Even as focal point of offense, Mount de Sales’ Adrian Hardwick focuses on team

Mount de Sales head coach Keith Hatcher called Adrian Hardwick the Cavaliers’ best offensive player the past two years.

So it makes sense that Hardwick, now a senior, would be the focal point of the Cavaliers’ offense this season. While it made Hardwick smile to hear his head coach say that, the wide receiver/running back said he has plenty of help in 2017.

“I like the sound of it, but we’ve got a lot of guys, like Josiah Cotton in the backfield,” Hardwick said. “We’ve got some new things going on, so I’m not focusing too much on myself. It’s really team stuff. I’m just going to play my best for my teammates and make sure we go out and execute on Friday nights.”

The Cavaliers’ offensive execution, however, will focus plenty this season on Hardwick.

“Adrian, he’ll do a little bit of everything. We’ll do everything we can to get the ball in his hands out in space,” Hatcher said. “You’ll see a little bit different of a look from us offensively this year, but he’s a big part of what we do, and we really have built the scheme around him this year.”

Mount de Sales finished 2-8 last season, and Hatcher said 13 ninth- and 10th-graders played last year, including quarterback Dexter Williams and lineman Dane Frier. Hatcher is entering his fourth season as the program’s head coach.

“We had a lot of young play as ninth and 10th graders, so those guys got some valuable game experience. They’ve got to grow up in a hurry,” Hatcher said. “We feel like they’ll do that. We’re counting on them significantly. And then we’ve got a really good core group of seniors that were my first class when I came in as the head coach, so we expect those guys to be great leaders. We feel like we’re moving forward and ready to compete on Friday nights.”

Those seniors include Hardwick, linebacker Said Wanna and defensive back Luke Leatherwood.

“We’re expecting a lot of wins this season,” Hardwick said. “We’ve been working hard to come closer as a team. We’ve put in a lot of work and emphasized hard work this offseason, so we feel good about this season.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Even as focal point of offense, Mount de Sales’ Adrian Hardwick focuses on team."