DEXTER -- Dexter football was always going to be better in 2017 than it was in 2016.
Last season, the team was switching from a spread option offense to a power running offense under new coach Kevin Goltra. There were four seniors, and the offensive line was mostly underclassmen.
Coach and gameplan all you want, but there's always going to be a big difference between kids who are 16 and 17 years old. As everyone added an extra candle to their respective birthday cakes, the Bearcats spent five days a week for nine straight months in the weightroom.
"We've got a couple of guys dead-liftin' 600 pounds plus. We've got 2-3 guys bench pressing 350-plus. It's pretty insane," senior linebacker and fullback Bo McMullin said.
Dexter got help from a community donation along the way.
"We've got whole new racks, everything. It's definitely like college, I'd say. It's real nice. All wood, Bearcat logos everywhere," senior running back Trevor McDonald said.
On the first day of practice Monday, 56 Bearcats showed up for a light lift and knocked it out in 20 minutes. Goltra said they couldn't have gotten done that fast in half the time with the old weight room.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a better weight room than we have right here in Southeast Missouri at the high school level," Goltra said.
With the help of a strong sophomore class, Dexter won the junior varsity and varsity divisions at a weight lifting competition back in February. The seniors added the offseason competition helps keep them motivated. More recently, Dexter won the lineman challenge a full contact camp in Farmington.
It also won 2 of 3 at the annual 7-on-7 competitions, including a win over Sikeston.
"We are so much more physical than last year, so very pleased," Goltra said. "We return almost everybody on both sides of the ball. We're going to miss a couple of seniors, but not much."
Senior Ben Sindle returns as the starting quarterback.
Goltra will primarily have Sindle taking snaps out of the pistol and shotgun formations this season where he was under center much of last year. The plays are the same, but Dexter consistently faced 10 players in the box last season. Goltra said the switch to the gun should pull a couple players out of the box and also make Sindle more comfortable.
'There's no doubt he runs the show well and being in no huddle fits his personality," Goltra said. "He struggled (last season) with getting pressure in his face, so being in the gun has been better for him already this summer."
In front of him, Christian Yarbro, Spencer Owens, Brock Simmons, Luke Boyer and Colten Gibson are slated to start on the offensive line.
"The line has gotten a lot better. We've got a couple of guys who have come back. I've finally manned up and gotten back on the offensive line. We've gotten much better. We're all bigger, faster, stronger," Yarbro said.
Tight End Gabe Jackson can be lumped into the list, as well. Jackson, at 6-feet, 4-inches, largely serves as an extra tackle on running plays in Goltra's scheme.
Goltra added that more players are going to play both ways this year.
"This year we are kind of throwing caution to the wind," he said. "Bo is playing linebacker and fullback. Corbin (Strong) is playing linebacker and running back, and we've got guys plying both ways. So we've got to be in no huddle to get in shape for that, as well."
Dexter opens the season at home against Ste. Genevieve on Aug. 18, which Goltra said will be a good litmus test for the rest of the season. Ste. Genevieve beat the Bearcats 42-7 last year and have won four straight Week 1 contests.
Dexter also gets New Madrid Central, Sikeston, Caruthersville and Malden at home this season and will travel for games against Poplar Bluff, Drexel with Miami, Kennett and Park Hills Central.
"We plan on going at least .500," said McMullin right before issuing challenges against pretty much every team on the schedule. "We're all excited. We're wanting to hit people. We're glad to be back on the field."