[mysonis55]

The Mayfield Cardinals finished the 2013 season as the state champions in 1a, with a record of 14-1. That 1 loss came to a then ranked #1 Caldwell Co of 2a by 7 points in Caldwell. While the Cardinals lost a very large senior class, they have lots still left in cupboard. The Cardinals 42 players from the 2013 roster returning. Out of those 42 returning 13 of them either started or saw a good amount of varsity playing time in the 2013 campaign. The other factor is that the reserves had to practice against the state champions for about 5 months.

The Cardinals return 3 of their top 5 receivers from last year. They have Lane Kennemore who had 542 receiving yards and Marshall Bacon who had 494 receiving yards. They also get Jordan Tyler back from Graves County. Jordan was one of the back up running backs to Jonathan Jackson in 2012. He moved and transferred to Graves County for the 2013 season. They also have Trajon Bright, who ran a 91 yard touchdown in the state championship game.

The question marks for the Cardinals this year are:
Can they replace the long standing Guhy tradition at qb?
Can they replace the 4 offensive linemen lost to graduation?
Can they replace the newly departed offensive coordinator?

The first question will be replaced in the following manner. The job will be entrusted to soph qb Landon Arnett. While the young Arnett may not have the arm and the experience of the older Guhy, he does have a set of wheels on him and is an intelligent kid. The other portion of this game plan is the back up of Lane Kennemore. If Arnett needs another year to develop, Kennemore will step in to that role. Kennemore is another headsy kid with great wheels and strong arm. Kennemore playing in that role would cause someone else to have to step up at receiver though. I feel like the young Arnett will rise to the occasion and this second scenario will not be necessary.

The answer to the second question is, "we are Mayfield". We always replace linemen. That is one of the strengths of the system. I recently spoke with one of the coaches, who said that our line this year will be bigger than the line of 2013.

The answer to the last question is a little more complicated. You do not replace a great mind like Hatchell at offensive coordinator. The solution is that Head Coach Joe Morris never was far from that roll. According to players and coaches alike, they advise that Joe was calling a big portion of the plays and the changes during games. This is so much the case that it is my understanding that they intend to hire a qb coach instead of offensive coordinator.

With all of this said, it would appear that the Cardinals should make another great run towards their ultimate goal of an 11th state championship. I feel as though the Cards may take a lump or 2 during the regular season to some out of class teams. They should have the system figured out by the time they start the district play and roll on in a usual manner.