lima news football preview 2014

8/10/2019 Lima News Football Preview 2014

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PLAY IT AGAIN, Cthe sequel 2014 LIMA NEWS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW

COMING TO A FOOTBALL FIELD NEAR YOUThe passion and the pride, the dreamers and the destroyers

A look at the best the gridiron has to offerInside: Team previews, schedules, statistics and more

SCOTT PALTEReturns to coaching,

brings new offense to T-Birds

DOUG FRYESt. Marys looks for

magic from former coach

MIKE FELLSpartans showed spark

last year, now look for re


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2014 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW The Lima News2E Thursday, August 28, 2014

Area teams,coaches workingon creatingsequels in 2014

Been there, doing it again

By Jim [email protected]

The hope is always that asequel will be as good as theoriginal.

Hollywood loves sequels.It loves them to the point itsometimes doesnt know whento stop creating more sequelsto a beloved lm.

Some people turn theirannual vacations into sequelsby returning to the same placeyear after year after year.

And sports, too, has its ownplentiful supply of sequels.

Teams create sequels . Play-ers create them, too. And sodo coaches.

If a player or coach wins onetitle, they want two. Or threeor four. If a team wins it all oreven just does well, fans wantto know if it is going to be ableto do it again the next season.

It happens every year. Ithappens nationally. It hap-pens statewide and it happensaround here.

This year, especially, sequelsare prominent stories in highschool football in this area.

The incredible success s torythat is the Midwest AthleticConference has two of them,with Marion Local chasing itsfourth consecutive state foot-ball championship in DivisionVII and Coldwater trying for athree-peat in Division V.

Crestview got a taste of suc-cess on a large scale by win-ning its rst football playoffgame in 2013. With most ofthe key players back from thatteam, it is expecting to enjoycreating a sequel to that sea-son.

It only took ve wins lastseason for Lima Seniors foot-ball team, coaches and fans toeagerly anticipate this seasonand start thinking about whatcomes next.

Those ve wins were themost by a Lima Senior footballteam since 2000 and matchedthe number of wins the Spar-tans had in 2012, 2011, 2010and 2009 combined.

So, add a group of talentedplayers to ve wins and a fanbase starved for excitementand you have a recipe forpeople including everyone onthe team wanting more.

What a difference a yearmakes. Lima Senior runningback Juniel Liles says his goalthis year is a state champion-ship to follow up last yearsbreak-through season.

A year ago when Mike Fellwas hired as the Spartanscoach Liles wasnt sure whatwas coming.

I didnt know what to

expect. I knew he was a goodcoach and won a lot of gamesbut I didnt know how that wasgoing to translate to us, Lilessaid.

There are a lot more peopleoutside the program tellingplayers how they expect greatthings now, too. Liles has ananswer for that, too.

Theres been a lot of those,but we just try to stay focused

on what were doing as ateam, he said.

Fell says he doesnt think hewill have to spend too muchtime reminding the playersthat a successful follow-up tolast year will not automaticallyhappen. All he has to do ispoint to a 70-26 loss to ToledoCentral Catholic and an 83-28defeat against Toledo Whitmerat the end last season.

The way we ended theyear kind of put us back atground zero where youve gotto understand if you dont doit the right way and you dontgive it 100 percent effort,were right back where wewere. We were fat and happygoing into week nine and wegot exposed in those last twogames and realized were notthere yet, were just trying toget to that point, he said. Itmade us really push harder inthe offseason.

On the sidelines at LimaCentral Catholic and St.

Marys, there are two long-timecoaches in the area writingtheir own sequels.

Lima Central Catholic coachScott Palte stepped away frombeing a head coach in 2011after a 45-28 record and twotrips to the playoffs in sevenseasons as Columbus Grovescoach.

After working on a limitedbasis as an assist ant at Ada in

2012 and being LCCs defen-sive coordinator last fall, hesback as a head coach.

And in a considerably moreshocking way at St. Marys,Doug Frye is creating his ownsequel by returning to theprogram he led for 11 seasonsbefore leaving to coach at itsbitter rival Wapakoneta for thelast four seasons.

Palte said his desire to

return to being a head coachwas something that developedgradually, not overnight.

When I stopped, footballwasnt really on my mind. Ithought Id sit back and seewhat happened, he said. Thefollowing year, 2012, I still wasinterested but I didnt reallywant to commit the time tocoaching so I kind of sparinglyhelped out Mike (Fell) at Ada.After that, I was like, Youknow, Id like to get back intoit.

He got back into it by takingthe defensive coordinators job

at LCC last season with thestipulation that he would bethe coach in waiting when-ever Jerry Cooper decided toretire.

Palte thought he might bewaiting several years. I sawthat as being a four or veyears down the road thing, hesaid.

But when Cooper announcedearlier this year he was leavingafter nine seasons at LCC, eightof them playoff seasons, thewait was not very long at all.

I never saw it happen-ing after one year. I did not

see that coming. I thought itwould be at least four yearsbecause his son was going tobe a freshman. I gured if Iwas going to be a head coachit would be in a couple yearsand I would go somewhereelse. I didnt know if Id behere long enough to wait himout, Palte said.

Fryes Wapakoneta teamswere 33-10 in four seasons,including 9-2 last season, andwent to the playoffs twice.

He coached 11 seasons atSt. Marys and had an 89-35record, including a Division IIIstate runner-up team in 2004.

He resigned after the2008 season and sat out ayear before signing on withWapakoneta. In the ve yearssince he left St. Marys, theRoughriders have gone 5-5,1-9, 4-6, 0-10 and 0-10. Theycurrently have lost 21 gamesin a row.

He calls his decision toreturn to the town where hemaintained his residence even

while he coached at Wapako-neta one based solely on theheart.

If I wanted to just worryabout wins and losses, we hadalmost everybody coming backat Wapakoneta. The next fouryears there look very good,he said.

He says he has been wellreceived in St. Marys in roundtwo and hasnt been subjectedto excessive criticism in Wapa-koneta for leaving.

Actually, the people havebeen fantastic. Im sure it hasspiced up the rivalry a little

bit, though, he said. I jokethat I probably should havetaken a salary negotiated onthe gate of the St. Marys-Wapakoneta game.

There was no other jobI would have taken. This isthe way I wanted to nish,he said. I wrestled with itfor a long time. It was a verydifcult decision and therewas only one No vote andthat was my wife. She wasthe toughest one to convince.Weve been happily marriedfor 34 years and when I wentto Wapakoneta, I told her thatwas the last challenge I wasgoing to take on, he said.

In some ways this is actu-ally probably a little bit sim-pler this time around becausethe rst time I was the rstoutside guy, I believe, whohad come through the door in39 years. Skip Baughman wasthere 36 and then Bob Priddy,the longtime defensive coordi-nator took over. So anythingI did different, even thoughI had been a head coach foryears at a number of places,was radically different. Rightnow, anything is good that wedo.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsMarion Local is chasing its fourth consecutive state football championship in Division VII.

INSIDECover story .............. 2E The sequel plays out2014 Predictions ...12F Things you can count onPlayers to watch ..... 3EKeep an eye on these 10

TEAM PREVIEWS

Ada ................................. 7FBulldogs going with afreshman quarterback.Allen East ..................... 6FMustangs counting onveteran offensive line.Anna .............................. 11FExperienced Rocketsoptimistic in MAC.Bath .............................. 8EExperienced backeld givesWildcats condence.Bluffton ........................ 8FEight returning starters anda rst-year coach.Celina ........................... 10E

Quarterback Caleb Hoyngthrew for 1,631 yards lastyear.Coldwater ......................8FCavaliers looking for a thirdstraight state title.Columbus Grove ............7FBulldogs looking forimprovement.Cory-Rawson ................ 4FHornets have 12 returningstarters.Crestview .......................6FLots of returning starterscreating optimism.Deance........................11ESome big shoes to ll in thepassing game.Delphos Jefferson ......... 3FNew coach, new skill playersfor Wildcats.Delphos St. Johns ........ 3FBlue Jays changing to aspread offense.Elida ................................7EBulldogs have 10 returningstarters.Fort Recovery ............... 11FIndians hope experienceleads to more wins.Hardin Northern ........... 4FPolar Bears return to avarsity schedule.Indian Lake .................... 8FLakers want to run the ball,limit mistakes.Kenton ......................... 10EBig changes, but Wildcatsstill one of WBLs bestteams.Leipsic ...........................9FJordan Chamberlin going foranother 1,000-yard season.Lima Central Catholic ..5ENew coach, new offense forThunderbirds.Lima Senior ...................4ESpartans ready to takeanother big step.Marion Local ................ 11FFlyers looking for four statetitles in a row.

Minster .........................10FOffense looks like it could bea strength.New Bremen ................. 11FCardinals trying tostrengthen program.Ottawa-Glandorf ......... 11E .Titans looking for return tothe playoffs.Pandora-Gilboa ............10FRockets have a new headcoach.Parkway ........................ 11FPanthers want to build uprunning game.Paulding .........................8FPanthers hope two wins lastyear just a start.Perry .............................. 2FImprovement on the linescould be a key.Ridgemont .....................4FHaving a healthyquarterback could be big forGophers.Shawnee ........................9EIndians have 12 startersreturning.Spencerville .................. 5FBearcats have veterans onboth sides of the ball.St. Henry ....................... 9FRedskins ended last yearwith three straight wins.St. Marys .......................6ERoughriders last win cameduring 2011 season.Upper Scioto Valley ...... 4FNumbers are up butgraduation hit Rams hard.Van Wert ...................... 10ECougars hope young playershave matured.Versailles ...................... 11FTigers inexperienced at skillpositions.Wapakoneta ..................6ERedskins want to keep agood thing going.Wayneseld-Goshen .....4FYoung Tigers look for moreafter tough 2013.

ABOUT THISSECTIONON THE COVER: Mike Fell, Scott Palteand Doug Frye hope towork their magic again.

COVER DESIGN: Tina Murdock

COVER PHOTOS: Craig Orosz

EDITORS, REPORTERS: Tom Usher, Jim Naveau,Mike Purdy, Jim Krumel,Craig Orosz, Mark Altstaetter,Mike Miller, Richard Parrish,David Trinko.

