HS football preview: Carmichaels
Senior QB Bubka leads the way for Mikes
Carmichaels has had a string of successful dual threat quarterbacks in recent years and Cannon Bupka fills the bill for the Mikes in 2025 after a solid junior season.
鈥淚n terms of a playmaker we鈥檙e going to be relying on, that鈥檚 Cannon,鈥� Carmichaels coach Ryan Krull said. 鈥淚鈥檒l say this about Cannon, he鈥檚 the most physically gifted athlete that we鈥檝e had here in my time. Cannon is every bit of 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, and he can run and jump.
鈥淭o have a kid that big and that athletic, I鈥檝e not coached a kid like that before. He鈥檚 put on 15-20 pounds since last year. He looks really good and it鈥檚 not just by coincidence. He鈥檚 worked really hard in the offseason. I have to give credit where credit is due and he鈥檚 put in the time to change his body.鈥�
With Bupka leading the way, the Mikes put together a winning record at 5-3 last year, including a 4-3 mark in the Class A Tri-County South Conference. That left Carmichaels in a three-way tie with Bentworth and West Greene for the third automatic playoff spot out of the conference which the Bearcats earned on a tiebreaker.
The Mikes then were at the mercy of the WPIAL which had to chose a wild-card team and took Brentwood, a fifth-place team out of the Eastern Conference, over Carmichaels. This despite the fact two of the Spartans鈥� victories were over winless teams and they had one less win (4-6) than the Mikes who played two fewer games.
Krull, in the third year of his second stint as Carmichaels coach and 10th overall, didn鈥檛 want to dwell on the past.
鈥淭he unfortunate reality of it is, we didn鈥檛 do enough last year,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淲e can sit here and whine and complain but that鈥檚 not doing us any good. We haven鈥檛 talked about it, we haven鈥檛 been disgruntled about it. We鈥檙e just OK, we鈥檝e got to get better and that鈥檚 been our goal, to try to improve.鈥�
The Mikes will again rely on a host of running backs led by senior Will Murray.
鈥淎s in year鈥檚 past we鈥檒l have a bunch of guys touch the ball,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淩ight now Will Murray will be our starting tailback. He鈥檚 another guy who鈥檚 done a good job for us this offseason. He鈥檚 looked quicker than he has in years past. He got a good bit of playing time as a sophomore and that continued over into his junior year. He was one of our go-to backs last year.
鈥淕age Kundly is a senior and he鈥檒l see carries from different spots in the backfield for us.鈥�
When it comes to throwing the ball, Stephen Lewis is the Mikes鈥� top target.
鈥淪tephen is a guy that played receiver for us last year and he鈥檚 a junior this year,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淲hat a hard-working kid he is. We expect him to be a major contributor for us on offense.
鈥淲e have a young guy who鈥檚 going to be a sophomore this year named K.C. Shook who鈥檚 put in a lot of hard work in the offseason too, and changed his body around. We look for him to get some touches and make some key contributions.鈥�
Carmichaels has some holes to fill in the trenches.
鈥淲e did lose three seniors on the offensive line,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淥ne that stands out the most is Bradley Schoenfeldt, who was 6-3, 280. He was just mauling guys last year, pushing them all the way to the sideline. He鈥檚 gone, as are Jacob Deems and Carson Hillsman.
鈥淏ut the guys that we have returning on the offensive line did get to play a good bit last year. So it鈥檚 not like this is their first time starting.鈥�
Carmichaels鈥� offensive style won鈥檛 change.
鈥淲e like our quarterback to be able to run it and throw it and we like to get multiple guys touches just to keep the defense honest where they can鈥檛 just key on one gut the whole time,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淭hat will stay consistent.鈥�
Senior Maddix Connelly anchors the Mikes defensive line.
鈥淢addix is going to be playing nose tackle for us. He鈥檚 a great, big guy, about 6-3, 330,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting him to be a good, solid player for us up front and give these linebackers a little bit of freedom and time to find the football.鈥�
Junior Job Smith is another player Krull is counting on.
鈥淛ob played a good bit for us last year and was definitely a contributor,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淗e was the first guy to back any of our linebackers up and he did start a couple games for us. We鈥檙e expecting him to make a significant impact for us this year.鈥�
Like most Class A schools, the Mikes will be using plenty of two-way players.
鈥淲e do not have great depth,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淭his is the smallest roster we鈥檝e had since I鈥檝e been here. We鈥檝e got 25 guys currently on the roster. I don鈥檛 know how many of them are going to work themselves into position where they can see significant playing time on Friday nights.
鈥淲e tell our younger guys just because you鈥檙e a freshman or a sophomore doesn鈥檛 mean you can鈥檛 contribute. We鈥檙e hoping they do all the things we鈥檙e asking them to do so that they can contribute on Friday night and be a legitimate player for us, whether it鈥檚 being a key special teams player or a legitimate backup. We鈥檙e going to need them all. Hopefully those guys will take care of business but that remains to be seen.鈥�
One goal Krull鈥檚 team met last year was his plea for an increase in toughness.
鈥淚 was really proud of the way our guys responded last year from a physicality standpoint,鈥� Krull said.
Carmichaels held conference champion Jefferson-Morgan, which went unbeaten during the regular season, to its lowest point total of the season by a touchdown in a 21-6 loss.
鈥淭he Jefferson game I know we lost but I thought our guys played hard and played tough,鈥� Krull said. 鈥淚t was 21-6 and it was 14-6 for a good bit of the game. We were able to hang with them but they scored one late on us.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a credit to our guys believing in our coaches and buying in to what we鈥檙e selling in terms of if you鈥檙e going to play football, it鈥檚 a contact collision sport and if you鈥檙e not willing to have collisions then it鈥檚 going to be darn near impossible for us to have consistency. I thought our guys last year significantly improved from the physicality standpoint.
鈥淲e did have a couple hiccups last year, against Bentworth and California. Those were not good.鈥�
Krull again sees Jefferson-Morgan and California, the only conference team to win a playoff game, as the frontrunners again in the TCS.
鈥淓very team in a small-school conference like this has to deal with graduation.鈥� Krull said. 鈥淏ut with that being said, California and Jefferson-Morgan were the best two teams in the conference last year and I think both teams have good players returning and until somebody knocks them off, I鈥檇 look at them as the two favorites in the conference.鈥�
Krull鈥檚 coaching staff includes Joetta Andrews, Chad Caldwell, Fred Morecraft, John Morecraft, Brennen Pelzer, Ken Perkins, Dan Poland and Dave Rankin.