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Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

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Ashland Times-Gazette Ashland, Ohio

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Page 1: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview
Page 2: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

2 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

Let’s roll the clock back two decades.

Leading up to the 1994 season, area high school football teams had combined for a grand total of seven postseason appearances since the OHSAA state playoffs began in 1972.

Of course, being a part of the playoff fraternity required a bit more in those days.

From 1972 through 1979, only one team per region (four teams per division) advanced past Week 10. During that stretch, Loudonville finished 10-0 twice (1975, 1978) and Black River was 10-0 in 1977 — winning the AP’s Class A state poll — and none of those teams got in.

From 1980 through 1984, the playoff field expanded to two teams per region, and there were still area snubs. Crestview’s 1982 squad went 10-0 in the regular sea-son under the direction of current Ashland University head coach Lee Owens and was left out of the playoff field.

It wasn’t until 1983 that locals finally got their first taste of extra football, with Loudonville qualify-ing both that season and in 1984 under Mike Warbel. When the playoffs expanded again in 1985 to four teams per region, Black River joined the party.

Qualifications were hit or miss from there, with Ashland mak-ing it for the first time in 1987, Mapleton earning its way in 1991, and Loudonville adding to its growing history with berths in 1988 and 1990.

There certainly was a ground-swell of success brewing, but it wasn’t until 1994 — the start of “The Streak” — that the area’s true onslaught on the postseason began.

While seven total area teams made the playoffs in the 22 seasons from 1972 through 1993, 34 have made it in the 20 seasons since — at least one qualifier every year for the last two decades. Eight of nine local schools have made it in that streak (South Central has yet to qualify).

“I think initially, a lot of people thought, ‘Oh, if you’re not in the Cleveland area and you’re not in the Columbus area, you can’t get in,’ ” said 13th-year Ashland coach Scott Valentine, a 1981 AHS grad-uate. “But that’s the thing about this area: A couple teams got in and then other people said, ‘Man, that’s kind of exciting.’ ”

The quick argument against the avalanche of qualifiers is that the success is due to the expansion in 1999 of the playoffs from four quali-fiers per region to eight. And while there is no question that has been a giant boon, it’s not the only reason.

Between 1999 and 2005 — after the expansion — only twice did the area have two playoff quali-fiers in the same season. In the eight seasons since, it has hap-pened every year but one.

In 2006 and 2007, Ashland and Northwestern gave the area

back-to-back seasons with mul-tiple playoff qualifiers for the first time. Those teams’ matching 10-0 regular seasons in 2006 also were a first in area history.

In 2009, Ashland, Crestview and Hillsdale gave the area three qualifiers in the same season for the first time. It now has happened in four of the last five seasons, and the one year that it didn’t — 2010 — both Ashland and Hillsdale made regional title games.

With the addition of a seventh division in football, Mapleton made the playoffs last fall, getting in with Black River, Loudonville and Northwestern. That performance gave the area four playoff qualifiers for the first time in its history.

“I think the overall quality of football in (the Ashland area) has gotten a lot better,” said 25th-year Black River coach Al Young, whose eight trips to the playoffs are more than any other area coach. “You look at the Northwesterns, and Loudonville always had tradition, and they’re coming back on it. Ashland, those guys have done a great job over there, and you’ve got Crestview ... and now Mapleton seems to be coming back a bit.”

“When you make the playoffs, it’s a big deal,” he added. “And football has gotten that good that I don’t think it’s ever going to be watered down. Not in this state.”

Neither Crestview, Hillsdale, New London nor Northwestern had ever made playoffs before the start of “The Streak.” But since

1994, those programs have com-bined for 24 playoff games.

Fifteenth-year Huskies coach Mike Thut and 12th-year Falcons coach Tom Williams both agreed that the rise of area youth football has been part of the success, and their continuity as coaches within their respective programs also has been pivotal.

Thut said the emergence of Hillsdale, Northwestern and Nor-wayne as powers in the Wayne County Athletic League has been a great sign after years of league dominance for more eastern WCAL schools Dalton, Smithville and Waynedale.

“I just think the three schools on (the western) side of the (WCAL) have picked up their level of play,” Thut said. “... We’ve kind of joined in the party a little bit.”

“The more (playoff qualifiers), the merrier,” Williams added. “It’s an exciting time for communities and any time you have a nice sea-son, it’s great when you’re able to get into the playoffs as a reward.”

Area teams have consistently gotten deeper into the playoffs, too. In the 32 playoff seasons before 2003, a combined three local teams (Black River, Loudonville, New London) advanced to the regional championship game a total of six times. In the 11 seasons since, a combined four local teams (Ashland, Black River, Hillsdale, Northwestern) already have made it that far seven times.

Loudonville just missed advanc-ing to the regional title game last fall, losing 17-13 to Huron in the semifinals, and third-year Red-birds coach Justin Todd said he feels his team is just part of an area that has grown into a hotbed for talented small-school programs.

An East Knox graduate, Todd has seen plenty of central Ohio football, and he heard plenty about northeastern Ohio football while attending Mount Union College. Now he believes locals are putting their own stamp on things.

“This is a fantastic area, espe-cially for small-school football,” Todd said. “... I think we rank up there with anybody, if you take away the (Midwest Athletic Con-ference, which includes teams like Coldwater, Delphos St. John’s and Marion Local) and certainly Kirt-land the last three years. Outside of that, we’ve had really, really good football in this area.”

Last year’s overall record for all nine area teams combined was 54-41 — easily the best in history. It marked the sixth time in the last eight seasons that the area has had a winning overall record. In the 25 seasons before that run, the area had posted a winning record just twice.

Consistent winning has always been the first step. For the last 20 years in “The Streak,” the area has reaped the benefits.

“What I try to tell our kids is we’re going to work as hard as anybody else in the state, so why shouldn’t we feel like we should belong (in the playoffs)?” Valen-tine said. “And I think that’s the way everybody in this area now feels — there’s that belief, and it’s neat to see people at every divi-sion be able to get in and compete on that level and show that there’s good football in this area.”

20 consecutive seasons of playoff football have grown the areafrom a little-known threat into a major player

NOTES FROM‘THE STREAK’

REGIONAL FINALISTS SCHOOL ........................ SEASONAshland ......................................2010Hillsdale .....................................2010Ashland ..................................... 2009Ashland ......................................2007Ashland ..................................... 2006Northwestern ........................... 2005Black River ................................ 2003Black River ................................. 1999New London............................... 1995

NO. 1 SEEDSSCHOOL, RECORD ......... SEASONAshland, 12-1............................. 2006Black River, 10-3 ....................... 2003Crestview, 10-2 ........................ 2000New London, 10-2 ..................... 1995

HOME PLAYOFF GAMES SCHOOL ........................ SEASONBlack River ................................. 2013Northwestern ............................ 2013Black River ..................................2011Ashland ......................................2010Ashland ..................................... 2009Crestview .................................. 2009Ashland ......................................2007Ashland ..................................... 2006Northwestern ........................... 2006Crestview .................................. 2004Black River ................................ 2003Crestview .................................. 2000

AREA HEAD-TO-HEAD GAMES MATCHUP ..................... SEASONLoudonville at Northwestern .... 2013 Hillsdale at Crestview ............. 2009

CLOSE-CALL NON-QUALIFIERS (all with 9-1 records)

SCHOOL ........................ SEASONHillsdale ......................................2011Crestview ................................... 1998Black River ................................. 1994

YEARS IN ‘THE STREAK’At least one local football team has made the state

playoffs every year since 1994, a streak of 20 seasons.Here’s the breakdown:

2013Black River (7-4) - Div. V 4th seed*Loudonville (10-2) - Div. V 6th seedMapleton (6-5) - Div. VII 6th seedNorthwestern (9-2) - Div. V 3rd seed*

2012Hillsdale (7-4) - Div. V 7th seed Loudonville (8-3) - Div. V 5th seedNorthwestern (8-3) - Div. IV 7th seed

2011Ashland (6-5) - Div. II 6th seed Black River (9-3) - Div. IV 4th seed*Crestview (11-1) - Div. V 6th seed

2010Ashland (10-3) - Div. II 4th seed (regional finalist)*Hillsdale (11-2) - Div. V 7th seed (regional finalist)

2009Ashland (11-2) - Div. II 3rd seed (regional finalist)*Crestview (9-2) - Div. V 4th seed*Hillsdale (9-3) - Div. V 5th seed

2008Crestview (9-2) - Div. V 8th seed

2007Ashland (12-2) - Div. II 4th seed (state semifinalist)*Northwestern (9-2) - Div. V 6th seed

2006Ashland (12-1) - Div. II 1st seed (regional finalist)*Northwestern (10-1) - Div. V 2nd seed*

2005Northwestern (10-3) - Div. V 7th seed (regional finalist)

2004Crestview (9-2) - Div. V 4th seed*

2003Ashland (8-3) - Div. II 7th seedBlack River (10-3) - Div. IV 1st seed (regional finalist)*

2002Black River (8-3) - Div. IV 5th seed

2001Crestview (10-1) - Div. V 6th seed

2000Crestview (10-2) - Div. V 1st seed*Loudonville (7-3) - Div. IV 8th seed

1999Black River (9-4) - Div. V 7th seed (regional finalist)

1998Black River (9-2) - Div. IV 2nd seed

1997Black River (9-2) - Div. V 4th seed

1996Black River (8-3) - Div. V 4th seed

1995New London (10-2) - Div. V 1st seed (regional finalist)

1994New London (10-1) - Div. IV 3rd seed

*Indicates teams that hosted first-round playoff games.

Running-clock rule kicks up debateAre you ready for some faster

football?That’s the question that needed

to be asked in May when the Ohio High School Athletic Association adopted a new point-differential, running-clock rule for Ohio’s high school teams. Hopes are that the new rule will lower the risk of injuries in lopsided con-tests while also taking away some of the decision-making for coaches in such blowouts.

“Lopsided games aren’t good for anybody,” OHSAA assistant commis-sioner Beau Rugg said in May’s release. “The risk of injury goes up and it can be a tense situation for coaches and play-ers. The length of games is also a topic of conversation at the national level. This is just the right thing to do.”

According to the release, after the first half, any time the score differen-tial reaches 30 points or more, the clock will only be stopped when:

■ An official’s timeout is called either for an injured player or follow-ing a change of team possession

■ A charged timeout is called■ A quarter ends■ A score occursOther than those four scenarios, the

clock will continue to run after halftime as long as the difference on the score-board is at least 30 points. Any time the difference drops below 30, the game reverts back to regular timing.

The rule also will apply to games at the seventh- and eighth-grade and freshman and junior varsity levels. And while it seems the OHSAA has good intentions with the idea — which it says is already used in different varia-tions in other states — some area coaches say they don’t have to like it.

“I think there are coaches that play their starters deep into the fourth quar-ter no matter the score and you just get teams that get humiliated. Well I couldn’t get my starters out quick enough,” said Loudonville coach Justin Todd, whose squad was on the good side of six games decided by more than 30 points last fall. “In 80 percent of our

regular-season games (in 2013), our starters didn’t play the fourth quarter, and our younger guys got a lot of really cool experience; they want to play on Friday nights under the lights.

“What bothers me is that (the new rule is) going to limit those kids’ reps, and they have every right to get those reps.”

While Todd said he understands what the OHSAA is going for, he said there is too much of gray area when it comes to messing with the limited minutes on a varsity game night.

What if a team gets a defensive stop out of halftime, he asked, then returns the ensuing punt to cut the game to three scores, but lost more than half the third quarter during its previous defensive stand because the clock never stopped?

“I think what you’ve done is you’ve told your kids, ‘You’re down four scores and you’re out of the game,’ ” Todd said. “... One special teams play changes the entire momentum.”

And what about programs that

By DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

DOUGHAIDETT-G Sports

Editor

OHIO CARDINAL CONFERENCE OVERALL OCCSCHOOL W L W LX-Mans. Sr. #4, D2 10 0 7 0Ashland 7 3 6 1Clear Fork 7 3 5 2Wooster 4 6 4 3West Holmes 6 4 3 4Madison 3 7 2 5Orrville 4 6 1 6Lexington 1 9 0 7

FIRELANDS CONFERENCE OVERALL FCSCHOOL W L W LX-St. Paul #7, D7 9 1 7 0Western Reserve 7 3 6 1X-Mapleton 6 4 4 3New London 6 4 4 3Crestview 5 5 4 3Plymouth 5 5 2 5Monroeville 1 9 1 6South Central 0 10 0 7

MID-BUCKEYE CONFERENCE OVERALL MBCSCHOOL W L W LX-Ldnville #9, D5 9 1 3 0X-Danville 8 2 2 1East Knox 3 7 1 2Lucas 4 6 0 3

PATRIOT ATHLETICCONFERENCE

OVERALL PACSCHOOL W L W L

STARS DIVISIONX-Black River 7 3 6 1Keystone 7 3 6 1X-Buckeye 6 4 6 1Brookside 3 7 2 5Wellington 2 8 2 5Firelands 0 10 0 7

STRIPES DIVISIONX-Columbia #3, D5 10 0 7 0Fairview 9 1 6 1Lutheran West 5 5 3 4Clearview 4 6 2 5Brooklyn 2 8 1 6Oberlin 2 8 1 6

WAYNE COUNTYATHLETIC LEAGUE

OVERALL WCALSCHOOL W L W LX-N’wstrn #12, D5 9 1 7 0X-Chippewa 8 2 6 1Norwayne 7 3 5 2Waynedale 6 4 4 3Hillsdale 4 6 3 4Dalton 3 7 2 5Smithville 1 9 1 6Rittman 1 9 0 7

2013 FINAL AREACONFERENCE STANDINGS

Note: Numbers in italics represent final 2013 state rankings and divisions.X Denotes playoff teams

Turn to CLOCK, Page 4

Page 3: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

No matter the personnel, no matter the experience, the Ashland foot-ball program has done so much winning since coach Scott Val-entine took over in 2002 that suc-cess has seemed as automatic as a sunset in the west.

The Arrows have had win-ning records in 10 of his 12 sea-sons, including last year’s 7-3 mark. But for the first time since Marcus Fuller in 2008, AHS will have a sophomore at quar-terback (6-foot-5, 190-pound Grant Denbow), and the loss of five players to college programs from last year’s senior class has the squad leaning on a bevy of lesser-known athletes.

“You try not to think about those guys, because they’re not coming back,” said Valentine, now just six wins from 100 at AHS (94-41). “You definitely notice the difference in where guys were. ... You just want to figure out who are the guys in those spots who are a good fit.”

Perhaps the most telling sign of change is the fact that senior lineman Drew Dickinson is arguably the most recognizable name on the roster. With the loss of major contributors Ty Green (now at Fordham), Heath Reineke (Northestern), Jake Allton (Findlay), Jerrod Con-ing (Carnegie Mellon) and Max Stringer (Heidelberg), it is the 6-4, 285-pound Dickinson who will need to be a stabilizer.

“He’s a guy we’re going to depend on a lot, but he’s a guy I think that can handle it,” Val-

entine said of the All-Ohioan, who has garnered a lot of NCAA Division I interest. “... He’s pro-duced on the field for us, so I think a lot of our guys are going to look to him for leadership.”

The actual returning stats for Ashland are limited. Allton (960 receiving yards, 492 rush-ing yards, school-record 192 points); Stringer (812 receiving yards, 8 TDs); and area-lead-ing quarterback Nick Zurcher (2,547 yards, 26 passing TDs, 8 rushing TDs) accounted for 288 of the team’s 339 points in 2013.

The only returning guys with better than 85 yards receiv-ing are juniors Lonzo Dampier IV (28 catches, 239 yards) and Cole McQuate (12-132), and Dampier’s 60 rushing yards are the biggest chunk of what remains from Ashland’s 1,498 ground yards in 2013 (Zurcher and Allton totaled 1,380).

“We probably are going to have to be a little bit more balanced and spread the ball around,” said Valentine, who was amazed that teams didn’t seem to adjust to the Zurcher-Allton-Stringer attack that had AHS within two spots of a play-off berth. “We’ve got the guys to do that, and you become tough-er to defend if you’ve got more guys involved.”

“(This year’s receivers) all have the capability when they get the ball in their hands of making yardage after the catch,” he added. “We may be getting shorter passes, but they’re going to have the capability of getting big yardage.”

Valentine said Dampier, McQuate, Johnny Jackson, Tyler Doerrer and Donald Denbow could all get lots of touches in the team’s run game, which will be a bit more prevalent with

first-year varsity QB Grant Den-bow taking the controls.

The options out wide will be plenty, including Jake Purtell, Trey Smith, Jake Gardner, John Wolfe and Carter Brown, while 6-4, 195-pound junior tight end Nich Bernhard will give the team some size at the edge.

The offensive line will feature Dickinson, Josh Pheneger (6-2, 210); Seth Goetz (5-11, 235); Hunter Blessing (5-11, 275); and Logan Cox (6-4, 245).

But there will undoubtedly be big pressure on the shoulders of Denbow, who follows in the footsteps of four straight sea-sons of senior quarterbacks at Ashland — all of whom threw for at least 2,450 yards and 18 touchdowns. Add in the fact that the last two quarterbacks to start as sophomores at AHS were Fuller (current starting QB at Brown University) and Taylor Housewright (former starter at Ashland University), and the pressure only rises.

While Denbow led the AHS freshman team to an 8-1 record last year that included some 60-point outbursts, Valentine said he still needs to learn much more of the varsity playbook. But the coach also feels Den-bow has more around him than Fuller and Housewright did as sophomores, when they went 4-6 and 5-5, respectively.

