2022 Season Preview: Gilbert Indians

Chris Dearing July 20, 2022 @ 08:47 PM

Gilbert coach Chad Leaphart has a dilemma that a lot of coaches would like to have. The Indians have two 1,000 yards rushers returning in Alias Graham-Woodberry and [player_tooltip player_id="267430" first="Jaden" last="Allen-Hendrix"]. You can expect Leaphart to ride them as far as they can take him.   “They the strength of our team,” Leaphart said. “We want to maximize what they bring to the table so you might see us do a lot of different things with them this season. We didn’t really play them together much last year, but we might do more of that this season.”   Graham-Woodberry, a senior, is the smaller, shiftier of the two that ran for over 1,600 yards last year. Leaphart is having to get more creative in the use of his players this season. He’s typically been a one-platoon outfit but with only 12 seniors on the roster, he might use a lot of his kids both ways this season. Graham-Woodberry is likely to see time in the secondary as well.   Allen-Hendrix is just a junior, but he has an offer from Louisville among others. He’s 6-2, 230-pounds and runs into contact instead of away from it. He ran for over 1,000 yards last year. He could also play some at defensive end, safety, or linebacker.   Chance Jennings (pictured) was the quarterback last year despite his natural position being at wide receiver. He returns and he will see time under center again but how much might hinge on the development of junior Drake Braddock. Jennings has offers from The Citadel and Newberry. Jennings will also see action at cornerback.   The offensive line will be anchored by returners Blake Cooke and Nat Yon. Cooke was the Class 3A state champion in the Discus. He will also see time at defensive end. Senior center Nat Yon is back as well.   “We might have an opportunity to move Chance around some and get him the ball in space,” Leaphart said. “We should be pretty strong offensively. We want to go high-tempo and run about 80 to 90 plays a game.”   Defensively, the Indians are having to figure things out as they go. The offensive players already mentioned will likely fill some of the holes on a squad that only returns two starters from a season ago. Senior safety Jordan Smith is a big-time hitter that will be a three-year starter.   Junior OLB Brenden Boatwright is back and will be counted on to be the leader as far as calling the defensive sets.   Junior defensive tackle Kelvin Blackwell has a high motor that saw a lot of playing time last season but didn’t start. Two other players in that same category are junior middle linebacker Kyler Seigler and senior safety Jake Torbett.   “We have some holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball,” Leaphart said. “We don’t have a lot of experience on that side of the ball, but we saw some good things in the spring. We need to get them ready in the non-region portion of the schedule and be ready to roll when region play starts.”   The three losses last year for Gilbert last year came by a total of 11 points. The schedule is daunting but one that Leaphart feels will have his team ready for the postseason.   The Indians open the season with a rivalry game with Batesburg-Leesville before playing South Aiken, Pelion, Lexington, and Saluda in the non-region. Gilbert has not played Batesburg-Leesville or Pelion in the last two years because of covid restrictions.   The region portion of the schedule will begin with Lower Richland before moving on to Swansea, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Dreher and Brookland-Cayce.

Gilbert coach Chad Leaphart has a dilemma that a lot of coaches would like to have. The Indians have two 1,000 yards rushers returning in Alias Graham-Woodberry and Jaden Allen-Hendrix Jaden Allen-Hendrix 6'2" | 230 lbs | RB Irmo | 2024 State SC . You can expect Leaphart to ride them as far as they can take him.