Whitman Football 'Has High Hopes' For Season

Since taking over as Whitman’s head coach in 2007, Jim Kuhn has led the Vikings to the playoffs three times, failing to qualify only once, and is looking to add another appearance this season.

Whitman finished last year’s regular season 7-3, but fell to Gaithersburg, 28-0, in the Class 4A West regional semifinals.

The Vikings are 25-18 under Kuhn, including 15-7 the last two seasons.

Whitman returns just seven of its 22 starters from last year’s team, but Kuhn is confident those players will help soften the loss of last season’s graduating class.

Kuhn mentioned Michael Flack as being a key component of this season’s team. Flack, a two-way starter, will make the move from wide receiver to quarterback this year, taking over for departed quarterback Henry Kuhn. As a receiver, he led the Vikings in receptions (52), receiving yards (636) and receiving touchdowns (4) last season. Defensively, he will once again start at safety, where he posted five interceptions last year.

Senior Val Djidotor is a returning starter at running back. He led the team with 1,063 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Kuhn will also be counting on linemen Josh Daryoush, Kyle Einwaechter and Jeff Schaeffer to be large contributors. All three are starters on both the offensive line and the defensive line.

Along with Flack, senior Arsalan Nejad is also a returning starter in the Vikings’ defensive backfield.

“I think we have a great nucleus of guys coming back to build with,” Kuhn said. “We’re strong in the trenches, where you want to be strong, have a very good run game, and we’re going to build on both of those things. We have high hopes for this team, but it’s going to come down to all the intangibles come together for us since we lost so much senior leadership from last year.”

AT A GLANCE

HEAD COACH: Jim Kuhn, fifth year

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 7-4

KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: offensive lineman/defensive lineman Josh Daryoush, running back/linebacker Val Djidotor, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Kyle Einwaechter, quarterback/defensive back Michael Flack, defensive back/running back Arsalan Nejad, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Jeff Schaeffer

KEY LOSSES: linebacker Tony Atkinson, defensive back Miles Davis, wide receiver/defensive back Rice Djidotor, tight end/defensive end Connor Gordon, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Alex Hobby, linebacker Jeff Gruen, quarterback Henry Kuhn

BIGGEST STRENGTHS: Talent on both the offensive and the defensive lines

BIGGEST WEAKNESS: Inexperience at skill positions

SCHEDULE

9/9 Churchill

9/16 Kennedy

9/23 @Springbrook

9/30 @Bethesda-Chevy Chase

10/6 Quince Orchard

10/14 @Blair

10/21 @Damascus

10/28 Walter Johnson

11/4 Paint Branch