PORTSMOUTH —The Portsmouth Trojans, truth be told, could put up pinball-type offensive statistics for the past few football seasons.
But Bruce Kalb, in his sixth season as the Trojans’ head coach, is going back to his roots — to almost an offense the way of the dinosaur.
“It’s a very different team this year. You’re going to see a very different offense. A combination of the two (run and pass), but we will be much more run-heavy this year. We’ll be under center at least half the time, we’ll be back in the ‘I’, we’ll be running downhill. It’s almost a foreign type of football these days,” said Kalb. “But you do that because of the athletes you have. Last year, we had a plethora of athletes and skilled players that were playmakers. You had to get them the ball. This year, these kids possess a different skill set.”
New skill sets, new scheme, and new fresh faces for the Trojans of 2023 — as a dozen standout seniors graduated with several being three-year starters.
Even a new, or expanded, role for Kalb himself —as he takes over the line position coach duties, ones which he shared with former PHS standout and assistant coach Gerald Cadogan, who is now the Director of Athletics at Shawnee State University.
“I’ve gone back to being a position coach as well, and I am excited about that,” said Kalb. “It’s what is needed for the team and it’s what is needed for me. It’s easy to get lost in the human resources manager part of being a head coach. Now to be down there working with the big uglies everyday, it’s awesome.”
Kalb called plays as an offensive coordinator as an assistant at PHS — the job Aaron Duncan has now.
Kalb claims the strength of this squad is its offensive line —anchored by six-foot and 280-pound senior tackle Leo Poxes.
Dylan Sanderlin is the center and Landen Boren a guard, both juniors, as sophomores Charles Fletcher and Wesley Runyon are the other guard and tackle respectively.
Kalb is even bringing “the tight end spot back from the dead” —with six-foot two-inch and 200-pound senior Noah Livingston and sophomore Trevin Brooks.
“Our strength and size of our offensive line is the strength of our team this year,” said the coach. “We’re really excited to see how those guys get out there and play.”
The caveat is, of course, an inexperience factor for them.
There are 10 Trojan seniors, which means the bulk of the 50-man roster consists of either juniors or sophomores.
“We are thrilled to have so many juniors and sophomores, but they are inexperienced (on varsity level). Those guys, a lot of them played only JV last year. Last year’s senior class, many of them were three-year starters for us,” said Kalb.
Those included wide receiver and outside linebacker Reade Pendleton, a three-time first team all-Southeast District Division V wideout —as Pendleton made third team all-Ohio offense as a senior.
Tyler Duncan was Drew Roe’s backup for three years as a quarterback, as the pass-oriented Duncan also made first team all-district last year.
The Trojans also graduated two-time all-district first-team defender Brenden Truett, who made that unit as a linebacker last season —proceeding making it as a lineman the year before.
Portsmouth posted a 6-4 regular-season record, then —for the second consecutive campaign as the nine-seed in the expanded Ohio High School Athletic Association state playoffs —won a playoff bout in back-to-back years, its first such since 2001 and 2002.
A junior, J.T. Williams, was the projected starting signal-caller—but suffered an injury in the preseason, and is expected to be out of action early in the year.
Kalb spoke of the five-foot, six-inch and 154-pound Williams being a similar type of running threat which Roe —the Southeast District Division V Offensive Co-Player of the Year in 2021 —was.
“J.T. is cut from the same mold as Drew Roe,” raved Kalb. “Tyler Duncan was different, and we were very spoiled with Tyler. He’s a coach’s kid, and has had offensive football drilled in his head since day one. He’s played quarterback his whole life. J.T. is a little shorter in stature, but of the quarterbacks I’ve coached, he is much more in line with Drew Roe. His legs are just as much if not bigger of a weapon than his arm. It was Drew’s ability to extend plays that made him such a special quarterback. We expect something similar out of J.T. this year.”
His brother, 5-5 and 135-pound freshman Camron Williams, will be the starter in the interim.
Chase Heiland, another junior, has converted from wide receiver to halfback —as fellow junior Nick Copley and 5-11 and 212-pound senior fullback Levaughn Cobb are also expected to pick up plenty of carries.
Livingston, a Special Mention all-district choice last year but more noted as a linebacker, and senior receiver Nathaniel Berry (191 pounds) are the tallest Trojans on the roster — both listed at 6-2.
But Portsmouth does have another offensive arsenal in the form of a leg —that of senior and first team all-district placekicker Zach Roth (5-10, 168).
“What a weapon Zach Roth is. He is a soccer player who kicks for us, and you can tell his leg has gotten a lot stronger. It’s a pretty good feeling to have that if we sniff the red zone, we have a kicker than can get us three (points for a field goal),” said Kalb. “Especially with what we think our offensive philosophy will be, playing more ball control and pounding it out to get three or four yards per carry. That’s just going to open up our passing game that much more.”
Defensively, the up-front rotation includes Poxes, Boren, Cobb, Runyon, Alex McKenzie, Isaiah Krekeler and Jaylon Ball.
“We feel the strength of our defense is going to be our big guys up front,” said Kalb. “They are going to eat blocks and command double teams to let (Noah) Livingston and Dylan Sanderlin find those holes and get in the backfield.”
Heiland moves from cornerback to replace Pendleton at outside linebacker, while Copley is the other outside backer —with Livingston back at inside linebacker, and joined by Sanderlin and Brooks.
The secondary includes Kayleb Johnson and Landon Malone at cornerbacks, with Williams and Leeland Scurlock the safeties.
Only Rock Hill and Coal Grove are the two true run-oriented teams the Trojans will see on their entire schedule, which opened with visiting Valley for that annual opener on Thursday night.
Portsmouth plays at West on Aug. 25, and hosts an old OKAC member in the visiting Greenup County (Ky.) Musketeers to open September.
In the Ohio Valley Conference, the Trojans travel to Gallia Academy for the first time in four years, as Ironton —in its final season as a football member of the OVC —is once again the clear-cut favorite.
Aside from Ironton, having easily swept through the OVC in each of the past four years en route to three Division V state runners-up, Kalb believes the conference is markedly better.
“I think the league is much improved compared to last year across the board. I think everybody is improved in the league,” he said. “Ironton is on top of the mountain in the league, and everybody is going after them in this last year for them (in OVC).”
That includes the new-look Trojans, and their fresh faces with different sets of skills.
“We lack experience, but there is a bond with this team. They have fun together, and it’s that closeness that makes it that much more enjoyable for us as coaches. This year’s group, we have to take a few steps back and we teach them from the ground up,” said Kalb. “But it’s been a great summer and a fun experience in camp so far.”
Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @paulboggssports © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
