Neuqua preview: Ready to keep them honest

Neuqua Valley will rely on quarterback Alex Lincoln, center, and his experience this season. The tailback tandem of Nathaniel Pena, left, and Desmond Nolen will help move the ball on the ground, but an increased emphasis on the pass will be key for the Wildcats after the graduation of Anton Wilkins, the school's career rushing leader.
(Jonathan Miano/Staff photographer)

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Nathaniel Pena is not Anton Wilkins. Desmond Nolen is not Anton Wilkins.

And Neuqua Valley doesn't need either one of them to be. What the Wildcats need is for everybody to be themselves for the 2008 season. That should be enough to keep the Wildcats in contention for the Upstate Eight Conference title and a seventh consecutive postseason trip.

"I come out and play football to help the team out," said Nolen, a senior running back who missed most of last season with a broken right ankle. "I know people say you have to live up to (Wilkins), but you just have to be your own person. You've got to always aim to be better."

Nolen and Pena are expected to vie for the carries once given to Wilkins, the school's career leading rusher who is now a freshman at Southern Illinois. Wilkins was the latest in a direct line of talented Neuqua tailbacks that started with Mike Genslinger in 2003 and included Alan Smith, now a redshirt freshman at Northern Illinois.

That earned the Wildcats the reputation as a run-dominated team, which coach Bryan Wells said has been a knock against his program. But for those who were watching the Wildcats last season, that knock is becoming a thing of the past.

Neuqua, behind quarterback Alex Lincoln, began opening up the offense midway through last season. After averaging only 88.2 passing yards per game through Week 5, the Wildcats increased their average to more than 150 yards the remainder of the season.

It helped spark the team to recover from its 2-4 start. The Wildcats then won four games in a row, including a 31-14 victory over Lyons Township in the opening round of the playoffs - only the second postseason victory in Neuqua history.

"I've probably been the one to put the brakes on things in terms of being creative (with the offense)," Wells said. "The stuff you saw (last year) had already been in our package, but the lid had just never been taken off. So we just took the lid off and dumped everything out."

The plan is to continue doing that, especially because Lincoln returns under center. Wells said Lincoln's experience will help offset the callow backfield of Nolen and Pena. At the same time, Lincoln will have multiple targets to move the ball, including Conner Yearian and Western Michigan-bound Josh Schaffer.

"Our receiving corps is deep, real deep," said Lincoln, who threw for 1,146 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. "My job is just to throw it up there and one of them will go catch it. I like it better that we don't have to rely on one guy to get us a first down."

There will be some changes on the defensive side, too, where Wells assumes the play-calling role. Former defensive coordinator David Perry stepped down to coach the freshman team to have more free time to spend with his family.

"We've got a secret package coming, but I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about that," said cornerback Owen Larson, whose 53 tackles last season are the highest among returning players. "We're going to need a lot of young guys to step up on the defensive line, but other than that I think we're going to be fine."