By Kory CarpenterRecord Sports EditorThe Wright City football team used speed and experience to win eight games and advance to the third round of the Class 3 playoffs this season.But with most of the offensive production graduating, Head Coach Jeff Sargent heads into the offseason with question marks at skill positions.The first-year head coach inherited a group of talented upperclassmen, led by senior running back DeRenzo Blanks, senior wide receiver Troy Muse and senior quarterback Andrew Pfuhl.“We changed a lot of things up and the kids really picked everything up and bought in,” Sargent said. “That’s half the battle.”The Wildcats won three of their first four games before dropping back-to-back contests to South Callaway and Mark Twain in mid-September.With their season at a crossroads, the team won three straight games to reach the postseason.“I was surprised they bought in so quickly and learned the nuances of the offense and what we were trying to do on defense,” Sargent said.Pfuhl and Muse connected on 16 touchdown passes and helped the offense average 28.2 points per game.Blanks helped balance the offense with 1,331 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.“He had a great year,” Sargent said. “He’s the type of running back that really helped our offensive line with his great vision and great feet.”Senior wide receiver Tyler Brittain returned punts and kickoffs when he wasn’t lining up at receiver.He ran a punt and kickoff back for touchdowns and caught five touchdown passes.And when he didn’t have the ball in his hands, he was piling up 56 tackles and three interceptions at safety.Defensively, the Wildcats lose top tacklers Austin Buchheit, Kyle Tuepker and LaTravian Saddler, who combined for 457 tackles.Junior defensive tackle David Ortega appears to be the top returning defender.“We should have most of our offensive and defensive line coming back,” Sargent said. “And we’re adding depth to our positions, and that helps so much.”Sargent said he expects a high turnout next year throughout all levels of the program, which will help competition throughout fall camp.“We lose basically anyone that touched the ball, close to 93 percent of our offensive touches this year,” Sargent said. “But we have guys that can fill in the holes. They’re going to be young, but with a year of maturing they will be better.”He pointed out junior Clayton Sharp and sophomore Trevon Holmes as playmakers who should make an immediate impact next fall.Sargent expects the offensive and defensive lines, however, to be his best units heading into the season.For now, he hopes his players continue to study the schemes and get faster as the offseason begins.“I always love to see kids get faster,” he said. “Everyone wants to see them get bigger and stronger but I don’t really care too much about that. I care more about understanding concepts.”

DeRenzo Banks breaks a tackle and heads upfield. Banks was a first-team all-conference selection after rushing for 1,325 yards this season. Derrick Forsythe photo.