PLAY IT AGAIN, COACHthe sequel

2014 LIMAREGIONHIGH SCHOOLFOOTBALLPREVIEW

COMING TO A FOOTBALL FIELD NEAR YOUThepassion and thepride,the dreamers and thedestroyers

Alookat thebest the gridiron has to offerInside: Teampreviews,schedules,statistics and more

SCOTTPALTEReturns to coaching,

brings newoffenseto T-Birds

DOUG FRYESt.Marys looks for

magic fromformercoach

MIKEFELLSpartans showed spark

last year,nowlookforre


3/24

Thursday, August 28, 2014 3EThe Lima News 2014 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW

4 0

6 3 6 4 6 7

SHOW YOUR SPIRIT! COLLECT YOUR SCHOOL CUPS!BATH WILDCATS MONDAY, AUGUST 25TH - SUNDAY, AUGUST 31ST

DELPHOS ST. JOHN'S BLUE JAYSMONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH

SPENCERVILLE BEARCATS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH

PERRY COMMODORES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST

DELPHOS JEFFERSON WILDCATSMONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH

SHAWNEE INDIANS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5TH

BLUFFTON PIRATES MONDAY, OCTOBER 6TH - SUNDAY, OCTOB

ELIDA BULLDOGS MONDAY, OCTOBER 6TH - SUNDAY, OCTOB

LIMA SENIOR SPARTANSMONDAY, OCTOBER 13TH - SUNDAY, OCTOB

ALLEN EAST MUSTANGSMONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH - SUNDAY, OCTOB

LCC THUNDERBIRDS MONDAY, OCTOBER 27TH- SUNDAY, NOVEM

2014 guide to area footBy Tom [email protected]

10. Which team will change itsoffensive approach this year?

Delphos St. Johns graduatedtailback Tyler Jettinghoff andfullback Luke MacLennan, alongwith several offensive linemen.

Coach Todd Schulte will go awayfrom the power-I and powersweep and go with a one-back,option approach. It will be hardto imagine the Blue Jays withouttheir favorite power sweep, butlook for more passing and moreruns out of the option.

9. What can coach Doug Frye doat St. Marys?

Win, hes already proven that.He won at Wapakoneta and he wasa winner at St. Marys in his rsttime there.

But this time, dont expectmiracles. This St. Marys team haslost 21 in a row.

But Frye will peak interest inthe program, drive the numberson the roster up and will get histeam prepared for every game. Histeams will execute, hit hard and hewill win. Just dont expect him towave a magic wand this season.

8. Which teams are poised for aturnaround season?

Bath has a good opportunityto improve on its 4-6 mark of ayear ago. It returns 16 starters,including its quarterback andrunning back. It needs to improve

its defense and will be young atwide receiver.Shawnee should also show

improvement. It has 10 startersback from a 2-8 team. The key isthe return to health of 210-poundrunning back Angelo Fox, whomissed the second half of last year.

And dont count out a bounce-back year from Elida, whichslipped to 5-5. The passing gameshould be high octane, but the keywill be on defense.

7. Is there a quarterback youwould drive miles to see?

Coldwaters Brody Hoying puton a great show in the DivisionV state championship game, inwhich Coldwater bounced BishopHartley, 24-7. Hoying ran for 145yards and three TD and also threwfor 83 yards. He can do a little bitof everything, run, throw, lead anddoes it all every night. Hes headedto Eastern Michigan.

6. Who will be some of the toprunning backs in the area towatch?

Start with Lima Seniors JunielLiles, he was rst team all-ThreeRivers Athletic Conference

The Lima News Dream Teams

offensive player of the year.Marion Local returns 5-10 JacyGoettemoeller, who battled injurieslast year and still ran for 852 yardsand 22 TDs. If he can stay healthy,he can be one of the best backs inthe region. Crestview will feature200-pound Malcolm Oliver on asquad bringing back 18 startersfrom a second-round playoff team.Leipsics Jordan Chamberlin willbe one of the top backs in theBlanchard Valley Conference.

5. What happens to Air Kentonnow that Mike Mauk is coachinghigh school in Missouri?

Kenton will continue to throwunder its new coach BrentFackler. The names will changeat quarterback and wide receiver,but the offense will remain highpowered. Taking over for GrantSherman will be sophomore

Trent Hites, who led the teamin the summer seven-on-seven

tournaments/camps. Among hisveteran wide receivers will beKollin Stollar, Colyn Backford,Luke Jackson and Conner Jones.

4. What is the big rule changethis season?

Its the new mercy rule, whichkicks in this season. Any time ateam is ahead by 30 or more pointsin the second half, the game willgo to a running clock. The gamewill only be stopped for an ofcialstimeout or injury, change ofpossession, a charged timeout, atend of a period or on a score,

3. How will Lima CentralCatholic do under its new coachScott Palte?

LCC graduated a number ofkey cogs from last year, includingMykale Rogers, Kalito Lasenby,Darius West and quarterback ColinStolly.

But instead of the ground-it-outapproach of former coach JerryCooper, coach Scott Palte will putthe ball in the air. His quarterbackwill be Ethan OConnor and he hasa host of fast receivers like DimitriFloyd, Cam White and Nick

Tainger. Palte, the former head

coach at Columbus Grove, willkeep the T-Birds heading towardtheir goal, the playoffs.

2. Where does Lima Senior goafter its 5-5 turnaround seasonlast year, the Spartans rst.500 season since 2000?

On the plus side, the Spartanshave The Lima News Dream

Team Offensive Player of the Yearreturning in running back JunielLiles. Also back is Dream Teamwide receiver 6-4 junior RubenFlowers. The key is replacinggraduated quarterback JusticeGraham.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsLima Seniors Juniel Liles returns as one of theareas top running backs.

Elida fans show their team spirit . Amanda Wilson | The Lima News

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsDelphos St Johns Nick Martz busts through the banner after being introduced atStadium Park.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsLima Central Catholics Dimitri Floyd and his teamates take the field before the start of the gamelast year at Stadium Park.

Richard Parris | The Lima NewsShawnees head coach Steve Owen watches his teamagainst Ottawa-Glandorf last season at Titan Stadium.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsKenton band members hold signs during the Division IV state semifinals game against Clinton Massie

last year at Welcome Stadium in Dayton.

Coach Mike Fells high-poweredoffense should continue to roll. Butthe Spartans must improve on adefense which gave up 45 pointsper game.

1. Which teams have the bestchance to at reaching thestate championship game inColumbus?

You have probably heard thisone before, but Marion Local andColdwater should once again bethe teams to beat in the Midwest

Athletic Conference. And, as weknow, once they battle it out forthe top spot in the MAC, its timeto book their tickets for at leastthe state seminals.

Marion Local graduatedits quarterback, but returnsGoettemoeller at tailback. Dontrule out the three-time defendingstate champion.

Quarterback Brody Hoyingis back to lead the defendingchampion Cavaliers. Hedominated the state title game lastyear.


4/24



LIMA Lima Seniorhit the fast forward buttonlast football season.

A year ago, the expecta-tions were that the hiringof Mike Fell as head coachsignaled a change of

direction and that eventu-ally the Spartans footballprogram would becomecompetitive again.

Eventually got heremuch sooner, though,when Lima Senior wonve games in 2013.

Now, with many of theplayers who played keyroles in that turnaroundback for another season,the expectation or atleast the hope is thatLima Senior will takeanother big step forwardthis fall.

Condence is some-thing we dont lack,Fell said. They feel liketheyre pretty good andthey got a taste of somesuccess last year.

The foundation for thatcondence starts with anoffense that brings backplayers like Juniel Liles(1,478 yards rushing),Ruben Flowers (62 catch-es for 826 yards), Demon-tay Liles (49 catches)and Marquis Graham (30catches).

The big question onoffense is who will replaceJustice Graham at quar-terback. His 2,571 yardspassing led the

Three Rivers Ath-letic Conference,as did Liles 1,478rushing yards.

Maybe the big-gest question of allfor Lima Senior,though, is if the defensecan be xed. If the Spar-tans are going to get morethan ve wins, it has toimprove.

Lima Senior scored 38.2points a game last yearbut gave up 45.4 points agame. It scored more than50 points three times butallowed 70 points or morethree times, includingback-to-back losses, 70-26to Toledo Central Catholicand 83-28 to Toledo Whit-mer to end the season.

In the St. Francis game,the Knights LamarCarswell rushed for 405yards, which was nearlyone-third of his seasontotal of 1,248 yards.

I told Coach Crea(defensive coordinatorFrank Crea), I just wantus to hustle and tackle. If

we hustle and tackle, wecan compete with people.We cant let people justrun over us. Thats some-thing that happened lastyear and we gave up alot of big plays. So weregoing to try to stop thebig play.

Weve got great ath-letes over there (ondefense). Theyre not themost physical or toughkids. They are a lot of

kids who on most teamswould be wide receiversand running backs. But

weve gotother guysahead of them,so theyre overon defenselearning howto play. Were

getting better, he said.Lima Senior will be

almost entirely a two-pla-toon team, with offensivelineman/defensive endMalik Townsend beingthe only two-way player.

Were playing moreaggressive and more vio-lent than last year. Weremore organized this year,

Townsend said about theSpartans efforts to getbetter on defense. Wecan hang with any teamif we want to. We can dowhatever we want if weput our mind to it.

The job of replacingGraham at quarterbackbelongs to sophomoreDarius Gordon.

The big thing is if upfront our offensive linecan give a young quarter-back time to get the ballout to those guys. If we

can spread teams out wecan get the ball to JunielLiles inside where he cando some damage, Fellsaid.

The days of LimaSenior struggling to win agame or two appear to beover. But so are the daysof Lima Senior sneakingup on opponents.

I think we did thatearly in the year, theydidnt expect it, Juniel

Liles said. But thatsgone. Its out the window. Theyll be ready this

year.Fell said, Its been fun.

Last year was fun for mebecause it was new expec-tations and it was excitingand everything and theboys got caught up in itand they were excited.Now this year theyve gotexpectations.

