Team Preview by: Ed Cerise with information provided by Jason Stucki

Rexburg, ID – This version of the Lionz isn’t the same version the RMFL has come to know. During the 2007 off-season no team has experienced more changes than the Lionz, and trust me the changes have not been positive. Typically, during a normal off-season, RMFL teams see some turnover here and there. The Lionz experienced an abnormal amount of turnover this past off-season, so much so they requested to be designated a AA team. This was unheard of considering the previous season they were a playoff team in AAA. How could this happen? Lion GM Jason Stucki described his key losses for the season as, “There are too many to list. We have lost most starters from the last several years and are pretty much rebuilding.” Sometimes you have to take words like that with a grain of salt. When you review their roster of 28 and their projected starters it’s easy to understand why Stucki requested AA. Not only will the Lionz be a AA team this year, they may be one of the lower ranked teams in AA.

With loses to the coaching staff (Head Coach Rick Hilder) and players Nate Brown, Guy Givens, Russel Patterson, Ammon Kanonohi, Kelli Gibson, Alan Cotton, and Brandon Hawkes to name a few, the term Re-Building year is an understatement. With Coach Hilder no longer in the picture Stucki will take over as Head Coach while Kyle Stucki will be taking over the defense, both are new to coaching and will have their shares of ups and downs this season.

KEY ADDITIONS:

Robert Dilgard – Tight End

Derrick Marcroft – Running back

Brian Mclain – Quarterback

KEY LOSSES:

Too many to list

OFFENSE:

Offensively the Lionz will attempt to maintain the offensive presence they had in the past with Hilder at the helm. Trying to spread the ball around to various receivers, unlike years past they are missing a leader like Barber and Doughtery. Brian McLain (6’-3” 220) will have some big shoes to fill and could be under constant pressure from opposing fronts making this a very difficult debut for the first year player. McLain will do his best to get the ball to his targets of Dakota Elliot (6’-5” 220) at tight end and Aaron Wilson (5’-9” 190) and Rhett Briggs (6’-2” 184) at receiver. At running back look for Robert Dilgard (5’-9” 185) to take some focus off of McLain. The O-line is another area that has been revamped due to player losses. The guys that will attempt to fill the holes will be the huge Nate Maw (6’-3” 305), Nick (6’-3” 365), and John Miller, and Tyson Bergeson (5’-10” 225). The Line although big will have to basically play both ways, which will hurt their production. Typically Offenses take the longest time to gel with an entire new offense this could be a rough year offensively for the Lionz.

DEFENSE:

The defense will be lead this season by new Coordinator Kyle Stucki who had previously played for Madison High School as well as Ricks College. Coach Stucki is going to have his hands full this season. Not only is he trying to rebuild a defense he has to do it with basically a whole new team. The front four will be lead by the large and agile Dakota Elliot (6’-5” 220) along with Nick Miller (6’-3” 365), Tyson Bergeson (5’-10” 225), and Chris Ivie. Keep in mind this Line is going to have its work cut for them considering most of them will be going both ways. At Line backers the Lionz will have the trio of Cody Collette (5’-11” 150), Jace Briggs (6’-0” 210), and Braxton Mouser (6’-1” 250). Although this is not the largest Line backing crew in the RMFL they are quick and should do well. Keep in mind these LB’s are going to have a lot of pressure on them especially if that D-Line gets tired. The secondary will include Matt Collette (5’-10” 155), Chet Bergeson (5’-6” 140), Jayson Geisler (5’-8” 174), and Aaron Wilson (5’-9” 190).

SUMMARY:

When teams talk about rebuild, I think that is an understatement for the Lionz, they could be better described as an expansion team. With the smallest roster in AA, the Lionz are hoping for more students to come out once the weather starts to warm up. If I hadn’t seen their roster myself I wouldn’t believe it. What a difference a year makes, after being a AAA playoff team to barely having enough players to field a team. I originally had the Lionz ranked higher based on the history I knew of this organization. I may have to consider my ranking due to what I have seen here. There are always the naysayers who simply feel the Lionz are sandbagging. I guess we’ll have to find out. This could be a very long season for the Lionz and if things continue the way they are it may be a while before the Lionz are able to field a team that will compete for the championship. The only reason the Lionz aren’t ranked higher is because of their long history as one of the better teams in the RMFL and them being a AAA playoff team last season. It’s very hard to imagine such a complete turnaround. I do expect the Lionz to win a couple of games this season.

OVERALL RANKING: 8th