Churchill County Greenwave
Updated: September 12, 2024
By: J. Ray Dockter
We are officially four weeks into the high school football season in the northern part of the Silver State. Most teams have three to four games under their belts and even though my writing schedule got mixed up last month I will still be doing a handful of team previews over the next few weeks. Look for previews of Churchill County, Lowry, Elko, Spring Creek and Pershing County to be out in the coming weeks. Without further ado... Today's team is Churchill County.
Churchill County Greenwave
Head Coach: Calvin Connors, first season at Churchill County (Connors was previously a Graduate Assistant at Eastern Oregon as well as the WRs coach, Special Teams Coordinator and Offensive Coordinator at Lowry HS)
2023 Season Record: 7-4 overall, 5-2 league
Overview:
A new era is underway for the Greenwave. After 15 years at the helm Coach Brook Hill stepped down and Coach Calvin Connors has been chosen to succeed him and lead the next wave of football players through Churchill County.
Connors has huge shoes to fill as Hill was responsible for 115 wins (an average of more than 7.5 wins per season), two state championships, two state runner up finishes and two appearances in the state semi-finals while navigating the Greenwave through classification changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. Hill is a Greenwave graduate, and you could easily say he bleeds green, after all these years as the head man in charge. Good luck in retirement Coach Hill.
Connors will have his hands full as he is expecting to replace 23 graduated seniors this season. He was quick to point out that "[we] lack varsity experience headed into the season, but we have great athletes and a dominant group of linemen along the offensive and defensive fronts. We are prepared for the high's and low's that come with a lack of varsity experience."
Connors approach to coaching football is one that exudes a grateful attitude as he said "I like life a lot more with football in it," after having the last few seasons off during the fall. He doubled down on that saying he "enjoys putting a smile on their face." Connors has not taken for granted the impact being a football coach can have on player's lives - he said "[we can make a] huge impact in being around the kids as a coach and teacher, [the] kids give you a positive energy, and if we do a good job, they become leaders in our community."
Offensively the Greenwave will operate out of the "Spread gun" with some pistol concepts so that they can get the ball in their playmakers hands and hope to let them work. Coach Connors said, "[he] plans on making it exciting, we must block and get the rock - let our dudes be dudes and create in the open field." The hope is that the Greenwave can establish the run game; use power, counter and zone option to open up the passing game. Connors continued on stating "[we must do a good job of] highlighting what our players are best at, [we've got to] find what works best for us." The Greenwave might struggle initially as they break in four new [wide] receivers and return three offensive linemen. The strength of their team will be their ability to create plays with the guys on their roster. The Greenwave have identified some playmakers and leaders that'll make plays when needed, Connors said "fill in at your role, and get it done."
Defensively the Greenwave will cater towards their strengths and fit their scheme around their personnel on a game-by-game basis. Connors said the key to the Greenwave's success defensively will be to "make tackles in the open field, be assignment sound and make sure that our kids understand their role." He continued on saying "our job is to teach and influence them, we have to do our best to relate to the kids - teach them correctly so they receive our coaching correctly while knowing coverages and assignments each play." The Greenwave return four starters from last year's defense including three lineman and one linebacker while breaking in a new group of defensive backs. Connors said, "We've got to be elite in the second and third levels as well."
The key to the Greenwave's success this season will be to maintain a positive mentality during the highs and lows of a game. Connors said, "Great teams weather the storm, [sometimes] the offense picks us up, [sometimes] the defense picks us up." Look for the Greenwave to emphasis their special teams because it can change the momentum of a game. Connors said that the Greenwave must "play with confidence and maintain consistency."
Connors message to his team this season is simple. He believes that "[we] should leave the program better than when we found it. We must make a positive impact, strive to be our best every day. Understand the standard, clean up our area and always remember that we are representing Fallon as a community." Sounds like the Greenwave hired the right guy to continue their tradition, I'll be keeping an eye on this team as the season moves along.
Players to Watch:
OG/NG Trevor Hyde, Senior: A two-way starter on the offensive and defensive line Hyde is "a returning piece for us. [He] embraces what it means to be an o-lineman, leads by example and talks only when he needs to." He is a player who doesn't settle for anything less than his best and is admired for his work ethic. His biggest contributions are expected to come on the defensive side of the ball.
RB/LB Manny Karaway, Senior: Karaway is described as "the communicator, and leader on defense" as he starts at MLB for the Greenwave. Connors said, "[we] will look to him to make big plays and line up our guys effectively and efficiently."
OT/DT Garrett Payne, Senior: A vocal leader who steps up and keeps everyone accountable. Connors said "[He] leads by his work ethic; we are pleased by his production, and he impresses our coaching staff with who he is as a leader. He is a tone setter on the o-line."
RB Carson Melendy, Junior: Expected to be the starting running back for the Greenwave this season Melendy is a two-time State Champion Wrestler. Connors was quick to note that Melendy is "[a] hard-nosed kid that understands and embraces the grittiness of football and will get it done when things get tough."
WR/DB Maxton Richardson, Sophomore: Richardson was described as "an explosive guy who can get it done, [someone] we expect to get it done in all three phases of the game."
Season Schedule:
Aug. 16 vs. Reed
Aug. 23 vs. North Valleys
Aug. 30 Bye Week
Sep. 6 at Damonte Ranch
Sep. 13 at South (Lake) Tahoe (Calif.)
Sep. 20 vs. Sparks
Sep. 27 vs. Truckee (Calif.)
Oct. 4 at Fernley
Oct. 11 at Spring Creek
Oct. 18 vs. Elko
Oct. 25 at Lowry
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.
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