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KHQA/ADVANCE PHYSICAL THERAPY BARNSTORM TOUR

STOP #15: HIGHLAND COUGARS

2009 RECORD: 0-10

RETURNING STARTERS: 4 on Offense, 4 on Defense

STRENGTHS: Quickness in the backfield, experience at quarterback

CONCERNS: Size in the trenches, adjusting to overall brand new style of football

ANOTHER NEW FACE HITS THE TRI-STATES: Shelbina native Kenny Grubb makes his high school head coaching debut this season with the Cougars, after spending some time in the high school and college ranks around Missouri and Kansas. He brings a fresh face and fresh perspective to Ewing, and from the early looks of what I saw in practice, these kids are buying into what he has to say, and for good reason.

T 'EM UP: The first new wrinkle in the Cougars' new look offense will pay large attention to the ground game. Junior starting quarterback Kamron Roberts will operate the Wing T for his team, and allow for a multitude of youthful backs to make some noise with the ground game. Chris Sparks will headline the attack, and the best news for this fullback to play in all ten games this year? The kid is only a sophomore. If this system clicks quickly for Highland, expect the ground game to get even more dangerous in years to come. Corbin Alderton is another halfback that will see lots of time on the field this year. The big thing I noticed from him is his unique ability to cut to the hole quicker than the average back.

THEY SECOND THE MOTION: Although not too many starters return from this defensive unit, an experienced load will hit the secondary once more. A lot of folks from that backfield should find their way to some playing time. Linebacker should be a pretty good unit as well, with juniors J.T. Gray and Matt Simmons making a return.

THEY'LL BE HERE FOR A WHILE: Another terrific positive for the Cougars this year: only FOUR seniors return to the team. Highland is stockpiled with juniors and sophomores this year. Coach Grubb recognizes the fact that turning Highland into a power won't be an overnight deal. Regardless of what happens this year, expect an enormous amount of experience to return to the team in 2011.

THE PLAYER YOU ALREADY KNOW: Kamron Roberts. The junior took over the starting role last year in midseason, and stepped in nicely. I noticed he's really been working on opening up the field for this upcoming season. Solid arm, and quick feet. I understand this new offense will have plenty of running involved, but if they want the home run play, they can definitely turn to this kid for it.

THE PLAYER YOU NEED TO KNOW BETTER: Levi Spangler. Kind of a tossup here between him and Tyler Olson. They'll both be anchoring both the offensive and defensive lines, and are already serving as player-coaches to the younger kids in the trenches. For the aforementioned Wing T to work, these backs will need some time and holes created for them. It all starts with these two kids. Time will tell if the rest of the line is ready for a varsity workload.

THE PLAYER WE DISCOVERED THIS AFTERNOON: Coach Grubb extremely hyped his backfield, but one person he has was pleasantly surprised by more than anyone else is Derrek Smith. He has an extreme burst of energy when he hits the field, and that has only been in practice alone. Look for Highland to utilize that speed to return punts and line him up on a few pass routes as well. Once again, the best part about Smith's game? Once again, he's another young gun that will help in the long run in the overhaul of Cougar football.