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Photo by Drew Fleming Bryon Monical, left, and Ryan Rogers contend for a pass. Phoenix expands to wide-open offense By DON HUNT PHOENIX -- It has been six years since the once-proud Phoenix High football program has been to the state playoffs. A decade has gone by since the Pirates have won a playoff game. But with two notable changes in the coaching staff and the lion's share of last year's team intact, optimism runs high in Pirateville this fall. Gone is the failed experiment of co-head coaches. Joe Hagler returns for his ninth season with the Pirates while Les Aaker, who shared the head coaching duties with Hagler the past two seasons, has left. Equally newsworthy, passing game wizard Rich Zielony has been hired as the new offensive coordinator. The Pirates' impending aerial attack will be fun to run, exciting to watch and might even generate a win or two. "Making the playoffs is a realistic goal for this team," says Hagler, who coached the Pirates when they last advanced to the postseason in 1993. "We've got a lot of kids back who worked hard in the off-season, and just having a more stable (coaching) situation should be a big plus." Although Zielony's new double-slot, spread-the-field offense should keep opponents off-balance, the Pirates' strength will be on defense, where eight starters return. Strong safety Bryon Monical, who led the Pirates with 87 tackles last season, and free safety Theron Hull, who had five interceptions, lead the way. Tackles Travis Dunlap and Levi Cameron also return, as do inside linebackers Dave Westfall and Chris Loftin and outside 'backers Ben Kieffer and Cody Rombach. Hagler is also hoping that Kevin Wiltrout, a 190-pound nose guard who can bench press 300 pounds, and cornerback Nick Metcalf become eligible. Both were also starters last season. "We potentially could have 10 kids back on defense," Hagler says. "We're not a real big team, but these kids are quick and strong and eager to get better. "We'll probably do a lot of stunting and moving around to overcome our lack of size." The focal point of the offense will be junior quarterback Bobby Dawson, who started every game last season and showed flashes of greatness. "The big thing Bobby has done over the summer is develop a better touch," Hagler says. "Last year he would gun every pass, whether it was 35 yards or 5 yards. "He's also making better reads. I think he's going to have a good year." In Zieloney's offense, he'll need one. The Pirates will be in a double-slot formation much of the time, they'll go to triple receivers to one side of the field on occasion, and once in a while they'll line up with nary a running back behind Dawson. "The kids are having fun with this offense," Hagler says. "And I think teams will have trouble stopping it. There's a lot of formations, a lot of motion, and hopefully that will create some open receivers." Monical heads the Pirate receivers after earning second-team all-conference honors last season, while the 5-11, 197-pound Lofton will line up at fullback in single-back sets. The speedy Hull and Rombach are also expected to carry the ball and catch it. `Lofton is going to be a real good fullback," Hagler predicts. "He's worked hard in the weight room and he's got the mentality of a football player." Another player to watch is Joel Bath, who is out for the first time but will use his blazing quickness (4.6 in the 40) to return kicks. Hagler got a hint of how good his team can be when he took 20 of his players to the University of Oregon football camp in late June. "We matched up against several 4A schools and held our own," Hagler says. "And when once the kids got home you could see that their confidence had grown." Phoenix opens its season on Sept. 10 against Yreka and plays Douglas the following week. Those two teams outscored the Pirates by a combined 83-0 a year ago. "We had seven kids get hurt against Douglas and six of them were two-way starters," Hagler says. "That kind of set the tone for the rest of the year. We're anxious to play those teams again." Pirates at a glance COACH :Joe Hagler (eighth year, 24-38). ASSISTANTS : Phil Gibson (line coach, defensive coordinator), Rich Zielony (offensive coordinator, running backs), Neill Carvahlo (junior varsity), Jackson Gillette (junior varsity), Brent Watts (special teams), Eric Medley (special teams). 1997 LEAGUE RECORD : 2-5 (?????, Skyline). 1997 OVERALL RECORD : 2-7. PREDICTED FINISH THIS YEAR : ?????. 1998 REGULAR SEASON SCORES Phoenix Opponents 0 Yreka 35 0 Douglas 48 7 Mazama 31 20 Illinois Valley 28 15 Lakeview 6 0 Hidden Valley 26 14 North Valley 12 7 Henley 30 26 Rogue River 40 RETURNING STARTERS OFFENSE (4) : Quarterback Bobby Dawson (6-1, 205, jr.), Brian Monical (5-9, 165, sr.), tackle Justin Hall (6-4, 235, sr.), tackle Dave Westfall (5-11, 225, sr.). DEFENSE (6) :Strong safety Brian Monical, free safety Darren Hull (6-0, 174, sr.), inside linebacker Dave Westfall, tackle Levi Cameron (5-10, 238, sr.), tackle Travis Dunlap (6-2, 231, jr.), outside linebacker Ben Kieffer (6-2, 177, jr.), outside linebacker Cody Rombach (5-10, 168, jr.), inside linebacker Chris Loftin (5-11, 197, jr.). OTHER NOTABLES Center Craig Robins (5-10, 186, sr.); running back/cornerback Christian Heath (5-11, 168, sr.), wide receiver/cornerback Danny Goodwin (5-7, 140, sr.), running back/lionebacker Keanon Ferguson (6-1, 203, jr.), running back/linebacker Eric Kessler (6-1, 178, so.), offensive tackle David Wolford (6-0, 240, sr.), line backer Mike Duffell , moved from Crater, (6-2, 185, jr.), wide receiver/safety Joel Bath (5-8, 154, sr.), first yr, very quick, been out for cc, can be a starter, kick return, offensive guard/linebacker Ryan Rogers (6-1, 187, sr.), wide receiver/cornerback Aaron DeSilva (5-7, 158, jr.), offensive guard/noseguard Rick Brown (5-10, 207, so.), offensive guard/defensive tackle A.J. Reed (5-10, 212, jr.), wide receiver/linebacker Shawn Farrell (6-1, 178, jr.), running back/cornerback Floron McGee (5-11, 171, so.), offensive/defensive tackle Jason Wolford (5-10, 217, so.), center/linebacker Nick Acord (5-7, 162, so.), offensive guard/noseguard Brian Murphy (6-0, 191, so.) running back/cornerback Ricky Jimenez (5-10, 170, so.), running back/linebacker Tavita Valavala (5-9, 184, so.). 1999 Schedule Sept. 10 at Eagle Point, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17 CRATER, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 SOUTH MEDFORD, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 EUREKA, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 ROSEBURG, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Thurston, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 KLAMATH UNION, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 GRANTS PASS, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Ashland, 7:30 p.m. FOOTBALL 99 Index Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.