the lima news 2011 football prep preview

2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWE2 Thursday, August 25, 2011 The Lima News

Ada.......................................E9Baker. gives. Bulldogs. reason. for. high.expectations.

Allen East.............................E6New. coach. Abbey’s. passion. lifting.Mustangs.

Anna.................................. E20Rockets.have.plenty.of.optimism.

Bath................................... E11As.Smith.goes,.so.go.the.Wildcats..

Bluffton................................E6Pirates.want.to.turn.the.corner..

Celina................................ E17Bulldogs. look. to. keep. building. on.2010.success..

Coldwater.......................... E20Bruns. back. to. guide. Cavaliers. after.state.final.run..

Columbus Grove............... E10Quarterback.Travis.steps. into.spotlight.for.Grove.

Cory-Rawson..................... E25Hornets.expect.improvement.after.5-5.showing.last.year.

Crestview........................... E10Owens.takes.the.helm.for.Knights..

Defiance............................ E19Buti.eyes.major.turnaround.after.difficult.2010.campaign.

Delphos Jefferson................E7Rough. and. tumble. Miller. looks. to.power.Wildcats..

Delphos St. John’s............ E19New.year,.new.team,.same-old.hardnosed.Blue.Jays..

Elida.................................. E12Bulldogs.looking.to.keep.building.

Fort Recovery.................... E22Niekamp,.crew.ready.to.fight.in.MAC.

Hardin Northern............... E25Polar.Bears. low.on.numbers,. high.on.optimism.after.brutal.2010.showing.

Indian Lake....................... E23Lakers.trying.to.find.right.combo.

Kenton............................... E17Wildcats. look. to.develop. receivers. for.Mauk’s.senior.year.

Leipsic............................... E26Vikings.continue.to.build.a.winner.

Lima Central Catholic.........E5T-Birds.expect.another.big.year.

Lima Senior..........................E4Spartans.toughen.up.

Marion Local..................... E21New.talent.emerging.for.Flyers..

Minster.............................. E22Wildcats.hope.for.more.success..

New Bremen..................... E21Cardinals.bring.back.speed,.skill.

Ottawa-Glandorf............... E16Titans.reloading.for.2011.

Pandora-Gilboa................. E26Rockets. hope. young. players. mature.under.Friday.night.lights.

Parkway............................. E21Cairns.brings.coaching.experience..

Paulding............................ E11Panthers.return.skill,.desire.to.win.

Perry.................................. E23Kill.ready.to.recharge.Perry..

Ridgemont......................... E25Golden.Gophers.hope.for.better.things.this.year.in.NWCC..

Shawnee............................ E13Indians.plan.to.bounce.back.

Spencerville.........................E9Bearcats.hungry.for.a.win..

St. Henry........................... E20Redskins.working.to.right.the.ship..

St. Marys........................... E18New.era.begins.for.Roughriders..

Upper Scioto Valley.......... E23Rams.balanced.for.NWCC.run.

Van Wert............................ E18Cougars.need.to.replace.offense..

Versailles........................... E22Tigers.building.on.2010’s.success.

Wapakoneta...................... E13Frye.plans.to.continue.the.progress.the.Redskins.started.in.2010.

Waynesfield-Goshen......... E25Solid. offensive. line,. good. running.backs.give.Tigers.reason.for.optimism.

Year of the Quarterback......E3Mauk,.O’Connor.and.McAdams.headline.an.historic.group.

Top 10 Quarterbacks...........E8A.look.at.the.top.quarterbacks.from.the.past.25.years..

Players to Watch............... E15The.top.players.to.watch.in.2011.

Team previews

INSIDE

10 How will highly successful Allen East wrestling coach Mike Abbey do with the

football team?Passionate is the best way

to describe Abbey. He has 40 players out for football, which is up from a year ago.

Abbey’s fiery approach will definitely be a plus. But there’s no magic wand.

Five starters return who all went both ways last year.

Improvement is on the hori-zon for the Mustangs with Abbey in charge.

9 Does Shawnee have enough to rebound from last year’s 2-8 year?

The Indians should definitely improve, but whether they can return to the 7-3 days is the question. Many things have to go right in terms of line play for that to happen.

Things began to break down last year when quarterback Seth Rosenbauer injured his right shoulder and linebacker Trey Runneals suf-fered a concussion. Having both healthy is huge for this season’s success.

It’s also one year removed from the gradua-tion of an outstanding 2009 class, which was extremely difficult to replace last year.

8.Which teams have a good shot at a turnaround season?

Perry has new coach Jesse Kill, who will look to implement a running attack with the likes of quarterback T.J. Sloan and backs Quis Woods and Kevin Turner. The Commodores should improve over last year’s 2-8.

