OTTUMWA —
The Ottumwa football team looks to revive it’s winning tradition this season under first-year coach Zach Pfantz.
It will be a season defined by changes: A new coach, a new offense, a new league, a new playoff system and, hopefully, a new result.
Ottumwa will try to prove that last year’s 3-7 season — the Bulldogs’ first losing season in 21 years — was an aberration rather than a new trend.
Hopefully, an energetic new coach coupled with a brand new offense will be the perfect antidote for what ailed the football team in 2011.
Pfantz, a former Central College co-defensive coordinator, said he’s satisfied with the work his players and coaching staff put in to practice and throughout the summer.
“I feel very good about our preparation,” he said. “As players and coaches we feel good about what we’re doing.”
Ottumwa’s schedule is a direct result of decisions made by the Iowa High School Athletic Association in November 2011 and January 2012.
The IHSAA decided to preserve conference play for the 24 teams participating in Class 4A football on the eastern side of the state, but it elected to split the 23 teams on the western side of the state into three divisions.
Ottumwa is among the western teams. The decision had the effect of making the CIML Metro league history and placing Ottumwa in Division 3, along with Mason City, Marshalltown, Dowling Catholic and CIML Metro rival Des Moines Hoover. The new division also will include the new school Ankeny Centennial, which won’t begin varsity play until 2013.
The IHSAA also changed the playoff qualification criteria for teams in western Iowa: The top four teams in each division will now qualify for the playoffs. This decision scrapped the old playoff point system that hurt the Class 4A teams who played against smaller schools. Since the old point system has been scrapped, Ottumwa will play old rivals Keokuk and Mount Pleasant — two Class 3A schools — from the now defunct “Southeast 7” Conference in weeks two and three of its season. Since 1907, the Bulldogs have played Keokuk 64 times and Mount Pleasant 57 times.
Ottumwa will look to its team captains for leadership and inspiration. And the coaches and players decided this year’s captains will be Tyler Johns, safety; Kyle Keck, wide receiver and quarterback; Jonah Wright, defensive tackle; Seth Griffiths, running back; and Shawn Foster; safety.
Griffith’s talents were on full display at the Bulldogs’ intra-squad scrimmage; he scored three touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards. Alex Goodvin will be behind center this season for the Bulldogs. The Ottumwa quarterback threw for 152 yards and fired three touchdowns during the scrimmage. Keck will hopefully be one of Goodvin’s most reliable offensive targets.
The “pistol” offense Pfantz has instituted is designed to spread the defense out, the coach said.
“It’s an offense where we have a lot of options,” he said. “It provides a lot of versatility.”
Aside from introducing a new offense, Pfantz also is going with a platoon strategy: His players will only play on one side of the ball.
“You can stay fresher, you can get more people involved, too,” Pfantz said. “You can devote all your practice time on that side of the ball.”
Pfantz’s affinity for the platoon approach isn’t solely influenced by pragmatic on-the-field calculations: It’s also a way to reward effort.
“If our guys are going to work hard in the offseason, we’re going to try and reward them,” he said.
The platoon strategy, however, isn’t set in stone.
“There are some guys who might see some time on both sides of the ball,” Pfantz said.
Ottumwa’s schedule also features former CIML rival Des Moines East, a road game at Indianola and season opener against the defending state champs Des Moines Valley at Schafer Stadium.
Ottumwa 2012 Varsity Football Schedule
Aug. 17 — West Des Moines Valley
Aug. 24 — At Keokuk
Aug. 31 — Mount Pleasant
Sept. 7 — Des Moines East
Sept. 14 — At Indianola
Sept. 21 — At Marshalltown*
Sept 28 — Mason City*
Oct. 5 — At Dowling Catholic*
Oct. 12 — Off
Oct 18 — Des Moines Hoover*
* Denotes Divisional Game
Sports
August 15, 2012
New-look Bulldogs prepare for new season
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