The best defenders for the Cassville football team in recent years have had one major characteristic in common — toughness.

Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said this year’s cast of secondary and linebackers has that gritty nature, and they will need it.

“Toughness is the most underrated skill these guys can have,” Weldy said. “Of course you have to run and tackle, but toughness is a big part of it. Through my years here, our best defenders were smart and tough. They paid attention to their keys, knew what was coming and got through a block to make a play. These guys set the standard for physicality for our team.”

In the secondary, Weldy said players vying for starting spots include Trey Wilson and Hernan Hernandez, who both started last season; Garrett Ewing, who was injured in Week 2 last year and is itching to return; and Jake Anthonysz, a journeyman on the 2021 squad.

“Rotating in will be Kyle Bailey, Bodee Rose and Frank Osborne,” Weldy said. “We moves Garrett to safety, and he’s been a bright spot and is communicating well. Trey and Hernan are veterans and seniors that will help us out a lot. Jake played a little bit of everywhere last year, and he’s a hard-working kid that does everything he’s asked. Kyle is the same way.”

Reynolds, Weldy said, has a good chance to have success at safety, and Dakota Bowen should also get some reps.

Closer to the line of scrimmage, Keaton Shellenberger, Bryson Jacobson and Riley Ruark make up a linebacking corps that will also include Joseph Burton, Traiton Burnett and Isaac Hadlow.

“Keaton is a returning starter at linebacker and is a senior leader who has had a good summer,” Weldy said. “Him and Bryson are both playing really well. We have several other kids we will have at outside linebacker, like Kyle, Joseph and Riley.”

Weldy said the group has the skill to blitz, but he plans to use those plays carefully.

“Coach Ben Glidewell is teaching them right now to read and react and how to play football,” he said. “But, if we have an opportunity to blitz, we will. We have several kids that can get in the backfield and make plays, quick enough with some range.”

As the season nears, Weldy said he hopes the experience returning defensively will be a boon to the Cassville squad.

“We have a couple veterans out there and return more on defense than on offense,” he said. “So, we hope that leadership comes through and makes us a good football team. We are not massive anywhere, so we’ll have to be tough, quick and smart.

“We need these guys to always know what’s going on and to be our bell cows this year.”

Editor’s Note: This story is the fourth of a five-part series breaking down position groups within the Cassville football team.