They want to competefor the league title, theywant to get in the stateplayoffs. If we take care

of business and do whatwere supposed to do, wecan be right up there.

2014 Lima Senior

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LIMA SENIOR SCHEDULE8-29-14 MARION HARDING 7:00 p.m.9-5-14 at Manseld Senior 7:00 p.m.9-12-14 PIQUA 7:00 p.m.9-19-14 at Fremont Ross 7:00 p.m.9-26-14 at St. Francis de Sales 7:00 p.m.10-3-14 FINDLAY 7:00 p.m.10-10-14 at St. Johns Jesuit 7:00 p.m.10-17-14 CLAY 7:00 p.m.10-24-14 TOLEDO CENTRAL CATHOLIC 7:00 p.m.10-31-14 at Toledo Whitmer 7:00 p.m.

LIMA SENIOR OUTLOOKCOACH: Mike FellYEARS AT SCHOOL: 1, 5-5LAST YEARS RECORD: 5-5DIVISION: IIRETURING LETTERMEN: 26RETURNING STARTERS: Marquis Graham (WR,Sr.), Ilias Wright (DB, Sr.,), Juniel Liles (RB, Sr.),Demontay Liles (WR, Jr.), Ruben Flowers (WR, Jr.),Miguel Clark (LB, Soph.), Malik Townsend (DE/OT,Sr.), Terrill Minor (DE, Sr.), Cory Jackson (DB, Sr.),Marquis Miller (DB, Sr.), Jaylin Thomas (LB, Jr),Khiry Smith-Williams (OG, Sr.), Darius Cowsey (OG,Sr.), Rashad Butler (LB, Sr.)OFFENSE:SpreadDEFENSE: 3-5PLAYER TO WATCH: Running back Juniel Liles ledthe Three Rivers Athletic Conference in rushingyards, rushing attempts and touchdowns lastseason.TOP NEWCOMERS: Sophomore linebacker MiguelClark started as a freshman but his role couldexpand with the graduation of Josh Boquist.

Defensemust stopbig play

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsLima Seniors Cory Jackson breaks free to score a touchdown against Mansfield Senior dur ing a game lastseason.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsLima Seniors Demontay Liles rushes for yardage against MansfieldSenior during a game last season.

MALIK TOWNSEND (57) Spartan toughness

RUBEN FLOWERS 62 catches, 826 yards

Confidence issomething wedont lack.

Mike Fell

TRAC FORECAST

1. TOLEDO CENTRAL CATHOLIC.Quar-

terback DeShone Kizer has moved on toNotre Dame, but Central Catholic has verst-team All-TRAC players returning.2. TOLEDO WHITMER. The Panthers havebeen in the playoffs seven of the last eightyears and tied Central Catholic for rst inthe TRAC coaches preseason poll.3. TOLEDO ST. FRANCIS. Tailback LamarCarswell is coming off a season when herushed for 1,248 yards, including a mon-ster 405-yard game against Lima Senior.

The Knights will ride him as far as he cantake them.4. LIMA SENIOR. The Spartans strengthis an impressive group of fast receiversand running backs. If they nd a quar-terback and tighten up the defense, theycould improve on last years 5-5 record.5. FREMONT ROSS. Former CincinnatiBengals receiver Craig Yeast will take overas head coach after Ross went 5-5 in DerekKidwells nal season last fall.6. TOLEDO ST. JOHN. The top collegeprospect for the Titans is center Sean Rat-tay. They need to nd some players at theskill positions.7. FINDLAY. The Trojans dropped to 2-8after going 8-2 in 2012. A solid core ofoffensive players, led by quarterback Bran-don Muehl, running back Emanual Mogaluand receiver Grant Niswander could makethem better this year.8. OREGON CLAY. Last year, one coachdidnt vote Lima Senior last in the TRACpreseason poll and gave his vote to Clay.

This year the Eagles were a unanimouslast place selection.


5/24



LIMA One of the mostfamous moments of ScottPaltes high school play-ing career involved sometrickery.

Palte, a multi-yearstarter at quarterback forColumbus Grove walkedtoward the sideline, look-ing like he didnt under-stand the play call. Whilesome of the defendersturned their attention tothe commotion, the ballwas snapped to a runningback, who then red apass to Palte, who hadtaken off running downthe eld.

Whether Lima CentralCatholic will attemptanything that unorthodoxin his rst season as the

Thunderbirds head coachremains to be seen. Butthe game plan denitelywill include throwing theball more than LCC has inrecent years.

The Thunderbirds, 8-3last season, will run a

spread offense this year.I think it matches the

personnel we have thespeed we have and the ath-letes we have and tryingto get them in space andspread across the entireeld, Palte said.

I like our speed. I likeour skill guys and theirathletic ability. I think wehave some real playmak-ers on our team. We havesome real quick, athleticguys and I think our line-men are coming along.

There are some good solidkids up there, too, hesaid.

Junior quarterbackEthan OConnor will beputting the ball in the air30 to 40 times a game.

OConnor, youngerbrother of Michigan Statebackup quarterback TylerOConnor, played tightend and defensive end lastseason.

Hes a big kid with astrong arm and clearlyhas some pretty decentbloodlines. We dont feellike were a power run-

ning team, so were goingto ing it around, Paltesaid.

Nick Tainger, DimitriFloyd, Cam White andAidan OConnor areexpected to be the topreceivers in a pass-heavyoffense.

Theyre quick guyswho can get in space. Thistype of offense is madefor them. Those guys allmake plays. Tyler Heaphyis another guy who playedsome last year who cancatch the ball, Palte said.

On the offensive line,Ryan Rhodes and JackHuffman started all seasonlast year and Brad Stollywould have been a return-ing starter if he hadntsuffered a season-endinginjury in the second gameof the year.

Five or six players willplay both offense anddefense, including mostof the offensive line. Andthe receivers will ll mostof the defensive backeldpositions.

Jamison Bradley and

Trey Callahan could alsoplay on the defensive line.

If you can get a guy aseries off every now andthen its a real benet. Ithink well be able to dothat, Palte said.

Malik Laws, who hecalled our best defensivelineman last year, willmove to middle linebackerfrom the defensive line.

Palte, who was LimaCentral Catholics defen-sive coordinator last year,replaces Jerry Cooper,who left LCC after ninehighly successful seasonsto take a coaching posi-tion in Seymour, Tenn.,around 15 miles southeastof Knoxville.

Eight of Cooperslast nine teams at LCCreached the playoffs. Paltewas Columbus Groveshead coach from 2005-2011. His teams therehad a 45-28 record inseven seasons. He alsospent eight years thereas an assistant coach andbecame head coach whenCooper took the LCC job.

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LCC has new coach, new offenseLIMA CENTRAL CATHOLIC8-30-14 BATH 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 DELPHOS ST. JOHNS 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at Edgerton 7 p.m.9-19-14 at Columbus Grove 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 DELPHOS JEFFERSON 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at Spencerville 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 at Bryan 7 p.m.10-18-14 MEADOWDALE 7 p.m.10-25-14 ALLEN EAST 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Ada 7:30 p.m.

LIMA CENTRAL CATHOLICCOACH:Scott PalteYEARS AT SCHOOL: First yearLAST YEARS RECORD: 8-3DIVISION:VIRETURING LETTERMEN: 12RETURNING STARTERS: Dimitri Floyd (WR/DB, Sr.), Aidan OConnor (WR/DB, Sr.), Camer-on White (WR/DB, Sr.), Malik Laws (RB/LB, Sr.),Brad Sto lly (OT/DT, Sr.), Jack Huffman (C/DT,

Sr.), Ethan OConnor (QB/DB), Nick Taflinger(WR/K, Jr.), Ryan Rhodes (OT/DT, Jr.).OFFENSE: SpreadDEFENSE:4-3PLAYER TO WATCH:Ethan OConnor playeddefensive end and tight end last year. This yearhe will run the newly installed spread offense asLCCs quarterback.TOP NEWCOMERS:Junior lineman JamisonBradley might be the most improved player onthe team, according to Palte, and senior runningback Alex Krumel is back after missing lastseason with an injury.

The Lima News | File photoLCCs Dimitri Floyd (3) runs with the ball against Delphos St. Johns in a game at Stadium Park in Delphos last season.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsJunior quarterback Ethan OConnor will be putting theball in the air 30 to 40 times a game.

I like our speed. Ilike our skill guysand their athleticability. I think wehave some realplaymakers on our

team. LCC Coach Scott Palte

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Moyer brings plenty of success to WapakonetaBy Ross [email protected]

WAPAKONETA When Travis Moyer became thehead coach at WynfordHigh School in Bucyrus in1999, he was all of 22 yearsold with little coachingexperience.

In the 13 years that fol-lowed, he went 118-28with nine North CentralConference titles, eightplayoff berths and sixundefeated regular seasons.When he left, Wynford hada 58-game regular seasonunbeaten streak.

Two years after steppingaside as the coach for theRoyals, Moyer steps intoa Wapakoneta programwhich has become accus-tomed to success after for-mer coach Doug Frye wentback to St. Marys.

In Fryes four years withthe Redskins, he led theteam to two of the pro-grams six playoff appear-ances and had the mostwins in a four-year stretchof any Wapak coach ever.

A year ago, Wapakonetawent 9-2 overall (8-1 West-ern Buckeye League) andwere the third seed for theplayoffs in Division III,Region 10. It lost its playoffgame, 41-34, in an overtimethriller against SpringeldShawnee.

This year, Wapako-neta enters the season withmany of those same play-ers back and a rejuvenatedcoach.

I love coaching, Moyersaid. Its an opportunity

to work with young peopleand make a difference notonly on the eld but offthe eld. To watch a kidachieve is a great opportu-nity and a great honor.

Whenever you talkabout a transition cominginto a program and beingnew, its a process frombuilding relationships withthe staff and the players.And from a football stand-point its different schemes,different terminology.

Essentially, Moyersoffense (Wing-T) anddefense (4-3) arent muchdifferent from Fryes onthe surface. However, anew coach always bringssome changes.

The game of football is asimple game when it comesto blocking and tackling,

Moyer said. Its the termi-nology that makes it differ-ent from staffs to staffs.

