Gautier football relying on new faces to fill key roles as 2017 season approaches

The Gautier football team has as many key players to replace as any squad on the Coast this season.

Former offensive tackle Paul Gainer is in the running for playing time as a freshman at Southern Miss while two other former standouts, offensive lineman Justin Scott and running back DeAndre Torrey, are at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Those are three players who played a major role in making Gautier a tough team to handle the last couple of seasons.

Gautier head coach Chris Peterson is hoping a young group of Gators can find a way to step up to the plate in his sixth season on the job.

It was an eventful offseason for Peterson, who resigned from his post in December, only to be reinstated to his job on July 10.

Peterson and Pascagoula-Gautier School District officials have declined to comment on the unusual turnabout.

Either way, Peterson is hoping to lead his team back to the postseason after coming up just shy in a 37-31 loss to Pascagoula in the regular season finale.

“I feel like we've had a good week and a half of practice so far. We're getting better every day,” Peterson said this week. “We're seeing more and more who can play every day and trying to just get at the point where we're trying to fine tune and sharpen headed into game week.”

Gautier returns its starting quarterback from a year ago in junior Kameron Kincaid, who threw for 693 yards and six touchdowns while running 115 times for 359 yards and three scores last season.

Kincaid will direct a different type of offense this season as the Gators transition back to the flexbone just like teams at George County, Vancleave and Gulfport have in the offseason.

“We kind of went back to some things these kids did in seventh, eighth and ninth grade,” Peterson said. “It's an ongoing adjustment. It's been a little tough, but they're catching on.

“(Kincaid) has had some good days and then at times you can tell he's working in a new offense. He's made mistakes, but that's all a part of the learning curve and growing process. He's a very talented player. We're going to need him to read the option.”

Junior Micah Kelly will lead the Gautier rushing attack this season after rushing 17 times for 121 yards and one touchdown last season. He will play a big role in replacing Torrey's 1,330 yards and 18 rushing scores from a year ago.

“Kelly is just a very talented football player,” Peterson said. “He runs extremely hard, doesn't mind lowering his shoulder. He'll have his number called a lot.”

Junior Chris Chandler and senior York Washington should pitch in at running back as well.

Junior Daylan Ray and Nazarrion Stallworth will be Gautier's top two targets at receiver.

Peterson likes what he describes as an experienced offensive line despite the graduations of Scott and Gainer. Sophomore senior Madden High (5-11, 225), junior Shone Hallman (5-11, 240) and senior tackle Mario Love (5-11, 265) are all returning starters. The players filling the other two spots on the line will be senior Arkevion Jordan (5-10, 210) and sophomore Seth Watson (5-9, 215).

Defense

The defensive line should be a strong group for the Gators with 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior Shaheim Carroll and senior D'Markeus Stallworth working at defensive end.

It will be a committee effort at nose tackle with senior Wendell Poole likely leading the way.

The linebacking corps will be led by inside backer Tennille Sellers, a junior.

“Sellers is a kid that can really strike you going downhill,” Peterson said. “He runs well and can make a lot of plays. He's just a junior and we expected big things out of him.”

The other linebackers pitching in will be senior Roman Miller, junior Franklin Young and Kelly.

Senior Ernest Miller and junior Kamron Mitchell are slated to be the two corners with senior Tab Burney and Stallworth manning the safety spots.

Gautier will also feature one of the best punter/kickers on the Coast in sophomore Kyle Gager, who accounted for 31 points last season.

This story was originally published August 12, 2017 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Gautier football relying on new faces to fill key roles as 2017 season approaches."