The Salem High School football team is going old-school in trying to aid in its quest to snap a string of four straight losing seasons.
Back in the day, schools did not have heavy offseason schedules for their respective sports teams. Instead, in the summer student-athletes were free to hold full-time summer jobs, such as hauling hay or working as restaurant cooks, among others.
However, during the 1980s the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) loosened the restraints on how much time coaches could work with their student-athletes during the summer. Over the years that summertime period escalated. That meant more summer camps, weight-training sessions and summer practices. And that meant the multi-sport athlete had extremely limited down time over the summer.
Tiger head coach Neal Myers is giving his football players some of their summertime back this year. The thought being if the players have less summer requirements, they will be better rested and more enthused coming into the fall, plus have more down time for a month. Plus, the hope is the fall roster numbers will increase.
Salem, which finished 2-8 in 2024, is participating in the Rolla 7-on-7 passing league during Mondays in June. Other than that, the Tigers pretty much have June off, with no lifting/agility sessions scheduled during the month.
“We found we weren’t getting buy-in during offseason weights and spring football,” said Myers, entering his third season as Tiger football head coach. “So we’re trying some different things.”
The Salem football activities start back up in earnest in July, with the Tiger Team Camp.
Team camp for the Tigers will be July 14-17, July 21-25 and July 28-31. Camps times are scheduled for 5-9 p.m. each day.
And Salem is then slated to participate in the St. Clair Team Camp Friday, Aug. 1.
The Tigers will open the fall football season with practice Monday, Aug. 11. That week the team will practice from 5-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday, Aug. 15 the team will begin practice at 5 p.m., and there will also be a parents’ meeting starting at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 16 a controlled scrimmage is scheduled, with the time to be determined.
Salem will again compete in the Sullivan Jamboree Friday, Aug. 22 and then officially open the 2025 schedule by hosting St. James Friday, Aug. 29 (7 p.m. kickoff at Schuchardt Stadium) and playing at Linn Sept. 5 before opening SCA action Sept. 12 at Houston.
So far with the new summer arrangement Myers said things have gone well, with good attendance in the Rolla passing league activities.
“I’m pleased where we’re at right now after the offseason we had in the spring,” he said. “We’re coming in with a different mindset and things have been good. The boys seem to all be responding better.”
On the field the Tigers will again depend on a strong rushing attack to key their offense but will have to replace their top two rushers - now-graduated Reuben Hovey and Tobey Gover. Getting close looks as ball carriers will be, among others, junior running backs Brody Ray and Sy DuBois as well as senior fullback Cason Malone.
And with a more experienced senior Hayden Ragsdale now in his second season as starting quarterback, Myers is hopeful the Tiger offense will run more smoothly and be able to incorporate more possibilities through the air.
“We will still be a heavy run-attack offense,” Myers said. “But I think we can add more in the passing game. I think there may be some nice additions. A lot of that is Ragsdale being in his second year as a quarterback. He has made good strides, and I know at 7-on-7 he’s getting a lot of comments about his passing. We’re more athletic this year, with a lot more weapons that Ragsdale can go to this year.”
Defensively Salem has a core of returners who got much varsity experience last fall. They include senior middle linebackers Everett Campbell and Ira Barton; junior Max Schloemer at safety; junior Paxton Deason at cornerback, and Ray and DuBois also in the secondary. In addition, senior Gavin Sapaugh is back at end/outside linebacker, but is currently sidelined with a knee injury until the end of July.
There is the possibility of some switching around of personnel on both the offensive and defensive lines, leaving those positions uncertain until camp and practice time begins.
“In the secondary, we have all of those kids coming back,” Myers said. “And most of them are juniors, so we’ll have them for a while. I think 7-on-7 has been a help. It gives us a chance to see where we are. It’s nice to see; it’s a good tool for us this summer.”
Myers feels the recently remodeled and updated Salem weight room has paid dividends over the past year.
“I think we’ll be a stronger team,” he said. “We maxed out at the end of school, and we saw good gains. We’re stronger than what we have been in the past; we’re stronger, faster and quicker across the board. And more athletic. We’ve got some good things going on now; we’ve just got to get some confidence.”