The thing that impress-es me though is the kidshave high expectations andhave worked hard to try touphold those expectations.

Though Wapakonetalost some big-time playersfrom last years team all-Ohioans Zach Schmergeand Kyle Gonterman forexample the cupboard isfar from bare.

The defense alonereturns eight starters:

Thomas Shoenlein (DE),Corey Crawford (DE),Adam Henderson (LB),Nick Steinke (LB), JacobHartman (LB), CameronLauck (DB), Kodi Morgan(DB) and Quinn Lotridge.Its a group highlighted by

a very athletic and fast sec-ondary.

On offense, though theteam lost a highly success-ful group, it returns threestarters to the line in BlakePfenning (Sr., 6-4, 290),Wil Rankin (Sr., 5-11, 260),Ethan Saunders (Sr., OL).Meanwhile, three key skill-position players includequarterback Morgan (three-year letterman), KeatonMetz (Sr., 771 rushingyards, 10 TDs/492 catches,8 TDs last year) and JaredSmith (Sr., TE).

We lost some very goodplayers from last yearsteam, impact kids, kidsthat were All-Ohioans andhad outstanding careers,Moyer said. Weve chal-lenged our younger guysto step up and accept thatresponsibility and try to llthat role.

Whether that comes tofruition or not, what Moyerhas already witnessed isvery good leadership fromhis seniors. And that is atrait that will go a long waytoward keeping the successrolling at Wapakoneta.

One thing Ive alwayswanted to do is giveseniors an opportunity towin a championship, hesaid. These seniors wentthrough a transition, theywere without a coach formost of a year and theywere the ones in the weightroom and leading theyounger guys and encour-aging them. They deservea lot of the credit in termsof the leadership of thisteam.

The Lima News | File photoWapakonetas Corey Crawford (85) and Thomas Schoenlein (35)wrap up Elidas Seanquez Frye during a game last season.

WAPAKONETA SCHEDULE8-29-14 at Bellefontaine 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 at Kenton 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at Elida 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 BATH 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 at Celina 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 DEFIANCE 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 OTTAWA-GLANDORF 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 at St. Marys 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 VAN WERT 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 SHAWNEE 7:30 p.m.

WAPAKONETACOACH: Travis MoyerSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL:First seasonat Wapakoneta; 13-year career at Wynford, 118-28DIVISION:IIILAST YEARS RECORD: 9-2 overall, 8-2 WBLRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Aaron Huffman(Jr., QB/DB), Keaton Metz (Sr., RB/DB), QuinnLottridge (Sr., WR/DB), Kodi Morgan (Sr., QB/DB), Adam Henderson (Sr., WR/LB), CameronLauck (Jr., RB/DB), Jacob Hartman (Sr., LB), JonEaton (Sr., RB/LB), Nick Steinke (Sr., OL/LB),Thomas Shoenlein (Sr., TE/DE), Wil Rankin (Sr.,OL/DL), Blake Pfenning (Sr., OL), C.J. Young (Sr.,DL), Corey Crawford (Jr., OL/DE), Jared Smith(Sr., TE/DE), Ethan Saunders (Sr., OL/DL), DrewVoll (Jr., QB/DB), Andrew Lowden (Sr., OL), JaredCockerell (Jr., RB/LB), Joe Pitts (Sr., WR).KEY NEWCOMERS: Bobby Mason (Sr., WR),Jake Snyder (Sr., DL), Alex Gornall (Sr., K), AlexBowersock (Sr., OL), Josh Hilleary (Sr., DE),Colton Brown (Sr., DL), Cole Mace (Sr., DE), Dal-las Ambos (Sr., DB).OFFENSE: Wing-T. The Redskins return a goodcore of offensive players who can make a Wing-Thum.DEFENSE: 4-3. Wapakoneta brings back eightstarters from last years squad. Theyre an ath-letic and tough group.PLAYERS TO WATCH: Metz ran for 771 yardsand 10 TDs with 492 yard receiving and 8 TDs a

year ago. On defense, Shoenlein was rst teamall-WBL and all-District.SEASON OUTLOOK:The Redskins lost twoAll-Ohioans in Zach Schmerge and Kyle Gonter-man but bring back a ridiculously talented andexperienced team that knows winning.

St. Marys has 108 out for footballBy Ross [email protected]

ST. MARYS The last footballgame Doug Frye coached was athrilling home playoff game atWapakoneta which ended in a 41-34overtime loss to Springeld Shaw-nee.

It capped a remarkable 9-2 seasonand the Redskins were looking atreturning a slew of top players whoprimed for years of success ahead.

On Friday, Frye is trying to breaka 21-game losing streak for St.Marys when the Roughriders playshost to Sidney.

At Wapak, we thought our bestteams were ahead of us, said Frye,who returned to St. Marys afterfour years at Wapakoneta, wherehe posted the best four-year record(33-10) in the programs historyand reached the playoffs twice. Ilook in the mirror some times andask, Whyd you do this? I honestlywould not have done this if it wereanywhere else, I would not have leftthat situation.

But the luster of returning to St .Marys was just too much.

After all, from 1998-2008, Fryewent 89-35 as the Roughridershead coach, reaching the playoffsseven times and claiming staterunner-up in 2004.

But its a vastly different situationnow. St. Marys records in the pastfour years were 5-5, 1-9, 4-6, 0-10

and 0-10.And while Frye admits its a huge

challenge to get the ship righted,the situation is far from hopeless.Obviously this is a big chal-

lenge, Frye said. But there hasbeen a lot of success here in thepast. So you do have a communitylled with people who do knowwhat it takes to be successful. I tellthe kids, here is what were goingto do and as we do them, well getthe program back where it shouldbe.

St. Marys does have a fewpositives working in its favor sinceFryes return: pulling in a fantas-tic coaching staff; and a massiveimprovement in the number of ath-letes going out for football.

Last year, the varsity roster had40 players and this year the team isat 71 not including freshmen. Theeighth-grade team last year had 14players but this year, the freshmanteam is up to 37, giving St. Marys108 total kids playing high schoolfootball.

The No. 1 thing we wanted to dowas get kids interested in footballagain, Frye said. And obviouslythe numbers speak for themselves.

Honestly, it has nothing to dowith me, I attribute that to ourcoaches. We had an advantage herebecause I had been here before sothe kids knew from their relativesand the community what to expect.But the fact we can get those types

of numbers is not typical with thelack of success weve had. But itshows they want to be successfuland theyre working hard.

Still, it has been a major teaching job for Frye and his s taff becausemany of the players either haventplayed much lately, or in somecases, none at all.

Everything from warmups toentering the eld to practice isbeing taught and re-taught.

And the top lesson is teaching hisplayers every day is a new one andtheres work to be done.

We have an old lunch box rightby our door, and every day ourkids have a wristband they take offand lock in the lunchbox as we goto practice because were going towork that day, Frye said. Theyhave to understand the habits youneed to be successful and thatswhat were really trying to do ischange habits.

ST. MARYSCOACH: Doug FryeSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: First in areturn at St. Marys; overall 27 years as a headcoach at six schools, 186-102.LAST YEARS RECORD: 0-10 overall, 0-9 WBL.DIVISION: IIIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 17RETURNING STARTERS: Zach Elshoff (Sr., OT),Jaden Heitkamp (Sr. LB), Sean Bowen (Sr., OT),Quinn Zaerr (Sr., TE), Isaac Fitzgerald (Sr., FB),Patrick Obringer (Sr., RB), Eric Spicer (Soph.,RB/DB), Jordan Fisher (Sr., DL), Chance Hicks(Sr., DL), Spencer Knous (Sr., DL), Dillon Lining(Sr., LB), Chase Roop (Jr., LB), Logan Maze (Jr.,LB), Clayton Trogdlon (Sr., K), Trent Slife (Sr.,RB/DB), Tristan Becker (Sr., G), Cam Swanson(Sr., DB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Reid Lininger (Soph., QB),Dustin Howell (Soph., QB), Austin Tester (Jr., DB),Randy Slife (Jr., DB), Dane Chisholm (Jr., C), LeviGinter (Jr, G), Michael Hastreiter (Sr., T), TylerSullivan (Sr., TE), Corey Rhinock (Sr., DB), Aaron

Alexander (Jr., LB), Kegan Klinger (Sr., DL), MattDouglas (Sr., DL/LB), Julius Fisher (Soph., LB),Zac Nelson (Sr., K), Kyle Wagner (Sr., G), JaredGoodwin (Sr., TE), Jacob Huber (Jr., OT/DL),Tyler Sullivan (Sr., TE).OFFENSE: Wing-TDEFENSE: 4-3PLAYERS TO WATCH: Isaac Fitzgerald (Sr.,6-foot, 230 pounds) was the WBL BaseballPlayer of the Year and moves from quarterbackto fullback in Fryes punishing offense. Defen-sively, the line will be tough with four talentedseniors.SEASON OUTLOOK: Fryes return has certainlykindled life in the program. The varsity team wentfrom 40 players last year to 71 this year alongwith 37 freshmen, giving the high school team108 total players. A massive upgrade from lastyear. Still, the team is on a 21-game losing streak.

ST. MARYS SCHEDULE

8-29-14 SIDNEY 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 at Shawnee 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 KENTON 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 at Elida 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 at Bath 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 CELINA 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 at Deance 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 WAPAKONETA 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 OTTAWA-GLANDORF 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Van Wert 7:30 p.m.


7/24


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Bulldogs look to build around their v

By Mark [email protected]

ELIDA Its often saidthat it all starts in thetrenches for a footballteam.

Elida coach JasonCarpenter is hoping thatholds true for this yearssquad.

The Bul ldogs return,not only most of its offen-sive line, but most of itsskill players from a 5-5team (4-5 Western Buck-eye League) a year ago.

We have most of ouroffensive line back, whichis crucial because we cantrun our offense withoutgood communication onthe line, Carpenter said.With Tristan Edwards

(5-feet-11, 210 pounds,Jr.), Quinn Searcy (5-11,240, Sr.) , Jared Blymyer(5-7, 200, Sr.) and DylanHolcomb (5-8, 175, Jr.)back, they all had var-sity time last year. Thatsgoing to prove to be thekey for our offensiveunit.

