The early part of the 2021 soccer season was a struggle for the Todd County Central Rebels. However, the Rebels finished with a bit of a flourish, taking five of their final seven matches, including two against district competition. The Rebels will be looking to continue that kind of momentum as the 2022 season gets underway.
Todd Central finished 2021 with a record of 5-9-2, but five of those losses or ties, could have just as easily ended up in the win column, which would have set an entirely different tone for the season.
Coach Mike Smith is back for his fourth season at the helm of the Rebel program and is looking to take the program to its first regional tournament berth since the 2013 season when they went 12-8, reaching the regional semifinals before falling to Greenwood.
As the Rebels look to get the 2022 season started, Smith says his team’s strength will be “we have several guys who should be able to get us on the scoreboard consistently, that will be our strength. Because we will be more of an attacking group we will probably get exposed a bit on the defensive end, especially with counterattacks so we will need to work on fixing that in the early part of the season. I am hoping playing to our strength on the attacking end will help cover up our issues on the defensive side.”
The Rebels will have to replace leading scorer Jose Villanueva, who graduated after scoring 10 goals for the Rebels in 2021. Todd Central had only one senior on the roster at the end of the season last year, and will have just three this year, only two that saw significant action on the pitch in 2021.
When the Rebels are on the attack, Smith says he is expecting big years from senior Cam Wheelock and junior Chi Herrera. Smith points out that he is looking for leadership from Zack Robinson in the mid-field, and strong performances from Grady Reding, Chris Salazar, and Tanner Henderson. Robinson and Salazar had six goals each,while Henderson added five in 2021. Ivan Lopez will be counted on both in the striker and midfield roles.
Defensively, things start in goal with senior Jonah Rager. Smith is expecting Rager’s final year to be his best yet for the Rebels. Rager finished the 2021 season with 98 saves. Smith also is looking for strong years from defenders Trey Osborne, Nando Herrera and Aaron Mansfield.
When asked to look at the differences between this year’s group and last year’s squad, Smith stated “last season we lost several starters mid-season which forced us to almost start from scratch as far as formation and roles and responsibilities. This season we all know our roles, we have a system that fits our players strengths and I think they will be more comfortable with what we are trying to do and how we are trying to do it. We also have depth at every position and overall are well ahead of where we were this time last year.”
Key dates for the Rebels include the season opener at Hopkins Central August 8, the Scotties Classic August 25-27, and their 4th Region All-A Classic opener against Glasgow on September 10.
One Response
Error in spelling of Cam Wheelock. There is only one “L”