Portsmouth West’s veteran roster looks to end runner-up finishes in SOC-II
By: Ty Carpenter
Posted on:
WEST PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WOUB) — The Portsmouth West Senators have spent the past three seasons on the outside looking in.
Each year, the Senators have finished second behind Wheelersburg in the SOC-II race. But now with one of the program’s largest senior classes in recent memory, Head Coach Todd Gilliland believes West has the experience to not just compete, but win a conference championship.
“We’ve got a good group of seniors who have been through the battles for four years. Many of them are three-year starters.” said Gilliland. “We’re looking for a lot of good things from their leadership.”
The Senators finished last season 6-6 after opening the year 1-3. They rebounded by winning five of their final seven games and capped the season with a playoff victory. Gilliland attributed this late success to the younger team growing more comfortable in their positions, but despite the turnaround, believed the team still fell short of its potential.
“Last year, we weren’t really happy with the way the season played out,” said Gilliland. “We felt like there was a little bit more that we left on the table. And so these guys have been hungry all year.”
The senior class returns much of the production from last season.
Running back Anthony Bishop rushed for 1,613 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
Alongside him on offense is fellow senior Braden Adkins. He accounted for 1,373 all-purpose yards, finishing with 837 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, alongside 123 rushing yards and 352 return yards. Defensively, Adkins similarly produced, recording 47 tackles, four tackles for loss, 10 pass deflections and five interceptions.
Adkins was just one of many highly productive defenders returning, including linebacker Tilton Rapp, who led the defense with 115 tackles on 72 solo stops, 13 tackles for loss, three sacks and two pass deflections to boot. Gunnar Shonkwiler also returns after leading the team with 14 pass deflections and 55 tackles, 45 of which were solo tackles. Zane Pitts is also expected to take on a larger role following the graduation of Bo Wroten, who attributed 106 tackles with seven for loss. Pitts recorded 81 tackles and eight tackles for loss himself last season.
Adkins says the experience the seniors have built together dates back to their youth football days.
“Based on our numbers? This is one of the bigger senior classes we’ve had.” said Adkins. “We’ve been playing since Peewee, first grade, second grade. So we’ve been friends forever and been building that chemistry up.”
But something this group has yet to achieve in their playing days is an SOC-II championship, a feat the program last achieved in 2022. Wheelersburg has won the conference each of the last three years and has done so for eight of the last ten. Last season was no different, as the Senators entered Week 10 with a chance to unseat the Pirates for a share of the conference crown. West fought early, behind only 14-12 deep into the second quarter, but ultimately lost, 49-12.
“They’re a measuring stick. … We learned from that game,” said Gilliland. “We had some young guys out on the field that learned, you know, what it meant to play in a big game. … But our kids weren’t satisfied. I think that’s the other thing that they see. We were close to being a really good team.”
For these seniors, West last defeated Wheelersburg when they were in eighth grade. Bishop said defeating the Pirates remains a motivating factor entering the season.
“I definitely want to beat them again this year,” Bishop said. “My older brother did it. So I want to be able to experience that. I want everyone on the field to experience that.”
After three consecutive runner-up finishes, the Senators believe their veteran roster gives them the opportunity to stand at the top. West opens the season Aug. 21 at Fairland before beginning conference play Sept. 19 against Waverly.