Behind that offensiveline is junior quarterbackLogan Alexander (6-0,195). Last season, Alexan-der passed for 1,450 yardsand eight touchdowns, butwas picked off 12 times.

He also rushed for 667yards and nine TDs.Clark Etzler (6-0, 175,

Sr.), Alexanders favoritereceiver in 2013, returns.Last season, Etzler hauledin 45 balls for 532 yardsand three TDs.

Christian Moran (6-3,190, Sr.) also returnsat a wide receiver. Lastseason, Moran missedfour games due to aninjury. However, Moranstill ended the campaignwith 25 receptions for 466yards and four TDs.

We lost a b ig part ofour offense when he gothurt, which might have

cost us a couple winstoward the end of theyear, said Carpenter. So,hes back and healthy.Clark (Etzler) is back.And Brian Upshaw (6-0,150, Jr.) is back at widereceiver. So, we havethree wide receivers backfrom last years team.

Throwing the ball i s allabout timing. So, if we getthe timing down on ourroutes and Logan throwsgood balls, were going tobe pretty dangerous with

the pass.Etzler is feeling con-fident about his teamschances in 2014.

Its your senior year,you have to go all out,Etzler said. I think welost two (on offense) fromlast year. So, we havemost everybody return-ing. We know we havethe players. We have thespeed. Our line is doingwell. As long as we makethe right reads, I thinkwell be fine.

Elida will stick with the

spread offense. However,Carpenter wants to avoidbeing one-dimensional.

We always try to bebalanced, 50-50, run-to-pass, Carpenter said. Ithink thats what sets usapart, when you look atthe spreads in the league.We want to be more bal-anced.

In the backfield, theBulldogs will rely mostlyon one athlete.

Dez (Desmend White)is going to get some car-ries at running back,Carpenter said. WhenSeanquez (Frye) got hurt

last year, he stepped upand got some carries. So,hes probably going to getthe bulk of the carries thisyear for us.

White (5-8, 180, Sr.) isready for the challenge.He will also play middlelinebacker. Last season,White was third on theteam in tackles with 63. Inhis limited action at run-ning back in 2013, Whiteran the ball 15 times for68 yards.

I got a lot better condi-tioning this year, White

said. Coach has pushedus hard. So, Ill be ready. Im going to block a lot

too. So, Ill do a little bitof everything.

Defensively, the Bull-dogs will feature a 4-4set. Last season, Elidasopponents rushed for114 yards per game andpassed for 175. One ofthe main areas of focusfor the Bulldogs will be inthe turnover department,where they were at minus-4.

Carpenter, who is in hiseighth season at the helm,is cautiously optimistic

about this season.I think this year itspretty much up for g rabs,Carpenter said. Your toptier teams in the WBLare always going to com-pete for a title. Kenton isgoing to be good. Whatthey lost was quality, butthey still have a lot com-ing back. O-G i ts theirsecond year in the spread(offense) so, its goingto be a lot better. Itsgoing to be interestingover at Wapak. They havea lot coming back and

a new coach. Hopefully,were going to be up therein the discussion as well.

Amanda Wilson |The Lima NewsElidas Logan Alexander carries the ball during a game against Bath last season.

Amanda Wilson | The Lima NewsNine year old Zyairah Nichols gives the Elida Bulldog ahigh five during a game at Elida.

Elidas Clark Etzler gets to the outside during a game against Defiance last season at Elida. Amanda Wilson |The Lima News

ELIDA SCHEDULE8-29-14 at Delphos St. Johns 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 at Deance 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 WAPAKONETA 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 ST. MARYS 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 at Van Wert 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 SHAWNEE 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 at Kenton 7:30 p.m.

10-17-14 at Ottawa-Glandorf 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 BATH 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 CELINA 7:30 p.m.

ELIDADIVISION:IIICOACH: Jason CarpenterSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 8,37-40LAST YEARS RECORD:5-5 (4-5 WBL)RETURNING LETTERMEN:17RETURNING STARTERS:Brian Upshaw(Jr., WR); Logan Alexander (Jr., QB);Baylen Stinson (Soph., LB); Clark Etzler(Sr., WR/DB); Peyton Smith (Soph., DB);

Jesse Guerrero (Sr., DB); Desmend White(Sr., LB); Jared Blymyer (Sr., OL); DamienEaton (Sr., OL); Tristan Edwards (Jr., OL);Dylan Holcomb (Jr., OL); Quinn Searcy(Sr., OL); Shane Lengefeld (Sr., OL); WillLegge (Sr., DL); Christian Moran (Sr., WR)KEY NEWCOMERS:Cole Harmon (Frosh.,WR); Daneille Lowe (Frosh., LB); JoeyGlick (Jr., DL); Henwin Cuffy (Sr., TE)OFFENSE: SpreadDEFENSE: 4-4PLAYER TO WATCH: Senior Clark Etzlerled the Bulldogs in both receiving yardsand all-purpose yards in 2013. Look forEtzler to be one of the top receivers in theWBL this fall.SEASON OUTLOOK:With a slew of re-turners, the Bulldogs look to be one of t heteams in the upper echelon of the WBL.


8/24


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Shawnee looks to turn corner

By Tom [email protected]

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP Steve Owen has been aroundthe Shawnee football programfor as long as he can remem-ber.

He grew uparound Shawneewhen his dad,Dave, was thelongtime trainer.He played atShawnee, thenBluffton Univer-sity and was anassistant coachat Shawnee for20 years.

Now he wantsto pull the pro-gram back in theright direction.

Shawneenished 2-8 inOwens rst yearas head coach,but a lot of thathad to do withmoving playersaround afterstandout tail-back Angelo Foxwent down witha season-endinginjury in Week 5.

The rst yearwas fun and itwas a learningexperience,Owen said.Being the headcoach for therst time, it wasdifferent. I enjoyedit.

Shawnees been in myblood my entire life. My dadis starting his 50th year thisyear as an employee of the

school. Ive been runningaround this place as long asI can walk, and Ive been apart of the football programas a manager since the secondgrade.

As Owen enters his secondyear, he said, Weve kind

of taken what wedid last year andtweaked it a littlebit more so it tsour personnel a lit-tle bit better. And

the kids are a littlemore comfortablewith what weredoing.

Shawnee returnsfour starters onoffense.

The offensiveline returns guardsWill Kleffner andDonald Hughes.

Grifn Hites, a6-foot-2, 185-pound

junior, returns atquarterback. Hestarted Week 2through 7, until hewas moved to run-ning back.

Hites wasswitched when 6-3,210-pound AngeloFox went downwith an injury.

Fox is back andreturns to leadthe ground gamewith his power andspeed. He rackedup close to 500yards before his

Week 5 injury.Hes a big, physical back

and has some speed, Owensaid. Every time he touchesthe ball, theres a good chancehe can go a long way.

When Hites was moved totailback, Colin Rambin tookover at quarterback.

In the preseason, it was aneven battle at quarterbackbetween Hites and Rambin.Whoever doesnt win the job,will move to wide receiver.

Both have to be on theeld for us, Owen said.

Dylan Hefner, a linebacker/wingback last year, will alsosee time at running back andH-Back.

The new receiving corpswill have the likes of AustinDownard, freshman GrantWheeler and Zach Casey.

The offense wont be a truespread, but Owen said theIndians will be primarily aone-back, three wide receiv-ers look in the shotgun.

The defense has sevenreturning starters back.

On the line, the veteransare tackle Janson McCormick(6-2, 280) and ends NickNewman and Richy Deubler.

The linebacking groupwill return Jake Leppla,Zach Kaplan and Hites, who

started at middle linebackertwo years ago when he was afreshman. This year Hites willstart at strong safety. Hitesand Kaplan will be the leadersof the 4-2-5 defense.

Jaryed Slusher is back at acornerback/safety.

I thought we did an OK job against the run and ofthe front six, ve the six areback, Owen said. But wehave some holes to ll in thesecondary, but we have somepretty athletic kids in the sec-ondary I think will help us.

Besides keeping Fox andHites healthy, Owen said histeam has to have better offen-sive balance.

We have to be able tothrow the ball, Owen said.Teams knew we couldntthrow the ball very well lastyear and thats been one ofour big focuses over the win-ter and through the springand summer. And now Ifeel good about having thatability, with ei ther one, Grif-n (Hites) or Colin (Ram-bin).

Seven starters return on defense

Craig J. Orosz | The Lima NewsShawnees Dylan Hefner breaks away from Spencerville defenders for a touchdown during a preseason scrimmage.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsShawnees Angelo Fox rushes down field against Ottawa-Glandorfs KyleNiese (21) during a game last season at O-G.

SHAWNEE SCHEDULE8-29-14 at Marion Local 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 ST. MARYS 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at Van Wert 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 OTTAWA-GLANDORF 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 KENTON 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at Elida 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 BATH 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 at Celina 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 DEFIANCE 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Wapakoneta 7:30 p.m.

SHAWNEEDIVISION:IIICOACH:Steve OwenSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL:2nd, 2-8LAST YEARS RECORD:2-8 (2-7WBL)RETURNING LETTERMEN:14RETURNING STARTERS:Will Klef-fner (Sr., G); Donald Hughes (Sr., G);Griffi n Hites (Jr., QB); TB Angelo Fox(Sr., TB); Janson McCormick (Sr.,DT); Nick Newman (Sr., DE); RichyDuebler (Sr., DE); Jake Leppla (Sr.,LB); Zach Kaplan (Sr., LB); JaryedSlusher (CB, Sr.).KEY NEWCOMERS:Grant Wheeler(Fr., WR); Zach Casey (Jr., WR);Austin Allison (Jr., OL); Spencer Jor-dan (Soph., WR/LB); Noah Hanjora(Soph., WR/SS; Malik Simpson (Sr.,

DB); Jordan Tovarnak (Jr., OL).OFFENSE:1-back, 3-wide shotgun.DEFENSE:4-2-5.PLAYER TO WATCH:Tailback An-gelo Fox is a brute to bring down at6-foot-3, 210 pounds. He has powerand speed. The key for him is stay-ing healthy, as he went down with aninjury in Week 5 and missed the restof the season.SEASON OUTLOOK:The Indiansshould be better on defense, withseven starters back. Offensively,they have Fox to run the ball, butneed to improve the passing gameto keep the chains moving. With Fox

healthy, the Indians should showsignicant improvement.

