The 2021 version of the Harrisburg Bulldogs football team should show a great deal of maturity. Bolstered by nine seniors, the elder statesmen of the team have now played together for four years, three of those under the tutelage of head coach Steve Hopkins. With more than 40 years of coaching experience under his belt and the experience of the senior leadership, Harrisburg could be a force to be reckoned with in the Lewis & Clark Conference.

The consistency of playing in the same system two years in a row paid off last year. The Bulldogs played for the district championship and held their own for a half before falling to perennial powerhouse Marceline. Harrisburg finished the second 8-4 overall.

Losing Wyatt Robinson, the Lewis and Clark player of the year to graduation is an obvious drawback for the Bulldogs. But the mix of sophomores and juniors playing behind Robinson, and the four other seniors (Justus Whitaker, Kevin Raines, Dayton Samuels, and Gram Benton) bided their time, waiting for the 2021 season. 

With around 35 players expected to show up on Monday for the opening of fall practice, Hopkins is looking forward to having the numbers most Class 1 schools would consider a luxury. To top that off, 21 of those players are juniors or seniors. You can do the math, but that seems to make it look as if Harrisburg just may have the setup to make quite a run in the Lewis & Clark Conference this season, and for a few years to come.

“This just gives us the depth we’ve never had before,” said Hopkins. “We’re not starting a freshman and replacing him with a freshman. It really makes a difference having juniors and seniors in the key spots.

Hopkins said senior leadership will be the key in 2021. “They have been through the war. Seven of our seniors started as freshmen, playing both ways. They were beat up physically and I think a lot of other ways. Austyn Furlong and Brayton Stephenson have been playing offensive and defensive line for four years now and they are now young men and they were not as freshmen. They are tremendous, reliable offensive and defensive linemen.”

Hopkins said quarterback Tanner Lanes has been amazing. “If he was honest, I don’t know if he wanted to play after the first year. But he embraced it and last year the growth he made from his sophomore to junior year is just incredible. Now, he can run our no-huddle offense and knows where to put kids and takes responsibility to make sure they are lined up right. At the end of last year, he called one of the plays against Westran that ended up being a key touchdown by saying, ‘if we throw this, Coach, it will be open.’ And it was. He’s obviously a talented, big tall kid.”

Having a talented group of receivers certainly does not hurt. “They’ve all played catch with Tanner now for two, or in (senior) Jace Carr’s case where they played together even in grade school, it just makes a huge difference,” said Hopkins.

The offensive line has four returning starters with Brayton Stephenson anchoring as a two-time all-conference first-team player as well as all-district. “He’s just an extremely gifted athlete,” Hopkins said. “You don’t have many shot putters that run the leadoff leg of the 4x100-meter relay team, but we timed him in the 40 and he’s the fastest runner we have in the 40 and we’ll have him playing offensive tackle and defensive end.”

Austyn Furlong will return to the other tackle spot. Gaven Samuels, a sophomore who started last year will hold down the center position again this year. The two guards are juniors. “Logan Fritts may be one of the smartest guys on our football team,” said Hopkins. “I wish he had gotten more recognition last year. He was third-team all-conference, always in the right place, and is always able to figure the defense out. The other guard, Izik Butts, was a part-time starter last year and he will continue to improve as a junior. He’s the only one that hasn’t started 20-plus games, yet he has played in 20-plus games. Shane Pickett and Dakota Schmidt are both seniors that will be backups on the offensive line. It just gives us senior depth which again keeps us from having to plug a freshman to replace a senior. Max Tadzhibayev will be a junior who will rotate in as well. During the first part of the season, we hope to play at least seven or eight linemen rotating in and out to keep them fresh.”

At quarterback, Tanner Lanes cut his interception rate in half from 2019 to 2020, throwing for almost 1,400 yards with 17 touchdowns. He is rapidly approaching 4,000 passing yards with his entire senior season to go.

“His ability to run the offense is just night and day from his sophomore to junior years,” Hopkins said. “He’s going to do a really good job this year.”

Sophomore Hayven Samuels and junior Bryce Rowden will both will be running the ball. Hopkins called Samuels more of an angle-type runner with a bit of a wiggle, while Rowden has more power and is more of a one-cut runner. “We’ll be using both of them. They are both good receivers out of the backfield. We also still use a fullback as a point of attack blocker. Senior Gavin Curtis, our bowling ball with a head on top, is a tough inside runner. Another senior, Tanner Fike, and a junior Jordan Sager will lend versatility at that position. All of them will run, catch, and block above all else.”

As for the receiving corps, it may be the Bulldogs’ greatest strength. “My goodness, we’ve got receivers,” Hopkins said. Harrisburg boasts about a half-dozen players who can catch the ball. “They all know the routes and all have good speed for Class 1 kids,” said Hopkins. “Jace Carr gets the most attention. He lost four and a half games last year to injury last year. But then Anthony Alicea stepped up but then he got hurt. Austin Darwent then became a key receiver. Braden Wyatt and Brayden Ott both are great options at receiver as well.”

The defensive line and secondary are all returning starters. Gavin Curtis and Tanner Fike will move around on the defensive line with Brayton Stephenson lining up at one defensive end. On the other end of the line will be Logan Fritts. Gaven Samuels, Shane Pickett, Dakota Schmidt, and Max Tadhibayev will provide depth. 

Junior Bryce Rowden and sophomore Hayven Samuels will be the outside linebackers in the 4-3 defense while Izik Butts will anchor the middle. Junior Harley Whitaker will provide backup.

The defensive secondary boasts four returning starters in Jace Carr, Anthony Alicea, Austin Darwent, and Brayden Ott. “Those four will be our beginning point, with Whitaker and Braden Wyatt coming in on a five defensive back look,” Hopkins said.

Tanner Lanes will serve as a double-threat punter. He punts well and can also run the fake and pass for the first down.

Brayton Stephenson will handle the long-snapping duties for the fourth year in a row.

“The kickoff duties will be on a tryout basis, but every time we try to have someone replace Tanner Fike, he improves,” said Hopkins.

“We have good skill players, so I think we will do as well as our front kids do,” said Hopkins. “If we can block, we can do some really good things on offense. On defense, we’ve got to be solid up front because our linebackers are new. We’ve got to be able to protect them to succeed.”

The Bulldogs open the season at home against conference foe Paris on August 27. They will play in the preseason jamboree at CMU’s Davis Field in Fayette on August 20.