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KHQA BARNSTORM TOUR CAMP REPORTS

HANNIBAL PIRATES

Projected Team Strengths: Caleb Bieniek, Defensive Secondary, Team Speed, Running Back Depth, Jacob Borgmeyer, QB Stability

Projected Question Marks: Experience on Offensive/Defensive Line and Linebacker

ST CLAIR-ISMS: No coach in Tri State Football has a better mastery of description than Hannibal Skipper Mark St Clair, who entertains us yearly with his verbal "turns of phrase" in Camp. In that Department, Mark was a little off his game today but pulled it all together near the end of practice with his best offering in three years, telling a kid who missed a tackle "son, you look like you are hunting gopher out there" I have no idea what that even means and I have long since stopped trying to decipher the unique nuance of St Clair-ese. Mind you this is a man who often tells kids that tough opponents "go bear hunting with a stick" and a gentleman who has been know to pepper his lexicon with liberal use of the word "betwixt" Bottom line, there really isn't any other coach on the planet quite like Mark. Nor is there a staff more entertaining to watch verbally joust with one another.

ADVANCE PREPARATIONS: With the existing Quincy High "home and away" contract imperiled by the likely Western Big Six/Mid State Six merger, the Hannibal Pirates have already started looking for 2013 opponents to fill in in Week Two. The early front runner for that spot may be the newly created Battle High School in Columbia, Missouri which opens for business next Fall.

A PARALLEL UNIVERSE: This may be the first year I've covered a Mark St Clair coached team where the Hannibal boss had settled on a starting quarterback before mid-September. Therein lies the value of having a kid like Dalton Powell at the helm. Last year, Dalton jumped into the starting lineup for the Pirates in Week Three and his high IQ, unflappable demeanor, above average athleticism, and unfailing ability to avoid trouble with his decision making made him an absolute keeper. Now that Dalton has a full year of experience under his belt, the Pirate Coaching Staff is showing as much confidence in the kid as I can ever remember. The playbook has expanded, largely because Dalton handles it so well. More to the point, he's mastered the bread and butter of the Pirate Offense (see also his flawless reads on Midline) and now the Pirates are willing throwing more at him digest. Given that the kid posted a 32 on his ACT, methinks he will roll all that seamlessly.

BY COMMITTEE: How do the Pirates replace All Stater Logan Hicks at Tailback? With no one particular player. With no hyperbole, I tell you Hannibal has nine running backs who could probably contend for starters reps at 70% of the high schools in our area. Caleb Bieniek is obviously the biggest name in that mix, but he's so valuable on Defense, the Pirates like the luxury of getting him rest. Expect to see plenty of carries spread around to Luis Burton, Jahwaun Cassidy, and Junior Mitch Nichols, who may well end up being the tough yards workhorse of the group.

Nichols has really built himself up nicely in the weight room and provides a really nice strength/speed dynamic. Cassidy can flat fly. The Pirates are deeper at Running Back than the are anywhere else of the field and I suspect Hannibal might even try some "line change" type substitutions at times with the backfield.

THE SECRET WEAPON: It's hard to get noticed in a Secondary that features arguably the state's best Safety, but Lijah Harrison created a nice niche for himself in the Pirates loaded Defensive Backfield with 54 tackles a season ago and an All Conference nod. The kid is actually built more like a skinny Defensive End than a Defensive Back, but that just gives him more range in tracking down tackles. He's got a chance to become a really nice Wide Receiver type here as well. No school does a better job, year after year, in cultivating Defensive Backs and between Harrison, Bieniek and the incredibly athletic Jahwaun Cassidy, Jim Coniglio has the makings of another stellar group.

THE LINEBACKER PROBLEM: Actually, it doesn't appear to be problem at all, despite some significant graduation losses. The Pirates will be smaller, but more athletic this season, with Juniors Brett Wessell and (I believe) Wesley Hjelm leading a host of good candidates intent on manning the middle. Both are very mobile athletes and should benefit from playing behind a sizeable Defensive Line that will help keep them clean. Truth be told, there may be no better place in Tri State Football to play Linebacker, knowing you have both an All State and All Conference set of Defensive Backs to provide your safety net.

PLAYER OF GRAVITY: Caleb Bieniek. You were expecting someone else? He is the best run support Defensive Back I've seen in High School Football in my tenure (admittedly, I missed the Andre White era at Monroe City) and his explosion to the Football from point A to point B (the point of contact) is just unreal. I know Caleb is stopwatch fast but I guarantee you if you had him run a 40 yard dash with a kid to hit at the finish line, he'd probably drop a tenth of second. He's that kind of gamer. Strange that recruiting interest hasn't been more pronounced on the kid yet.

SLEEPER TO WATCH: Zach Riley. The 6'3" 260 pound Offensive Tackle/Defensive End has all the tools to be an absolute Difference Maker for a squad that could use a rainmaker on the Defensive Edge. Kid is thickly built and was throwing around truck tires in the Pirates "Country Fair" condition drill in a manner that would have made Chuck Liddell proud. If the light goes on for him, he has a chance to be a really special player. Don't sleep here on Austin Davis, who may well bookend with Riley on the Defensive Line. Davis has nice range and good feet. And I think it was Austin who also booted a 65 yard punt today in open Special Teams try-outs.

PROSPECT WATCH: Dylan Powell. One of a pair of Freshman who may see varsity duty this season. That established, Dylan looks nothing a like Freshman in pads at close to 6'5" and 225 pounds. Could play his way into some reps on either line. He's a heck of a basketball and baseball player as well, which suggests he has really good feet. Keep an eye out here as well for fellow ninth grader Jerry McBride, who is stuck in a logjam at Running Back but who has great bloodlines and top end speed.