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BRADLEY CENTRAL BEARS
Head coach: Damon Floyd (95-71 here and overall)
Returning starters: 6 offensive; 7 defensive
Last year's record: 8-4, lost in 6A second round
Key players: Gabe Campbell (6-4, 250) Sr. OL, Brody Morgan (6-0, 235) Jr. OL, Alex Dayton (6-1, 265) Sr. OL, Brayden Owen (5-10, 215) Sr. OL, Aiden McClary (6-3, 170) Sr. QB, Carter Howard (6-4, 270) Sr. TE
Season outlook: Three key players for the Bears heading into last season are now with Division I college programs. Quarterback Javin Burke signed with Virginia as an athlete prospect, twin brother Javon is a wide receiver at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after performing well at running back last fall, and defensive lineman C.J. Hardy is walking on at Eastern Kentucky.
Two more Bradley Central graduates went on to Division II program Tusculum - receiver Kanon Hall and offensive lineman Caden Moore - so Floyd will be leaning heavily on a veteran offensive line to hold up for McClary and allow a younger group of receivers and backs to grow on the job. Size won't be a problem for the Bears, with every line starter weighing at least 250 pounds and both tight ends (Howard and Josh Helsdon, who also plays defensive end) coming in at around 270.
The biggest challenge for a program that has averaged eight wins the past six seasons will be trying to gain that needed experience as quickly as possible at the skill positions against a relentless schedule that includes three road games in the season's first four weeks, with the opponents including in-county rivals Cleveland and Walker Valley.
"Talent will only get you so far," Floyd said. "There's so much they have to learn as far as the nuance of the game, but we're going to catch them up as quickly as we can. We've got good size and experience, and we can go at least seven players deep on the line and not see much of a dropoff. But what I really like about this group is that they will allow us to run multiple formations."