“We’re throwing a lot at him, as long as he can handle it,” Val-entine said. “If we feel we need to pull back, we’ll pull back and make some adjustments. He was around everything last year, so he knew coming in what we do.”

There are even fewer returning guys on the AHS defense, which will be led again by coordinator

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE ASHLAND THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 3

2013: 7-3 OVERALL, 6-1 OCC

AUG. 30 — Wadsworth 35, Ashland 7SEPT. 6 — Dover 47, Ashland 42SEPT. 13 — Ashland 41, Sandusky 13SEPT. 21 — Ashland 38, Wooster 17SEPT. 27 — Ashland 48, West Holmes 21OCT. 4 — Mansfield Sr. 30, Ashland 14OCT. 11 — Ashland 30, Orrville 10OCT. 18 — Ashland 36, Clear Fork 35OCT. 25 — Ashland 42, Madison 0NOV. 1 — Ashland 42, Lexington 29

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

OL Drew Dickinson (first team), DB Tyler Wilson (special mention)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ty Green (Fordham), Heath Reineke (Northestern), Jake Allton (Find-lay), Jerrod Coning (Carnegie Mellon), Max Stringer (Heidelberg)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision II, Region 5

# NAME POSITIONS YR1 Tyler Doerrer WR/DB 122 Carter Brown WR/DB 123 Cole McQuate WR/SS 114 Grant Denbow QB 105 Dominic Donofrio K 126 Trent Newlan RB/LB 127 Jake Purtell WR/DB 128 John Wolfe WR/FS 109 Lonzo Dampier WR/DB 1110 Trey Smith WR/DB 1211 Dalton Eagle WR/DB 12

12 Tyler Deskins WR/LB 1115 Anthony Walker DE 1116 Bryce Stormer WR/DB 1017 Ryan Gray QB/DB 1118 Nich Bernhard WR/LB 1119 Jordan Kitchen QB/DB 1021 Cole Shoemaker WR/DB 1222 Brandon Bouquet RB/LB 1223 Tyler Wilson WR/S 1224 Andrew Koerpen WR/DB 1026 Donald Denbow RB/DB 1027 James Wilson WR/DB 10

28 Kenny Sheets WR/LB 1030 AJ Beer RB/DE 1131 Alex Brinkman WR/S 1132 Scott Valentine OT/DE 1133 Brandon Sheets WR/DB 1134 Johnny Jackson RB/NG 1136 Alex Webb RB/LB 1138 Keaton Morehead RB/LB 1139 Tyler Lovell RB/LB 1040 Colton Reynolds WR/DE 1042 Nick Fenstermaker WR/LB 1044 Leland Reineke WR/DT 11

45 Hunter Krebs WR/LB 1048 Logan Bottorf WR/LB 1050 Tyler Newlan OT/NG 1052 Ethan Klein OL/LB 1253 Josh Hyatt OL/DE 1055 Zac Benner OL/NG 1256 Tobin Pokrzywa OL/DE 1157 Obadiah Howman OL/NG 1061 Lincoln Lee OL/DT 1063 Seth Goetz OL/DT 1165 Austin Cooper OT/NG 1066 Josh Pheneger OT/DT 12

67 Isaiah Benavente OT/DT 1070 Logan Cox OT/DT 1274 Kyle Kohne OT/DT 1075 Hunter Blessing OL/DT 1277 Logan Lovejoy OT/DT 1078 Deven Bowen OL/DT 1279 Drew Dickinson OL/DT 1280 Seth Piper WR/DB 1081 Jake Gardner WR/DB 1184 Austin Rose WR/DB 1085 Casey Rausch WR/DB 12

Arrows look for balance in season of new facesBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOW

OFFENSE OL Drew Dickinson, sr. — 6-4, 285-pound All-Ohioan who played everywhere on the line in 2013WR Lonzo Dampier IV, jr. — 28 catches, 239 yards; 17 carries, 60 yards, 2 TDsWR Cole McQuate, jr. — 12 catches, 132 yards

DEFENSE DB Tyler Wilson, sr. — 47 tackles, INT, 3 FFsDL Johnny Jackson, jr. — 32 tackles, 3 sacksDL Zac Benner, sr. — 23 tackles, 4 TFLs

9 RETURNING STARTERS6 OFFENSE3 DEFENSE

Valentine

PLAYOFFS: 1987, 2003, 06, 07, 09, 10, 11 | HEAD COACH: SCOTT VALENTINE (94-41 in 12 years) | CONFERENCE: OHIO CARDINAL

WADSWORTHAUG. 29

DOVERSEPT. 5

AT COLUMBIANSEPT. 12

AT WOOSTERSEPT. 19

WEST HOLMESSEPT. 26

AT MANSFIELDOCT. 3

ORRVILLEOCT. 10

AT CLEAR FORKOCT. 17

AT MADISONOCT. 24

LEXINGTONOCT. 31

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Page 4: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

Andy Tabler, returning after a one-year hiatus to Westlake.

Senior safety Tyler Wil-son (47 tackles last year) will be the veteran in a secondary that Valentine believes is loaded with more depth than past seasons, but the team lost all its key line-backers from last season, including 90-tackle guys Coning and Marc Lujan.

One key name will be senior Ethan Klein (6-2, 240), a big-hitting addi-tion at middle linebacker after not playing last year. Helping the defensive line will be Jackson and the

260-pound Zac Benner, the only returning players other than Wilson with at least 20 tackles last fall.

The loss of Green (115 tackles, 12 sacks) and Reineke (38 tackles, 5 sacks) on that line won’t be easy to forget. But Valentine believes the collective unit on this year’s team — which has 24 players in its sopho-more class who could be quick contributors — could be fun to see progress.

With perhaps more bal-ance than ever, the coach said it’s harder than usual to pick a favorite for the Ohio Cardinal Conference crown. Mansfield Senior lost major contributors from its 2013 team, the

first in the 118-year history of the program to post a perfect regular season. The Tygers gave AHS its lone OCC loss last year, 30-14.

Ashland is entering its 108th season of football with a 485-464-40 record. If the Arrows find a way to make the playoffs, that Week 11 contest would be the 1,000th game in the history of the program.

But that’s the last thing on Ashland’s mind, as yet another grueling set of nonconference foes looms on the horizon. The Arrows do get to open at home with Wadsworth and Dover, but both teams made the playoffs last year, and both are annual

threats for the postseason.The addition of a playoff-

qualifying Tiffin Columbian program in Week 3 — a spot previously reserved for San-dusky, which Ashland routed the last two years — won’t make things any easier.

4 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 XYZ ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

have built themselves into annual contenders because of the extra minutes they’re able to get their backups during those “mop-up” sec-ond halves, as well as the struggling programs who want to get their underclassmen more seasoning in varsity action to build for the future?

Todd said coaches and teams who respect the game and their opponent can make the clock run on their own by not throwing the ball and not running up the score.

Many coaches in the area agree. Northwestern 15th-year coach

Mike Thut, who will lead the Hus-kies in a game for the 150th time in Week 3, said he is not a fan. The dean of all area coaches — 25th-year Black River coach Al Young — was in the same boat.

“I don’t see too many games get out of hand — most everybody’s pretty smart about it,” said Young, who has an area-record 165 wins and has led the Pirates for 252 games. “I just think sometimes they get to tinkering with things that don’t need to be tinkered with. There’s a lot more important

things they can worry about than that.”However, Ashland’s Scott Valen-

tine (entering 13th season) and Hill-sdale’s Tom Williams (entering 12th) — who, like Young and Thut, are the all-time wins leaders at their respec-tive programs — both said they could see the benefits of the new rule, too.

Valentine said that while he has been part of big comebacks and wants to teach his players to compete no matter what the score, avoiding injuries is always a positive.

Williams, meanwhile, said he doesn’t recall ever seeing a high school team overcome a 30-point def-icit — and he’s never been involved in many games that had leads in the 20s that grew tense at the end. He said the Falcons are used to running the ball and the clock as much as they can in blowouts, and even though his team was 2-3 last season in games decided by at least 30 points, he isn’t putting much into the new rule.

“To be honest, I think people are going to be upset that it doesn’t make as big a difference as they were hop-ing for,” Williams said. “If a team that’s down is still passing it a lot and having turnovers a lot, those games are still going to get bad quick.”

Some have suggested that making the number 40 points for the running clock would be more logical. When asked by the Times-Gazette if the OHSAA considered a higher num-ber, Rugg said he looked at four or five states using the rule, and while some were higher than 30, some were lower, too. He said the OHSAA settled on 30 with the thought that it was the equivalent of five touch-downs without extra points.

Either way, the speed-up rule is sure to impact plenty of Friday nights throughout Ohio this season. Just for the nine Ashland-area teams during the 2013 season alone, there were 35 final scores that finished with a margin of at least 30 points — and that’s not even factoring in how high the differences were while the game was still being played.

“We are interested to see what the feedback is as the season progresses and we have games that actually fall into this rule,” Rugg told the T-G. “Everything now is conjecture. We know the environment in blowout games is awful in many respects and we think this rule will make these games better for coaches, players, fans and officials.”

CLOCKContinued from Page 2

AHS is 11 games from 1,000 all-time

Rule could avoid ‘tense situations’ALL-TIME T-G FOOTBALL PLAYERS, COACHES OF THE YEAR

YR PLAYER OF THE YEAR .............COACH OF THE YEAR13 Andrew Vaughn, B. River (O) ...Robert Mahaney, Mapleton Ryan Weber, Loudonville (D)12 Tyler Smith, Northwestern (O) ......Justin Todd, Loudonville Austin Cary, Loudonville (D)11 Mason Minnich, Crestview (O) .........Al Young, Black River Steven Petroff, Crestview (D)10 Marcus Fuller, Ashland (O) ..........Tom Williams, Hillsdale John Guilford, Black River (D)09 Marcus Fuller, Ashland (O) ........Scott Valentine, Ashland Ryan Brewer, Hillsdale (D)08 Dustin Simpson, Hillsdale (O) ....Sean Conway, Crestview Cody Fast, Ashland (D)07 Taylor Housewright, Ashland ....Scott Valentine, Ashland06 Hunter Reed, Crestview .............Scott Valentine, Ashland05 Travis Morris, Northwestern ....Mike Thut, Northwestern04 Ryan O’Dell, Crestview ..............Sean Conway, Crestview03 Nate Summerfield, Ashland ............Al Young, Black River02 Nate Summerfield, Ashland ......Scott Valentine, Ashland Brett Hastings, Black River01 John Stuart, Crestview..............Mike Thut, Northwestern00 Matt Workman, Crestview .............Mark Solis, Crestview99 Jarrod Barber, Crestview .................Al Young, Black River98 Charlie Moskal, Black River ....... Rick Brindley, Crestview97 Jesse Schmitz, Ashland ...................Al Young, Black River96 Zach Kaya, Black River .....................Al Young, Black River95 Joey Collins, New London ......Rocky Farlow, New London94 Jim Houghtlen, New London ...Rocky Farlow, New London93 Kevin Meeting, Crestview .....Rocky Farlow, New London92 Scott Smith, Loudonville .................Al Young, Black River91 Shane Light, Mapleton ............... Jim Anderson, Mapleton90 Dan Weber, Loudonville ........... Mike Warbel, Loudonville89 Jim Addington, Black River ...........Matt Stoll, Black River88 Dan Arnholt, Loudonville ........... Jim Anderson, Mapleton87 Gerry Kline, Loudonville ..............Joe Studer, New London86 Matt Bernhard, Crestview ......... Steve Gilbert, Crestview85 Dave Savick, Black River ................Matt Stoll, Black River84 Craig Henderson, Loudonville ... Mike Warbel, Loudonville83 Scott Vickers, Loudonville ....... Mike Warbel, Loudonville82 Curtis Reed, Crestview ..................Lee Owens, Crestview81 Tom Hall, South Central ............. Bill Lewis, South Central80 Todd Wyckoff, New London ....... Dan Detwiler, Mapleton79 Doug Fidler, South Central ........ Bill Lewis, South Central78 Virgil Harris, New London........ Mike Warbel, Loudonville77 Virgil Harris, New London....Denny Steinback, Black River76 Ken Morgan, Black River .......... Terry Forbes, Black River75 Tim Cowen, Loudonville .......... Mike Warbel, Loudonville74 Mitch Browning, Loudonville ... Terry Forbes, Black River73 Bobby Williams, New London ...........Bill Seder, Crestview72 Mark Mullins, New London ......Paul Nestor, New London71 Ron Zook, Loudonville ................Bill Banning, Loudonville70 Mike Nugent, New London ...... Red Nugent, New London69 Jim Reynolds Jr., Mapleton ........Bill Banning, Loudonville68 Jim Reynolds Jr., Mapleton ......Jim Reynolds Sr., Mapleton Cliff Hickey, Mapleton67 Mike Grenert, Northwestern .......................none awarded66 Bob White, South Central ............................none awarded65 Merv Nugent, New London .........................none awarded64 Steve Cooke, New London ...........................none awarded63 Don Enzor, South Central ............................none awarded62 Les Steele, Loudonville ................................none awarded61 Bob Rowland, Jeromesville .........................none awarded60 Gary Moose, Ashland ...................................none awarded59 Dick Dauch, Ashland ....................................none awarded58 Wendell Weikel, Jeromesville .....................none awarded57 Dick Marshall, Perrysville ............................none awarded56 Jim McKinley, Jeromesville .........................none awarded55 Russ Cutlip, Jeromesville .............................none awarded54 Earl Parker, Loudonville................................none awarded53 Dan McBride, Ashland .................................none awarded52 Jim Roseboro, Ashland .................................none awarded51 Jack Augenstein, Loudonville .....................none awarded

ARROWSContinued from Page 3

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Page 5: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE BLACK RIVER THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 5

SULLIVAN — It may be one of the most fitting area football realities ever that the last time Black River wasn’t clinching either a confer-ence division title or a playoff berth — or both — was before Andrew Vaughn arrived to the pro-gram.

The star running back set local career records in scoring (530 points) and rushing yards (6,097) and now is cutting his teeth on the roster at Ashland University. He was so talent-ed that Pirate football could very well be divided into two eras: Before Vaughn and after Vaughn.

Since his freshman season in 2010, Black River has won at least a share of three Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Divi-sion titles and locked up a pair of trips to the playoffs. Before he arrived, it had been seven seasons since the Pirates had done either, and six seasons since they’d had a winning record.

Now, 25th-year Black River head coach Al Young — the dean of area coaches whose local-best record continues to fatten (now 165-87 in 252 games) — just wants to be sure the good times keep roll-ing. Last year’s playoff team finished 7-4 after a 1-2 start, using a six-game win streak to catapult it to a 6-1 PAC mark and tie it for top Stars Divi-

sion honors with Keystone and Buckeye.

“Let’s be honest, when you’ve got a guy like Vaughn, you knew you were going to move the ball and score points,” Young said. “We had a good football team last year and we had a lot of good players. ... As young as we are, I hope a lot of that stuff car-ries over.”

“Last year we were supposed to be good and there was a lot of pressure on us, and the kids played well,” he added. “But I kind of like it when we’ve got young kids; the expectations are high, but there’s not a lot of pressure.”

Despite Vaughn’s absence, the cupboard is far from bare. He helped groom two guys who should continue Black River’s tradition of stellar backs in juniors David Bell (992 rushing yards last year) and Colin Filak (599), a duo that combined for 285 carries and 13 rushing TDs in 2013.

Young calls the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Bell the team’s “big gun,” and he joins Filak, junior quarterback Vernon Beard (6-0, 175) and senior offensive line-men John Ternes (6-0, 205) and Ryan Slone (6-1, 210) as the squad’s returning offensive starters.

“We’ve got kids who can run the ball and, fortunately for us, we’ve got a pretty good offensive line,” Young said. “... You’ve got good leadership, you’ve got good people to build around, sort of like the pillars, and then you just fill in the rest. Our JV team has been really good the last couple years, so hopefully that bodes well for us,

too.”With Beard growing about

20 pounds and 3 inches in the offseason, as well as in skill, Young feels like he will be able to fit the quarterback mold bet-ter than guys he’s had at the spot in recent years. The coach also believes the offense will be able to spread the ball around more and has better overall quickness.

“(Beard) is a heck of a lot more poised than he was before,” Young said. “He’s older, he’s bigger and stronger. That leap from your sophomore to junior year makes all the differ-ence in the world.”

With a line anchored by PAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and All-Ohioan Gabe Eaton, who has since graduated, Black River was second only to North-western last year in the area in points per game (36.5). If the squad can get anywhere near there again, it will be on the right track.

The trick will be tighten-ing up the defense. The Pirates were second only to South Cen-tral last year locally in points allowed (32.4 per game), giving up a boatload in losses to play-off teams Northwestern (35-12), Manchester (56-13) and Fairless (51-42).

“As well as we were play-ing on offense (last year), we played pretty lousy on defense in some games,” Young said. “We’ve got to be better defen-sively. We’ve got to tackle bet-ter, we’ve got to defend the pass better and certainly play better special teams.”