Bath, 5-5 last year, returns 5-10, 225-pound, tank-like Aaron Smith, who ran for 1,700 yards and 15 TDs. He led the Lima area in rushing last year and was first team all-district and third team all-state.

Shawnee (2-8) and St. Henry (3-7) are good bets to be much improved.

7 What players should you go out of your way to see?

Make sure to see all three quarter-

backs, Kenton’s Maty Mauk, Lima Central Catholic’s Tyler O’Connor and Elida’s Reggie McAdams. Mauk is headed to Missouri, while O’Connor has committed to Michigan State. McAdams will play basketball at Akron.

All three form one of the best quarterback classes in the area in the last 25 years.

There are plenty of other good quarterbacks in the area. But, if you are a high school foot-ball fan, you should see those three.

6.Who takes over for Logan Erb in the Wapakoneta backfield?

The bulldozer-like Erb is gone, but Con-ner Pickens is back after running for 665 yards last year. In all, the Redskins have 12 starters back including first-team all-district guard Chris Schwartz to lead the running game.

5.There’s a new coach at Lima Senior in Brett Lee. How will he respond to the pressure?

The former S.W.A.T officer certainly under-stands what pressure is all about and coach-ing football doesn’t qualify in the total scheme of things.

Lee will be a good motivator and will get the most out of the Spartans.

Among the plusses is running back Keithie Lasenby, who ran for 1,167 yards and 19 TDs. There’s also linebacker Isiah Stinston, who along with Lasenby was first team all-Greater Buckeye Conference.

The problem lies with the challenging sched-ule in the new Three Rivers Athletic Confer-ence with the likes of Toledo Central Catholic, Findlay, Fremont Ross, Oregon Clay, Toledo St. Francis, Toledo St. John’s and Toledo Whitmer.

4 How does Kenton’s Maty Mauk compare with Ben Mauk?

Statistically, it’s pretty close. Ben ranks first in career passing yards in the state with 17,364. Maty ranks second on the career list with 13,519. Maty’s 5,670 single-season yardage total is third best behind two of Ben’s years on the state’s single-season chart.

Ben had a strong, accurate arm. He also never backed down from running over a would-be tackler. Maty has a strong arm and can also run. Maty improved his accuracy last year to the Division I level.

The main difference is Ben won two state titles. Maty will do everything he can to win his first this year.

3 Who takes over at quarterback and tailback for Delphos St. John’s?

The Blue Jays will continue to run the ball, but will have plenty of new faces. Only five starters return from last year’s 15-0 Division VI state championship team.

The quarterback job will be between senior Alex Clark and junior Mark Boggs.

The tailback slot will be a mix of fullback Jor-dan Bergfeld, senior Chris Will and sophomore Tyler Jettinghoff.

If any of those falter, more youngsters are on the way.

2 Which team has the best shot at reaching the state semifinals?

Lima Central Catholic is loaded. The T-Birds went to the Division V state semifinals last year before losing to Youngstown Ursuline, 51-36.

Eight starters return on offense and seven more are back on defense from last year’s 12-2 team.

Michigan State-bound quarterback Tyler O’Connor is a four-year starter. He’ll have four starters on the offensive line back in front of him. He also has plenty of quality tailbacks to take the pressure off the passing game.

The T-Birds have plenty of size and speed. And they’re hungry after last year.

What’s not to like about the 2011 T-Birds?

1 Elida made the playoffs for the first time since 1982 last year. What do they do for a follow up?

Much is expected from Elida. Their quarter-back (Reggie McAdams), tailback (Colin Bly-myer) and top receiver (Austin Etzler) are back. In all, 12 starters return, with six on offense.

The key will be the play of both lines.The main difference this season is the Bull-

dogs won’t sneak up on anyone.But with the offensive firepower, the good

times should continue this season.

2011 guide to area footballBy TOM USHER • [email protected] • 419-993-2089

The Lima area continually churns out playoff teams, upstart teams, turnaround teams and players who rise to all-state status.

Following standout seasons for their respective high schools, a number of area players regularly advance to play at the college level. With that in mind, here’s a quick guide to the 2011 season.

Abbey

Maty Mauk Ben Mauk

Lima Central Catholic

Elida Seth Rosenbauer Keithie Lasenby

The Lima News Thursday, August 25, 2011 E3 2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

The Lima News Preseason Poll

By TOM [email protected]

419-993-2089

Over the years, a number of all-state quarterbacks have come from northwest Ohio.

In 2001 and 2002, the area had three of the top quarter-backs ever in Kenton’s Ben Mauk, Coldwater’s Kevin Hoyng and St. Henry’s Todd Boeckman.

Hoyng and Boeckman bat-tled in Midwest Athletic Con-ference play. Hoyng had brag-ging rights, going 2-0 against Boeckman and St. Henry.

Kenton and Coldwater opened the season in 2001 and 2002. The two also met in the 2001 state semifinals, when Kenton won in a classic air show, 49-38.

