WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BROOKS LIONS?

The Elkmont Red Devils start region play today as they host the Brooks Lions.  Kickoff is at 7 pm.  Please respect reserve seating on the home side.

2014 Brooks Lions Breakdown

Offense:

The Lions were not much of a threat throwing the ball in 2013, something head coach Jerry Hill expects to change this season.  Brooks returns all of its skill players and all but one offensive linemen from last season. That includes running back Braden Tank, who ran for almost 800 yards, along with junior quarterback Tyce Thomas.
 

"Tyce was new to our team last year and he didn't have a clue what he was doing early in the season because we just threw him into the fire," Hill said. "He is miles ahead of where he was a year ago. He went to several camps this summer and really worked to get better.  The other thing that hurt our passing game last year was that all of our receivers were freshmen. They have matured a lot and all of them are 6-foot-1 or taller. We feel like we'll be able to throw it around this year."
 

Joe Gurley leads the young group of wide receivers. Sophomore Kolton Medley will also be used at wide receiver. Medley emerged as a play-maker last year as a freshman and will again be utilized in a number of different ways.

"Kolton will line up everywhere," Hill said. "We'll use him at quarterback, running back and in the slot. He's a guy that is very dangerous with the ball in his hands."

Seniors Matthew Moon and Peyton Brewer will be the leaders on the offensive line. Hill loves the fact that none of his offensive linemen will be asked to play defense this season. Brooks will continue to run a multiple offense, which includes the veer option. The Lions averaged 20.1 points per game in 2013, despite being held to 10 total points in their final three games.

Defense

The Lions lost their two leaders on defense in linebacker A.J. Flippo and defensive end Alex McDonald. There are several players returning with experience, although most of them are still young.

"We should have more depth defensively," Hill said. "We will be playing a lot of young guys, but they are used to playing together. Last year we were very vanilla defensively because of our youth. This year we should be able to mix things up more and go back to doing some of the things we've done in the past which we were not able to do a year ago."
 

Nose tackle Trent Tidwell started every game last year as a freshman and he gives the Lions good size up front. Seniors Koby Littrell and Tristan Bevis, along with sophomore Jake Whitehead give Brooks an experienced and talented group of linebackers.

 

Extra points

Hill is beginning his 11th season as head coach at his alma mater. He has an overall record of 85-33 and has led the Lions to a playoff berth in each of his previous 11 seasons. ... Brooks has qualified for the playoffs in 14 consecutive seasons. "Our kids expect to go to the playoffs and our community expects it as well," Hill said. "Making the playoffs last year with such a young team says a lot about our kids. Nobody wants to be the team that ends the playoff streak." ... After starting 13 freshmen in 2013, the Lions are a much more experienced team this year. 

Still, Brooks has only nine seniors on its roster and Hill said there is a lot of difference between an experienced senior and an experienced sophomore. "We've got a lot of young guys with experience, but physically and mentally they are still sophomores," he said. "They made a lot of progress in the last year, but they are still not fully developed physically. But they are tough kids and have progressed better than I expected."

source: Florence Times Daily

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