say this about Cannon, he无毛视频檚 the most physically gifted athlete that we无毛视频檝e had here in my time. Cannon is every bit of 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, and he can run and jump.
无毛视频淭o have a kid that big and that athletic, I无毛视频檝e not coached a kid like that before. He无毛视频檚 put on 15-20 pounds since last year. He looks really good and it无毛视频檚 not just by coincidence. He无毛视频檚 worked really hard in the offseason. I have to give credit where credit is due and he无毛视频檚 put in the time to change his body.无毛视频�
With Bupka leading the way, the Mikes put together a winning record at 5-3 last year, including a 4-3 mark in the Class A Tri-County South Conference. That left Carmichaels in a three-way tie with Bentworth and West Greene for the third automatic playoff spot out of the conference which the Bearcats earned on a tiebreaker.
The Mikes then were at the mercy of the WPIAL which had to chose a wild-card team and took Brentwood, a fifth-place team out of the Eastern Conference, over Carmichaels. This despite the fact two of the Spartans无毛视频� victories were over winless teams and they had one less win (4-6) than the Mikes who played two fewer games.
Krull, in the third year of his second stint as Carmichaels coach and 10th overall, didn无毛视频檛 want to dwell on the past.
无毛视频淭he unfortunate reality of it is, we didn无毛视频檛 do enough last year,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淲e can sit here and whine and complain but that无毛视频檚 not doing us any good. We haven无毛视频檛 talked about it, we haven无毛视频檛 been disgruntled about it. We无毛视频檙e just OK, we无毛视频檝e got to get better and that无毛视频檚 been our goal, to try to improve.无毛视频�
The Mikes will again rely on a host of running backs led by senior Will Murray.
无毛视频淎s in year无毛视频檚 past we无毛视频檒l have a bunch of guys touch the ball,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淩ight now Will Murray will be our starting tailback. He无毛视频檚 another guy who无毛视频檚 done a good job for us this offseason. He无毛视频檚 looked quicker than he has in years past. He got a good bit of playing time as a sophomore and that continued over into his junior year. He was one of our go-to backs last year.
无毛视频淕age Kundly is a senior and he无毛视频檒l see carries from different spots in the backfield for us.无毛视频�
When it comes to throwing the ball, Stephen Lewis is the Mikes无毛视频� top target.
无毛视频淪tephen is a guy that played receiver for us last year and he无毛视频檚 a junior this year,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淲hat a hard-working kid he is. We expect him to be a major contributor for us on offense.
无毛视频淲e have a young guy who无毛视频檚 going to be a sophomore this year named K.C. Shook who无毛视频檚 put in a lot of hard work in the offseason too, and changed his body around. We look for him to get some touches and make some key contributions.无毛视频�
Carmichaels has some holes to fill in the trenches.
无毛视频淲e did lose three seniors on the offensive line,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淥ne that stands out the most is Bradley Schoenfeldt, who was 6-3, 280. He was just mauling guys last year, pushing them all the way to the sideline. He无毛视频檚 gone, as are Jacob Deems and Carson Hillsman.
无毛视频淏ut the guys that we have returning on the offensive line did get to play a good bit last year. So it无毛视频檚 not like this is their first time starting.无毛视频�
Carmichaels无毛视频� offensive style won无毛视频檛 change.
无毛视频淲e like our quarterback to be able to run it and throw it and we like to get multiple guys touches just to keep the defense honest where they can无毛视频檛 just key on one gut the whole time,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淭hat will stay consistent.无毛视频�
Senior Maddix Connelly anchors the Mikes defensive line.
无毛视频淢addix is going to be playing nose tackle for us. He无毛视频檚 a great, big guy, about 6-3, 330,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e expecting him to be a good, solid player for us up front and give these linebackers a little bit of freedom and time to find the football.无毛视频�
Junior Job Smith is another player Krull is counting on.
无毛视频淛ob played a good bit for us last year and was definitely a contributor,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淗e was the first guy to back any of our linebackers up and he did start a couple games for us. We无毛视频檙e expecting him to make a significant impact for us this year.无毛视频�
Like most Class A schools, the Mikes will be using plenty of two-way players.
无毛视频淲e do not have great depth,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淭his is the smallest roster we无毛视频檝e had since I无毛视频檝e been here. We无毛视频檝e got 25 guys currently on the roster. I don无毛视频檛 know how many of them are going to work themselves into position where they can see significant playing time on Friday nights.
无毛视频淲e tell our younger guys just because you无毛视频檙e a freshman or a sophomore doesn无毛视频檛 mean you can无毛视频檛 contribute. We无毛视频檙e hoping they do all the things we无毛视频檙e asking them to do so that they can contribute on Friday night and be a legitimate player for us, whether it无毛视频檚 being a key special teams player or a legitimate backup. We无毛视频檙e going to need them all. Hopefully those guys will take care of business but that remains to be seen.无毛视频�
One goal Krull无毛视频檚 team met last year was his plea for an increase in toughness.
无毛视频淚 was really proud of the way our guys responded last year from a physicality standpoint,无毛视频� Krull said.
Carmichaels held conference champion Jefferson-Morgan, which went unbeaten during the regular season, to its lowest point total of the season by a touchdown in a 21-6 loss.
无毛视频淭he Jefferson game I know we lost but I thought our guys played hard and played tough,无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淚t was 21-6 and it was 14-6 for a good bit of the game. We were able to hang with them but they scored one late on us.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 a credit to our guys believing in our coaches and buying in to what we无毛视频檙e selling in terms of if you无毛视频檙e going to play football, it无毛视频檚 a contact collision sport and if you无毛视频檙e not willing to have collisions then it无毛视频檚 going to be darn near impossible for us to have consistency. I thought our guys last year significantly improved from the physicality standpoint.
无毛视频淲e did have a couple hiccups last year, against Bentworth and California. Those were not good.无毛视频�
Krull again sees Jefferson-Morgan and California, the only conference team to win a playoff game, as the frontrunners again in the TCS.
无毛视频淓very team in a small-school conference like this has to deal with graduation.无毛视频� Krull said. 无毛视频淏ut with that being said, California and Jefferson-Morgan were the best two teams in the conference last year and I think both teams have good players returning and until somebody knocks them off, I无毛视频檇 look at them as the two favorites in the conference.无毛视频�
Krull无毛视频檚 coaching staff includes Joetta Andrews, Chad Caldwell, Fred Morecraft, John Morecraft, Brennen Pelzer, Ken Perkins, Dan Poland and Dave Rankin.