KQ2 Pigskin Preview: Chillicothe new head coach Jeff Staton will look to bring more discipline to his alma mater

CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (KQTV) - The Chillicothe High School football team heads into the fall with a new head coach, but it's a familiar face leading the way, Jeff Staton.

Staton is a Chillicothe alum and former All-State offensive lineman for the Hornets. He also was an assistant coach during the Bob Fairchild and Phil Willard regimes. It's now Staton's turn to make his own mark leading the program at his alma mater in the always tough Midland Empire Conference.

"I'm planning to bring a little more discipline. Chillicothe has always been a toughness team, so that's got to come back and it already has," said Staton. "Discipline, number one, not ten, not eleven, not fourteen penalties a game, that kind of thing needed cleaned up and we're working on that. There's a lot more discipline in what we're going to do as opposed to what the last regime did. As long as they stay with me, keep learning, and it's every day we take a new step, they're going to be fine."

The Hornets will really try to make their sting felt on the ground this season with a trio of running backs and fullbacks with different skill sets, who, by the way, are all seniors. Cooper Robinson, Henry Hurtgen, and Logan Murrell. They and other seniors on the team will help lead an overall younger Chillicothe group this year.

"I think we're just trying to be leaders here in the classes that have started the past few years. It's just consistency," said Robinson. "Just being consistent on and off the field, from what you eat, to how you play, I think is a big part of it."

"Years past, we just all standing around watching. This year we're really working the whole time, just focusing on finishing reps and finishing practices," said Hurtgen.

Chillicothe will compete in the Moberly Football Jamboree on August 21st and then kick off the season on August 28th, hosting Palmyra at 7 p.m.