RICHARD DEUBLER... force on defense

JANSON McCORMICK

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NICK NEWMAN... shut down end


10/24


New Kenton QB will have veteran By Mike [email protected]

KENTON After serv-ing 29 years as the defensive

co-ordinator at Kenton, BrentFackler is beginning his rstyear as the Wildcats headcoach.

Before I always had to justwatch half of the team, Fack-ler said. Now I have to takethe rest of the Kenton familyin.

Offensively, quarterbackGrant Sherman has moved onto the University of Toledo.Sophomore Trent Hites willtake the helm of the Wildcatsspread offense.

Nothing has changed, offen-sively, but holes will have to

be lled by graduation. The rookie Hites is pro-gressing every day, accordingto Fackler.

The bright spot for theKenton squad is the return offour receivers:. Three seniors,Colyn Blackford, Luke Jack-son, and Kollin Stollar joinwith junior Conner Jones toprovide experienced targetsfor Hites.

The Wildcats return twostarters on the offensive linein left tackle Larry Wells(6-foot-8, 315), who is com-mitted to play at Kentucky.

Right guard Mason Treenalso returns, but that leavesthree spots that Kenton mustll to give Hites time to throwthe ball.

Defensively, the Wildcats

return seven starters so thatshould be a strong point.

Our defense plays a lot ofthe game due to our offense,Fackler said. We either scorequickly or turn the ball backso they are on the eld forlong period of times.

Tristan Reichelderfer (Sr.,6-3, 205) returns to anchorthe defense from his middlelinebacker position. Fackler

describes him as a deniteDivision I prospect.

Jake Hale, Austin Phillipsand Sylas Smith return to thedefensive line. Trevor and

Travis Downing return to thedefensive backeld at safety.

Fackler feels that there aretwo keys to another successfulseason for Kenton.

We must be good passblockers and we need to

improve the pass rush. Fack-ler said.

Kenton has ve goals andmeeting them would guaran-tee another hugely successfulseason. Those goals are thefollowing: A winning season Win the WBL Make the state playoffs Win the state championship To improve every day.

KENTONDIVISION: IVCOACH: Brent FacklerSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: First yearLAST YEARS RECORD: 13-1, 9-0 WBLRETURNING LETTERMEN: 22RETURNING STARTERS: MasonTreen (Sr., OG), larry Wells (Jr., T), Luke

Jackson (Sr., WR), Colyn Blackford(Sr., WR), Kollin Stollar (Sr., WR), Con-ner Jones (Jr., WR), Jake hale (Sr., DL),Austin Phillips (Sr., DL), Sylas Smith(Sr., DL), Derek Legge (Sr., LB), TristanReichelderfer (Sr., LB), Trevor Downing(Sr., DB), Travis Downing (Sr., DB)KEY NEWCOMERS: Trent Hites (So.,QB), Tyler Heintz (So., OL)OFFENSE: SpreadDEFENSE: Michigan St. stunt 4-3PLAYER TO WATCH: The develop-ment of sophomore quarterback TrentHites will be a key to the success of theWildcats this season.SEASON OUTLOOK: Despite the lossof stand-outs Noah Furbush (Michi-gan), Matt Bahr (Kent State), JustinSawmiller (Cincinnati), and GrantSherman (Toledo) Kenton expects tore-load and have another successfulseason.

KENTON SCHEDULE8-29-14 COLDWATER 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 WAPAKONETA 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at St. Marys 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 VAN WERT 7:30 p.m.

9-26-14 at Shawnee 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at Ottawa-Glandorf 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 ELIDA 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 at Bath 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 CELINA 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Deance 7:30 p.m.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsKentons Colyn Blackford makes a dives catch against Clinton Massie during a Division IV state semifinal at WelcomeStadium in Dayton last season.

Celina ready to take the next stepBy Scott [email protected]

CELINA Trent Temples rst seasonat Celina could be considered a success.A 7-3 record, including a 6-3 slatte in theWestern Buckeye League, is a good foun-dation in which to build back-to-back win-nings seasons for the rst time since the1990s. Only consecutive losses to end theseason kept the Bulldogs from making thepostseason for the rst time since 1998.

Getting into the playoffs will be theBulldogs focus this season.

Junior quarterback Caleb Hoyng returnsafter leading an offense that averagedmore than 30 points per game last season.Protecting Hoyng will be critical as fourof their ve lineman graduated from lastseason.

We have our work cut out for us nd-ing athletes that can ll those spots,

Temple said.Senior Sean Kirk will be Hoyngs prima-ry target. His big play ability and seniorleadership will be a security blanket forthe offense.

Hes one of our three-year letterman, Temple said. Sean is explosive on offenseand is very sure handed when catchingthe football.

Garett Winget will get the majority ofcarries from his running back spot.

This is Garetts rst year with us, Temple said. We expect big things fromhim.

While the offense will have to sure upthe line, the defense has experience.

Senior linebacker Brandon Hoffman and

defensive end/linebacker Frank Townsend

team with Michael Teeters at tackle tomake a formidable front.

Brandon Hoffman is a two-year letter-man on defense, Temple said. Brandonreturns this year after having a great

junior season. Brandon plays fundamentalfootball and is always putting himself in agood position to make a stop.

The Bulldogs allowed 20.2 points pergame last season and ranked third in theWestern Buckeye League in defense.

With several key returners on thedefensive side of the football we will beable to come out and play sound defen-

sively, Temple said. Our returners have

seen a lot of action on Friday nights,which will allow them to step up andmake key stops for us.

The Bulldogs start the season with Mid-west Athletic Conference foe, Versailles,before jumping into the WBL.

Our team and coaching staff is excitedabout the potential this years team has,

Temple said. We know have areas towork on and we need key athletes to stepup and ll positions. The talent is there,they just need to continue to work hardin practice and show us in the preseasonscrimmages they are ready for the chal-

lenge.

CELINA8-29-14 VERSAILLES 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 BATH 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at Ottawa-Glandorf 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 at Deance 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 WAPAKONETA 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at St. Marys 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 VAN WERT 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 SHAWNEE 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 at Kenton 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Elida 7:30 p.m.

CELINADIVISION: IIICOACH: Trent TempleSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1, 7-3LAST YEARS RECORD: 7-3 (6-3WBL)RETURNING STARTERS: 10KEY NEWCOMERS: Cayden Wilson(Sr.), Cole Stephens (Sr.), MitchMabry (Jr.), Zach Rieger (Jr.), Ga-rett Winget (Jr.), Ryan Harter (So.).OFFENSE: Shotgun/SpreadDEFENSE: 43PLAYER TO WATCH: Sean Kirk isa 3-year letter winner. He is a surehanded ball catcher and explosiveon the offensive side of the ball.Kirks ability to be near the ballon defense gives him a chance tomake plays on that side of the ballas well.SEASON OUTLOOK: With theloss of 80 percent of their offen-sive line, the Bulldogs will haveto rebuild their offensive front ifthey hope to protect their skilledplayers. The defense will be aheadof the offense and will need to bestout to keep them in games early

in the season.

Don Speck| The Lima NewsCelina quarterback Caleb Hoyng is wrapped up by the Wapakoneta defense during a game last season.

Recker optimistic in Year 3 at VBy Ross [email protected]

VAN WERT Theres a differencebetween hope and optimism.

In his third year at the helm for VanWert, Keith Recker seems to be enter-ing the 2014 season with genuine opti-mism rather than just hoping his teamcan make something happen.

The optimism comes from a myriadof positive sources.

This year, the Cougars are predomi-nantly seniors and juniors as opposedto underclassmen. The team speed iseye-catching. The team has a bettergrasp on the offense. And a defensiveswitch seems like it could pay off in amajor way.

Indeed, after back-to-back 1-9 sea-sons, this may be the year Reckers Cou-gars turn the corner.

Weve had a really good showingso far with our practices. Weve reallymatured physically and athletically,Recker said. My hope is defensively,

youll see a lot better team all around.

Offensively, we have some guys who cando some things with the ball betweenour quarterback, our tailback and ourreceivers. And were better up front.

See? Optimism. Based on fact.A year ago, Van Wert introduced

a spread offense to a young team of juniors and sophomores and scored anaverage of 21.3 points per game. Thoseplayers now are a year older with a bet-ter grasp of the offense.

Junior quarterback Colin Smith (375rushing yards with three TDs/1,769passing with 16 TDs/13 Ints. in 2013)is back. Hes a bigger (6-foot-2, 175)and smarter quarterback with niceweapons at his disposal.

Those players include the quartet ofQuincy Salcido (WR), Kris Hart (RB),Hunter Perl (WR) and Nicholas Krugh(WR), whose sprinting speed tookthem to the state track meet last spring.

Up front, Nolan Smith (6-foot-3, 273pounds; junior) returns as a top line-man who played sparingly a year agodue to knee injuries. However, his fresh-

man season he played very well and in

the past offseason got invited to thePurdue camp.

Watching our lm from last year, youdont realize at the time how far behindyou are, Recker said. But seeingwhere we were at this time last year tonow, everything is so much smoother.Its the athletes putting the time in. Lastyear there was a learning curve andonce we hit July this year, they were

just so strong in how they went aboutthings.

The big improvement Recker is hop-ing to see is on the defense. A year ago,his 4-3 scheme struggled in a big way,allowing 44.3 points per game.

We just werent physical enough tostay in a 4-3 against a team like O-G orWapak, Recker said. Then wed goagainst a good passing team like Kentonor Celina and wed have to go to a three-man front. So we were always adjusting,it was like a new defense every week.We couldnt stop the run, we couldntstop the pass, we had missed assign-ments

To improve and simplify things, Van

Wert switched to a 3-3 to get more ath-letes on the eld who can just react andmake tackles.

The guys can just play, Recker said.They dont have to think, its lookedreally good. We just really needed togure out a way to stop the run becauseeveryone just ran the ball all over us.Were really anxious to see how it worksfor us.