2013: 7-4 OVERALL, 6-1 PACAUG. 30 — Black River 40, Western Reserve 14SEPT. 6 — Northwestern 35, Black River 12SEPT. 13 — Manchester 56, Black River 13SEPT. 21 — Black River 36, Lutheran West 30 (OT)SEPT. 27 — Black River 64, Clearview 60OCT. 4 — Black River 37, Wellington 21OCT. 11 — Black River 28, Buckeye 6OCT. 18 — Black River 73, Firelands 35OCT. 25 — Black River 51, Brookside 20NOV. 1 — Keystone 28, Black River 6

NOV. 9 (regional quarterfinal)Fairless 51, Black River 42

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

RB David Bell (second team)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Andrew Vaughn (Ashland)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision V, Region 15

Post-Vaughn era begins as Pirates hope for moreBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

# NAME POSITIONS YR1 Justin Zacharyasz RB/DB 92 Taylor Clay WR/LB 113 Kyle Petruzzi RB/DB 95 Jacob Campbell RB/DL 97 Travis Sexton RB/LB 98 Vernon Beard QB/DB 119 Matt Boudinot TE/DE 1210 Logan Norton WR/LB 1211 Allen Benson WR/DB 11

12 Mike Hazlett QB/LB 1014 Glen Crabtree QB/DB 1216 Alex McIntyre WR/DB 1217 Garrett Hord RB/DB 920 Andrew Duche RB/LB 1222 Zach Beard RB/DB 1023 David Frazier RB/LB 924 Dalton Toth RB/DB 1127 Brandon Weidrick QB/DB 928 Jarret Foster TE/LB 10

29 Tyler Merry RB/DB 930 David Bell RB/LB 1133 Colin Filak RB/LB 1136 Russel Bell RB/LB 1240 Corey Bartolic RB/DB 1043 Cory Hammon TE/DL 1050 Sidney Lower OL/DL 953 Trevor Scott OL/TB 954 Curtis Roupe OL/TB 957 Cadin Chapman OL/DL 9

58 Matt Potter OL/LB 1059 Josh Sexton OL/DL 1260 Cole Haswell OL/DE 962 Seth Hendrix OL/DL 1163 Frank Rusiecki OL/DL 1164 Cory Hamilton OL/DE 1065 David Markiewicz OL/DL 1166 John Ternes OL/DE 1267 Ryan Slone OL/DL 1271 Dakota Hudson OL/DL 11

73 Duncan Ramsey OL/DL 1174 Eric Cordonnier OL/DL 975 Cody McKean OL/DL 1076 D.P. Shranko OL/DL 1078 Derek Hawley OL/DE 1179 Joey Duche OL/DL 980 Dakota Soucek WR/DB 981 Jeff Owen TE/DB 986 Jonathan Workman TE/LB 1089 Dylan Lewis TE/DE 11

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

RB David Bell, jr. — 155 carries, 992 yards, 9 TDsRB Colin Filak, jr. — 130 carries, 599 yards, 4 TDs

DEFENSE LB Russell Bell, sr. — 62 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, INTDL Ryan Slone, sr. — 31 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3 sacksDB David Bell, jr. — 27 tackles, 3.5 TFLsDB Vernon Beard, jr. — 29 tackles

8 RETURNING STARTERS5 OFFENSE3 DEFENSE

Young

PLAYOFFS: 1985, 96, 97, 98, 99, 2002, 03, 11, 13 | HEAD COACH: AL YOUNG (165-87 in 24 years) | CONFERENCE: PATRIOT ATHLETIC

AT W. RESERVEAUG. 29

AT NORTHWESTERN SEPT. 5

MANCHESTERSEPT. 12

AT LUTHERAN WEST

SEPT. 19CLEARVIEWSEPT. 26

AT WELLINGTONOCT. 3

BUCKEYEOCT. 10

FIRELANDSOCT. 17

AT BROOKSIDEOCT. 24

KEYSTONEOCT. 31

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STARS DIVISION2013 ............ Black River, Buckeye, Keystone2012 ...............................................Black River2011 ...................................................Firelands2010 ...............................................Black River2009 ...................................................Buckeye2008 ...................................................Buckeye2007 ...................................................Buckeye2006 .............................................. Wellington2005 ...................................................Buckeye

STRIPES DIVISION2013 ..................................................Columbia2012 ..................................................Columbia2011 .................................Columbia, Fairview2010 ..................................................Columbia2009 ................................................Clearview2008 ................................................Clearview2007 ................................................Clearview2006 ................................................Clearview2005 ........................................Lutheran West

PAST PATRIOT ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

Championships by school: Buckeye (5), Clearview (4), Columbia (4), Black River (3), Fairview (1), Firelands (1), Keystone (1), Lutheran West (1), Wellington (1)

Page 6: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

LOUDONVILLE — There is the process of getting ducks in a row, then there is the process of getting sharks in a row.

For the last two seasons, L o u d o n v i l l e head coach Jus-tin Todd and his football team have been getting their ducks in a row — first in 2012 with the program’s first trip to the playoffs in 12 years, then in 2013 with the program’s first playoff win in 23 years.

Todd has more wins in his first two seasons with the pro-gram (18-5) than any coach in area history in that same span.

Now, with all that momen-tum and 19 returning starters, the Redbirds seem to have their sharks in a row as well as any local team in recent memory.

But Todd said success will only come if each play in each game is handled the right way.

“I’ve seen a lot of teams that had high expectations that let the newspaper clippings get to their head,” Todd said. “That’s going to be a big thing this year because this senior class has been told how they are the gift to football since they were little kids.

“I have to remind them to refocus themselves every single play because it doesn’t matter what happened in the past and it doesn’t matter what happens two plays from now, it’s this play. As long as they take that approach we’ll be fine.”

Loudonville finished its 2013 regular season with an average score of 40-12, then beat one of the best teams in Northwestern history on the road in a tight, 20-8 first-round playoff game.

The excitement came to a stop the next week in a 17-13 loss to Huron, but the Redbirds had made their statement — all the while playing in Division V when they should have been in Division VI (an enrollment snafu that has since been fixed).

Unfortunately, the Redbirds graduated one of the area’s best-ever two-way players in fullback/linebacker Ryan Weber. The two-time All-Ohioan and T-G Defensive Player of the Year likely was the first local ever to post 1,000 rushing yards and 100 tackles in back-to-back sea-sons and now plays at Malone.

Weber helped the team set school records for total offense (4,240) and rushing yards (3,216) in 2013.

But the bulk of the rest of the bunch is back, led by two-time All-Ohioan and quarterback Kolton Edmondson. The senior already has the LHS record for career rushing yards (3,183) and became the first local ever to run for 1,500 yards and pass for 1,000 last fall — his first season at quarterback. He also broke the school’s single-season mark for scoring (156 points).

The 6-foot, 195-pound Edmondson will be the fulcrum again this year, and ever since he ran the ball 204 times (25 TDs) last fall, Todd’s focus has been an improved passing game to balance his capabilities.

“We’re definitely throwing the football significantly bet-ter than we have my first two years,” said Todd, who wants to limit the number of hits Edmondson absorbs. “I think that’s to be expected when you have a kid that’s taking snaps for the second year. Last year against Smithville (in Week 1), we were all kind of crossing our fingers ... because that was the first time he had ever taken a

snap in a varsity game.”Loudonville has a bevy of ath-

letes around Edmondson, includ-ing five of his top six receiving targets from last year in seniors Austin VanSickle, Tristan Bend-er, Tucker Bender, Joey Artrip and Josh Weber. The team also has added speedy junior Garrett Quickle and brings back senior running backs Jordan Wright and Lane Harper, two playmak-ers who essentially missed all of last season due to injuries.

Todd said the offensive line has built depth all preseason due to a few injuries that should be gone by Friday’s opener. Tackles are Kyle Graham (6-0, 220) and Heath Snyder (6-1, 205); guards are Moe Aounah (6-0, 300) and Malakye Nall (6-0, 240); and the center is Blake Cary (6-1, 240).

Todd believes the line could become the best he’s had at LHS.

The defense, meanwhile, is a fast overall unit that returns nine of its top 12 tacklers from 2013. After tying Ryan Weber for the team lead with 142 tack-les last year, Tristan Bender (6-2, 210) slides from free safety to linebacker as a legitimate col-lege prospect who Todd said has been offered a roster spot at Division I-AA Morehead State.

Loudonville brings back a combined 12 interceptions from a year ago — seven total from DBs VanSickle and Tucker Bender — and should have a solid pass rush in its new 3-3 stack defense with linemen Gra-ham, Artrip and Cary, who com-bined for 130 tackles in 2013.

Linebackers Tristan Bender, Snyder and Mike Henderson, as well as DBs Edmondson, Quick-le and Wright, help complete the package on defense, and Tucker Bender returns as one of the most effective kickers around.

6 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 LOUD ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

2013: 10-2 OVERALL, 3-0 MBCAUG. 30 — Loudonville 48, Smithville 6SEPT. 6 — Loudonville 41, Crestview 0SEPT. 13 — Loudonville 46, Hillsdale 13SEPT. 20 — Loudonville 31, Logan 7SEPT. 27 — Loudonville 28, Willard 14OCT. 4 — Loudonville 50, Lucas 0OCT. 11 — Loudonville 62, East Knox 22OCT. 18 — Loudonville 39, Danville 14OCT. 25 — River Valley 26, Loudonville 0NOV. 1 — Loudonville 52, Shelby 16

NOV. 9 (regional quarterfinal)Loudonville 20, Northwestern 8NOV. 16 (regional semifinal)

Huron 17, Loudonville 13

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

ATH Kolton Edmondson (first team), DB Tristan Bender (first team), DL Kyle Graham (second team), LB Heath Snyder (sec-ond team), DB Austin VanSickle (second team), K/ATH Tucker Bender (second team), OL/DL Blake Cary (special mention)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ryan Weber (Malone), Michael Itschner (Kenyon)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VI, Region 19

# NAME POSITIONS YR35 Joey Artrip TE/DE 1210 Tristan Bender WR/LB 125 Tucker Bender OL/DE 1255 Blake Cary OL/DE 123 Kolton Edmondson QB/DB 1250 Kyle Graham OL/DL 122 Lane Harper SL/DB 1280 Mike Henderson WR/LB 1225 Luke Scarberry WR/DB 12

70 Bryce Skok OL/DL 1233 Josh Weber SL/DB 1229 Jordan Wright SL/OLB 1262 Moe Aounah OL/DL 1157 Hank Bee OL/LB 1135 Max Butler WR/DB 1140 Tristan Dahl SL/DB 1151 Clay Disbennett OL/LB 1163 Bryce McCaskey OL/DL 1175 Malakye Nall OL/DL 11

4 Garrett Quickle WR/DB 1161 Brody Runkle OL/DL 1152 Heath Snyder OL/LB 1166 C.J. Stanton OL/DL 1177 Nathan Traux OL/DL 111 Austin VanSickle SL/DB 1199 Jordan Washington OL/DL 1160 Cody Cochren OL/DL 1064 Kyle Clady OL/DL 1030 Mason Johnson RB/LB 10

37 Thomas Forbes SL/DB 1032 John Herman TE/DB 106 Devon Howland TE/DB 1013 Gavin Wiredu QB/DB 1079 Sam Wittel OL/DL 1058 Austin Zody OL/DL 1021 Dalton Arnholt OL/LB 974 Eric Bailey OL/DL 977 Dante Brown OL/DL 959 Colton Christine OL/LB 9

16 Dakota Cutlip WR/DB 912 Logan Fisher QB/DB 978 Gordon Herndon OL/DL 97 Toby Kauffman WR/DB 979 Carl McCartney OL/DL 972 Jayden Miller OL/DL 934 Jayson Mitchell SL/DB 944 Logan Nolder TE/LB 956 Kaleb Shriver OL/DL 960 Nick Stanton OL/DL 9

Redbirds appear on brink of major seasonBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

19 RETURNING STARTERS9 OFFENSE10 DEFENSE

Todd

PLAYOFFS: 1983, 84, 88, 90, 2000, 12, 13 | HEAD COACH: JUSTIN TODD (18-5 in 2 years) | CONFERENCE: MID-BUCKEYE

HIGHLANDAUG. 29

AT CRESTVIEWSEPT. 5

HILLSDALESEPT. 12

LOGANSEPT. 19

WILLARDSEPT. 26

LUCASOCT. 3

AT BISHOP READYOCT. 10

AT DANVILLEOCT. 17

AT GILMOUR ACD.OCT. 25

AT SHELBYOCT. 31

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

QB Kolton Edmondson, sr. — 75 of 143 passing, 1,094 yards, 12 TDs; 204 carries, 1,675 yards, 25 TDsWR Austin VanSickle, jr. — 17 catches, 360 yards, 3 TDsWR Tristan Bender, sr. — 9 catches, 179 yards, 2 TDsK Tucker Bender, sr. — 44 of 49 PATs; 53 total kicking points

DEFENSE LB Tristan Bender, sr. — 142 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 2 INTs, 2 FFsLB Mike Henderson, sr. — 85 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3 FRsLB Heath Snyder, jr. — 64 tackles, 13 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, 2 FRsDL Kyle Graham, sr. — 50 tackles, 14 TFLs, 3 sacksSS Tucker Bender, sr. — 53 tackles, 3 INTsCB Austin VanSickle, jr. — 48 tackles, 4 INTs, 18 pass breakupsDL Joe Artrip, sr. — 44 tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 sacksFS Kolton Edmondson, sr. — 37 tackles, 2 INTsDL Blake Cary, sr. — 36 tackles, 8 TFLs

LOUDLOUD

Turn to REDBIRDS, Page 15

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Page 7: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

JEROMESVILLE — Fans and followers of Hillsdale foot-ball would be highly mistaken if they viewed Hillsdale’s 4-6 season of 2013 in the same vein as the losing sea-sons that used to plague the pro-gram.

Consider that the Falcons lost a final-minute, 8-6 game to eventual state semi-finalist Manchester on opening night, then closed their regular season with a 20-13 defeat to eventual regional semifinalist Chippewa.

Then also consider that Hillsdale saw starters Corbin Mager, Arden Lieb, Thomas Zeno, Luke Summerfield and Craig Cline all miss chunks of the season due to injury.

Sure, it was the first losing season under 12th-year head coach Tom Williams since the squad posted its third consecu-tive 4-6 mark in 2006. But it was never all that far from what could have been the program’s seventh straight winning sea-son, either.

“We were definitely humbled some last year, but we try to reevaluate stuff every year, try to make sure that we look at the personnel that we have coming and try to get stuff that we think will help us have success on Fri-day nights,” said Williams, now 68-48.

“We had never had anything like (last year’s rash of injuries), and some of them were just

fluke things,” he said. “... Some-times it’s just our turn to have adversity.”

If things go the way Williams and the Falcons hope, the adver-sity will be getting dished out the other way in 2014.

Hillsdale has more than a handful of returning starters (15), and running back Corbin Mager (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) returns for his senior year in what Williams — and every Fal-cons fan out there — hopes will be a replay of his sophomore form.

The speedster, who broke Hillsdale’s single-season rushing record in 2012 (1,574 yards), tried to play the entire 2013 season through a high-ankle sprain he suffered during two-a-days. Williams said Mager was never above 60 or 70 percent in any game last fall, and just when it seemed he might be get-ting comfortable again, a tackle would aggravate the injury.

By the end of the year, Mager had nearly 100 fewer carries (78) than he totaled in 2012, leading to just 440 yards and three rushing touchdowns. But Williams thinks Mager is in line for a great season and also said that he’s gotten so many ques-tions about the running back this preseason that he can’t wait to finally get started Friday at Manchester.

With Troy Marksberry (5-7, 160) coming back for his sec-ond year as the starting quarter-back — and returning starters on the line in LG Skyler Ward (6-3, 255); RG Walker Sum-merfield (6-0, 240); and RT Chaim Nethero (6-3, 230) — the offense is bound to improve.

Also helping make the line one of the biggest in the area are LT Joey Nebergall (6-3, 265) and C Ryan Markley (6-0, 220).

Last year’s Falcons scored 200 fewer points (418-218) than the 2012 Hillsdale squad that narrowly lost in the first round of the playoffs at Oak Hill.

“We’re hoping this year we’re able to run the ball quite a bit better, and if we’re able to run the ball better, that includes (Marksberry with play-action options),” Williams said. “When you’re in second-and-long and third-and-long a lot, you’re put-ting a lot of pressure on your quarterback to make plays. In some cases, we put him in some bad situations last year.”

Running back Doug Cline and fullback Craig Cline will also get some carries, and the Falcons have major returning athleticism in receivers Eric Pickering (6-4, 175) and Cole Figley. Both could help Marks-berry surpass his 946 yards and 11 TDs passing from last year.

The Falcon defense could prove to be in very solid shape, even if the team graduated one of the most talented defensive ends in the history of area foot-ball in Ryan Bee (now playing at Marshall University).

