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PREP FOOTBALL: HAAP has a new direction

marvin holman marvin., commercial-news, danville, ill.
·4 min read

Aug. 17—HOOPESTON — After making the playoffs in 2021, the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football team regressed last season.

So the Cornjerkers are going in a new direction this season with a new coach in Carrick MacDonald.

MacDonald was coach of Fisher High School but coached only JV games as the varsity program forfeited the season.

"They canceled the varsity season, so I coached the JV team, bit the bullet and coached them through the season," MacDonald said. "I loved those kids and I wasn't planning on leaving, but (Hoopeston Area Athletics Director) Nate Burkowski reached out after I talked to (former HAAP coach) Matthew Leskis and he offered me the job."

What MacDonald has seen after he has taken the job has impressed him and motivated him to make the Cornjerkers better in the future.

"I absolutely love it. The kids have bought into what we are trying to do," MacDonald said. "The biggest thing that has been surprising is how Hoopeston has not been consistently winning. There are a lot of athletes and a lot of talent. Coach Leskis did a great job taking them to the playoffs in 2021 for the first time in a long time. We want to make it the standard because we feel that we can do it every year."

MacDonald goes into the season without a key presence from last season in Anthony Zamora.

"We are replacing five on both sides of the ball and we lost a lot of production with Anthony Zamora," MacDonald said. "He was the quarterback last year and he was the vast majority of the offense. We have a lot of guys to get the ball to. Anthony's brother, Angel Zamora, is going to carry the load along with Ayden Larkin. Both of those guys are going to do a great job running behind the offensive line.

"Landon Freeman from Armstrong is a multi-year guy at the offensive and defensive lines. Kollin Asbury is another Armstrong kid who is the leading receptions leader returning Kendrick Sigerill is back and he had three sacks last year, Collin Young in back at linebacker and had over 100 total tackles last season. Those are the big guys. We have an idea about our quarterback, but we don't want to make it official yet."

While MacDonald is expecting some underclassmen newcomers to come in, he was pleased about a senior who is coming in to play.

"We have a lot of linemen in the freshman class that could see action, but someone that can help us right away is a senior defensive end from Armstrong named Chase Gravitt," MacDonald said. "He has never played football before, but he has made an impact already. No one that we have seen in intersquad practices can effectively block him. We are going to put him on the defensive line and he should do well."

While Fisher — a team in the Heart of Illinois Conference — didn't play many Vermilion Valley Conference teams, MacDonald said that he is starting to find out about his new school and conference.

"Fisher was a small school, so it is nice to come in to Hoopeston with a 320 enrollment with Armstrong, so you have some more players," MacDonald said. "We have 46 on the roster right now and it is better than some of the numbers in the past, but we are not happy with it. We want some more kids from Armstrong.

"I think the VVC is competitive. Bismarck comes to mind and coach (Mark) Dodd is a great coach and his reputation precedes himself. They are the team closes to us, so that is the team we want to beat ... a team that can make the playoffs every year."

The Cornjerkers will not have it easy, especially at the start of the season. HAAP will travel to Iroquois West on Week 1 before taking on Salt Fork and Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

"That is something we talked about that with our schedule, we are playing teams that have had success in the past early," MacDonald said. "I think that is good because it gives our kids a taste of what we have to do and to play these teams early in the season."

While there has been turnover in the HAAP coaching ranks, MacDonald said this season will be the start of a long, successful reign.

"I am excited to be here. I am the 6th head coach in 10 years and that is hard to have any success," MacDonald said. "We have good numbers and we are doing a good job turning things around culture-wise and establishing to be a plyer in the conference. I think we are closer than what a lot of people think in being among the top teams in the conference."