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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a successful Helena Huskies team needs to replace multiple key pieces from that unit ahead of a new season.

Reloading has been the narrative under coach Richie Busby for the last few seasons, as evidenced by a cycle of players across the starting lineup, now including a third new starting quarterback in as many years.

However, it seems in every one of those years, someone comes along who either proved their worth as a role player to enter the lineup or came out of nowhere to claim the starting job and run with it.

Helena had at least one of each last year with long-time running back Jordan Washington rising to become the Shelby County Player of the Year and quarterback Carson Acker bursting onto the scene from a baseball background to be a more than capable arm under center.

Both will need to be replaced this year along with other key seniors like Parker Copeland, Hunter Hale, Joseph Roberto, Nate Thomason and Reece Mims. But as a testament to the player development by Busby’s staff, the players stepping up may be just as good.

Replacing the seemingly unreplaceable Washington will be Jeremy Spratling and Domynyck Santiago, two running backs who are very familiar to Helena fans after their eye-catching performances in bit roles last season.

Busby has been successful with a two-back system in the past (see: AJ Horstead and Washington in 2022 as just one example), and this year’s backfield duo should work quite well with a split load behind an offensive line with three returning starters in Josue McNeal, Grant Vines and Eli Berry.

Busby still hasn’t given a firm answer at quarterback, but it will for sure either be Nate Ferguson, who has waited his turn as a backup and shown flashes during his time on the field like last year’s Calera game, or KJ Underwood, a highly-touted underclassman.

And just as a reminder, there was a quarterback battle going into last season too, and that only resulted in Acker lighting up Chelsea in his debut and dispelling any doubts he was the man for the job.

That quarterback will need weapons, but Torrey Ward, Nathan Jones and Chris Brown are in a good position to step up. All three bring exciting traits to the offense that should greatly help.

The Huskies also have returning starters at all three levels including JT Alvis and Kevin Pinkard in the secondary, Jonathan Roberto at linebacker and Brett Barry on the line. They all have big expectations this year after making impacts last year and will lead a fresh group alongside them.

The result of all of those exciting rising stars? The Huskies are already on the radar for a top 10 spot after receiving votes in the preseason poll, and the expectation both internally and externally is for them to compete for region glory.

 

Prediction: 7-2. While Helena will find itself without its major playmakers from last year’s group that nearly ran the table in region play, we’re talking about a team that has adjusted to new quarterbacks in each of the last two seasons and saw them flourish and a defense that remains stout even when losing college football players every year.

The DNA that made those past teams special is here with this bunch with a winning formula on both sides of the ball and talented players to make plays.

The key will be helping the defensive depth pieces beyond veterans like JT Alvis, Jonathan Roberto, Kevin Pinkard and Brett Barry develop into more capable players who can make the unit more complete.

The offense has big play potential at both receiver and running back even with last year’s All-County players absent, and Nate Ferguson has shown every sign that he can take command of the offense.

As for the schedule, it’s one full of opportunity and that Helena should be favored to reach the playoffs with even when facing a tough returning Benjamin Russell team and a highly-touted Spain Park side.

Expect business as usual for the Huskies: another winning season and the chance to make some noise come November.