Hillsdale brings back nine starters on the defensive side, a group that was bolstered when the wide array of season-ending injuries piled up last season. While none of those players can fill the footprints left by Bee — a two-time All-Ohioan who set the school’s career record in sacks (32) and easily led the

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE HILLSDALE THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 7

2013: 4-6 OVERALL, 3-4 WCALAUG. 30 — Manchester 8, Hillsdale 6SEPT. 6 — Hillsdale 43, Bucyrus 19SEPT. 13 — Loudonville 46, Hillsdale 13SEPT. 20 — Hillsdale 41, Dalton 7SEPT. 27 — Hillsdale 50, Smithville 13OCT. 4 — Waynedale 36, Hillsdale 14OCT. 11 — Northwestern 41, Hillsdale 7OCT. 18 — Hillsdale 25, Rittman 0OCT. 25 — Norwayne 42, Hillsdale 6NOV. 1 — Chippewa 20, Hillsdale 13

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

DB Doug Cline (first team), ATH Troy Marksberry (second team), OL Skyler Ward (special mention), OL Walker Summerfield (spe-cial mention), DB Cole Figley (special mention)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ryan Bee (Marshall), Connor Applegate (Heidelberg)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VI, Region 19

# NAME POSITIONS YR2 Trey Williams QB/DB 93 Cole Figley REC/DB 124 Eric Pickering REC/DE 115 Zach Glass QB/DB 116 Kenny Carpenter REC/DB 97 Ethan Elliott RB/DB 108 Doug Cline REC/DB 129 Ben Rogers TE/DE 1010 Troy Marksberry QB/DB 1211 Andrew Wolf RB/DB 10

12 Corbin Mager RB/DB 1214 Iverson Traylor REC/DB 1115 Clay Sloan RB/LB 1216 Jake Bon REC/DB 1217 Josh Vinsack REC/DB 9 18 Cole Shifflet RB/DB 921 Sam Kellogg REC/DB 1222 Craig Cline RB/LB 1023 Luke Summerfield RB/LB 1124 Gunnar Richter RB/DB 1026 Brice Derr RB/DB 11

28 Andrew Brown REC/DB 930 Trace Stiltner RB/DB 931 Dylan Miller RB/DB 1232 Lucas Markley RB/LB 936 Trevor McCoy RB/DL 1237 Tyler Ohl RB/LB 1140 Danny Garman RB/LB 941 Aidan Graham OL/DE 1043 Dale Cable RB/LB 1251 Chaim Nethero OL/DT 1252 Taylor Kirby OL/LB 12

53 Sean Fitzsimmons OL/DL 1054 Cole Casdorph OL/LB 1055 Dan Garn OL/LB 1056 Skyler Ward OL/DL 1259 Brody Butdorff OL/LB 1260 Logan Finley OL/DL 1161 Dylan Chio OL/DL 1262 Kameron Koster OL/DL 965 Christian Pfahler OL/DE 967 Greg Heifner OL/LB 971 Ryan Markley OL/DL 10

72 Christopher Miller OL/DL 1174 Joey Nebergall OL/DL 1176 Walker Summerfield OL/DL 1277 Kyle Martin OL/DL 980 Will Yeater REC/DB 981 Caleb Bretz REC/DB 983 Rod Pfahler REC/DB 1185 Jeremiah Kurtz REC/DB 9

Falcons over injuries, aimed at more winningBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOW

OFFENSE QB Troy Marksberry, sr. — 58 of 129 passing, 946 yards, 11 TDs; 103 carries, 535 yards, 7 TDsRB Corbin Mager, sr. — 78 carries, 440 yards, 3 TDsRB Doug Cline, sr. — 17 catches, 347 yards, 3 TDs

DEFENSE FS Doug Cline, sr. — 68 tackles, 6 INTsLB Dale Cable, sr. — 64 tackles, 3 TFLsCB Cole Figley, sr. — 55 tackles, 4 INTsDE Eric Pickering, jr. — 53 tackles, 4 TFLs, 3 sacksSS Craig Cline, soph. — 53 tacklesDT Walker Summerfield, sr. — 27 tackles

15 RETURNING STARTERS6 OFFENSE9 DEFENSE

Williams

PLAYOFFS: 2009, 10, 12 | HEAD COACH: TOM WILLIAMS (68-48 in 11 years) | CONFERENCE: WAYNE COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE

AT MANCHESTERAUG. 29

WILLARDSEPT. 5

AT LOUDONVILLESEPT. 12

AT SMITHVILLESEPT. 19

WAYNEDALESEPT. 26

NORTHWESTERNOCT. 3

AT RITTMANOCT. 10

NORWAYNEOCT. 17

AT CHIPPEWAOCT. 24

DALTONOCT. 31

HILLSDALEHILLSDALE

Turn to FALCONS, Page 14

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Page 8: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

WEST SALEM — Mike Thut has coached enough play-off teams at N o r t hwe s t e r n that he knows exactly how to handle things when the athletes from those teams are lost to gradu-ation.

This season, though, with a mass exodus of starters from both sides of the ball — followed by an outburst this preseason of injuries — the 15th-year Hus-kies leader will no doubt have one of his toughest jobs yet.

Northwestern brings back just one starter on each side of the ball from its playoff-qualifying, Wayne County Ath-letic League-winning dandy of a 2013 squad, which was the first at NHS to run the table in con-ference play since 2006.

“I don’t know if it’s the (big-gest loss of starters) I’ve ever had, but it’s close,” said Thut, who stretched his program-best career record to 82-65 with last year’s 9-2 mark (7-0 WCAL). “The learning curve is going to be real steep. They had success last year as freshmen (4-4 last year) and on the JV team (8-0), but now they’ve gotta carry it to Friday nights.

“You can’t just rely on your physical ability because some-times the best player doesn’t always win, sometimes it’s the guy that works the hardest and has the most mental toughness.”

The players in Northwest-ern’s graduating class of 2014 knew exactly what went into being successful on Friday nights. Had the Huskies not lost a 43-42 shootout in Week 3 last season at playoff-qualifying Columbia, they would have had one of those rare undefeated regular seasons.

After that loss, the North-western defense allowed just 73 points in its final eight games (9.1 points per game), with 20 of those coming in an old-fashioned bruiser of a first-round playoff loss to Loudonville (20-8).

Naturally, Thut said he will look back on that group as one of the best he’s ever had in a career that now includes five trips to the playoffs (also 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012). Unfortu-nately, 11 of the 12 players who had double-digit tackles on that team are gone, as are essentially all of the Huskies’ 3,185 rushing yards and 1,480 receiving yards from a season ago.

The biggest purges came with the losses of longtime playmakers Tyler Smith (All-Ohio tailback with NHS career records in scoring and rushing yards) and Malachi Nolletti (All-Ohio quarterback with three 1,000-yard passing seasons).

This year, senior Josh Burns is the leader on both sides of the ball. He will return to his spot at linebacker after putting up 47 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions last fall, but Thut has been forced to move him to the offensive line, rather than use him out of the backfield behind senior first-year varsity quarterback Cameron Taylor.

“He’s ahead of everybody on the line even though he’s got a lack of experience,” Thut said of the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Burns, the only returning starter other than 6-8, 220-pound sophomore TE/DL Derek Koch. “He’s a good athlete and a kid with a great attitude and a great motor.

“He wanted to be a running back, but I told him, ‘If I don’t have somebody who can block, I can’t hand the ball off.’ ”

Blocking has been a giant concern for NHS this preseason. The Huskies had five of their projected starting linemen sit-ting out their first scrimmage due to injuries. Thut said it was nothing too serious, but it was enough to slow down critical progress and leave him unsure if the backups replacing those guys might just have more expe-rience by Game 1.

The coach is very high on the up-and-coming players among his underclassmen, who make up 33 of the 54 athletes on the roster, but the only certain-ties within two weeks of open-ing kickoff were Taylor, Burns, Koch, additional seniors Chris

Topovski (RB/LB, 5-9, 180); Ryan Sheridan (WR/FS, 5-9, 185); and Will Bell (OL/DL, 6-2, 185), and juniors Hunter Edwards (WR/DB), Nathan Schwartz (WR/DB) and Bran-don Edgell (OL/DL).

“It’s kind of been a roller coaster, but you want to grow by leaps and bounds and get where we need to be,” Thut said. “We’re spending more time in practice working on individual drills because there’s so much teaching going on.”

The coach said all the unpre-dictability does make him ner-vous, but it also can make a season exciting as new players emerge as leaders. Taylor could be one of those guys at quarterback.

The 6-1, 180-pound senior was just 8 of 16 for 103 yards and a touchdown passing last year behind Nolletti, but Thut said he’s the calm, cool and col-lected type of athlete. His eight points last year also are all that return out of the 410 scored by the 2013 Huskies.

“He just goes out and plays; he’s the most relaxed kid,” Thut said. “... He’s real laid back, never gets nervous, and it’s nice because you don’t have to worry about him melting down.”

Taylor will need the help of a cast of entirely new starting characters though, and after the prolific, stat-stacking career of Tyler Smith out of the back-field (3,833 rushing yards, 436 points), Thut said he’s not even sure where the ground game will come from.

“It’s hard to tell who the (leading rusher) will be. It might be a receiver,” he said. “We’re working our receivers into our running game where we’ll take some pitches on options, run some jet sweeps.”

“We’re going to be real unpre-dictable,” Thut added. “You don’t want to gamble anything on us this year — either way — because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Former Times-Gazette sports writer Tim Shoemaker contrib-uted to this article.

■ Contact Doug Haidet, sports edi-tor, at 419-281-0581, ext. 245, or [email protected].

# NAME POSITIONS YR4 Ryan Sheridan WR/DB 126 Tristan Ammon WR/DB 117 Nathan Schwatz WR/DB 118 Logan Malott WR/DB 1110 Andrew Orosz K 1212 Brock Thut QB/LB 1014 Isaac Sadzewicz WR/DB 1121 Brandon Reed WR/DB 1022 Cameron Taylor QB/DB 1223 Jonah Ours RB/LB 1124 Chris Topovski RB/LB 12

25 Adam Tanner QB/DB 1226 Nick Letterly RB/LB 1028 Kyle Cayse RB/LB 1030 Keaton Edwards WR/LB 1031 Mason Wihelmy QB/LB 932 Isiah Peterson RB/LB 933 Derrick Duvall RB/LB 934 Ryan Schwartz WR/LB 1035 Juan Rivera WR/DB 936 Nick Hinton WR/DB 937 Jared Leasure RB/LB 939 Nick Praisler WR/DB 10

46 Angel Rivera WR/DB 1150 Kyle Wharton OL/DL 1051 Brandon Edgell OL/DL 1152 Parker Smith OL/LB 953 Trevor Thompson OL/DL 1054 Johnny Workman OL/DL 1255 Billy Smith OL/LB 1056 Jared Alberts OL/DL 957 Robert Stinemetz OL/DL 958 Donnie Martin OL/LB 1259 Josh Burns OL/LB 1260 Dalton Bloom OL/DL 11

61 Travis Felter OL/LB 1162 Chris Orosz OL/DL 963 Will Bell OL/DL 1264 David Agnes OL/LB 1065 Logan Ickes OL/DL 1168 Spencer Sloan OL/LB 970 Austin Wood OL/LB 971 Cody Starling OL/DL 972 Issac Rivera OL/DL 1073 Jacob Skelly OL/DL 974 Matt Pinkley OL/LB 976 Jared Grassman OL/DL 10

80 Devin Smith WR/DB 981 Hunter Edwards WR/DB 1182 Derek Koch TE/DL 1083 Cody Tegtmeier WR/DB 1085 Nate Koch TE/LB 1088 Garrett Dever TE/LB 989 TJ Cromer TE/LB 9

8 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 NORTHWESTERN ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

2013: 9-2 OVERALL, 7-0 WCALAUG. 30 — Northwestern 50, Crestview 21SEPT. 6 — Northwestern 35, Black River 12SEPT. 13 — Columbia 43, Northwestern 42SEPT. 20 — Northwestern 28, Chippewa 14SEPT. 27 — Northwestern 47, Dalton 12OCT. 4 — Northwestern 35, Smithville 2OCT. 11 — Northwestern 41, Hillsdale 7OCT. 18 — Northwestern 49, Waynedale 18OCT. 25 — Northwestern 57, Rittman 0NOV. 1 — Northwestern 30, Norwayne 0

NOV. 9 (regional quarterfinal) Loudonville 20, Northwestern 8

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Tyler Smith (Wooster), Malachi Nolletti (Ohio Northern),Chad Swysgood (Baldwin Wallace)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision V, Region 16

Huskies look to replace losses from playoff teamBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOW

OFFENSE QB/P Cameron Taylor, sr. — 8 of 16 passing, 103 yards; 20 punts, 32.9 yards per puntWR Ryan Sheridan, sr. — 6 carries, 40 yards; 2 catches, 39 yards

DEFENSE LB Josh Burns, sr. — 47 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 INTsDL Derek Koch, soph. — 14 tackles, 3 TFLs

2 RETURNING STARTERS1 OFFENSE 1 DEFENSE

Thut

PLAYOFFS: 2005, 06, 07, 12, 13 | HEAD COACH: MIKE THUT (82-65 in 14 years) | CONFERENCE: WAYNE COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE

FAIRLESSAUG. 29

BLACK RIVERSEPT. 5

COLUMBIASEPT. 12

AT DALTONSEPT. 19

SMITHVILLESEPT. 26

AT HILLSDALEOCT. 3

AT WAYNEDALEOCT. 10

RITTMANOCT. 17

AT NORWAYNEOCT. 24

CHIPPEWAOCT. 31

NORTHWESTERNNORTHWESTERN

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Page 9: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

OLIVESBURG — It’s already been three years since the Crest-view football team and head coach Chad Coff-man turned in the program’s third perfect regular season since 1982.

And while this year’s Cou-gars are sure to go through some growing pains — featuring a 46-player roster made up of more than half fresh-men (25) and just four seniors — Coffman knows the biggest and best seasons don’t just sprout up out of nowhere.

“I think the biggest thing is to have patience and to go back to Block 1 and build everything up from the foundation,” said Coffman, now entering his fifth fall leading CHS. “The quicker and better you become at that foundation then the better you’re gonna be throughout the season.”

Crestview definitely didn’t like shedding its senior class from 2013. While the Cou-gars split the season at 5-5 last year, their losses came to teams with a combined record of 43-13, including playoff qualifiers Northwestern (9-2), Loudonville (10-2) and St. Paul (11-2).

The schedule didn’t leave much margin for error, but Crestview closed well, winning four of its last six and tying for third in the Firelands Confer-

ence (4-3). Unfortunately, the team had to wave goodbye to playmakers like two-time 1,000-yard running back Aaron King; two-time 950-yard running back Jay Hill; two-time team-leading tackler Logan Campbell; and two-time 1,000-yard quarter-back Nick Wheeler.

The absence of those for-mer constants will no doubt be noticeable this year, especially on offense, where the squad returns just three starters and 115 rushing yards from 2013. But Coffman believes improv-ing a defense that allowed at least 35 points in five games last year would be a step in the right direction.

“I really feel the last couple years, with some gaps in the classes and things, defensively we haven’t been quite as good as we have wanted to be,” he said. “That’s gonna be a big critical thing for us, but we have been progressing.”

Crestview has seven start-ers back on the defensive side, led by physical linebacker Tyler Brown (6-foot-3, 225 pounds), who piled up 88 tackles as a freshman last season. Defensive lineman Konnor Hickey (5-10, 195) also returns after posting seven tackles for loss last year, and the team brings back inter-ception threats Tanner Noblet and Grant Fulk, but the pre-season loss of lineman Danny Sousa takes away one of last year’s better tacklers.

Brown and Fulk figure to be two of the leaders on offense. Crestview has had a 1,000-yard rusher for six consecutive

seasons, and Coffman believes Brown could potentially be the next man in line for those num-bers now that he’ll be in the backfield.

“It’s a big jump from being kind of a role player as a fresh-man to emerging and being one of ‘the’ guys,” Coffman said of Brown, who could split up the carries with Hickey, Noblet and Dawson LaFever. “... I feel pret-ty good that he’ll end up being a good player for us and he cer-tainly has some big holes to fill for us.”

Fulk, meanwhile, is the area’s top returning receiver after posting 614 yards on 24 recep-tions last year (25.6 yards per catch). With plenty of good receivers out of the backfield — as well as the addition of 6-7 Ben Olewiler out wide — Coff-man thinks his offense will have options.

“We certainly have some weapons that we are excited about,” said the coach, who likes the athletic presence of Olewiler, a senior who is a two-time state qualifier in golf and a state runner-up in the high jump.

Any threats will be welcome for first-year senior starting quarterback Dakota Shafer (5-11, 165), who tossed just 10 passes last year while behind Wheeler.