See VAN WERT | 11E

VAN WERT8-29-14 BRYAN 7:30 p.m.9-5-14 at Ottawa-Glandorf 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 SHAWNEE 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 at Kenton 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 ELIDA 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at Bath 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 at Celina 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 DEFIANCE 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 at Wapakoneta 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 ST. MARYS 7:30 p.m.


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Titans look to contend in WBLBy Mark [email protected]

OTTAWA When a foot-

ball team graduates 15 letterwinners, it usually means arebuilding season is on thehorizon.

Not for Ottawa-Glandorf.Over the years, O-G has

found ways to reload. Thisseason shouldnt be any dif-ferent.

The Titans went 6-4 in2013 (5-4 Western BuckeyeLeague). Lost from gradua-tion are nine starters, ve onoffense and four on defense.

Despite losing severalkey players from last yearssquad, O-G does return 21

letter winners, which is atestament on how deep theO-G squad was in 2013.

From a starting stand-point, we have six or sevenguys back who were start-ers, longtime O-G coachKen Schriner said. Werestill juggling positions.We have a number of guysthat have experience. Theymaybe werent starters lastyear, but they saw a lot ofaction, defensively, probablymore so than offensively.Our strength is probablygoing to be the athleticism at

our skill positions.Gone from last year isquarterback Logan Rieman.In 2013, Rieman passed for1,282 yards and 10 touch-downs. Rieman also rushedfor 391 yards and eight TDs.

Junior Zac Unterbrink(6-feet, 175 pounds) looks tobe the frontrunner to ll Rie-mans shoes this season.

He (Unterbrink) reallystepped up this summer,Schriner said. Were prob-ably going to put a lot on hisshoulders, as a young guy.We have high expectationsfor him. Hes a basketballguy, has good feet and goodinstincts. Hes going to runthe ball and throw the ball.

The Titans spread offensecould have a couple newwrinkles this season.

Im afraid to call it aspread, Schriner said witha smile. My goal is to getout of the spread and to dosome I (formation) con-cepts. Thats my strength up front with the blockingschemes. And we want to

keep it as simple for the lineas much as we can.

Offensively, we have tomake some changes. Wehave to get more solid andconsistent in what we aredoing. Thats what wevereally been working on thissummer.

Last season, O-G averaged24.7 points per game. Defen-sively, the Titans gave up16.4 points per contest.

Not only does O-G have toreplace its signal caller, butalso the players behind him.

We lost Shane Schroeder(running back) from lastyear, Schriner said. Thisyear, Kyle Niese (5-11, 205)is a guy who has reallystepped up for us. Hes asenior and hes excited forhis opportunity to shine.Hes a tough kid. Hesabout 200 pounds and aload.

Niese will start at bothrunning back and on thedefensive line.

Were doing a lot of thesame things we did lastyear, Niese said. Werechanging it up a little bit,because we have a little morespeed and not as much size.

And when one thinksabout O-G, the offensive lineis usually the topic of discus-sion. This season, the Titanswill need to replace a couplepositions on the line.

Ben Recker (6-3, 245, Sr.)is an offensive tackle, Schri-ner said. Jason Schnipke(6-2, 230, Sr.) is moving toguard. He was a center forus last year and we movedhim to guard. Ben Deitering(6-3, 190, Sr.) is a returningoffensive guard. And SidMoening (6-4, 180, Sr.) wasour tight end last year. So,

we have two guys (on theoffensive line) that we haveto replace.

The offensive line is sucha chemistry thing. Its allabout those guys being ableto play together.

Just like on the offensiveside of the football, the

Titans athleticism shouldstand out in the defensiveunit.

Were a 3-3 stack,Schriner said. Were verymultiple in what we do.Our linebackers are prob-ably the quickest weve everhad. Thats the strength ofour defense, the ability topursue.

One of those athleticplayers who will see a greatdeal of action this seasonis senior Colin Laubenthal(5-10, 145, wide receiver,cornerback).

We did lose some criti-cal spots, but we have muchcoming back this year,Laubenthal said. I wouldsay that everyone this yearis pretty quick. Were quickto the ball on defense. Onoffense, our speed on theperimeter is great. So, Iwould say speed is our bestattribute.

Senior Jake Kahle (5-10,

170, cornerback, widereceiver), who is comingback from a broken leg suf-fered during the basketballseason, agrees with Lauben-thal.

We had a good team lastyear, but I think this year wehave more speed. This year,we have a lot of seniors andweve been playing togethersince sixth grade. We knowexactly what everybody isdoing, Kahle said.

OTTAWA -GLANDORF8-29-14 at Oak Harbor 7:00 p.m.9-5-14 VAN WERT 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 CELINA 7:30 p.m.

9-19-14 at Shawnee 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 at Deance 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 KENTON 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 at Wapakoneta 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 ELIDA 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 at St. Marys 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 at Bath 7:30 p.m.

OTTAWA -GLANDORFDIVISION:VCOACH: Ken SchrinerSEASONS, RECORD ATSCHOOL:19, 133-69LAST YEARS RECORD:6-4 (5-4 WBL)RETURNING LETTERMEN:21RETURNING STARTERS:Ben Recker (Sr., OL/DL);Jason Schnipke (Sr., OL//DL); Blake Blevins (Sr.,WR); Zach Kuhlman (Sr.,WR); Colin Laubenthal (Sr.,WR); Jake Kahle (Sr., DB);Sid Moening (Sr., TE); ColeOsting (Sr., DB); Dan Godsil(Sr., LB); Ben Dei tering (Sr.,LB); Bryce Utrup (Jr., LB)KEY NEWCOMERS:BradRecker (Sr., WR/DB); JeffBrown (Sr., OL/DL); GrantHershberger (Sr., WR/DB);Tyler Kihm (Sr., WR/DB);

Jeremy Kaufman (Sr., RB/LB); Logan McDermo tt (Jr.,LB/RB); Zac Unterbrink(Jr., QB/DB); Bryce Utrup(Jr., LB/RB); Aaron Rie-man (Jr., OL/DL); JackCavanaugh (Jr., RB/LB);Jay Garcia (Jr., WR/DB);Jacob Schmitz (Jr., OL/DL);Brandon Weis (Jr., TE/DL);Alex Hoehn (Soph., OL/DL);Connor Niese (Soph., RB/LB); Jake Schriner (TE/LB);Trevor Rieman (OL/DL)OFFENSE: Pro-IDEFENSE:Multiple 4- and5-man frontsPLAYER TO WATCH:Senior wide receiver ZachKuhlman led O-G with 30receptions for 418 yards in2013.SEASON OUTLOOK:TheTitans have the athletes inthe skill positions, but willneed to sew up the offen-sive line in order to be com-petitive in the WBL race.

Richard Parrish | The Lima NewsOttawa-Glandorf wide receiver Zach Kuhlman pulls away from ShawneesRich Deubler during a game at O-G last season.

VAN WERTCOACH: Keith ReckerSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: Thirdseason, 2-18LAST YEARS RECORD: 1-9 overall, 1-8Western Buckeye LeagueDIVISION: VRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 16RETURNING STARTERS: Chandler Adams(Sr., WR/LB), Dillon Baer (Sr., OL/DL), NicholasKrugh (Sr., WR/LB), Quincy Salcido (Sr., WR/DB), Ethan Williams (Sr., OL/DL), Jon Averesch(Jr., OL/DL), Gavin Gardner (Jr. ,K), Andy Ham-mond (Jr., WR/DB), Keagan Hardmon (Jr., WR/DB), Colin Smith (Jr., QB/DB), Nolan Smith(Jr., OL/DL), Ryan Stoller (Jr., RB/LB), JusticeTussing (Jr., RB/LB), Marcel Salcido (Soph., OL/DL), Evan Williams (Soph., OL/DL).KEY NEWCOMERS: Kaleb Cantrell (Jr., OL),Gavin Cross (Jr., OL/DL), Kris Hart (Jr., LB),Jacoby Kelly (Fr., WR/DB).OFFENSE: Spread. Colin Smith returns

as a more mature signal-caller physicallyand mentally and hell have some big-timespeedsters to help him make the offense goas four key offensive players competed insprints at the state track meet last year.DEFENSE: 3-3. The Cougars have simpli-ed their scheme to a 3-3 in the hopes tobe more versatile while letting their footballplayers read and react quickly.PLAYERS TO WATCH: Colin Smiths play will bekey to the offense as the quarterback while No-lan Smith returns to the line after a year battlingknee injuries. Both should have big impacts.SEASON OUTLOOK: Recker believes histeam is coming of age this season andshould be ready to turn the corner after twoyears of struggles.

DEFIANCE SCHEDULE8-29-14 at Napoleon 7:00 p.m.9-5-14 ELIDA 7:30 p.m.9-12-14 at Bath 7:30 p.m.9-19-14 CELINA 7:30 p.m.9-26-14 OTTAWA-GLANDORF 7:30 p.m.10-3-14 at Wapakoneta 7:30 p.m.10-10-14 ST. MARYS 7:30 p.m.10-17-14 at Van Wert 7:30 p.m.10-24-14 at Shawnee 7:30 p.m.10-31-14 KENTON 7:30 p.m.

Deance

DEFIANCE

DIVISION:IICOACH:Jerry ButiSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL:24, 163-93LAST YEARS RECORD:6-5RETURNING LETTERMEN:Savontre Vaughn(Sr, OL/DL), Wes Detter (Sr, WR/DB), Damian Elf-ord (Sr, WR/DB), Jake Meyer (Jr, WR/DB), ZackMorris (Sr, OT/DL), Zach Buhrer (Sr, WR/DB).OFFENSE:Boot/SpreadDEFENSE:Multiple Front 5-3SEASON OUTLOOK:Deance has lost mostof its weapons from a year ago, so it will beup to returning offensive leaders like Vaughn,Detter and Meyer to keep this team on trackfor another playoff berth.

From page 10E

Van Wert


12/24


T O P 1 0 P L A Y E R S T O W A T C H I N 2 0 1 4

Leipsic

Jordan ChamberlinRUNNING BACK

Leipsics Jordan Chamberlinran for 1,233 yards with 20 TDs.

