By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
It was a tale of two halves for Solomon Gorillas football in 2020, as the team lost their last five in a row after roaring out to a 4-0 start to their season.
With another year of experience under their belts, Solomon is confident that they can build off their early success from a season ago.
“We learned from our mistakes, studied, and got better this offseason,” Gorillas head coach Mike Kilgore said. “Now we’re back and ready to roll with more experience for 2021.”
While Solomon returns a number of key starters from the 2020 team, they will be without sophomore quarterback Spencer Coup for several weeks, who was expected to be the day one starter this season.
While Coup recovers, the job will be fought for between seniors Dylan Hines and Nevante Farris.
Hines will likely be the number one rushing option when Coup returns and will be joined in the backfield by fellow senior Jarrett Baxa.
The receiving corps will return Dawson Duryea and Spencer Krause, while the line brings back Kyle Ryan, Evan Thompson, Caden Acosta, and Scott Robinson.
On the defensive side of things, Solomon will once again have a number of two-way players, led by the linebacking duo of Dylan Hines and Jarrett Baxa.
In front of that tandem will be a stacked D-Line featuring Ryan Gray, Lucas Newcomer, and actual newcomer Hayden Zerbe, with Evan Thompson and Kyle Ryan on the rotation.
The secondary will be anchored by Dawson Duryea and Nevonte Farris, and will get a boost with the addition of Scott Robinson and the return of Caden Acosta.
With another year of experience, the camaraderie among the team is still being built and will be a critical factor to the Gorilla's success this season.
“We need to play more as a team and fight for each other to become more of a team,” Kilgore said.
Solomon will open their season at Rural Vista looking for a fifth consecutive victory over the Heat.