Senior Jordan Prise (6-1, 260) will anchor both lines after a career of playing on each side. That means helping guide small-er offensive linemen like juniors

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE CRESTVIEW THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 9

2013: 5-5 OVERALL, 4-3 FCAUG. 30 — Northwestern 50, Crestview 21SEPT. 6 — Loudonville 41, Crestview 0SEPT. 13 — Crestview 26, Wynford 21SEPT. 20 — New London 42, Crestview 20SEPT. 27 — Crestview 48, South Central 6OCT. 4 — Western Reserve 35, Crestview 20OCT. 11 — Crestview 30, Mapleton 21OCT. 18 — St. Paul 45, Crestview 14OCT. 25 — Crestview 44, Monroeville 0NOV. 1 — Crestview 51, Plymouth 21

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

WR Grant Fulk (special mention), TE/DE Tyler Brown (special mention)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Aaron King (Heidelberg), Nick Wheeler (Tiffin)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VI, Region 20

Cougars green, but hope to be league factorBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

10 RETURNING STARTERS3 OFFENSE7 DEFENSE

# NAME POSITIONS YR1 Ben Olewiler WR/DB 123 Dakota Shafer QB/DB 126 William Barber RB/LB 99 Sawyer Radcliffe TE/LB 1210 Blake Chance RB/DB 911 Garett Dudley WR/DB 912 Walker Ramsay QB/DB 1015 Jay Oswalt QB/DB 916 Grant Fulk WR/DB 11

18 Trevor Durbin WR/DB 1121 Tyler Brown RB/LB 1022 Alex Wynn WR/DB 923 Christian Durbin RB/DB 924 Tanner Noblet WR/DB 1127 Konnor Hickey RB/DE 1130 Dylan LaFever WR/DB 932 Dawson LaFever WR/DB 1034 Chris Hughes RB/LB 935 Cade Rogers RB/DE 9

40 Cameron Shifflet WR/DB 941 Koalten Baker TE/DE 945 Colton Campbell RB/LB 951 Jon Batdorf OL/DT 1152 Chris Loughman OL/DT 954 Chandler Prise OL/DE 1055 Shane Casper OL/DT 1057 Jacob Landis OL/DE 1058 Josh Stancato OL/DT 959 Tanner Hammon OL/DE 11

60 Dakota Slocum OL/DE 1062 Peyton Blankenship OL/DT 963 Josh Barber OL/DT 964 Justin Bond OL/DT 1066 Jordan Prise OL/DT 1267 Tim Henry OL/DT 968 Clay Frontz OL/LB 1173 Lane Fry OL/DT 974 Austin Owens OL/DT 975 Derek Bond OL/DT 9

80 Nic Stimpert QB/DE 982 Trevor Rowe TE/DT 984 Trent Twining WR/DB 985 Derek Amert WR/DB 986 Isaac Fulk WR/DB 1188 Noah Shriver TE/DE 9

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

WR Grant Fulk, jr. — 24 catches, 614 yards, 7 TDsRB Tyler Brown, soph. — 6 catches, 128 yards, TD

DEFENSE LB Tyler Brown, soph. — 88 tackles, 4 TFLs, 2 sacksDL Konnor Hickey, jr. — 7 TFLsDB Tanner Noblet, jr. — 2 INTs

Coffman

PLAYOFFS: 2000, 01, 04, 08, 09, 11 | HEAD COACH: CHAD COFFMAN (24-18 in 4 years) | CONFERENCE: FIRELANDS

EAST KNOXAUG. 29

LOUDONVILLESEPT. 5

AT UP. SANDUKSYSEPT. 12

AT NEW LONDONSEPT. 19

SOUTH CENTRALSEPT. 26

W. RESERVEOCT. 3

MAPLETONOCT. 10

AT ST. PAULOCT. 17

AT MONROEVILLE

OCT. 24AT PLYMOUTH

OCT. 31

CRESTVIEWCRESTVIEW

Turn to COUGARS, Page 15

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Page 10: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

NANKIN — When Robert Mahaney took over as head coach of the Mapleton football team last season, he was already known as a guy with a positive outlook and a smiling face.

Typically by this point for newer coaches of the long-struggling program, those feelings have worn off.

But finally — at long, long last — Mapleton broke through for a season that had been more than two decades in waiting. Riding the offensive prowess of record-breaking running back Travis Pickering and the pro-gram’s best defense in seven years, the Mounties found their way to the playoffs for the first time since 1991.

Mahaney’s first voyage as a head coach ended with a 6-5 record — the program’s first winning record since 1995 — and a 4-3 mark in the Firelands Conference (tied for third).

With Pickering and his tal-ented senior classmates back for more, expectations have only climbed, and Mahaney still can’t stop smiling.

“The numbers are up, the excitement is up and our num-bers in the weight room are the best they’ve been since I’ve been here,” said Mahaney, also an assistant coach at Mapleton for three years. “We just have kids buying in trying to do something special, so I think as long as we stay healthy — which is always the key for a Division VII high school foot-ball team — we’ll see what hap-pens.”

Pickering is a good place

to start. The 5-11, 180-pound three-sport standout set single-season Mapleton records last fall in rushing yards (1,773), touchdowns (19) and points (114). He also led the squad in tackles at linebacker with 94.5, chasing down first-team All-Ohio honors — the area’s first non-senior to make the first team since Black River’s John Guilford in 2010.

Mahaney has moved Picker-ing to strong safety this year, and he’ll be joined in the sec-ondary by Connor Black. Black was an All-Ohioan in 2012 with 1,149 receiving yards and an area-record 79 receptions, and even though his numbers dipped last year due to Mapleton’s rush-ing attack, he remains a major threat.

Both guys want to be playing college football by this time next year.

“They did their job over the summer and went to all the camps they could do,” Mahaney said of Black and Pickering. “There wasn’t a week where they didn’t have a camp they were going to.”

Just as with last year, though, it will take far more than two players to get the Mounties back to where they want to be. The program hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 1990-91, and Mapleton will have to make that a reality if it is to get back into the postseason, where it lost in last year’s first round at Wellsville, 39-21.

The defense arguably could get off to a better start than the offense. Last year’s unit allowed 277 points — 136 fewer than in 2012, and the least allowed by MHS since 2006 (255). With that said, the Mounties have all of their back-eight defenders and seven of their top tacklers returning, so finding the right

fits on a totally new line in their 3-4 defense will be critical.

“Last year was a new defense for us, with (defensive coordina-tor) Kyle Clark coming in and putting that in for us,” Mahaney said, “so we expect it to be a little bit more faster-paced on defense than last year.”

Speed will be the name of the game for the squad, which boasts returning DBs in Black and Corey Kowatch (81 tackles, 4 INTs combined last year), and returning linebackers in Kraig Forbush, Zack Koenig, Nick Kusa and Ryan Krause.

Some of those players are in different spots than 2013, but that should help alleviate the growing pains the new line is bound to encounter.

The line is a concern on offense, too, as the team lost four of its five starters there. But the Mounties aren’t lack-ing decent size in the trenches, either, with projected starters in LT Seth Lugli (6-2, 250); LG Gage Workman (6-2, 240); C Nick Kusa (5-11, 175); RG Colin Peggs (5-11, 220); and RT Zack Koenig (6-2, 200).

Mahaney said Koenig sacri-ficed his former role as a tight end for the better of the team, and the coach said that the addition of the athletic Garrett Dudte at nose guard and full-back should also help.

“We know where our skill is going to be and how special they can be,” Mahaney said. “We’ve just got to figure out the right five (linemen) offensively and the right three guys defen-sively.”

Of course, the pivotal spot for any team comes at quar-terback, and Mahaney has no worries there, as Wade Barone

10 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 MAPLETON ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

2013: 6-5 OVERALL, 4-3 FCAUG. 30 — Chippewa 47, Mapleton 7SEPT. 6 — Mapleton 14, Sandy Valley 7SEPT. 13 — Mapleton 41, Rittman 6SEPT. 20 — Mapleton 47, Plymouth 19SEPT. 27 — Mapleton 28, New London 27OCT. 4 — Mapleton 42, Monroeville 13OCT. 11 — Crestview 30, Mapleton 21OCT. 18 — Mapleton 52, South Central 20OCT. 25 — St. Paul 42, Mapleton 13NOV. 1 — Western Reserve 27, Mapleton 0

NOV. 9 (regional quarterfinal) Wellsville 39, Mapleton 21

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

RB Travis Pickering (first team), WR Connor Black (second team), ATH Zack Koenig (second team), WR/DB Corey Kowatch (special mention), QB/K Wade Barone (special mention)

2014 GRADUATESIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Seth Galbraith (Marietta)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VII, Region 23

Mountie program primed for the next big stepBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

# NAME POSITIONS YR1 Kaleb Ambrose TE/OLB 92 Andrew Dreibelbis QB/DB 123 Parker Rohr QB/RB/DB 94 Jordan Hensel WR/DB 125 Logan Hensel WR/DB 96 Sam Mullins FB/ILB 97 Wade Barone QB/DB/K 12

9 Tanner Adkins QB/DB 1011 Drake Claar WR/DB 912 Gage Barone WR/DB 1015 Jacob Hoffman WR/DB 918 Connor Black WR/DB/P 1219 Ryan Krause RB/ILB 1020 Travis Pickering RB/DB 1222 Chase Davis WR/DB 10

25 Nick Kusa OL/ILB 1127 Garrett Dudte FB/DL 1229 Kraig Forbush WR/DB 1232 Tyler LeFever OL/TE/OLB 1135 Jack Carrick WR/DB 939 Corey Kowatch WR/DB 1242 Justin DuBois TE/OLB 1044 Corbin Amend WR/DB 9

50 Coen Gingery OL/DL 1252 Dawson Harding OL/OLB 955 Zack Koenig OL/OLB 1256 Brian Paramore OL/DL 957 William Dolin OL/DL 1160 Jeremiah Johnson OL/DL 1163 Gage Workman OL/DL 966 Ben Cadwallader OL/DL 11

67 Colin Peggs OL/DL 1268 Ricky Itschner OL/ILB 970 Seth Lugli OL/DL 1176 Zane Koenig OL/DL 1077 Tyler Stuhldreher OL/DL 1084 Justin Phillips TE/DL 9

15 RETURNING STARTERS7 OFFENSE 8 DEFENSE

Mahaney

PLAYOFFS: 1991, 2013 | HEAD COACH: ROBERT MAHANEY (6-5 in 1 year) | CONFERENCE: FIRELANDS

CHIPPEWAAUG. 29

SANDY VALLEYSEPT. 5

AT RITTMANSEPT. 12

PLYMOUTHSEPT. 19

AT NEW LONDONSEPT. 26

MONROEVILLEOCT. 3

AT CRESTVIEWOCT. 10

AT SOUTH CENTRAL

OCT. 17AT ST. PAUL

OCT. 25W. RESERVE

OCT. 31

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

RB Travis Pickering, sr. — 215 carries, 1,773 yards, 19 total TDsQB Wade Barone, sr. — 79 of 162 passing, 1,125 yards, 13 TDsWR Connor Black, sr. — 32 catches, 374 yards, 9 total TDsWR Corey Kowatch, sr. — 15 catches, 223 yards, TD

DEFENSE SS Travis Pickering, sr. — 94.5 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 3 FRs, INTFS Corey Kowatch, sr. — 72 tackles, 2 INTsDB Kraig Forbush, sr. — 58.5 tackles, 3 TFLsLB Zack Koenig, sr. — 43 tackles, 13 TFLs, 3 sacks, 4 FRsLB Nick Kusa, jr. — 27.5 tackles, 4.5 TFLsCB Connor Black, sr. — 27 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 FRsLB Ryan Krause, soph. — 30.5 tackles, 3.5 TFLs

MAPLETONMAPLETON

Turn to MOUNTIES, Page 15

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Page 11: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

NEW LONDON — The coaching baton usually doesn’t get passed this way.

The norm for new varsity coaches is to fol-low a former coach who typi-cally didn’t do much winning. And when the new coach begins his work, it’s usu-ally with a team that has a long way to go to be successful.

That’s not the way it shook out this summer at New Lon-don, where former two-year coach Justin Vorhies left at the end of June to take an assistant coaching job at his alma mater, Cloverleaf. That move paved the way for the arrival of first-year head coach Brad Pickens, who will have barely been in the posi-tion more than a month when the Wildcats kick off their sea-son Friday at Buckeye Central.

A 2006 graduate of Fire-lands Conference rival Western Reserve, the 26-year-old Pickens inherits a program that could be on the brink of a special cam-paign. The Wildcats are com-ing off their first back-to-back winning seasons since they last made the playoffs in 1994 and 1995, and they return eight starters on both sides of the ball.

Pickens, who was an assis-tant coach on Vorhies’ staff in 2012, said he doesn’t plan on waiting for a learning curve, despite such a rare, late coach-ing change.

“We coached the fundamen-tals early on,” said Pickens, who was the FC Offensive Back of the Year in 2005 at West-ern Reserve before playing at Capital University. “With every team, there’s more that you can do throughout the year, but us coaching the fundamentals and laying a good foundation will allow us to do new things and teach new things even as the year goes on.”

“We’ve really been coach-ing and teaching and preaching discipline and making ourselves a better, well-rounded team,” he said. “These kids have just been sponges; they’ve learned so much in all of those areas ... about all the different parts of the game of football.”

If the Wildcats are to accom-plish what Pickens believes they can, they can’t waste any time getting wins. The coach believes senior quarterback and captain Josh Hamilton (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) — fully recovered from the ACL he tore in his left knee at the end of last season — can help them get there.

“It’s nice to have a quarter-back that definitely knows the system, but it’s even better to have a leader and someone that’s played and started for three years in a leadership role,” Pickens said of Hamilton, who has passed for 2,617 yards and 22 TDs the past two seasons. “That’s just invaluable, just how much we can utilize him. Even if he wasn’t on the field, he’d be one of the best leaders we had.”

Hamilton is the linchpin of an offense that should have bal-anced talent in the run and pass, despite the fact that it graduated its first 1,000-yard rusher in 15 years in Nick Thomas (1,114 yards on the ground last year).

New London starts in the trenches with junior tackle Gar-rett Hall (6-5, 320 pounds), the biggest player Pickens said he’s ever seen in the FC and a col-lege prospect. The other tackle is junior Austin Bynum (6-2, 225), and the Wildcats also fea-ture returning starters in senior guards Nate McIntosh (6-2, 224) and Wes Burt (5-11, 220), and junior center Tucker Green (6-0, 210).

Senior running back Derek Phillips returns after being the team’s No. 2 rushing threat last season, and he’ll be joined by junior back Nate Thomas. Making the offense even more dangerous is the return of the team’s top two receivers from 2013 in senior Julian Molnar

and junior D.J. Yates, who com-bined for more than 1,000 yards and nine TDs out wide.

All those pieces could help New London surpass its 281 points scored last season, which were the most for the program since 2008.

“Just like last year, we’re a high-powered offense, so I see us still being able to do the same things,” Pickens said.

The coach is just as excited about his defense, which brings back plenty of skill from a unit that last year allowed 220 points — the third-lowest in the area and the least given up by the Wildcats since 1998.

McIntosh returns at lineback-er and Tanner Green is back on the line, both of whom had more than 100 tackles last fall and fin-ished sixth and seventh in the entire area in the category.

Hall, Bynum and Burt all should be two-way starters on a line that should clog up plenty of gaps while the fleet-footed trio of Molnar (LB), Phillips (LB) and Nate Thomas (safety) patrol things in the back end of New London’s four- and five-man defensive fronts.

The Wildcats are 7-3 at home the last two seasons and have finished three one-possession losses from what could have been a share of an FC title in 2012 and a trip to the playoffs in 2013.

Pickens believes this year’s group can finally fill in the miss-ing links.

“The only team that can beat us is ourselves this year,” he said. “... The seniors and the juniors that are there now are talented kids, and they were on the team when I was coaching two years ago, so they kind of knew my expectations as to the level of football.

“It helps that they know what I expect and where I’m coming from, and it also helps that they have been a part of the winning-season teams the past two years. That gave them a way to be pre-pared for what we expect as a coaching staff.”

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE NEW LONDON THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 11

2013: 6-4 OVERALL, 4-3 FCAUG. 30 — New London 20, Buckeye Central 6SEPT. 6 — New London 35, Firelands 7SEPT. 13 — Colonel Crawford 33, New London 26SEPT. 20 — New London 42, Crestview 20SEPT. 27 — Mapleton 28, New London 27OCT. 4 — St. Paul 41, New London 13OCT. 11 — Western Reserve 40, New London 31OCT. 18 — New London 27, Monroeville 13OCT. 25 — New London 27, Plymouth 26NOV. 1 — New London 33, South Central 6

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

LB Nate McIntosh (first team), QB Josh Hamilton (second team), WR Julian Molnar (second team), LB Tanner Green (spe-cial mention), OL Garrett Hall (special mention), WR D.J. Yates (special mention)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VI, Region 20

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

QB Josh Hamilton, sr. — 102 of 167 passing, 1,425 yards, 14 TDsRB Derek Phillips, sr. — 137 carries, 592 yards, 11 TDsWR Julian Molnar, sr. — 36 catches, 563 yards, 6 TDsWR D.J. Yates, jr. — 36 catches, 457 yards, 3 TDsOL Garrett Hall, jr. — 6-foot-5, 320-pound college prospect

DEFENSE LB Nate McIntosh, sr. — 114 tackles, 14 TFLs, 6 sacksDL Tanner Green, sr. — 101 tackles, 5 TFLsS Nate Thomas, jr. — 47 tackles, 2 INTsDL Tucker Green, jr. — 42 tackles, 2.5 TFLsLB Julian Molnar, sr. — 37 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2 INTs

Pickens, Wildcats brace to clear final hurdleBy DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

# NAME POSITIONS YR7 Josh Hamilton QB/DB 1268 Zach Wilson OL/DL 1256 Wes Burt OL/DL 1214 Tanner Green TE/DL 1216 Derek Phillips RB/LB 1222 Julian Molnar WR/LB 12

53 Nate McIntosh OL/LB 1212 Spencer Cole WR/DB 118 D.J. Yates WR/DB 1113 Nate Thomas RB/DB 1174 Garrett Hall OL/DL 1155 Austin Bynum OL/DL 1118 Robby Webb RB/DB 11

69 Travis Owens OL/DL 1165 Tucker Green OL/DL 1154 Derek Kistler OL/DL 1124 Colton Lay TE/LB 1164 Joe Christopher Jr. OL/DL 1071 Adonn Kruki OL/DL 109 Jake Gerlak WR/DB 10

43 Ryan Webb RB/LB 1063 Cavin Zvosec OL/DL 1015 Zach Bene RB/DB 1021 Joe Sowder RB/LB 1033 Aidan Albaugh TE/LB 102 Jacob Molnar RB/LB 105 Spencer Hall RB/DB 9

28 Anthony Troisi RB/LB 911 Caleb Gill WR/DB 9NA Dalton Schneiter RB/DB 9NA John Miller WR/DB 9

Pickens

PLAYOFFS: 1994, 95 | HEAD COACH: BRAD PICKENS (1st year) | CONFERENCE: FIRELANDS

AT BUCKEYE CENT.AUG. 29

AT FIRELANDSSEPT. 5

TIFFIN CALVERTSEPT. 12

CRESTVIEWSEPT. 19

MAPLETONSEPT. 26

AT ST. PAULOCT. 4

W. RESERVEOCT. 10

MONROEVILLEOCT. 17

AT PLYMOUTHOCT. 24

AT SOUTH CENTRAL

OCT. 31

16 RETURNING STARTERS8 OFFENSE8 DEFENSE

NEW LONDONNEW LONDON

Discover the Donley Difference!

