Sweet 16 Football Preview: Mallard Creek moves forward in Kennedy Tinsley’s 3rd season
Editor’s Note: The Observer is taking a look at the 16 teams that are ranked in the preseason Sweet 16 prep football poll, released in random order. The true order of the teams will be revealed later this month.
Mallard Creek football has moved to the 200-level classes.
Third-year head coach Kennedy Tinsley brought back 17 starters from last year’s squad, continuity that allows him to move past teaching the basics of his playbook and instead impart the details that could allow his team to build off last year’s playoff run.
“It’s a next level of teaching, so we’re further ahead than we were before,” Tinsley said. “We’re still coaching hard but it’s that next level of the details that allow us to execute.”
Tinsley sees that next level of teaching showing up in the team’s run game, where both sides of the ball understand their assignments well.
They “are a little bit faster to the spots,” Tinsley said. “That’s the huge difference.”
The Mavericks also added an all-state quarterback from Charlotte Latin, Justin Wheeler, a key piece that Tinsley thinks could push them forward.
Wheeler showed his electric abilities during a power-read in the first week of practice, housing a 70-yard touchdown. The Mavericks aren’t in full contact yet, but the quarterback’s game-breaking ability caught Tinsley’s eye.
“We were really excited. And like I said, last year, we just really struggled to have that kind of offensive success,” he said.
Wheeler, a senior, threw 22 touchdowns, ran for four more and threw just nine interceptions as a junior at Charlotte Latin per MaxPreps.
This season, he’ll throw to senior D.J Hamilton, who’s expected to play wide receiver and defensive back for Mallard Creek (he switches positions at halftime).
Hamilton feels Wheeler will be a good addition, saying that the two often work out together outside of practice. That kind of work will be key for Wheeler, one of the few players on Tinsley’s squad who has to learn a brand new system.
“It’s a lot different from where I was at last year ... I’m not going to say [the change] was easy but I still fought through it,” Wheeler said. “It’s going great right now.”
Quarterback isn’t the only spot where the Mavericks see growth, as players praised the team’s offensive line for their performance in camp.
Senior linebacker Michael Short echoed that sentiment, saying that the offensive’s ascension has forced the defense to step their game up and that “we’re all going to rise up as a team together.”
The players know that stars and championships fill Mallard Creek’s legacy, but they’re keeping themselves focused on what they can control.
“We all here,” Hamilton said. “(We’re) a family and we’re gonna take it day by day on our journey.”
MALLARD CREEK
Head Coach: Kennedy Tinsley (3rd year as Mallard Creek head coach).
2021 Record: 6-5 (3-3 in the Queen City Athletic Conference).
Conference: Queen City Athletic Conference/4A.
Returning Starters: 17
Key Returning Starters: Darren James (D.J.) Hamilton, Sr., WR/DB (5-11, 185); Umar Rockhead, Jr., OL/DL (6-4, 240); Ishaun Abdul-Ali, Sr., DL (6-2, 250); Michael Short, Sr., LB (6-3, 235); Jaylen Bowden, Sr., WR/DB (6-2, 165); Tomar Bivens, Sr., RB (5-11, 195); Ben Black, Jr., WR/DB (5-11, 160); Marquis Harris, Sr., RB/DB (5-8, 160)
Other Key Returnees: Isaiah Mason, Sr., WR/DB (6-0, 160); Tre Robinson, Jr., QB (5-10, 165); Khalil Ali, Jr., RB (5-10, 175).
This story was originally published August 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
