The Van Buren Pointers are embracing their blue-collar, hard-working roots.

“There’s no doubt about that,” Van Buren head coach Greg Werner said. “Back in the days when they were really good, they were tough hard-nosed kids. I believe it’s in the DNA of our town. That’s what we’re trying to get back to.”


Gone is the wide-open shotgun Spread passing attack with linemen standing up and finessing with the defense.

“That would be like saying a dirty word around here, we don’t want to be known as finesse,” Werner said. “We want to be tough. We want to have our pad level down low and get after people. If we get called finesse, we’re getting beat really bad. That’s not how we play. I think we’ve gotten that out of our kids. Now, it’s a little different. It’s more physical play. They like it.”

As the Pointers, who were 2-8 last year and winless in the 7A/6A-Central, return to the 7A-West, Van Buren’s full-blown change over to an option-based offensive attack has been made.

“We’re more of an option-based offense,” Werner said. “We’re trying to use what we’ve got. We’re not real big. We can’t line up and do some of the things other teams do. We’re going with a little more of an option-based offense.”

That new-look offense will start up front for the Pointers with seniors Ethan Rogers (6-4, 260) and Heath Wagnon (5-11, 230) returning. Rogers started last year at left tackle with Wagnon starting at center.

Seniors Zach Southern (5-9, 230) and Russell Davis (5-8, 235), and juniors Derek King (5-11, 280), Ethan Walters (5-7, 230) and Justin Smith (6-4, 275), are all vying for the other spots.

“They’ve all looked really good,” Werner said. “We’ll see what plays out.”


The group won’t be big compared to some of the teams in the 7A-West.

“We’re not tiny, but we don’t have any 300 pounders,” Werner said. “We have some 250 that can move a little better. That’s what we need in our system. We’re not big road graders, but we like what we have.”

They know what they’ll be going up against in their new conference.

“They’re doing a really good job,” Werner said. “We’ve changed a lot fundamentally of how they play. They’ve all bought in and sold out to what we’re doing. They know the score. They know they have to do things exactly right because of our size differential. They’re doing things right and getting better.”

Junior Caleb Salisbury (6-3, 185) will operate the offense behind them at quarterback.

Salisbury played some at receiver last year, catching 15 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns.

This year, he’ll operate the option offense.


“He’s done a good job,” Werner said. “He’s adjusted real well to the system we’re running. He’s very unselfish. He gets a little bit better each day. We’re real proud of the progress he’s making. He gives us a great chance to be successful.”

Any option offense relies on a fullback, and the Pointers have several they like there, including seniors Josh Aden (6-2, 220) and Dylan Burnham (6-1, 205)

Aden started on the offensive line last year, so he has experience.

“He’s looked really good,” Werner said. “Our fullbacks are pretty big. We’ve been real happy with what we’ve seen so far.”

At the two slotback positions, Walter Green (5-6, 155), Randal Canon (5-6, 130), Greg Gladden (5-10, 170) and Noah Turman (5-6, 150) are working.

“Walter Green can almost be considered a returning starter,” Werner said. “He played a lot late in the year for us.”

Green had 20 carries for 93 yards last year. Turman also received some varsity playing time at running back with 10 carries for 28 yards and a score.


“All of those guys have looked exceptionally good,” Werner said. “They’re quick. None of them are very big, but they’re quicker. They’re guys that can move. They can hit the edge like we need them to.”

Werner has been happy with all of the running backs at the three backfield positions.

“All of those guys have adjusted well to the system,” Werner said. “They’ve done a good job with it.”

Senior Caleb Christenson (5-8, 130) leads the receiving corps.

“He had a great year in track,” Werner said. “He’s really excelled. He’s looked good.”

Seniors Chandler Johnson and Miles Malone (5-9, 155) along with junior Isaac Lipe (6-1, 200) are also vying for time at the position.

“We’ve got a group of five, six or seven who we feel can come in there and play,” Werner said. “To see where we were in March and February, and see where we are now has been nothing short of a miracle.”


In the run-based offense, the Pointers won’t pass as much. The last year in which Van Buren didn’t average at least 22 passes a game was 2005.

“We won’t throw it as much, but when we throw it we need to be successful,” Werner said. “We’ve talked a lot about when we throw it we need to catch it. We can’t drop balls. When we do throw the ball, we have to be right on. We catch the ball really well right now. We had a really good summer of passing league, catching and throwing the ball, which most people wouldn’t think w