Have a Great Season!!

1641 Claremont Ave, Ashland419-281-3673 • 800-525-5411www.donleyfordofashland.com

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Page 12: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

GREENWICH — This is not Wayne Hinkle’s first football rodeo.

Hired in the offseason to take the reins of South Central’s program following the two-year stint of Aaron Brokaw, Hinkle has been blowing the whis-tle in the game for almost two decades and was a varsity head coach less than 10 years ago at Cardington-Lincoln.

He’s also the principal at SCHS, so he truly knows the situation he’s stepping into. So when people want to talk about last year’s Trojans going winless — the first 0-10 season for the program since 1988 — the new coach would rather talk about a unit that has more returning playmakers than most realize.

“I think the confidence factor is really big,” said Hinkle, who has seven returning starters on both sides of the ball. “They didn’t win a game last year and you’ve got to erase that, you’ve got to get rid of that mentality and show them that they can win and show them that positive things can happen.”

“Our skill kids are all back and they’re pretty decent skill kids,” he said.

Changing a culture in one fell swoop is something Hinkle knows can’t be done. South Cen-tral’s lone winning season since 2001 remains the squad that went 6-4 in 2006. The program hasn’t had even a seven-win sea-son since 1981.

But Hinkle feels this year’s group — a 23-player unit of ath-leticism that returns the bulk of the yardage and seven of its top nine tacklers from last fall — could grow together and

become a tough out in the Fire-lands Conference.

“I’ll put my 15 (main contrib-utors) up against anybody’s 15 kids. It’s just that our 10 young-er ones have to come along a little bit,” Hinkle said. “... We’re going to try to control the game a bit with our offense and keep the ball away from the other team, and hopefully we can be competitive then.”

“If you can try and be com-petitive and keep those games where you have a chance in the end,” he said, “you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Ball control is something the Trojans could be good at handling. Still only a junior, bruising fullback Cameron Conaway (6 foot, 215 pounds) nearly ran for 1,000 yards last year, and coupled with senior running back Michael Jenny (6-0, 200), the backfield is experienced.

The guy handing them the ball, third-year senior quarter-back Jacob Carney (6-2, 180), also has shown signs of improve-ment after throwing for nearly 700 yards and running for six touchdowns last fall. He’ll have 6-1 classmate Stephen Goetz out wide after a 300-yard receiv-ing season, and Hinkle’s grind-it-out, pro-formation style of offense — a big change from the spread Brokaw tried to establish — could benefit the team.

“We’ve taken a lot of the pres-sure off of (Carney) where he doesn’t have to make all those plays,” Hinkle said. “Right now, it’s a lot of timing (and throwing to spots).”

South Central needs to have its most progress in the trench-es, where Hinkle said senior tackle Eli Brown (6-0, 210) is really the only guy with solid experience. The biggest guy in the mix along the line is center John Oney (5-10, 245) — one of just four players on the roster

weighing in above 215.“(The linemen) seem to be

excited about the chance to get in there and hit people,” said line coach Brian Kiesel, who said the team has a lot of interchangeable parts that can move well. “They know if their motors are run-ning they have a shot to play, and they’ve had some intensity.”

Many of those guys will need to be plugging holes on defense as much as they will need to open holes on offense, and even though the team averaged just 11.8 points per game last fall, its defense has even further to go.

South Central was the worst in the area in 2013 in points allowed by nearly 100 (446 total), but Hinkle said former Trojans head coach Jeff Cook (17-33 from 2007-11) has the defense taking the right steps.

Conaway returns after lead-ing the area in regular-season tackles last year (137; 230 in his first two seasons), and Hinkle calls him a lead-by-example guy.

“I really look for our defense to step up and help us out some,” the coach said. “We concentrate on that and Coach Cook has put in a bit of a different twist with a 5-3 look. We’re trying to be aggres-sive and get our kids moving and get after the ball a little bit more.”

Jenny, also at linebacker, has 131 tackles the last two years combined, and the Tro-jans return seven guys who had 30-plus tackles a season ago. Hinkle believes if SC can stay healthy, sustain drives and grind down the clock on offense, the entire team will benefit.

“I’ve been in this situation before, when I was at other schools, we were short in num-bers a few years. You go with what you’ve got,” Hinkle said. “We’ve got (23) kids and they’re all working hard, and we have some good ones.”

2013: 0-10 OVERALL, 0-7 FC

AUG. 30 — Seneca East 54, South Central 21SEPT. 6 — Columbia 51, South Central 7SEPT. 13 — Crestline 28, South Central 22SEPT. 21 — St. Paul 55, South Central 0SEPT. 27 — Crestview 48, South Central 6OCT. 4 — Plymouth 49, South Central 20OCT. 11 — Monroeville 20, South Central 8OCT. 18 — Mapleton 52, South Central 20OCT. 25 — Western Reserve 56, South Central 8NOV. 1 — New London 33, South Central 6

RETURNINGALL-AREA PLAYERS

LB Cameron Conaway (second team), ATH/DB Stephen Goetz (special mention), LB Michael Jenny (special mention)

OHSAA CLASSIFICATIONDivision VI, Region 20

12 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 SOUTH CENTRAL ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

Trojans, Hinkle ready to bounce back from ’13By DOUG HAIDETT-G Sports Editor

# NAME POSITIONS YR2 Nate Buchanan WR/DB 123 Jacob Carney QB/DE 124 Aaron Lamoreaux QB/DB 105 Matt Kelsey WR/LB 127 Jason Hale TE/DE 10

8 Russell Humpheries WR/DL 911 Ben Lamoreaux TE/DE 920 Stephen Goetz WR/DB 1221 Josh Bonet LB/DB 1022 Marcus McCormick RB/DB 923 Owen Keysor WR/DB 10

30 Michael Jenny RB/LB 1234 Cameron Conaway RB/LB 1150 Eli Brown OL/DL 1253 Carson Kinney OL/DL 1156 Dallas Tolliver OL/DE 1158 John Oney OL/DL 11

59 Tommy Reisen OL/DL 1060 Garrett Oney OL/DL 1164 Tyler Goetz OL/DL 973 Gabe Pickworth OL/DL 975 Zach Brown OL/DL 979 Trey Hoover OL/DL 10

RETURNING NUMBERS TO KNOWOFFENSE

FB Cameron Conaway, jr. — 176 carries, 909 yardsQB Jacob Carney, sr. — 56 of 119 passing, 680 yards, 2 TDs; 96 carries, 208 yards, 6 TDsRB Michael Jenny, sr. — 45 carries, 211 yards, 2 TDs WR Stephen Goetz, sr. — 22 catches, 306 yards

DEFENSE LB Cameron Conaway, jr. — 137 tackles, 13 TFLsLB Michael Jenny, sr. — 77 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks, 2 FFsDL Eli Brown, sr. — 41 tackles, 4 TFLsDB Aaron Lamoreaux, soph. — 39 tacklesDB Stephen Goetz, sr. — 38 tackles, INTDL Jacob Carney, sr. — 35 tacklesLB Matt Kelsey, sr. — 32 tackles

14 RETURNING STARTERS7 OFFENSE 7 DEFENSE

Hinkle

PLAYOFFS: NONE | HEAD COACH: WAYNE HINKLE (1st year) | CONFERENCE: FIRELANDS

AT SENECA EASTAUG. 29

AT COLUMBIASEPT. 5

CARD.-LINCOLNSEPT. 12

ST. PAULSEPT. 19

AT CRESTVIEWSEPT. 26

PLYMOUTHOCT. 3

AT MONROEVILLEOCT. 10

MAPLETONOCT. 17

AT W. RESERVEOCT. 24

NEW LONDONOCT. 31

SOUTH CENTRALSOUTH CENTRAL

YEAR ............................................ TEAM2013 ..................................................... St. Paul2012 .....................St. Paul, Western Reserve2011 .................................................Crestview2010 .................................... Western Reserve2009 .................................................... St. Paul2008 .................................................... St. Paul2007 .................................................... St. Paul2006 .........................Crestview, Monroeville2005 .................................................... St. Paul2004 ..........Crestview, Monroeville, St. Paul2003 .................................................... St. Paul2002 .............................................Monroeville2001.................................................Crestview2000 .................................................... St. Paul1999 ..................................................... St. Paul

1998 ..........................Crestview, Monroeville01997 ................................................... St. Paul1996 ..................................................... St. Paul1995 .............................St. Paul, New London1994 ............................................ New London1993 ..................................................... St. Paul1992 .........Black River, Monroeville, St. Paul1991...................................................Mapleton1990 ......................... Black River, W. Reserve1989 ...............................................Black River1988 ..............................................Monroeville1987 ..............................................Monroeville1986 ...............................................Black River1985 ........................Monroeville, Black River1984 .................................... Western Reserve1983 ..................................................Plymouth

1982 .......................................................Edison1981........................................................Edison1980 .......................................................Edison1979 .......................................................Edison1978 ..............................................Monroeville1977 ...............................................Black River1976 .......................................................Edison1975 .......................................................Edison1974 ..................................................... St. Paul1973 .............................St. Paul, New London1972 ............................................ New London1971 ........................................................Edison1970 ............................................ New London1969 ..................................................... St. Paul1968 ..................................................... St. Paul1967 .........................................................Milan

1966 .........................................................Milan1965 ......................................... Berlin Heights1964 .........................................................Milan1963 ................... Monroeville, South Central1962 ......................................... Berlin Heights1961..................................... Western Reserve1960 ......................................................Perkins

Championships by school: St. Paul (19), Monroeville (10), Black River (7), Edison (7), Crestview (5), New London (5), Western Reserve (5), Milan (3), Berlin Heights (2), Mapleton (1), Plymouth (1), S. Central (1), Perkins (1)

PAST FIRELANDS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

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Have a Great Season!!

1641 Claremont Ave, Ashland419-281-3673 • 800-525-5411www.donleyfordofashland.com

1220 E. Main StreetAshland

419-281-9540

MOWRY CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING, INC.www.mowryconstruction.com

2105 Claremont Ave., Ashland

419-289-2262

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Page 13: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 13

Team-leading 2013 line-backers Brett Nagy (106 tackles) and Pat McIntyre (86) both are gone. And while Black River has some returners to work with in linebacker Rus-sell Bell (62 tackles) and defensive lineman Slone (31 tackles, 6.5 for loss), Young said he is still try-

ing to sort through the squad’s best options.

The Pirates have more than a few solid athletes out for the team who didn’t play last fall, so Young couldn’t even say midway through the pre-season who his defensive leaders might be.

“There’s guys that are probably frontrunners, but not enough to even say right now who’s the leader on defense, because I’m

not satisfied with it yet,” he said. “I don’t mean it in a negative way, it’s just that we’ve got a lot of guys that we’re playing. ... I think we’ve got a lot of good ones right now, and I think they’re going to keep getting better. It won’t be very long before guys are going to start to surface.”

■ Contact Doug Haidet, sports editor, at 419-281-0581, ext. 245, or [email protected].

PIRATESContinued from Page 5

Backs Bell, Slone lead BR

Tygers chosen to win OCC for 3rd straight year

(The Wooster Daily Record staff’s predicted order of finish in the Ohio Cardinal Conference)

1. MANSFIELD SENIOR (11-1, 7-0 in 2013) — The Tygers had a historic fall in 2013, as they won the OCC title, compiled the first 10-0 regular season in the program’s 118-year history and won a home playoff game.

Despite losing three-year quarterback Jalen Reese, coach Chioke Bradley has enough residual excitement and talent to be labeled as OCC preseason favorite.

“There is definitely some momentum established by that phenomenal senior class,” Brad-ley said. “They have definitely set the bar high, but now it’s the next group’s turn.”

Junior RB Tyquan Vickers is back after rushing for 1,460 yards and scoring 14 touch-downs despite seeing limited action in the first three games.

The WR corps is athletic with sophomore Brian Benson (move-in from Toledo) and Asante Wilder (35 catches for 435 yards), while TE Mitchell Nixon (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) is getting recruiting interest from the Mid-American Conference and is also the backup QB.

The shotgun-pistol offense will be turned over to junior QB Brandon Swindal.

Making Swindal’s job easier in addition to the skilled return-ees will be a big, veteran line led by highly recruited left tackle Marshall Levins (6-6, 265).

The 3-4 defense has more holes to fill than the offense, but an experienced linebacking group led by junior Marvin Park-er (6-0, 205) is a strength for a team with just eight seniors.

Playoff odds: Div. II, Region 5 (★★★★ out of five)

2. WOOSTER (4-6, 4-3) — The Generals last made the play-offs in 2004, but if they can get off to a better start, they have the potential to snap that dry spell.

Wooster’s senior trio of Mar-quise Blair (WR-OLB), Cam Daugherty (QB-S) and Marta-vius Dyson (RB-S) has as much big-play potential as anyone in the league. Blair was the top receiver (35 for 724, 11 TDs) and tackler last year, while Daugherty has more than 3,300 career passing yards entering his third season as a starter and Dyson ran wild with 1,180 yards and 16 TDs. The Generals also have true standouts back in Tyson Jackson (T-DT) and Mason Woods (RB-OLB).

The big question is whether or not Wooster can rebuild its

offensive and defensive lines, which return only Jackson as a starter. The Generals also need to learn to win, as they’ve let several close games slip away over the last two years.

Playoff odds: Div. II, Region 5 (★★★ out of five)

3. ASHLAND (7-3, 6-1) — See full preview on Pages 3 and 4.

Playoff odds: Div. II, Region 5 (★★★ out of five)

4. WEST HOLMES (6-4, 3-4) — The Knights return five start-ers on both sides of the ball as they try to continue their win-ning ways under fifth-year coach Kevin Maltarich.

Senior RB-LB Luke Ogi headlines the list of returnees after carrying the ball 136 times for 1,400 yards and a staggering 10.3 yards per carry.

QB-CB Brody Miller is also back after passing for 516 yards and six TDs, and the Knights return standout K Logan Gallion.

Two-way lineman Alex White and DE Levi Jones are also key performers to watch.

Playoff odds: Div. III, Region 9 (★★★ out of five)

5. CLEAR FORK (7-3, 5-2) — Senior QB Kadin Chrastina is one of the top returning play-ers in the OCC after racking up 2,621 total yards last year. How-ever, the Colts may not have enough other experienced play-

ers to make another playoff run.Clear Fork could start as

many as six freshmen or sopho-mores on offense and five on defense. Ninth-grader Thomas Staab (5-9, 150) will be the starting tailback.

Playoff odds: Div. IV, Region 12 (★★★ out of five)

6. MADISON (3-7, 2-5) — The Rams were hit harder by graduation than any team in the league, with 20 seniors leav-ing after a tough season. That leaves only two returning start-ers on each side of the ball.

Coach Sean Conway has had a winning resume, though, and believes he has many talented newcomers to pick from and a big line that could help the Rams surprise some people.

Senior Austin Finley and junior Dakota Gombosch are battling for the QB spot, while there are plenty of RBs to choose from among seniors Alec Keen (5-8, 150); Juwan Howard (6-0, 155); Frank Douglas (5-8, 165); Kyle Galco (6-0, 190); and Logan Pack (6-0, 205).

Promising WRs are sopho-more Tyrell Ajian and 6-4 senior Jordan West.

Playoff odds: Div. III, Region 8 (★★ out of five)

7. ORRVILLE (4-6, 1-6) — After opening 2013 with four straight wins, Orrville struggled

the rest of the way with six loss-es to close the season.

The Red Riders suffered sig-nificant graduation losses and will open 2014 with just 32 com-bined players in grades 9-12 and only seven seniors. There are some good playmakers in QB Luke Smith, RB Keontae Owens and RB Austin Domer.

Coach Doug Davault is used to low numbers at Orrville and will try to get everything he can out of the small squad. He’s pointing to archrival Wooster as the team to beat.

Playoff odds: Div. V, Region 16 (★★ out of five)

8. LEXINGTON (1-9, 0-7) — Taylor Gerhardt is the new head coach of the Minutemen after serving as an assistant the last three years.

Gerhardt has a tough job to do as he takes over a program that won just one game last year and will have many new start-ers. He’s hoping a ball-control offensive philosophy and vet-eran defense can give his team a chance to pull out more wins.

Junior Joey Vore will move from WR to QB, while sopho-more T.J. Gerhardt is a good two-way player.

Playoff odds: Div. III, Region 8 (★ out of five)

Note: The Mansfield News-Journal contributed to this story.

