NEW YORK STATE FOOTBALL: MILLER SAYS WAVERLY'S OFFENSIVE SUCCESS 'STARTS UP FRONT' (2023-12-01)

BY TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY - Waverly has averaged slightly more than 40 points and 400 yards in total offense per game on its run to the Class C Championship game Saturday, and longtime Wolverine coach Jason Miller said much of the credit belongs to the guys in the trenches.

"It starts up front for us," said Miler, speaking of senior Jake Benjamin, juniors Kam Hills and J.T. Williams, sophomore Troy Beeman, and freshman Carson Rockwell, along with freshman tight end / H-back Matthias Welles.

"Three of those five guys, had pretty significant experience coming into this year," noted Miller. "J.T. (Williams) and Carson (Rockwell) are the newcomers, but when you have 60 percent of your line back after 12 games, and Kam (Hills) and Jake (Benjamin) played the previous year … it bodes well for your offense.

"A lot of the things we do at this level are quite complex," he continued. "We ask them to do a lot, especially on offense, whether it be the different run schemes we have … and, of course, when you throw the ball 25 to 30 times a game, and everybody brings a different look they have to prepare for that during the week, and pick up all the stunts.

"Without them, we wouldn’t achieve anything," added Miller. "They are the foundation of our offense and defense, and we understand that completely."

Miller has nothing but good to say about each of his linemen:

On Kam Hills: "Kam Hills is extremely athletic for 340 pounds. He plays both ways, and for a kid his size to play both ways at the level he does is impressive.

On Troy Beeman: Troy Beeman is a physical kid, and he just keeps getting better and better.

"Hills and Beeman have a killer instinct, they like punishing people, and they like playing on the line," said Miller. "That’s a quality you need to play there."

On Jake Benjamin: "Jake Benjamin is really good on both sides of the ball. He’s incredibly coachable … game-in and game-out, he’s just gotten better and better. He’s going to be a player at the next level.

"Since he was a young kid, we knew he was going to be a good football player. He started for us as a freshman, so he’s another four-year starter.

"Ask any program, when you have a four-year starter or three-year starters on the line, that will be the difference.

On Carson Rockwell: "Carson Rockwell has gotten better and better, but he’s still very young. … He’s a very large person.

"He’s smart, an incredible academic student-athlete. If you tell him something, you don’t need to tell him again.

"He understands the game. As he grows mentally and physically, he’s just going to become a really good football player.

On J.T. Williams: "From the beginning of the year, J.T. (Williams) has been a rock for us. He’s in the middle, so he has to block back a lot, he has to snap, he has to reach, there’s a lot of things centers do that they just don’t get credit for.

"The most obvious thing is snapping the ball, and when that doesn’t go well it’s bad.

"He has a really steady attitude, he doesn’t get rattled. He’s also a kid who moves quite well for his size, and has done an outstanding job.

"The five of them combined, with the four of them coming back, we have a really good foundation," added Miller.

On Matthias Welles: "Matthias (Welles) does a lot of blocking. He’s a man-child, who is really athletic, and capable of doing so many things.

"More than anything else, he gets to the second level pretty quick, and there aren’t many backers who can stand up to him."

Waverly takes on Fonda-Fultonville Saturday at 6 p.m. for the Class C Championship at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly’s Kam Hills clears a path for Payton Fravel in the win over Adirondack. … PHOTO BY TIM BIRNEY.


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