Things are looking greener than ever in Holly Pond this fall.

New football season. New head coach. And a mostly new medley of players.

But while Mark Cornelius is technically the new head honcho, he’s not new to the program by any stretch of the imagination. He’s been with the Broncos since 1992 (other than a break from 2010-17) and was elevated from his assistant spot in late July following Chris Moss’s resignation.

Cornelius is joined on the coaching staff by longtime assistant Ty Wilson and a plethora of former players in Martin Horton, Jordan King, Chris Steele and Dylan Surrett. And then there’s Mike Bates, who’ll be pulling double duty as middle school coach and varsity assistant. Bates is only two years removed from a seven-season stint as Holly Pond’s head coach that included three straight playoff appearances from 2016-18.

“I don’t know about leaning on him,” Cornelius said of Bates. “I told him I was probably going to knock him down (laughs). He is a wealth of knowledge, and he’s a great guy.”

Despite acknowledging it’s been a whirlwind since stepping into the head role and turning right around for fall camp, Cornelius is grateful for the opportunity at a place he’s called home for three decades and counting.

“We’ve got a great community,” he said. “We’ve got some great kids, great parents and a great administration. I couldn’t ask for any more support than I have.”

Cornelius entered fall camp with 24 players and had his eye on cracking at least 30 by the start of the season. He only has five returning starters – Landon Perkins, Austin Marsh, Kadin Suryono, Christian Couch and Anthony Knopp – on an otherwise youth-laden roster tasked with improving on a 2-8 2020 campaign where both wins came by forfeit.

Cornelius has complete confidence this year’s Bronco bunch is up for the challenge.

“I tell you what, the upperclassmen have done a tremendous job of bringing the young kids along and kind of nurturing them, mentoring them and teaching them the proper way to practice hard, what it takes to be a varsity football player,” he said. “These guys just seem to love the game. They like to be in the weight room. They like to work hard. We don’t really have to stay on them. They just come out and do their job every day. I think it’s going to pay off for us down the road.”

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OFFENSE

Holly Pond’s fall camp featured a quarterback competition between Marsh and Perkins, who split time at signal-caller a season ago. Cornelius said the pair are above-average runners who’ve improved in the passing game. The senior Perkins has a year on Marsh but took less snaps in 2020 to take advantage of his speed at tailback. Perkins isn’t a one-trick pony, either, splitting out at receiver when he’s not under center.

“Whichever is quarterback, the other one will be able to get significant playing time at other positions,” Cornelius said. “That gives us several options to get our best players on the field.”

Suryono is set to put his shoulder pads to use at halfback, sharing snaps in the ground game with Perkins, Andy Light and Zayne Faulkner. While his older brother, Romey, was more of a breakaway runner, Suryono is a “hard-nosed, every-down type of back.”

“He’ll punish defenders,” Cornelius said of the senior. “He’s going to basically just go right at you and put his head down and get as much as he can.”

Light is a star baseball player giving the gridiron a go, and Faulkner is a freshman who Cornelius said has “tremendous promise.” Damien Raymond is also expected to see some touches in the backfield and at receiver.

Holly Pond’s speedsters will be running behind a new-look line with only one returning starter. At around 6-2, 215 pounds, Couch has the athleticism to be a tight end but hasn’t hesitated to step in at right tackle.

He’ll be joined up front by freshmen Diego Arreguin (center), Xander Grazer (guard) and Ronald Nunnelley (tackle), as well as sophomore Connor Smith (guard). Cornelius said Arreguin is fundamentally sharp and believes the youngster is “going to be a special player.”

“The sky’s the limit in his talent,” the coach said.

Kyrian Grazer (Xander’s brother), Brayden McNeal, Kaden Smith, Dawson Simmons, Austin Huddleston, Austin Mitchell and Aiden Rowe will add depth to the offensive line. Patrick Snapp and Kane Twilley are likely to see more time on the D-line but will also contribute on offense.

“We’ve got some good young talent up front,” Cornelius said. “It’s just inexperienced. That’s going to be the key to us — how well those kids come along.”

Knopp is a senior leader in a receiving corps that includes Nik Goodwin, Brody Howard, Emery Barnett, Hunter Farr and Raymond. Cornelius is “tickled to death” to see what Farr can do at split end as the county’s defending champ in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

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DEFENSE

The defensive line should look similar to its offensive counterpart, though Cornelius wants the D-line to be on the quicker side. That’s why he’ll be bringing in players like Faulkner, a running back, to start or see significant time at nose tackle.

Suryono and Light sit atop the depth chart at inside linebacker, while Howard and Raymond do the same on the outside.

Perkins and Marsh will patrol the secondary — when whichever isn’t resting from quarterbacking duties — as will Barnett, Knopp, Jayden Holloway, Isaac Chambers, Daniel Hernandez and Sawyer Olinger.

Knopp might also be used at outside linebacker, and Cornelius said Olinger is a leading candidate to start at corner.

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SPECIAL TEAMS

Couch and Light will be relied on for kicking and punting duties.

Farr is an obvious option in the return game, which could also include Goodwin, Perkins and Barnett.

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OUTLOOK

Holly Pond is spending a second straight season in Class 3A, Region 6. Cornelius pegged reigning region champ Winfield as the favorite to repeat and also sees J.B. Pennington as a contender. Well, them and the rest of the region — Oakman, Vinemont, Susan Moore, Carbon Hill and Tarrant — too.

“I think all of them are probably going to have more experience and numbers better than ours, so it’s going to be very difficult,” Cornelius said. “But I think the kids are going to give it their best shot.”

The Broncos’ non-region schedule includes Brindlee Mountain, as well as county clashes versus Cold Springs and Fairview.

“We’ve got a lot of youth and inexperience, but we want a playoff spot,” Cornelius said. “It’ll be difficult; don’t get me wrong. But the kids, I’m really tickled to death about their attitude and how hard they’re working. I think they’ll be ready to play.”