By AARON DORKSENWooster Daily Record

OHIO CARDINAL CONFERENCE PROJECTIONS

YEAR .............................................. TEAM2013 ....................................... Mansfield Senior2012 ......................Madison, Mansfield Senior.......................................................West Holmes2011 .......................................................Ashland2010 ................................................... Clear Fork2009 ......................................................Ashland2008 ...................................................Lexington2007 ......................................................Ashland2006 ......................................................Ashland2005 ......................................Madison, Orrville2004 ..................................................... Wooster2003 ..................................................... Wooster

Championships by school: Ashland (4), Madison (2), Mansfield Senior (2), Wooster (2), Clear Fork (1), Lexington (1), Orrville (1), West Holmes (1)

PAST OHIO CARDINAL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

Page 14: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

14 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 XYZ ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

area last year in tackles for loss (24) and sacks (15) — Williams likes the balance.

“(Bee) was phenome-nal and most teams game-planned either double-teaming him or running most of their plays away from him,” the coach said. “We don’t have guys like that, but overall, with the injuries we had, we were able to gain a lot of experi-ence.”

“At different times, with injuries, they got us some depth,” Williams said. “Some of them only started three or four games, but obviously when you go into a year having some guys who have played, depth defi-nitely helps.”

Tackles Summerfield and Ward both were defen-sive starters last year, as was DE Pickering — one of five returning Falcons who had at least 50 tackles. The others are DBs Doug Cline and Figley, who

combined for 10 intercep-tions last season, as well as linebacker Dale Cable and safety Craig Cline.

“Having (returning) defense is important, but sometimes that also shows that maybe the year before didn’t go exactly as planned,” Williams said.

If this year’s plan holds true, Hillsdale could get back on a track that saw it make three trips to the playoffs and win two Wayne County Athletic League titles the last five seasons.

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FALCONSContinued from Page 7

WAYNE COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE PROJECTIONS

Chippewa picked for first title since 1999(The Wooster Daily Record

staff’s predicted order of finish in the Wayne County Athletic League)

1. CHIPPEWA (9-3, 6-1 in 2013) — Coming into last sea-son, Chippewa was on a 1-29 streak over the previous three years, but new head coach Michael Bohley led the Chipps to a complete turnaround.

Not only did the Chipps win, they won big, finishing second to Northwestern in the league and winning a playoff game. With a multitude of starters back on both sides of the ball, they were the unanimous pick to take home the WCAL title for the first time since 1999.

Bailey Breitenstine threw for 1,829 yards, ran for 332 and accounted for 27 total touch-downs as a sophomore last year, and he’s back for a third year at QB. Nick Zollinger added 831 yards and 12 TDs rushing, Aus-tin Durbin had 20 receptions, and mammoth lineman Jake

Gamble (6-foot-6, 295 pounds) returns up front. Defensively, Trent Abel had 12 1⁄2 tackles for loss a year ago, while Durbin and Breitenstine combined for 10 interceptions.

Playoff odds: Div. V, Region 16 (★★★★ out of five)

2. NORWAYNE (7-3, 5-2) — The two-time defending league champs dropped to third last year, and among the losses to gradua-tion were record-setting QB Joe Dreher and Division I recruits Kaleb Harris (Marshall) and Tre-vahn Beery (Bowling Green).

Back, though, is RB Jeremy Miller (991 yards, 11 TDs), running behind a line return-ing with four starters, including 240-pound RG Chris Scruggs and 260-pound RT Christian Steiner.

Miller also made 113 tackles a year ago and will be at MLB surrounded by plenty of expe-rienced talent, as most of the defensive Bobcats started last season. Clayton Wheeland is back at SS, and both corners and free safety Noah Tomasseti

return.Playoff odds: Div. V, Region

16 (★★★★ out of five)3. WAYNEDALE (6-4, 4-3)

— Two years after going 0-10, the Golden Bears look ready to keep climbing the WCAL lad-der, keyed by a big and talented junior class.

Among the 11th-graders back are RB/LB Reid Stanley, who rushed for 952 yards and nine TDs and led the Bears with 113 tackles; WR/LB Ant-Juan Lewis (21 catches); and RB/LB Nick Strausbaugh (3 INTs). Wayne-dale won’t overwhelm anyone with its size, although two-way lineman Shayne Weaver is a 6-0, 225-pound junior standout, but team speed is a real asset.

Playoff odds: Div. V, Region 16 (★★★ out of five)

4. HILLSDALE (4-6, 3-4) — See full preview on Page 7.

Playoff odds: Div. VI, Region 19 (★★★ out of five)

5. DALTON (3-7, 2-5) — After languishing in the league’s second division the past few seasons, the senior-dominated

Bulldogs want to push their way back into the league race.

Having 6-1, 310-pound line-man J.D. Murphy paving the way will help. In fact, the small-est DHS offensive lineman is C Andy Caillet, and he’s 5-10, 220. The backfield of new QB Zach Ryder, Mario McFarren (564 yards last year) and Patrick McGinty is athletic, while not many schools have a 6-6, 240-pound TE like Connor Clark, who caught 23 balls as a junior.

A lot of those same names will play defense, too, with 6-3, 210-pound Jerry Morehart anchoring things at MLB. More-hart had 121 tackles last year, while McGinty added 76 tack-les, sophomore LB Cody Fitzwa-ter had 96 stops and Ryder had five INTs.

Playoff odds: Div. VI, Region 19 (★★★ out of five)

6. SMITHVILLE (1-9, 1-6) — Sometimes a program has to suffer through a rare bad season to get back to the good times. And good times in Smithville include winning, but the tradi-

tional league power has been over .500 just once since 2009.

A lot of young players gained experience a year ago, including skill players Isiah Ajian and SE Isaiah Viator, and the offensive line averages 215 and starts four seniors. Defensively, ILBs Gus Boyd and Lance Bohlen will both earn their third letters.

Playoff odds: Div. VI, Region 19 (★★ out of five)

7. NORTHWESTERN (9-2, 7-0) — See full preview on Page 8.

Playoff odds: Div. V, Region 16 (★★ out of five)

8. RITTMAN (1-9, 0-7) — There’s nowhere to go but up for Rittman, and new coach Levi Nelson does have 14 lettermen back, including QB Ty Ramsi-er, who threw for 708 yards, 8 TDs and just 2 INTs after tak-ing over last year. Seven more seniors and six juniors return, and Nelson lists 15 more prom-ising newcomers. That doesn’t include 13 sophomores on the roster.

Playoff odds: Div. V, Region 16 (★ out of five)

By MIKE PLANTWooster Daily Record

YEAR ....................................... TEAM2013 ....................................Northwestern2012 ...........................................Norwayne2011 ......Hillsdale, Norwayne, Smithville2010 ............................................. Hillsdale2009 ................................................Dalton2008 ....................Norwayne, Waynedale2007 ............. Northwestern, Waynedale2006 ...................................Northwestern2005 ............................ Smithville, Dalton2004 ..........................................Smithville2003 .......Smithville, Dalton, Waynedale2003 ..........................................Smithville2001................ Smithville, Northwestern2000 ..........................................Smithville1999 ...........................................Chippewa1998 .........................................Waynedale

1997 .........................................Waynedale1996 .................................................Dalton1995 .........................................Waynedale1994 ...........................................Smithville1993 ........Dalton, Waynedale, Smithville1992 ........................... Dalton, Waynedale1991..................................................Dalton1990 ...........................................Smithville1989 .........................................Waynedale1988 ...........................................Smithville1987 ...........................................Smithville1986 .............................................. Rittman1985 .........................................Waynedale1984 ...........................................Smithville1983 ...........................................Smithville1982 .........................................Waynedale1981..........................................Waynedale

1980 ...........................Rittman, Smithville1979 .............................................. Rittman1978 .........................................Waynedale1977 .................................................Dalton1976 .................................................Dalton1975 .............................................. Rittman1974 .................................................Dalton1973 .........................................Waynedale1972 .........................................Waynedale1971 ..................................................Dalton1970 ...........................................Chippewa1969 ...........................................Chippewa1968 .................................................Dalton1967 ...................... Dalton, Northwestern1966 .................................................Dalton1965 ...........................................Norwayne1964 .............................................. Rittman

1963 .................................................Dalton1962 ...........................................Smithville1961..................................................Dalton1960 .........................................Waynedale1959 ........................... Dalton, Waynedale1958 .............................................. Rittman1957 ........................................Doylestown1956 ........................................Doylestown1955 ........................................Doylestown1954 .......................... Dalton, Doylestown

Championships by school: Dalton (18), Waynedale (17), Smithville (16), Chippewa (7), Rittman (6), Northwestern (5), Norwayne (4), Hillsdale (2)

PAST WAYNE COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

HHS must replace Bee

XYZXYZ

Page 15: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

The Redbirds won their first conference title since 1992 last year, but with the loss of East Knox from the Mid-Buckeye Conference, which now has just three teams, the league won’t crown a champ. That said, Loudonville has added Division IV Spar-ta Highland (7-3 last year) for Week 1, Divi-sion VI state semifinal-ist Bishop Ready (12-2)

for Week 7 and Division V regional semifinalist Gilmour Academy (9-3) for Week 9.

“If we take it week-by-week, we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” Todd said. “As long as we stay within ourselves, prepare the right way, we should have a chance to make the playoffs. From there, you never know.”

Times-Gazette sports writer Becky Tener Meziere contributed to this article.

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE XYZ THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 15

Clay Frontz (5-9, 190); Jon Batdorf (5-7, 150) and Tanner Hammon (5-11, 190), as well as sopho-more Chandler Prise (6-1, 210).

Shafer will need them to mature quickly if the Cougars are to get into a rhythm, and some solid success this year could prove to go a long way in the future. Crestview’s freshman class has been successful at every level in the past, and Coffman said he’s looking forward to seeing how those athletes develop.

But in a year when the coach feels the competi-tion in the FC could be as wide open as it’s been in his time at Crestview behind reigning league champ St. Paul, Coffman said he wants to see the results quickly.

“At Crestview, there’s an expectation that we’ll go out and play well when

we step on the field,” he said. “We expect to find a way to win football games, so it will be important for us to instill that Crestview tradition to be physical, run the ball and play good defense (in a young team).

“If you get better each day, when you look back, things usually end up being what you want. If you fall in that trap of get-ting into a lull, the people that are getting better will pass you in a hurry.”

Former Times-Gazette sports writer Tim Shoe-maker contributed to this article.

(6-0, 160) returns for his second season as a starter after throwing for 1,125 yards and 13 TDs last fall. The senior has talented threats out wide in Black and Kowatch, and his coach said he has a great grasp on the offense.

“I thought Wade played pretty well last year, made smart decisions, took care of the football,” said Mah-aney of Barone, also one of the area’s top returning kickers (36 kicking points in 2013). “He had a really good summer and was really sharp in the 7-on-7s.”

Projections are that everyone in the FC could be looking up at defending champ St. Paul this season, but the Mounties could be part of a big mix of contenders right behind them.

“We’ve done so much bonding over the summer that I’m excited to see how that’s going to play out,” Mahaney said, “just because this is a really close-knit senior class and I think it’s kind of extended down to the underclassmen. I think everybody has each other’s back.”

REDBIRDSContinued from Page 6

Loss of Week 1 showdown precedes big changes

There’s a lot to be said about brag-ging rights in athletics. When it comes to high school football, sometimes there’s a lot more that’s said.

It’s a reality of the sport and a real-ity of the fans who follow it.

In the Ashland area, bragging rights in the game have carried on for more than a half-century now.

Head-to-head local rivalries were spawned and died in the former Johnny Appleseed and Mohican Area conferences, and they rose up in the early years of the Firelands Conference when Black River and Hillsdale were still members.

It has been a winding road of back-and-forth battles and league changes, and much of that road has led to intriguing nonconference match-ups between area teams through the years. They are what gets the blood boiling before league play gets going in Week 4.

As travel costs and school sizes have varied, so have schedules, and that is as true now as it ever has been.

But with the 2014 high school foot-ball season closing in, it almost felt unnatural not seeing locals Crestview and Northwestern hooking up in Week 1 for their “double-area” showdown, as they had done every season since 1997. The Cougars won the first eight games of the series before the Huskies won five of the final nine.

In nine of the last 10 meetings between the squads, the winner advanced to the playoffs at the end of the season.

“We used to go scout (Crest-view) and then go to Linder’s (bar in Ashland) for some wings, and there would be Crestview fans in there and we’d get taunted once in a while, so it was fun,” 15th-year Huskies coach Mike Thut said. “We walked in there one time and they’re like, ‘Hey, have some Cougar beer, boys.’ ”

But nothing lasts forever in sports, and while Thut said he wished the

rivalry would continue, Crestview wanted to go another route. On open-ing night this Friday, Northwestern will host Fairless while the Cougars will host East Knox.

It is the first time in more than 50 years that there will not be a season-opening game between two area teams.

“It’s a little bit of a change of scen-ery, but I think it’s something that’s going to get us some exciting new rival-ries and really revisiting some from the past,” fifth-year Crestview coach Chad Coffman said. “Like anything, it’s always hard to leave something behind, and it seems a little weird not to be preparing to play (Northwestern).”

While the change steals away one of the area’s top early-season pairings, Crestview’s future nonconference slate certainly looks intriguing, with Week 3 games against Black River in 2015 and 2016, and a Week 2 game against Hillsdale in 2016.

That latter contest unfortunately breaks up a Week 2 showdown with Loudonville that Crestview will have played from 2005 through 2015, but it also unites the first two area teams to ever meet in a playoff game (Hillsdale beat Crestview 33-23 in the first round in 2009).

Those aren’t the only interest-ing changes looming on the horizon, either. While Hillsdale’s opening three games the next two seasons will be Manchester, Willard and Loudonville, the Falcons are set to face three area teams out of the chute in 2016, including Mapleton, Crestview and Loudonville.

The Mapleton-Hillsdale matchup is one Ashland County fans will love to see continue again. It had taken place nearly every season since 1964 when it was halted by Mapleton after 2011. At that point, the Falcons had won nine straight games in the series, but 12th-year HHS coach Tom Williams said he’s looking forward to the rivalry reboot, and loves the idea of playing more local teams.

“That’s where I think the playoff system sometimes hurts,” he said, “because people (start saying), ‘Oh, you’ve got to do this and do that and make these changes.’ I like the tradi-tion of playing teams that are a little closer. It doesn’t make a lot of sense with today’s time that you’re going to

get on a bus and travel over an hour when there’s somebody very similar to you that’s only 20 minutes away.”

“All those programs (Mapleton, Crestview and Loudonville) are very similar to us,” he said, “and all of them, as we looked towards the future as far as junior high programs, are pretty similar. I think they’ll be some exciting games.”

When that 2016 schedule arrives, Hillsdale will be the first local squad to open with three games against Ashland-area teams since Northwest-ern played Crestview, Black River and Mapleton in 2008.

Here’s more of a breakdown of some things to look for during nonconfer-ence games for 2015 and 2016 that already are under contract.

■ When Black River and Crestview hook up in Week 3 of 2015, it will be their first meeting since 1992, the last season the Pirates were still members of the FC.

■ As of now, Loudonville’s future schedule is more unsettled than any team around. Due to the reduction of the Mid-Buckeye Conference to three teams, the Redbirds and coach/athletic director Justin Todd are forced to find eight nonconference games.

Weeks 3 through 8 are set for 2015 and 2016 with Hillsdale, Waterloo, Mogadore, Lucas, Canton Central Catholic and Danville, but Loudon-ville’s 2016 slate has openings in Weeks 1, 2, 9 and 10.

Todd said he hopes to finalize that season by the end of this September.

■ Ashland’s current six-year, Week 2 series with Dover runs out after this season. The Arrows still are looking for an opponent in that slot the next two seasons.

■ The trend through the years for both New London and South Central has been to find nonconference opponents west and north of Ashland County.

The Wildcats haven’t played another area team in nonleague action since los-ing to Northwestern in 2002, while the Trojans haven’t faced off with another local squad outside conference play since 1969. That year, South Central played New London a year before the Wildcats became members of the FC.

Neither team is scheduled to play another local team in nonconference play in the foreseeable future.

DOUGHAIDETT-G Sports

Editor

AREA NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULES

2015 AND 2016

WK 2015 2016 ASHLAND ASHLAND1 Wadsworth Wadsworth2 TBA TBA3 Columbian Columbian

BLACK RIVER BLACK RIVER1 Western Reserve Western Reserve2 Northwestern Northwestern3 Crestview Crestview

CRESTVIEW CRESTVIEW1 Northmor Northmor2 Loudonville Hillsdale3 Black River Black River

HILLSDALE HILLSDALE1 Manchester Mapleton2 Willard Crestview3 Loudonville Loudonville

LOUDONVILLE LOUDONVILLE1 Highland TBA2 Crestview TBA3 Hillsdale Hillsdale

MAPLETON MAPLETON1 Crestline Hillsdale2 Sandy Valley Sandy Valley3 TBA TBA

NEW LONDON NEW LONDON1 Oberlin Oberlin2 Cuyahoga Hts Cuyahoga Hts3 Wellington Wellington

NORTHWESTERN NORTHWESTERN1 Akron North TBA2 Black River Black River3 Columbia Columbia

SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH CENTRAL1 Seneca East TBA2 Rittman Rittman3 Cardington TBA

Note: Loudonville is the only area team that does not begin conference play in Week 4. Due to the reduction of the Mid-Buckeye Conference, the Redbirds are scheduled to play eight nonconference games for the foreseeable future.

