Frederick Douglass’s Nate McPeek was on the sideline last season for the Broncos win over Owensboro to advance to the KHSAA Class 5A State Championship but he’s in a different role this season as head coach of a program that’s in its fourth year of existence.
The Broncos are 7-1 this season with their lone loss coming in a Week 1 thriller against North Hardin when Douglass fell 19-17. Since then, Frederick Douglass has dominated nearly every opponent, except for Southwestern as it edged the Warriors 21-20 last week in the Class 5A Quarterfinals.
McPeek had been the offensive coordinator for the Broncos the last three seasons before being named the head coach but he still calls the plays for the dynamic Douglass offensive.
He said he didn’t feel any nerves taking over the program.
“For me, I don’t put anymore pressure on anybody other than myself,” he said. “I’ve always been a hard worker. I played offensive line my whole life, most offensive lineman characteristics are hard work, selflessness.”
The Broncos graduated several solid players last season but McPeek knew the squad was still going to be a threat for a title in 2020.
“Honestly, I knew we had a good team coming back,” he said. “We had some replacements, we lost three really good offensive linemen off that team last year. I knew that we had some work to do there to get stronger but I knew we had some pieces coming back.
“Obviously, the world turned upside down in March. Not knowing if we’re going to get to play and what our ramifications were going to be, what our regulations were going to be. Having to deal with all that is extremely tough in itself so I think we’ve handled it fairly well. I’ve had some head coaching experience in the past that helped. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a rookie going through this so I feel bad for the coaches where it was their first overall year doing this because obviously, it was very difficult.”
The Broncos have won at least one game in the playoffs since the program started in 2017 with its earliest exit coming in 2018 against Scott County in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Given what they have, McPeek said he knew what the objective was and what it usually is for a program.
“I knew going into the year, the goal was a state championship like every year but not every year do you have that,” he said. “If you’re honest with yourself, you don’t have a team like that every year. Really the last three years we’ve had the ability to do it.”
When it comes to preparing for Owensboro, the first thing McPeek brought up was junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt.
He said it’s clear Wimsatt is a great player but added the Red Devils have standout players on both sides of the football.
“Defensively, they’re really good,” he said. “Everybody talks about Wimsatt, which obviously you have to play really well defensively against them or they’re going to score a bunch of points, but I think defensively they don’t get their due because they’re really solid in what they do. No. 26 (Austin Gough) is a really good linebacker. They got really fast cover guys and their D-line gets after you so we’re going to have to play well on both sides of the ball and special teams to have a chance to win.”
For the Broncos, the offensive scheme has shifted slightly this season with Samuel Cornett making the passing game even more possible in 2020.
“We’re built different this year in the fact we can throw it better with Samuel (Cornett) so we’re a little bit different offensively than a year ago,” he said. “We were more run based last year. We can still run the ball but we’re able to throw it over your head if you want to load the box versus last year.”
Dane Key (30 catches for 478 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Dekel Crowdus (25 catches for 331 yards, 9 touchdowns) have 55 of Cornett’s 87 receptions and 19 of his 25 touchdowns this season.
McPeek said it makes the offense run easier with playmakers like his duo at wide receiver.
“They’re really good players,” he said. “They’re ranked high for a reason. Dekel obviously committed to Kentucky and Dane, only thing Dane’s missing is like a Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State offer, which I think he’ll get if he’s able to go those camps this summer but he’s a great athlete, a great kid. It makes you a lot better coach when you have players like that.”
When McPeek is on the sideline at Rash Stadium Friday, it’ll be as a head coach. Despite that, his mindset hasn’t shifted from his days as offensive coordinator because of the coaches he’s put around him.
“I wouldn’t say it’s changed, I trust my defensive staff,” he said. “I still call the (offensive) plays, I have a passing-game coordinator on our staff that helps me a lot with scripting .. I’m still predominantly offensive based, I still coach the offensive line. Obviously, I know what we’re doing defensively and what our plan of attack is going to be but I’ve hired a staff for a reason.”
One area on defense that is different for the Broncos this season is the secondary, something he says is going to be key Friday night.
“We’re not quite as talented in certain spots as maybe the last couple years defensively,” he said. “We’re a little younger in the secondary but those kids have gotten a lot better and I feel they’re going to play really well on Friday to give us a chance to win.”
McPeek knows Friday is going to be a battle and said his team will be ready.
