2025 Preview: White Knoll Timberwolves

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 season for the White Knoll Timberwolves was a bit of a wild ride.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They came out of the gates blazing hot, starting 4-1 and averaging 39.4 points per game. They then proceeded to lose four of their last five games of the regular season and went into the postseason ice cold. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Nick Pelham must've given his team quite the speech before postseason play started, as White Knoll rattled off three straight wins in the playoffs to advance to the semifinals and fell just five points shy of advancing into the state championship game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pelham has high hopes for his team again this season and the return of a key player in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172353' first='James' last='Smith']</strong> will be one of the focal points of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"In my 28 years of coaching, he's the smartest player I've ever been around," Pelham said when speaking about Smith. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He's got some savviness to him. He understands angles, he understands the concepts, we missed him terribly last year so we're excited about what he'll be able to do."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not just the return of one player or thing that will lead to success for White Knoll; it's the small things that they're trying to work on and become better at.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It's the small things that help us go farther," outside linebacker <strong>Jeremy Cokley</strong> said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Focus on the details and focusing on our discipline will take us where we need to be," defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1659953' first='Markeese' last='Winn']</strong> said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARS SET TO SHINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jeremy Cokley</strong> OLB, 2027 - Cokley (pictured above) received quite a bit of praise from Pelham because of his offseason work and growth in the weight room and on the field. Pelham even went as far as saying that Cokley will not only be one of the team's best players this season, but he will also stand out as one of the best players in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172353' first='James' last='Smith']</strong> DB, 2027 - As we noted above, Pelham mentioned how big the return of Smith will be this season. He started as a freshman on a 14-1 team two seasons ago but missed last season due to a torn ACL. His coaches and teammates are expecting to have a monster season on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1025815' first='Caleb' last='Geronomi']</strong> ATH, 2026 - Gerenomi is already committed to play for Richmond at the collegiate level, and it is for good reason. He did a lot of everything last season, finishing the year with 65 receptions for 975 yards. Defensively, he had 32 tackles, four passes defended and two interceptions. He will be a focal point at receiver and a 1,000-yard season is well within reach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592362' first='Josue' last='Esiki']</strong> MLB, 2027 - Esiki had a phenomenal 2024 season at linebacker, finishing with 87 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble, two passes defended, two interceptions and a blocked kick. The linebacker duo of he and Cokley gives White Knoll do of the better linebacker in the entire state and either of the two could definitely reach 100 tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FILM REVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning']</strong> RB, 2027 - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18510055/6771dd9ef32ccbf8bcd2cd0c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-687ba09750015"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY LOSSES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Landon Sharpe</strong> QB - Sharpe is the all-time leader in nearly every offensive category in the White Knoll record books and has started nearly every game of his high school career. He is now at Presbyterian College and will be more than capable of performing well there when given a chance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Donovan Sims</strong> OL - An offensive lineman being mentioned in this section isn't the most normal thing ever, but Pelham was adamant that Sims would be one of his biggest losses. He praised Sims' versatility and willingness to move to any spot on the offensive line when asked.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>UP-AND-COMING POTENTIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ryan Mobley</strong> WR/DB, 2028 - Mobley will be just a sophomore this season but Pelham expects him to be a bit of a Swiss army knife and play several positions this season. With quite a bit of offensive talent from last season gone, he could be in line for a mini breakout season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Charles Bieda</strong> LS, 2027 - It's not often that we get to include a long snapper on the list, but with both a top 10 punter and kicker in the state, the man that gets all that going with the snaps deserves some recognition. Bieda has shown his offseason all over his social media and he will be a key part of White Knoll's special teams' unit this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1718801,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jhais McKiever","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2409","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"White Knoll","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-687ba09751956"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McKeever will be following in the footsteps of a legendary White Knoll quarterback and that will be no easy task. He does have the talent to do it, and production should not be a problem. He has great arm strength and from watching him at 7-on-7s this spring, he will be just fine in taking the reins at quarterback after Sharpe.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->