Barone returnsMOUNTIESContinued from Page 10

LHS adds three new opponents

COUGARSContinued from Page 9

Senior Shafer takes QB spot

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Page 16: Gridiron Growth: 2014 High School Football Preview

COACH, SCHOOL ...............RECORD, SEASONS (win %)Al Young, Black River* ............................... 165-87, 24 (.655)Mike Warbel, Loudonville .......................150-78-2, 22 (.657)Scott Valentine, Ashland* ........................... 94-41, 12 (.696)Mike Thut, Northwestern* .......................... 82-65, 14 (.558)Jim Anderson, Mapleton ............................... 81-89, 17 (.476)Tom Williams, Hillsdale* ............................. 68-48, 11 (.586)Paul Nestor, New London .........................54-42-2, 10 (.561)Sean Conway, Crestview ............................... 44-19, 6 (.698)Bill Lewis, South Central .................................42-47, 9 (.472)

*Denotes coaches active with the same program

OFFENSIVE STATS LEADERSLAST 10 YEARS

PASSINGNAME, SCHOOL .................. C-A ......YARDS.......T-I ..... YRNick Zurcher, AHS .................191-320 .....2,547 ...... 26-10...... 13Tyson Vogel, AHS ..................179-327 .....2,745 ....... 21-11 ...... 12Zach Bernhard, AHS .............159-322 .....2,460 .......18-10 .......11Marcus Fuller, AHS ...............241-372 ..... 3,817 ....... 39-10...... 10Marcus Fuller, AHS ...............215-367 ..... 3,122 ........ 30-8 ..... 09Alex Uselton, SC ...................143-276 ..... 1,869 ........15-7 ...... 08Taylor Housewright, AHS ... 269-397 .....3,528 .......36-12 ..... 07Taylor Housewright, AHS ....157-253 ..... 2,213 ........ 26-8 ..... 06Corey Chaffins, NL ................174-334 ..... 2,179 ........22-14 ..... 05Corey Chaffins, NL ................145-324 ..... 1,944 ........6-16 ...... 04

RECEIVINGNAME, SCHOOL .................. NO. ..... YARDS ....... TD .... YRJake Allton, AHS .........................74 .......... 960 ............ 16 ........13Nick Barker, AHS ....................... 70 ......... 1,265 ............ 8 .........12Marquise Jones, AHS ............... 65 ...........923 ............. 10 ........ 11Chris Thomas, AHS ................... 55 ......... 1,094 ........... 14 ........10Chris Thomas, AHS ....................47 ...........836 ..............11 .......09Andrew Davis, NL ..................... 40 ...........873 ..............11 .......08Anthony Fairhurst, AHS ............77 .........1,000 ............ 8 ........ 07Derek Chaffins, NL .....................61 ...........883 .............. 7 ........06Will Hansen, LOU .......................53 ..........1,321 .............11 .......05Tyrone Coombs, NL .................. 65 .......... 960 ............. 3 ........04

RUSHINGNAME, SCHOOL .................. ATT. ..... YARDS ...... TD .... YRAndrew Vaughn, BR .................. 259 ........ 2,342 ..........29 .......13Corbin Mager, HD ..................... 169 .........1,574 ..........18 .......12Mason Minnich, CV .................. 292 ........2,468 ..........25 ....... 11Mason Minnich, CV ...................176..........1,535 .......... 17 ...... 10Loren Hulit, CV .......................... 156 .........1,130 .......... 12 ......09Dustin Simpson, HD ..................137......... 1,204 ..........21 ......08Cameron Brant, MAP ............... 262 ........ 1,303 ..........10 ......07Hunter Reed, CV .......................304 ........ 2,144 ..........27 ......06Travis Morris, NW ..................... 298 .........1,749 .......... 17 ......05Ryan O’Dell, CV ..........................221 .........1,765 ..........19 ......04

SCORINGNAME, SCHOOL ............ TD ......... XP ....... FG .... PTS .. YRAndrew Vaughn, BR .......... 33 ...... 10 (2-pt) .....0 ........ 218 ...... 13Tyler Smith, NW ................ 25........1 (2-pt) ......0 ........ 152 ...... 12Andrew Vaughn, BR .......... 29 ...... 5 (2-pt) ......0 ........ 184.......11Chris Thomas, AHS ........... 29 ............0 ............0 ........ 174 ......10Jordan Lance, LOU ............ 16 ........1 (2-pt) ......0 .........98 .....09Chris Thomas, AHS ........... 16 ........1 (2-pt) ......0 .........98 .....09Dustin Simpson, HD ......... 24 ............4 ............0 ........ 152 .....08Josh Kirk, SC ...................... 18 .............0 ............0 ........ 108 .... 07Hunter Reed, CV ...............30 ...... 3 (2-pt) ......0 ........ 186 .....06Hunter Reed, CV ............... 21 ........1 (2-pt) ......0 ........ 128 ..... 05Ryan O’Dell, CV ................. 23........1 (2-pt) ......0 ........ 140 ....04

DEFENSIVE STATS LEADERSLAST 5 YEARS

TACKLESNAME, SCHOOL ..............................TACKLES ............. YRCameron Conaway, South Central ............137 ....................... 13Damon Bollin, New London ........................116 ........................ 12Clay Hall, New London ................................135 ........................11Adam Reidenbach, Loudonville ................ 120 .......................10Anthony Deppen, Ashland ......................... 130 ......................09

TACKLES FOR LOSSNAME, SCHOOL ................................. TFLs ................ YRRyan Bee, Hillsdale .......................................24 ........................ 13Austin Cary, Loudonville ..............................23 ........................ 12Steven Petroff, Crestview ............................36 .........................11John Guilford, Black River ............................ 18 ........................10Abe Thompson, Crestview ..........................25 .......................09

SACKSNAME, SCHOOL ................................ SACKS ...............YRRyan Bee, Hillsdale ....................................... 15 ........................ 13Ryan Bee, Hillsdale ........................................ 9 ........................ 12Austin Cary, Loudonville ............................... 9 ........................ 12Adam Wolbert, Ashland ............................... 10......................... 11John Guilford, Black River ............................. 9 ........................ 10Josh Barr, Hillsdale ........................................ 8 ....................... 09

INTERCEPTIONSNAME, SCHOOL ......................................... INTs .................YRDoug Cline, Hillsdale ......................................6 ..................... 13Haydon Dotson, South Central .....................6 ..................... 12Tyler Smith, Northwestern ............................6 ..................... 12Jake Hill, Crestview ........................................5 ......................11Levi Licata, Hillsdale .......................................5 ......................11Bryan Maldinger, Crestview ..........................4 ..................... 10Connor Plemens, Crestview ..........................4 ..................... 10Zach Fulk, Hillsdale .........................................4 ..................... 10Brennan McKean, Norhtwestern ..................4 ..................... 10Jordan Lance, Loudonville .............................6 .................... 09Jake O’Connor, Black River ............................6 .................... 09

Note: Defensive statistics were not continuously submitted to the T-G during the past 10 seasons.

16 THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 2014 XYZ ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSEQB — Nick Zurcher, Ashland sr.RB — Tyler Smith, Northwestern sr.RB — Travis Pickering, Mapleton jr.OL — Gabe Eaton, Black River sr.OL — Drew Dickinson, Ashland jr.OL — Joey Workman, Northwestern sr.OL — Ty Young, Loudonville sr.OL — Chris Gregg, Mapleton sr.WR — Max Stringer, Ashland sr.ATH — Malachi Nolletti, Northwestern sr.ATH — Kolton Edmondson, Loudonville jr.ATH — Aaron King, Crestview sr.ATH — Nick Thomas, New London sr.

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSEDL — Ty Green, Ashland sr.DL — Ryan Bee, Hillsdale sr.DL — Heath Reineke, Ashland sr.DL — Jay Hill, Crestview sr.LB — Logan Campbell, Crestview sr.LB — Dylan Eberly, Hillsdale sr.LB — Nate McIntosh, New London jr.LB — Matt Kohler, Northwestern sr.LB — Cameron Conaway, South Central soph.DB — Tristan Bender, Loudonville jr.DB — Jake Allton, Ashland sr.DB — Doug Cline, Hillsdale jr.

FIRST-TEAM SPECIAL TEAMSK — Zach Giles, Crestview sr.P — Nick Zurcher, Ashland sr.

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSEQB — Josh Hamilton, New London jr.RB — David Bell, Black River soph.OL — Phillip Linger, Ashland sr.OL — Jeremy Wiggins, Black River sr.OL — Brett Chance, Crestview sr.OL — Mat Hunter, Northwestern sr.OL — Caleb Logan, New London sr.WR — Connor Black, Mapleton jr.WR — Julian Molnar, New London, jr.ATH — Zack Koenig, Mapleton jr.ATH — Nick Sas, Black River sr.ATH — Troy Marksberry, Hillsdale, jr.

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSEDL — Kyle Graham, Loudonville jr.DL — Gavin Montgomery, Crestview sr.DL — Joey Meek, Northwestern sr.DL — Spencer Pelton, Ashland sr.LB — Beau Fortune, Northwestern sr.LB — Jerrod Coning, Ashland sr.LB — Heath Snyder, Loudonville soph.LB — Brett Nagy, Black River sr.LB — Marc Lujan, Ashland sr.LB — Pat McIntyre, Black River sr.DB — Austin VanSickle, Loudonville soph.DB — Seth Galbraith, Mapleton sr.

SECOND-TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS

K — Tucker Bender, Loudonville, jr.P — Kolton Edmondson, Loudonville jr.

SPECIAL MENTIONASHLAND — Kyle Conkle (C, sr.); Paul Wolfe (DE, sr.); Tyler Wilson (DB, jr.); Caleb Winfi eld (DB, sr.) BLACK RIVER — Chris Kane (DL, sr.); Brock Waltz (DE/QB, sr.); Ryan Slone (DL, sr.); Sean Holly (OL, sr.)CRESTVIEW — Grant Fulk (WR, soph.); Tyler Brown (TE/DE, fr.)HILLSDALE — Skyler Ward (OL, jr.); Riley Harpster (LB, sr.); Connor Applegate (OL, sr.); Walker Summerfi eld (OL, jr.); AJ Flores (DB/WR/PR, sr.); Cole Figley (DB, jr.)LOUDONVILLE — Blake Cary (OL/DL, jr.); Tucker Bender (ATH, jr.)MAPLETON — Mason Mencl (DL, sr.); Corey Kowatch (WR/DB, jr.); Wade Barone (QB/K, jr.)NEW LONDON — Tanner Green (LB, jr.); Taylor Bollin (DE/LB, sr.); Garrett Hall (OL, soph.); D.J. Yates (WR, soph.)

NORTHWESTERN — Tanner Topp (LB, sr.); Jeff Burkholder (OL/DL, sr.); Wyatt Edwards (DB/WR, sr.); Tristan Weaverling (WR/DB, sr.)

SOUTH CENTRAL — Stephen Goetz (ATH/DB, jr.); Michael Jenny (LB, jr.); Shayson Wilhelm (C, sr.)

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Andrew Vaughn, Black River sr.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ryan Weber, Loudonville sr.

COACH OF THE YEARRobert Mahaney, Mapleton

2013 TIMES-GAZETTE ALL-AREA TEAM

PASSINGNAME, SCHOOL ........C-A ...YARDS .. T-IN. Zurcher, AHS ....... 191-320 .. 2,547 ...26-10J. Hamilton, NL ......... 102-167 .. 1,425 .. 14-3 M. Nolletti, NW .........65-128 ... 1,256 .. 10-5N. Wheeler, CV ..........60-120 ....1,168...11-12W. Barone, MAP ........76-158 ... 1,099 ...13-7K. Edmondson, LOU ... 67-122 ... 1,010 .... 9-3T. Marksberry, HD ....58-129 .... 946 ... 11-11J. Carney, SC .............. 56-119 .... 680 .... 2-11B. Waltz, BR ................ 19-43 ......383 ...... 2-2

RUSHING (MIN. 570 YARDS)NAME, SCHOOL ....... ATT. .... YDs ...... TDA. Vaughn, BR ...............230 ....2,203 .......26T. Smith, NW ................250 .... 1,583 .......29T. Pickering, MAP ........ 185 ..... 1,562 ....... 16K. Edmondson, LOU ..... 152 ..... 1,538 .......22A. King, CV ....................180 ..... 1,252 .......10N. Thomas, NL .............. 154 ......1,114 .........11R. Weber, LOU .............. 137 ..... 1,032 ....... 16J. Hill, CV ....................... 196 .......981 ......... 12C. Conaway, SC ............ 176 ...... 909............1D. Bell, BR ......................140 ...... 904 ..........9N. Zurcher, AHS ........... 153 ...... 888 ...........8M. Nolletti, NW .............94....... 703 ...........6D. Phillips, NL ............... 137 ...... 592 ...........7D. Eberly, HD .................78 ........571 ...........5C. Filak, BR .................... 112 ...... 536 ...........4T. Marksberry, HD .......103 .......535 ...........7

RECEIVING (MIN. 250 YARDS)NAME, SCHOOL ........NO. .... YDs ...... TDJ. Allton, AHS .................74 ....... 960......... 16M. Stringer, AHS ...........58 ........812 ...........8G. Fulk, CV .....................24 ........614 ...........7J. Molnar, NL ..................36 ....... 563 ...........6M. Kohler, NW ...............28 ....... 520 ...........4D. Yates, NL ...................36 ....... 457 ...........3T. Weaverling, NW ....... 17 ....... 374 ...........3A. VanSickle, LOU ......... 16 ....... 354 ...........3C. Black, MAP ................29 ....... 347 ...........3D. Cline, HD .................... 17 ....... 347 ...........3T. Smith, NW ................. 18 ........339 ...........3N. Thomas, NL ...............24 ........335 ...........6S. Goetz, SC ...................22 ....... 306 ............1R. Bee, HD ......................22 ....... 289 ...........4

SCORING (MIN. 50 POINTS)NAME, SCHOOL ....TD ......XP ...FG ...PTsT. Smith, NW ........... 33 ....3(2pt) ... 0 ... 204J. Allton, AHS ........... 25 . 37(1-2pt) . 1 .... 192A. Vaughn, BR .......... 29 ....7(2pt) ... 0 .... 188K. Edmondson, LOU ... 22 ....3(2pt) ... 0 .... 138T. Pickering, MAP ... 18 ......... 0 ....... 0 .... 108N. Thomas, NL ......... 18 ......... 0 ....... 0 .... 108R. Weber, LOU ......... 16 ......... 0 ....... 0 ......96J. Hill, CV .................. 14 ......... 0 ....... 0 ......84A. King, CV ............... 13 ..... 1(2pt) ... 0 ......80D. Bell, BR .................. 9......8(2pt) ... 0 ......70C. Black, MAP ........... 9...... 1(2pt) ... 0 ...... 56

TACKLES (MIN. 85)NAME, SCHOOL .....................TACKLESC. Conaway, SC .......................................137L. Campbell, CV .......................................128Tr. Bender, LOU ....................................... 118R. Weber, LOU ..........................................117T. Green, AHS .......................................... 115N. McIntosh, NL ...................................... 114T. Green, NL ............................................. 101B. Nagy, BR ............................................... 98M. Lujan, AHS ........................................... 97D. Eberly, HD ............................................ 92J. Coning, AHS .......................................... 90T. Brown, CV ............................................. 88R. Bee, HD ................................................. 88R. Harpster, HD ........................................ 87T. Pickering, MAP .................................... 87

TACKLES FOR LOSS (MIN. 12)NAME, SCHOOL ..............................TFLR. Bee, HD ................................................. 24L. Campbell, CV ......................................... 19J. Hill, CV .................................................... 17G. Montgomery, CV .................................. 16J. Meek, NW ............................................... 15C. Conaway, SC ......................................... 13Z. Koenig, MAP ......................................... 13C. Gregg, MAP ........................................12.5H. Snyder, LOU .......................................... 12R. Weber, LOU ........................................... 12

SACKS (MIN. 5)NAME, SCHOOL .........................SACKSR. Bee, HD .................................................. 15T. Green, AHS ............................................ 12H. Snyder, LOU ............................................7C. Kane, BR .............................................. 6.5J. Hill, CV ......................................................6N. McIntosh, NL ..........................................6B. Waltz, BR ............................................. 5.5H. Reineke, AHS ..........................................5R. Weber, LOU .............................................5

INTERCEPTIONS (MIN. 3)NAME, SCHOOL .............................. INTD. Cline, HD ..................................................6J. Allton, AHS ...............................................5C. Figley, HD ................................................4S. Galbraith, MAP .......................................4T. Weaverling, NW .....................................4A. Flores, HD ................................................3A. King, CV ...................................................3M. Nolletti, NW ...........................................3N. Thomas, NL .............................................3A. VanSickle, LOU .......................................3

Note: To better compare 2013 area perfor-mances, stats are through the regular sea-son. Complete stats for some of the players who performed in the playoffs are included in the ‘Area Stats Leaders’ portion of this page.

2013 FINAL AREA STATS

NICKZURCHER

JAKE ALLTON

ANDREWVAUGHN

CAMERON CONAWAY

RYANBEE

DOUGCLINE

AL YOUNG

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALLPREVIEW CREDITS

The 2014 edition of Gridiron Growth: High School Foot-ball Preview was produced through a collective effort from the advertising, composing, photography and sports departments at the Times-Gazette.

■ Cover design, graphics: Devon Brabenec■ Layout: Becky Tener Meziere■ Photography: Tom E. Pusker, Joe Pelletier, Austin Malchow

ALL-TIME WINS LEADERSAT AREA SCHOOLS

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