R i c h a r

d P a r r

i s h | T h e

L i m a

N e w s

Crestview

Malcolm OliverRUNNING BACK

Crestviews Malcolm Oliver ranfor 974 yards and 17 TDs.

D e a n

B r o w n

| T h e

L i m a

N e w s

Kenton

Tristan ReichelderferLINEBACKER

Kentons Tristan Reichelderfer led the Western BuckeyeLeague in tackles with 128, including 10 for loss.

R i c h a r d

P a r r i s h

| T h e

L i m a

N e w s

Lima Senior

Ruben FlowersWIDE RECEIVER

Lima Seniors Ruben Flowershad 62 receptions for 826 yards and 13 TDs.

R i c h a r d P a r r i s h | T h e L i m a N e w s

Wapakoneta

Thomas SchoenlienWIDE RECEIVER

Wapakonetas Thomas Schoelien had64 tackles, 19 for loss, with eight sacks.

A m a n

d a

W i l s o n

| T h e

L i m a

N e w s

RUBEN FLOWERS(6-4, 180, Junior)Lima SeniorWide Receiver

Flowers was thego-to receiver in theSpartans pass-happyoffense. The 6-4 leaperhad 62 receptions for826 yards and 13 TDs.Flowers made manyspectacular catchesand was able to takeoff for long yardageafter the catch.

He was rst teamall-Three RiversAthletic Conference,rst team all-districtand special mentionall-state. He was oneof two wide receiversnamed to The LimaNews Dream Team.

MALCOLM OLIVER(6-0, 205, Senior)CrestviewRunning back

Oliver used hispower and speed tohelp the Knights to ashare of the North-west Conference titleand a record of 9-3(second round of theplayoffs).

In the regular sea-son Oliver ran for 974yards and 17 TDs. Healso had 17 receptionsfor 296 yards and two

TDs.He was rst teamall-Northwest Confer-ence and second teamall-district.

JORDANCHAMBERLIN(5-7, 160, Senior)LeipsicRunning back

The speedy Cham-berlin ran for 1,233yards on 208 carriesduring the regular

season. He also had20 TDs.Chamberlin ran for

123 yards on 23 car-ries, with TD runs of56 and 5 yards, in theplayoff loss to DelphosSt. Johns.

He was rst teamall-Blanchard ValleyConference and sec-ond team all-district.

THOMASSCHOENLIEN(6-3, 245, Senior)WapakonetaDefensive lineman

The defensiveend was a rst teamall-Western BuckeyeLeague selectionlast year. He had 64tackles, 19 for loss,with eight sacks. Healso had a fumblerecovery.

He was named rstteam all-district andspecial mention all-state.

TRISTANREICHELDERFER(6-3, 205, Senior)KentonLinebacker

Reichelderfer ledthe Western BuckeyeLeague in tackles with128, including 10 forloss. He also had threeinterceptions.

He was rst teamall-Western BuckeyeLeague and rst teamall-district.

He was specialmention all-state.

Lima Senior

Juniel LilesRUNNING BACK

Lima Seniors Juniel Liles ran for 1,478 yards on 227 carries with 18 TDs.


Coldwater

Brody HoyingQUARTERBACK/DEFENSIVE BACK

Coldwater quartrback Brody Hoying ran for 160 yards on24 carries with TD runs of 9, 3 and 32 yards in the state

championship victory over Columbus Hartley.



JUNIEL LILES(5-7, 170, Senior)

Lima SeniorRunning back

The Lima Senior offense was remod-eled last year to feature a wide-openpassing game. But it was the runningability of Liles that was at the heart of

it all.Liles ran for 1,478 yards on 227 car-ries with 18 TDs. He also caught 18

passes for 204 yards and three TDs.His explosive ability to make defendersmiss helped guide Lima Senior to a 5-5record. That marked a huge turnaround

from 0-10 in 2012 and 12-68 over thepast eight years.

Liles was rst team all-Three RiversAthletic Conference, rst team all-dis-

trict and second team all-state. He wasThe Lima News Dream Team offensive

player of the year.

BRODY HOYING(5-10, 180, Senior)

ColdwaterQuarterback/Defensive back

Hoying is headed to Eastern Michiganas a defensive back, but hes one of the

top quarterbacks in the state. His abilityto run and throw helped the Cavaliers to

the Division V state championship with a24-7 victory over Columbus Hartley.Hoying dominated the title game, run-

ning for 160 yards on 24 carries with TDruns of 9, 3 and 32 yards. In the air, he

was 7 o 12 for 83 yards.During the regular season, he ran for

1,011 yards with 18 TDs. He also threw for1,328 yards and 14 TDs.

He was the offensive player of the yearin the Midwest Athletic Conference andwas also rst team all-MAC on defense

with 70 tackles and three interceptions.He was rst team all-district and rst

team all-state.

Kenton

Kollin StollarWIDE RECEIVER

Kentons Kollin Stollar had62 receptions for 894 yards and 17 TDs.


Minster

Eli Wolf WIDE RECEIVER

Minsters Eli Wolf had 48 receptionsfor a school-record 907 yards with nine TDs.


ROBBIE STRATTON(5-11, 160, Senior)

BlufftonDefensive back

Stratton is a two-way player at widereceiver/defensiveback and is one ofthe top defensivebacks in the area.

He nished last yearwith 54 tackles and

ve interceptions.He was rst team

all-Northwest Con-ference on offense

and defense. Hewas voted the topdefensive back in

the NWC.He was rst

team all-districtand special

mention all-state.

KOLLIN STOLLAR(5-9, 165, Senior)

KentonWide receiver

Kenton wide receiverJustin Sawmiller has

graduated, so theNo. 1 wideout in

the wide-open, ve-wide Kenton offense is

now Stollar.Last year he had

62 receptions for 894yards and 17 TDs,

incredible numbersconsidering he was

quarterbackGrant Shermans

No. 2 target.He was rst team

all-Western BuckeyeLeague and second

team all-district.Sherman is gone,

but still expect Stollarto be one of the top

playmakers in the area.

ELI WOLF(6-4, 185, Senior)

MinsterWide receiver

Wolf recentlyverbally committed

to Eastern Michigan.Hes the younger

brother of Minsterproduct EthanWolf, who is a t

the University ofTennessee.

Eli was rst teamall-Midwest Athletic

Conference and rstteam all-district.

He was specialmention all-state.

He had 48receptions for a

school-record 907yards with nine TDs.

Bluffton

Robbie StrattonDEFENSIVE BACK


Blufftons Robbie Stratton had54 tackles and five interceptions.

B y

T o m U s h e r t u s h e r @ c

i v i t a s m e

d i a

. c o m


13/24

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2014 SILVERADO

2014 CAMARO 2014 IMPALA

2014 CRUZE 2014 MALIBU 2014 EQUINOX 2014 TRAVERSE

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 29Deance at Napoleon ............................. 7:00 p.m.Versailles at Celina .................................. 7:30 p.m.Elida at Delphos St. Johns ..................... 7:30 p.m.Coldwater at Kenton ............................... 7:30 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Oak Harbor ............. 7:00 p.m.Shawnee at Marion Local ....................... 7:30 p.m.Sidney at St. Marys ................................. 7:30 p.m.Bryan at Van Wert ................................... 7:30 p.m.Wapakoneta at Bellefontaine ................. 7:30 p.m.Upper Scioto Valley at Ada ..................... 7:30 p.m.New Bremen at Allen East ...................... 7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Cory-Rawson ........................ 7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Columbus Grove.......7:30 p.m.Parkway at Crestview ............................. 7:30 p.m.Delphos Jefferson at Wayneseld-Goshen ...7:00 p.m.Paulding at Wayne Trace ......................... 7:00 p.m.Leipsic at Spencerville ............................ 7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Columbus Grove.......7:30 p.m.Anna at Lehman Catholic .......................7:00 p.m.Fort Recovery at North Union ................. 7:30 p.m.Minster at Fort Loramie .......................... 7:30 p.m.St. Henry at Covington ........................... 7:30 p.m.St. Wendelin at Hardin Northern ............ 7:00 p.m.Troy Christian at Perry ............................ 7:00 p.m.Ridgemont at Vanlue .............................. 7:00 p.m.Marion Harding at Lima Senior .............. 7:00 p.m.Bluffton at Cory-Rawson ........................ 7:30 p.m.Indian Lake at Triad ................................. 7:00 p.m.Saturday, August 30Bath at Lima Central Catholic ................ 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5FootballBath at Celina ......................................... 7:30 p.m.Elida at Deance ..................................... 7:30 p.m.Wapakoneta at Kenton ........................... 7:30 p.m.Van Wert at Ottawa-Glandorf ................. 7:30 p.m.St. Marys at Shawnee ............................. 7:30 p.m.Ada at Spencerville ................................. 7:30 p.m.Allen East at Columbus Grove ................ 7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Van Buren ............................. 7:00 p.m.Allen East at Columbus Grove ................ 7:30 p.m.Crestview at Hicksville ............................ 7:00 p.m.Paulding at Delphos Jefferson ................ 7:30 p.m.McComb at Pandora-Gilboa ................... 7:00 p.m.Brookville at Anna ................................... 7:30 p.m.Bishop Hartley at Coldwater .................. 7:30 p.m.Delphos St. Johns at Lima Central Catholic .7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at Jay County ................... 7:00 p.m.

Marion Local at Richard Catholic, TBALehman Catholic at Minster ................... 7:30 p.m.Fort Loramie at New Bremen.................. 7:30 p.m.Arlington at Parkway .............................. 7:30 p.m.Eaton at St. Henry ................................... 7:30 p.m.Valley View at Versailles .......................... 7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at Wayneseld-Goshen..7:00 p.m.Scott at Perry .......................................... 7:00 p.m.Mt. Gilead at Ridgemont ......................... 7:00 p.m.Cory-Rawson at Upper Scioto Valley...... 7:00 p.m.Lima Senior at Manseld Senior ............7:00 p.m.Kenton Ridge at Indian Lake................... 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6Leipsic at St

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