Charleston FB working hard, gaining interest for bounce-back year

Charleston High School senior football player Ji'Keiss Walker runs a 40-yard dash at a recent football Combine at Dexter High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

There is a world of difference between coaching football at a school like Charleston, as opposed to a much larger school district.

Economics, family structure, academics, and more, can all play a factor in how much a program is impacted. When a program such as the Blue Jays loses three or four kids, for whatever reason, those departures can be much more significant than if veteran Charleston coach Justin Hutchings had 80 players to select from.

“Right now,” Hutchings said recently, “we’re trying to get numbers out.”

The Blue Jays recently took part in a Combine at Dexter High School along with the host Bearcats, Fredericktown, and Caruthersville, and Hutchings has been pleased with the effort his student-athletes have put forth this summer.

“Their attitudes have been great,” Hutchings said of this off-season. “The guys are working really hard.”

Two seasons ago, the Blue Jays were soaring, as they won eight games, including a pair of postseason games in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 playoffs. However, graduation took a toll on Charleston a year ago, and Hutchings’ team fell to just a couple of victories.

“We are looking to be a lot more experienced (this fall),” Hutchings said. “Last year, we had a lot of older guys (eight seniors), but it was their first year coming out. So, we were very inexperienced.

“This year, we are going to be a lot more experienced, especially up front.”

Of the 31 returning players from the 2023 roster, 15 will comprise the sophomore class this fall.

Hutchings said he has had approximately 40 guys training this off-season, including 15 freshmen.

“We’ve got two young groups who are really good,” Hutchings said. “Our incoming freshmen and sophomores are working really hard. That is what we have been trying to build this whole time is consistency.

“(Success) is about experience and getting the guys out. They have all been showing up and working really hard.”

Hutchings has his athletes doing strength training in the mornings, with speed training on Wednesdays, which is something that Hutchings specializes in.

He also serves as the Blue Jays track and field coach in the springs, and his boy’s squad won the MSHSAA Class 2 State Championship in 2023 and finished seventh as a team this past spring.

“We are going to have more experience at running back,” Hutchings continued, “and more experience at quarterback.”

The Blue Jays have been implementing their offensive calls this summer while Hutchings said he is going back to the defensive system he ran in 2023, as opposed to the one he experimented with last fall.

“We have been doing a really good job of learning what we are supposed to be doing,” Hutchings said. “They are already picking up on (the new defense) pretty well.”

Charleston will return All-SEMO Conference tight end, Deshaun Henderson, as well as all-conference selections Mor’Tonion Hall (offensive line), and Keishundrau Orr (offensive and defensive line).

The Blue Jays will open the 2024 season on August 30 at Kelly.