Toliver hopes senior leadership leads Borger football to success in fall
The Borger football team may have won three games last season, but it made great strides in it development by punching the the program's first ticket to the postseason since 2017.
Bulldogs coach Duane Toliver enters his fourth season with a combined 16 returning starters on both sides of the ball and 26 seniors ready to lead the way.
"I'm as excited right now as I've ever been since I've been here," Toliver said. "The kids that are going to be seniors were freshmen when I got here. They've bought-in to the program, they're doing everything that we ask them to do. We've grown in the weight room and gotten both stronger and faster. Things are starting to look up for us."
On offense, 6-foot-1 senior quarterback Tray Toliver will captain the Bulldogs' Air-Raid offense after an up-and-down junior campaign. The coaches' son worked hard in the offseason to improve after completing 54-of-144 passes for 807 yards and four touchdowns with 12 interceptions last fall.
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The dual-threat option returns as the leading rusher from last season (243 yards, three touchdowns), as well, alongside junior tailback Avery Adame (222 yards). Adame made a strong impression after coming in for several injured players and producing with downhill running late in his sophomore season.
Toliver's top option in the receiving game will be senior wideout Slade Sessions, who is coming off a year that included 20 catches for 396 yards and one score. The big-play threat can take the top off a defense with his speed and is expected to be a reliable target for the Bulldog passing game.
Of course, the success of an offense all begins with the big men up front, and Borger has three senior starters returning to fill a few of those spots.
First up is 2021 first team all-district selection Barrett Watkins — who will guard Toliver's blindside from his left tackle position. Bookending the offensive line at the right tackle spot is Ty Clawson. The third returner is Antonio Heredia, the player Toliver notes is the leader of the offensive line and has experience at all five spots.
"Returning three out of five on the offensive line is big," Toliver said. "Those guys make us go on the offensive side. We're going to spread teams out and try to take advantage of what they give us. If they're dropping guys into coverage, we're going to run between the tackles. If they pack the box, we're going to dink-and-dunk on the outside and if they start creeping up, we're going to throw it deep."
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The strength of the Borger defense all starts at the second level with the senior linebacker combination of Logan Gray and Cade Clements. The pair both recorded over 100 tackles last season and made their presence felt in the backfield with a combined 13 tackles for loss.
Gray nabbed three interceptions and forced three fumbles while Clements totaled two sacks, one forced fumble and one interception.
"It all starts with our two inside linebackers," Toliver said. "Those two guys made play after play and did a great job for us last season."
Gray and Clements will line up behind senior defensive end Dylan McWhorter (47 tackles in 2021) and in front of senior defensive backs Trey Dickson (53 tackles) and Shance Woodin (2 INT). Toliver has moved McWhorter from linebacker to defensive end to anchor the line and uses Dickson at corner to shadow the other team's top receiver.
"This year is going to be huge and I see our defense leading the way for us for sure," Toliver said.
Overall, there are nine returning starters on the Bulldog defense that will look to make an impact en route to battling toward a District 2-4A Division II title.
"There's always going to be competition," Toliver said about position battles on defense. "Competition brings out the best in everyone. In the secondary and along the defensive line we have some young guys. There's no position that's sewn up. Everybody has a chance. I just want to win. Whoever gives us the best chance to win is who's going to play."
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Borger has won five games during Toliver's tenure and has not finished a season above .500 since 2011.
However, the start of a new season brings a sense of excitement and renewed positivity for any program working hard to turn things around and begin a winning tradition.
For Toliver, this is the best he's felt about any team during his time at Borger. He knows his players are ready to show their skills and improve each time they take the field.
"I want to be better in Week 10 than we are in Week 1. I just want to continue to get better," Toliver said.
BORGER BULLDOGS
Head coach: Duane Toliver
2021 record: 3-8 overall, 1-4 in district
Base offense: Air Raid
Base defense: 3-4
Last playoff appearance: 2021
Returning Lettermen: 27
Top returners: QB Tray Toliver, TE/LB Logan Gray, WR Slade Sessions, OL Barrett Watkins, OL Ty Clawson, OL Antonio Heredia, DL Dylan McWhorter, LB Cade Clements, DB Trey Dickson, DB Shance Woodin
SCHEDULE
Aug. 26: vs. Denver City, 7 p.m.
Sep. 2: vs. River Road, 7 p.m.
Sep. 9: at Lamesa, 7 p.m.
Sep. 16: vs. Bushland, 7 p.m.
Sep. 23: at Dalhart, 7 p.m.
Sep. 30: at Pampa, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7: OPEN
Oct. 14: vs. Seminole, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 21: at Levelland, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 28: vs. Perryton, 7 p.m.*
Nov. 4: at West Plains, 7 p.m.*
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Duane Toliver hopes senior leadership leads Borger to success in fall
