Churchill County Greenwave Season Preview

Churchill County Greenwave Season Preview

The high school football season begins later this month, with that being said we are previewing over twenty teams from our local area. Today's team: Churchill County.

Churchill County Greenwave

2022 record: 7-2 overall, 5-0 league

Head coach: Brooke Hill, fifteenth season as head coach (110-48 overall, 85-22 league in fourteen seasons at Churchill County)

Overview: Churchill County will look to rebound from a disappointing end to their season last fall, when they lost to visiting Spring Creek 21-20 in the playoffs, despite entering the 3A Northern Regional Playoffs as the overall No. 1 seed while completing an undefeated league season in the now defunct Northern 3A East League.

As the Greenwave prepare for the upcoming season, Coach Hill said the way last season ended left his kids "disappointed, and with a bad taste in our mouths." He did, however, say that it has "kept his kids hungry throughout the offseason," and that he hopes to see his team's "maturity come through this coming season."

Fallon will continue to employ their variation of the "Spread 'Pistol' Gun" on offense this season as they have consistently shown an ability to score points in bunches by tweaking it to the strengths of their personnel year in and year out. The Greenwave welcome back nine starters offensively from last year's regular season championship team.

Defensively, the Greenwave will continue with their even front, primarily showing a 4-2-5 look in an effort to keep defenses guessing where pressure can come from. You can expect eight returning starters to hit the field for the Greenwave defense this season. Coach Hill was excited that a majority of last season's team was primarily sophomores and juniors. He also said that his squad returns 34 letterwinners from last year, including 22 seniors.

Seniors to watch:

QB Bryce Adams, Senior: Last year's Northern 3A East League Offensive Player of the Year, Adams will be competing in his third year on Varsity for the Greenwave. In his first two seasons behind center, he has compiled 1,723 passing yards on 103 completions including 17 touchdowns. In fact, he has only thrown one interception in 170 attempts for the Greenwave. Adams also checks in with 144 rushing yards and a touchdown over the last two seasons. He will be looked upon to keep the offense rolling this season.

Athlete Ethan Tarner, Senior: Described by Coach Hill as an H-Back I will refer to Tarner as an Athlete as he can play on the defensive line and most skill positions offensively while handling the Greenwave's punting duties. Tarner is responsible for 46 receptions, 719 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns in his first two Varsity seasons. He has also tallied 35 tackles (32 solo), six tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on defense. Watch the tape, this kid gets it done.

Strength in the Trenches:

Offensive and Defensive Lines: During my conversation with Coach Hill, he mentioned his linemen multiple times, so I wanted to shout them out here. The Greenwave will look to Rafe Brown, Trevor Hyde, Garrett Payne, Sean Reeder, and Baylor Sandberg to control the line of scrimmage and make a difference for the Greenwave this season. Coach Hill said that the trenches set the tone and his team's keys to success this season are the belief and trust they have in one another, "they have a specialness about them."

The second and third levels:

LB's Rolland Grondin and Caden McKnight form a dynamic duo for the Greenwave in their two-man formation at linebacker. In their two seasons on Varsity they have combined for 164 tackles (138 solo), 15 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. It goes without saying these guys get it done.

DB's Brady Alves and Carter Paul are not to be outdone by their menacing LB's. In fact, it seems like they enjoy having the aforementioned duo play in front of them and cause havoc. Alves and Paul have totaled 112 tackles (82 solo), four tackles for loss, seven interceptions, and three fumble recoveries during their time on varsity making it hard for opposing offenses to "take the top off" or "be successful in running outside the tackles." Paul also doubles as a WR/PR.

Lastly, shoutout to Senior Kicker Cesar Gonzlaez who seems to always keep the Greenwave in control of field position as evidenced by his seven touchbacks on kickoffs last season.

Season schedule:

Aug. 18 at Reed

Sep. 1 at Galena

Sep. 8 vs. South Tahoe (Lake Tahoe, Calif.)

Sep. 15 at Sparks

Sep. 22 at Truckee (Calif.)

Sep. 29 vs. Fernley

Oct. 6 vs. Spring Creek

Oct. 13 at Elko

Oct. 20 vs. Lowry (Winnemucca, Nev.)

J. Ray Dockter has been covering high school sports since 2022. If you have a story worth telling let him know via Twitter @J_RayDoc.