The Knights went 17-1-1 last season and graduated the bulk of its experience from a program that went 50-7-1 over the past three seasons.
The preseason has been spent trying to figure out how to integrate the program’s young players with several experienced seniors, said Knights coach Jeff Nickles, who is entering his 17th season.
“It’s been a very careful process of figuring out whose fit to play where,” Nickles said. “We graduated 10 seniors, but we brought in 11 freshmen. The numbers haven’t changed much for us, but finding the right fit for people to play different positions. … There’s been a lot of work over the last few weeks trying to figure out all of the moving parts.”
Greenon returns four seniors who played key roles on last year’s district final squad — midfielder Clayton Minteer (14 goals, 11 assists), midfielder Jaden Journell (18 goals, seven assists) and forward Masonn Hayslip (10 goals, eight assists). Senior defender David Duffey will lead the Knights defensive unit.
“It’s a small senior class, but they’re a tight group,” Nickles said. “They know the general philosophy and they’ve all had plenty of minutes in the last couple of years. Their experience is really going to be critical for some of those younger players who will see some of that time this year. Some of those guys will be playing varsity for the first time ever. It will be incumbent upon these seniors to help guide the way.”
They have several freshmen who will play a key role on the squad, including midfielders Grady Bowman and Deon Emrick.
With less experience, the Knights will increase the “attitude and effort” this fall to make a run at the league title, Nickles said.
“We’re getting that out of a lot of the younger guys, but I think there’s going to be a lot of trial and error this year about who’s going to fit in best to the overall team makeup,” he said.
The youthful squad has reenergized Nickles, he said.
“Last year, there’s not a lot to do,” Nickles said. “I was more like a cheerleader than anything else. This year, there’s been a lot of teaching, instruction and fitness. When you get a big freshman class, they don’t know what to expect and it’s a wakeup call for some of them. It’s an exciting year because we can get back to hands-on instruction and a lot of the newer guys are like sponges because they want to learn whatever they can to get varsity minutes.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Eben Dewhurst, Shawnee: The Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division Player of the Year had 197 saves and led the conference with seven shutouts.
Brenden Wildman, Northwestern: The junior scored 43 points last season, including 20 goals and three assists for the Warriors last fall.
Tyler Galluch, Catholic Central: The junior had 20 goals for the Irish a year ago, earning All-OHC first team honors.
Clayton Minteer, Greenon: The senior had 14 goals and 11 assists for the Knights last season.
Brody Burcham, Springfield: The sophomore midfielder scored four goals last year and already has six goals through two games this fall.
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