For Patton High School, choosing to forgo varsity football this fall wasn’t an easy decision, but it could turn out to be the right one, especially if the JV Panthers are able to build for the future.
That’s what this season is all about as first-year head coach Billy Whisenant prepares with a 19-man roster to contest 10 JV games this season, eight of which will be played on the road starting with Thursday’s trip to county rival East Burke.
“The big thing is that they’re playing and get experience,” Whisenant said. “That’s the best teaching model you can have is to just get out there, have some success, have some failures and learn from them. I think that’s where you’ve got to start and got to build. I can’t get too in-depth or too complicated, I’ve got to keep it kind of simple. We’ve probably only had seven practices since the decision was made, so I’ve had to rearrange and move kids around to get enough to be able to play, particularly linemen.
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“I think they’ve come a long way. Obviously, we’re not where we need to be. But going in with just JV, I guess the bright spot is we get, basically, the whole time to work with the kids. If we had a varsity and a JV, they’re getting split time and don’t get as much focus because you tend to focus on your varsity.”
While positives include increased one-on-one attention for players and less time for them to not be fully engaged in practices, there also are, of course, plenty of drawbacks. With fewer than 20 kids in the rotation, the JV Panthers haven’t been able to do some of the things teams normally like to do on the practice field, like go full-contact, as any injuries at this point would be detrimental.
“We went to a scrimmage and my linemen had 105 plays. None of them came out,” Whisenant said. “But again, that’s a learning process. If they can get through that, they can get through a JV game because there’s not 105 plays in a JV game. I’ve never been at a JV game with 105 plays, and I don’t know if I’d want to.
“So, there’s good sides and bad sides to it. I have a couple kids who have showed up in the last week who, once we get their (practice) days in, are hopefully going to add some depth. I’m hoping that kind of trend continues when we start school. I’m hoping to find a couple more. Obviously, we’ve got to get their days in, but then we can get them in the rotation and some kids can get a little bit of a break.”
One of the concerns for Patton will be hoping to avoid enough injuries to play the full 10-game slate and make as much growth as possible this season ahead of whatever is in store for the program in 2025 and beyond, including a varsity return, hopefully.
“I’ve pretty much taken all the hitting out of practice, just because you kind of have to,” Whisenant said. “I can’t sit out there and tackle to the ground when I don’t have a lot of kids. That’s always in the back of your mind.
“The goal is to get them 10 games.”