2019 Preview: Westfield Bulldogs
After a heartbreaking end to the 2018 season, the Westfield Bulldogs are back and are on a mission to hoist the state title for the fourth time in the last five years. The Bulldogs fell to the Freedom Eagles 35-28 in the state semifinals - a game they might've very well won with a healthy Noah Kim at quarterback.
Kim, a 1st Team All-State performer during his sophomore year of 2017 when he started at the position on varsity for the first time, suffered a broken leg in his team's 14th contest last year (hear his interview with VirginiaPreps.com's Matthew Hatfield about it and more here).
Head Coach Kyle Simmons believes that the program is in a good place and is ready to contend once again
"I certainly think winning helps. It keeps people excited, it keeps them interested. I have great support from the administration and the parents are phenomenal. I have a great group of parents who are very supportive," he stated.
There will be some new faces taking on bigger roles as playmakers around Kim, though. Gone from last year's team are wide receiver Taylor Morin (Wake Forest) and linebacker Eugene Asante (North Carolina), also a valuable contributor at running back the past two seasons. But Simmons believes that there is a strong nucleus that will be returning.
"As it seems like every year, we lose quite a few significant players to graduation, but we have a good group coming back," Simmons said. "On the defensive side, we have defensive back Tahj Summey, who was a starter for us, linebackers Ryan Moses and Caleb Wheatland are both returning, and defensive lineman Richie Aguilar and Max Ahiakpo, so we're really happy to have those guys back."
The Bulldogs are known for their smothering defensive attack and even with first-year defensive coordinator Jeremiah Davis, a former Head Coach at West Potomac and Herndon, they should have one of the top defenses in the state. Coach Simmons will move back to concentrating more on the defensive side, where he is most comfortable, as well.
"My two main reasons for moving back over to the defensive side of the ball was, I've been gone for so long and I wanted to get more involved in what we're doing over there. One of the reasons I moved to the offensive side is because I didn't understand that as much as I wanted to. So, now that I've got my feet wet over there, I wanted to come back and also to support Jeremiah in his first year as a defensive coordinator," Simmons stated.
Even with Davis now overseeing the defense, their scheme won't see much change.
"You're not going to see a whole lot different from us on defense. I think one of things that we do on defense that really helps us out is that we run to the football. You watch us on film and you got eleven hats running to the ball. We may not be the best athletes out there all the time, we may not always be in the best situation, but we got guys making up for other guys who may be out of position," noted Simmons, who's 102-11 overall in eight seasons at the helm.
As for the Bulldogs on offense, they return offensive tackle Thadius Palmer, starting running back Isaiah Daniel and of course triggering it all will be Virginia Tech quarterback commit Noah Kim, who is undefeated as a starter in games he's finished.
"Noah has made a full recovery from his injury in game fourteen and I've been very impressed with how quickly he has come back," Simmons indicated. "I really like the way he's approaching this year. I see a little chip on his shoulder, which I like, he's got an edge to him. We're going to make good use of his division one arm this year," he added.
When asked about what names to watch out for at the skill positions, Simmons didn't tip his hand.
"There's too many names. I really am excited about a lot of guys, some of them are new to our program, some of them are guys who were on our JV that there just wasn't room for last year. I could shoot out 20 names, but I don't want to leave somebody off. There's just too many kids to talk about," Simmons commented.
If Kim is able to remain healthy, there will be a very good chance that Westfield makes another deep playoff run and finds its way back to the State Championship game at Hampton University come December. The season kicks off on August 30th as the Bulldogs will host the Battlefield Bobcats with a kickoff time set for 7 p.m.