WHITEHALL — The question has repeated a lot in recent years at Whitehall: How are you going to replace this guy? That's life when seniors are leading you to conference titles and playoff berths every year.
It's the reality the Vikings face again this year as many key parts of the 2024 district title team have moved on, including Division I athletes Camden Thompson and Gavin Craner. Coach Tony Sigmon, entering year 13 at the helm, is used to it by now.
"For us, the biggest thing is, it's more of a track mindset," Sigmon said. "Pass the baton. It's your turn to run the race. We've had a lot of seniors here this year where maybe they had to wait their turn...They're ready. They're poised. They've shown that in a variety of ways, whether that's been the random Tuesday in February in the weight room or a 7-on-7 or a lift in the summer.
"These guys have done what we've asked them to. Our kids have gotten stronger. They've put the sweat in the bucket."
Thompson's old quarterback spot is certainly one of intrigue for the Vikings this year, and Whitehall has another good athlete back there - senior Cole Essebaggers, who played defensive back a year ago. At 6-3 and 190 pounds, he's not much smaller than Thompson, and Sigmon said he's displayed strong ability as a runner, so that can again be expected as part of the Whitehall offense.
What the Vikings may not be able to do is get into bad situations and reasonably expect theatrical escapes, as Thompson pulled off a lot last year and Kyle Stratton did the year before.
"We've got to be on schedule as far as our offense," Sigmon said. "I think 2nd-and-15 will kill us. We've had some people that have been remarkably dynamic in the past, and it's just like, 'They're going to bail us out.' What's interesting about this team is that it can be a great team, and it's going to take everybody to be a part of the team and embrace their roles in order for this to be successful. Those are also sometimes the funnest teams to coach."
Essebaggers will have the benefit of experienced weapons to throw the ball to. Hunter Osborne is back after scoring both Whitehall touchdowns in the district title game last year, and Corde Anderson presents a big, athletic target as well. Both those two should be major parts of the defense to boot.
Whitehall also has an embarrassment of riches at running back. Any of five players, Sigmon said, would in an average year be a perfectly fine choice as the feature back. As it is, seniors Hunter Peterson and Max Krukowski and juniors Liam Leeke, Andrew Zuniga and Wyatt McFarren will vie for carries.
Returning all-conference performer Jamison Jeffery anchors the lines, and Peterson is ready to build on the experience he gained last season after injuries forced him into a big role at linebacker. Krukowski is also poised to feature at that position, and Colton Kyser is credited with a lot of work in the weight room to get himself ready for the rigors of West Michigan varsity football.
"He looks like that outside linebacker that we've had now, really, since Connor Young and Jake Haynes," Sigmon said of Kyser. "Now he's got to process everything to get on their level, but he has the ability to do that."
Despite the young talent, early media projections don't have Whitehall considered the favorite to win the West Michigan Conference Lakes for the first time in a while. Sigmon knows his players will probably draw motivation from that, but he hopes they're more motivated by the process.
"It's one thing to sit there and talk about it and it's another to do it," Sigmon said. "What's the 'do?' The 'do' is, how are you practicing right now? If we were working a pass-protection drill, did you fully commit to that? Those are the parts where those things have a tendency to take care of themselves."
The Vikes will play the same nine teams they did last year, giving them a very tough schedule. Unity Christian, Zeeland West and Portland all handed them non-conference defeats a year ago, and Sigmon credited the latter defeat, a 49-7 blowout, as setting the team back on the right path going into the playoffs.
As the games that count approach, Sigmon knows everyone must contribute to get the Vikings back to where they were a year ago.
"We want to challenge our scout team players," Sigmon said. "When we film, and we're filming right now, we want to be thinking, 'We've got to play this kid that's playing scout team, because he's just killing us.' That's going to help us...Our success is going to be through team glory. There's going to be a lot of people that can look back at our season if things go well and think, 'We all contributed to that.'"
