2010 Varsity Volleyball Schedule
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2010 VINTON COUNTY FOOTBALL PREVIEW

By PAUL BOGGS

McARTHUR — Justy Burleson isn’t employed in construction.

But, he does undertake the task of rebuilding the Vinton County High School football team.

After back-to-back 1-9 seasons in Vinton County, Burleson — simply put — seeks to right the Vikings’ ship which has fallen on hard times.

Under four-year head coach Nolan Yates — who resigned after last season — Vinton County failed to produce a winning record, and unfortunately saw its amount of injuries increase and its numbers decrease.

Burleson already knows something about building a program from the bottom, as he takes over Viking country after seven seasons as the head coach at South Gallia.

He led the Rebels to back-to-back Division VI, Region 23 playoff appearances in 2005 and 2006, and is the small school’s all-timewinningest coach with a record of 29-42.

He even started the Rebels’ reserve program, and basically built South Gallia football from the ground up.

But Burleson knows that Vinton County is a much larger school with much higher expectations.

The proud program last experienced a winning season in 2004, when it also qualified for the state football playoffs for the second time in school history.

Burleson begins building the Vikings back to that level.

Or so he hopes.

He discussed his transition to Vinton County, which hired him on March 1.

“I’ve been very happy with the overall transition,” he said. “The administration has been excellent to work with, and the other coaches in the other sports have been very supportive and have assisted me in making this move to Vinton County.”

Once in McArthur, Burleson said he and his staff “have attacked things from a three-point process.”

“First, we had to get a good strength program rolling. Second, we had to put together a good coaching staff that would enable our kids to learn the best quality of football. Third, it’s been making minor changes and tweaks, not only in the weight-room but also on the field,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of things that were in need of a major overhaul other than the strength program. From there, it’s teaching fundamentals on the field.”

But Burleson stressed improved strength, first and foremost.

“Our strength program has just paid huge dividends thus far,” he said. “Hopefully, we will see it throughout the season as a reduction in injuries and an improvement in performance. If you look at our numbers in the spring, we were pretty weak. There’s no other way to put it. It was one of the weakest teams I’ve seen for a Division III school. But the kids have bought into the strength program and we’re catching up pretty quickly.”

The numbers are also slightly up.

Burleson said he has 44 Vikings on the roster over the four grades, an increase from the 35-to-40 players of the past two seasons.

Many are returning, and have two or three years of varsity experience, but Burleson cautioned that several are playing new positions in the new 4-3 defense and new spread-back veer offense.

Offensively, the Vikings have long relied on the wishbone attack, including under Yates.

“We’ve had to make so many position changes, trying to get people in the right spots,” said Burleson. “When you’re building a program, you have to figure out where people need to play. We found out that a lot of guys needed to be switched around. They are performing a lot better and we’re getting a lot better results. We have to clean up a lot of technique, but it’s coming.”

While Burleson explained that “battles are going on all over the field and that nobody has nailed down a position,” there are some spots solidified.

“We’re going to put our best 11 on the field,” he said. “If you lose a battle, and you’re one of the best players, you’re going to play somewhere else. We’ll have a lot of guys playing just one way, which will enable us to substitute and give some guys some rest.”

Senior Adam Ward returns at quarterback for the third season, as returning running backs include Joey Batey, Curtis Lindner, Leif Smith and Matt Smallwood.

Smallwood is also working in at the slot position, along with Per Smith, as Smith, Michael Campbell and Ryan Disbennett are battling at split end.

The offensive line, said the coach, “is still shaking itself out a good bit.”

“We’ve had some injuries there, but we’ve got guys who keep on stepping up,” said Burleson.

Senior Tommy Mason returns at center, Brett Ousley and Michael Thompson take over at guard along with a healthy Cody Meachem, and Dustin Holsinger, Luke Bolton, Brendan Shipman, Josh Newman and Daniel Knapp are among the tackles.

Josh Boswell best fits the tight end spot, Burleson said.

Defensively, Holsinger, Bolton and Bo Graham are the ends, with the experienced linebackers considered the strength of the squad.

Those include Mason in the middle, Batey at the weak side and Smith at the strong side.

Ousley also expects to fill in at one of the three spots.

The secondary battle is between seven or eight Vikings, including Ward, Lindner and Shawn Thompson at cornerback and Boswell, Smallwood and Campbell at the safeties.

“We’re going to put our best 11 out there,” said Burleson.

One of the best ever at Vinton County — the athletic Andy Grillo — graduated, and was its only all-Southeast District honoree of a year ago.

Grillo was a three-time Division III all-district selection, including his senior season at wide receiver after making 37 receptions for 405 yards.

He set several school and even state records in his three varsity seasons, and is arguably the most decorated Viking male athlete ever.

But now the focus for the Vikings is Burleson beginning his building process.

“I’m not going to make predictions about wins and losses,” he said. “But these guys have to improve, step by step. We’re getting a better understanding of football around here. From schemes, spacing on the field, things of that nature, we’re doing a much better job. Our goal is to improve each week. If we see improvement, and take care of the little things, then the wins will eventually come.”

TVC welcome

Burleson is, and is not, a stranger to the Tri-Valley Conference.

As the coach at South Gallia, the Rebels faced several schools in the TVC-Hocking, of which they are now a member of.

But Burleson begins his league debut as well.

This will be his first season as a head coach in a conference, as South Gallia had been an independent since the school’s inception in the fall of 1996.

He offered his knowledge of the TVC.

“I’ve been around the TVC teams all my life. I’ve watched these teams in various capacities. When I was at River Valley as an assistant coach, we played Meigs,” he said. “I know a lot of the coaches in the TVC, and the TVC-Ohio is a very competitive conference by virtue of having so many sound coaches. There are a lot of guys that have playoff experience. There are a lot of guys that do just an excellent job of running a complete system.”

Schedule shifts

There are two major changes on the Vikings’ non-league schedule.

They play Piketon at home in week two and at Point Pleasant in week five.

Sandwiched in between is their annual week three matchup with Jackson and the fifth straight meeting with Waverly.

Vinton County beat Belpre 24-13 last season for its only victory, snapping a 16-game losing streak in the process.

But Belpre is now a member of the TVC-Hocking.

Prior to beating Belpre, the Maroon and White’s last win was at Unioto (33-19) in the season opener two years ago.

Speaking of which, the Vikings open at Unioto on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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