Bates brings 'energetic' coaching staff to Elmwood

BLOOMDALE – JT Bates isn't new to Elmwood, or coaching in the Blanchard Valley Conference. The first-year Royals head coach has been an assistant in the program for the last three season. Prior to that, Bates was the head football coach at Van Buren from 2017-21. "I know the kids, I've coached 'em, I teach 'em, I see them in the building," said Bates, who also teaches at Elmwood, "and I've also spent five years in the BVC, where a lot of those coaches are the same coaches…so I have some familiarity with the league." But Bates is bringing some changes to a program that reached the regional finals in 2022, but then only won three games over the next two seasons. "The first thing I wanted to do was hire a very energetic staff who brings a lot of juice to practice," The Royals have a new offensive and defensive coordinator in 2025. Tristan Reichelderfer is the new defensive coordinator, while Leo Skattebo has OC duties. Reichelderfer was the defensive coordinator at Lima Senior for the past few seasons. Skattebo is a former fullback at Bowling Green State University, and his brother, Kam is former running back at Arizona State who was drafted by the New York Giants this past spring. The staff itself is a mixture of familiar faces and newcomers, but the goal – as expressed to the players – is simple. "(We wanted) to let the guys know that we are going to rebuild this," Bates said. "So, we broke it down to the most minute detail and have tried to rebuild it in a whole new direction." Offensively, the Royals will have a new starting quarterback in 2025, in sophomore Braxton Simon. Last season's starter, Owen Traxler, is on the roster but is coming off an injury. It will be up to Simon to lead the Royals spread offense. "Braxton has a very good arm; he's a smart kid, makes a lot of good decisions," Bates said. "Coach (Nolan) Wickard is our new quarterbacks coach, he's really been working with him, and Braxton has…made good strides and he's healthy now and ready to go." Bates said that Conner Hibbard will enter the season as the Royals lead running back, with freshman Luke Carr also being part of that rotation. Mitchel Oliver, a kind of Swiss Army Knife on the squad, also will see carries. McCoy Morlock will also get time in the backfield. "So we've got a nice stable in the backfield," Bates said. "It won't be just one kid taking all the carries. It'll be spread out so we can keep them fresh." Marcus Mossbarger, a senior captain, is expected to lead Elmwood at the receiver spot. "He's kind of thrust himself into a leadership role," Bates said. "He kind of realizes that, 'Hey, this is my last shot, I'm a senior' and he's put everything he has into it and I've been very impressed with Marcus; he'll be a big playmaker for us." Robert Bradley and Abraham Keiffer – who saw time at quarterback this summer -- will also play at receiver. "(Keiffer) knows the concepts, now he's where he's more natural," Bates said. On the offensive line, the Royals have some experience returning, but also are a little undersized. "They're really tough-nosed and kind of nasty, which is what we want," Bates said, "and the way we run the ball, we're gonna ask our guys to move in space, we're gonna pull, do things like that, and we're pretty good at that." Bryson St. Clair, a junior and team captain, returns up front. So does Trey Morris, a senior and another captain. "Those are kind of the guys we'll lean on," Bates said. Elmwood's O-line also will be relying on Gabe Schafer, Cade Mareches, Jase Reynolds and Adam Abke, who came in from Georgia. "We're not gonna wow you when you come out to the field, and you're not gonna see 280-pound linemen," Bates said of the group. "You're going to see 220-pound linemen that are fit and that can move. And we're only getting better." On defense, the Royals will be using a 3-4 front, and also will be using a lot of players from the offensive side. "We have a ton of guys that go both ways," Bates said. "Again, being a young team, we don't have the ability to platoon a ton. We don't want to throw a bunch of freshmen out there if we don't have to." That's especially true on the D-line. "You'll have guys like Bryson, Trey, Gabe coming over and playing defensive line as well," Bates said. "So, we've got about six guys to play those three spots up front that we can rotate through, so, that's encouraging." Bates said the secondary may be the defense's strongest unit. Mossbarger is moving from corner to safety, while Oliver will go to corner. Keiffer is set to play the strong safety. Hibbard and Hunter Plotts, who were both inside linebackers a year ago, are going outside this season. "Where it's a whole 'nother world," Bates said. "So, early, they were swimming. But they're getting much more comfortable and much better." McCoy and Abke are expected to play at inside linebacker. "We're gonna really focus on being gap sound at all times, not leaving craters or seams," Bates said of the defense. "We'll blitz some, but we're gonna be more sound defensively than maybe we have been." The Royals didn't win a game in 2024. Their first chance to get a win in 2025 will be Friday at home against Lakota. Bates wants his players to embrace the challenges of the season, as well as the team concept. "Winning on a Friday night is extremely hard, but when you do hard things together, it makes it easier," he said.