Coach: SIMMON HARJO
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OFFENSE
In the world of eight-man football it doesn’t take a whole lot of key people to have a successful team and new Midway Chargers coach Simmon Harjo is hopeful that might be the case with his team that saw many of its skill players graduate this past spring. “We have five players back that started at some point last year but basically we are learning a new system that includes several young and inexperienced players as well,” said Harjo who is installing a tight end/wing set with a gap scheme emphasizing the power and buck sweeps to set up the pass game. “The young men are eager to learn and compete and they desire to bring back pride to this program. We don’t have the size we had last year but we do have several skill players.” First and foremost, among those is quarterback Hunter Oliver (5-9, 145, Jr.) “Hunter is the leader of this team,” stated Harjo. “He has picked up the offense quick and he managed the team well during spring ball and team camps. His teammates respond well to his leadership.” At the running back spot look for Wyatt Durrett (5-10, 215, So.) to return from an injury that cut short his freshman year to pound the ball or take it wide to key the Chargers offense. The line will be anchored by two-way returning starter Jayden Simmons (5-11, 245, Jr.)
DEFENSE
“We will have to play physically up front to stop the run and still be athletic in our defensive coverages to be a good team defensively,” said Harjo. Simmons will be called on to be the stopper in the defensive line and the secondary will be anchored by a pair of seniors in Nathan Walker (5-10, 145) and Ian Walser (5-11, 150). “We’ll have multiple defensive schemes that we’ll use depending on the opponent,” said Harjo. After a string of winning seasons, the last two years have been rough for the Chargers who have returned to Class C after a couple of years in Class B. The Charger nation is hopeful that a new coach will bring new enthusiasm and dedication to get Midway back on the winning track in 2025. A nice plus for the Chargers is that the schedule gives them six home games this year.
SCHEDULE
8-29 – at Copan
9-5 – OPEN
9-12 – at Strother
9-19 – vs. Gans
9-26 – vs. Fox
10-3 – vs. Paoli
10-10 – at Sasakwa
10-16 – vs. Maud
10-24 – vs. Bowlegs
10-31 – at Maysville
11-7 – vs. Graham-Dustin