“I remember those games like they were yesterday,” Mauk said. “It was a matter of two competitive kids doing anything they could to win a game, whether it was run-

ning, throwing, carrying out a fake. And of course, my dad was coach and his dad was an assistant coach. That added fuel to the fire. ... Going against him made it fun to watch. But I was more wor-ried about what I had to do and what I could control.”

Hoyng agreed that the Coldwater-Kenton battles had plenty of competitive fire.

“You never forget those games,” Hoyng said. “Going into that game, you knew both teams had a good offense and that it would be a shootout. As a competitor, you want to be in those moments.”

In that state semifinal game, Mauk completed 20 of 40 for 319 yards. He threw four TDs and had three interceptions. Mauk also ran for 223 yards on 21 carries. Hoyng com-pleted 22 of 46 for 295 yards. He ran for 105 yards on 41 carries, but was sacked 11 times, which was the decid-ing factor in the game.

“Being the state semifinals made it even more exciting,” Mauk said. “I’m sure if we would have met up and played a corn-hole game we both would have done anything to win.

Hoyng added, “That state semifinals was a shootout and a game I’ll never forget. Those games can define a high school career.”

Kenton went on to win the 2001 state championship pounding Newark Licking Valley, 40-13. It was the first of two state titles for Mauk and Kenton.

That game was a rematch from the 2001 opener in which Kenton won 31-16. Mauk threw for 448 yards with five TDs. Hoyng had 471 yards and two TDs.

Hoyng got the last victory in the series, however. On Aug. 23, 2002, Coldwater

stunned Mauk and the defend-ing state champions, 49-35.

“ O u r senior year was another s h o o t o u t and we

finally beat them,” Hoyng said. “We were two quarter-backs who were both very competitive. We didn’t want to lose and did everything we could to win. I was throwing a bunch and running a bunch. ... He was trying everything to win and so was I.”

On that night, Hoyng com-pleted 21 of 37 for 342 yards and five TDs. He also ran 129 yards on 21 carries. Hoyng even missed a series in the third quarter when he rolled his ankle. But he returned to the game and fired a 69-yard TD with 2:23 to go to give the Cavs a 49-35 lead.

Mauk nearly matched him in the 2002 opener, complet-ing 22 of 47 for 302 yards and four TDs. Mauk ran for 129 yards on 21 carries.

“We were coming off a state championship and lost a lot of guys off that team” Mauk said. “But playing Coldwater in the first game was always a good gauge of what we needed to do to get better.”

Boeckman lost in over-time to Coldwater in 1999 and 2000. Coldwater’s quar-terback in those years was another Hoyng, Kyle Hoyng.

In the 2002, Coldwater-St. Henry game, the Cavaliers rolled to a 34-13 win. Hoyng didn’t have to throw much, as he ran for 297 yards on 23 carries and three TDs. He also threw for a touchdown.

“Fortunately, we never lost to them (St. Henry),” Hoyng said. “You always remem-ber the Coldwater-St. Henry games and always get up for those. It was a mentality we took into those games.”

As far as career passing yards, Mauk has thrown for more yards than anyone in state history with 17,364. Mauk’s total of 6,540 yards in 2002 is the state’s single-season passing mark.

Hoyng threw for 2,709 in 2001. Boeckman threw for

2,520 yards in 1999 when the Redskins won the state title.

Boeckman threw for 2,379 yards and 25 TDs as a junior at Ohio State. For his career, he threw for 3,085 yards and 31 TDs. He quarterbacked the Buckeyes to the BCS National Championship game against LSU after the 2007 season.

Mauk played at Wake For-est and Cincinnati. Mauk led UC to a 10-3 record in 2007 and a 31-21 victory over Southern Miss in the Papa-John’s.com Bowl. In the bowl, he threw for 334 yards and four TDs. It was UC’s first 10-win season since 1951.

Hoyng went on to set sev-eral passing records at the University of Dayton, includ-ing career passing yards (8,862), total yards (9,528) and TD passes (59). He’s now the assistant coach in charge of tight ends at Dayton.

“Playing in the MAC (Mid-west Athletic Conference) against Todd Boeckman and against Ben Mauk, those were big games, and excelling in those games, prepared you for the college atmosphere when the game speeds up and you’re playing for a league championship,” Hoyng said.

Boeckman, Hoyng, Mauk set the standard

About the section

ON THE COVER: 2011 standout quar-terbacks Maty Mauk, of Kenton; Ty O’Connor, of LCC and Reggie McAdams, of Elida enter their senior seasons with high expectations.Cover design: Nate WarneckeCover photographer: Craig OroszSection designer: Wendy Helmig

THE SECTION: Sports Editor: Ross Bishoff; Reporters: Jim Naveau, Tom Usher, Jeremy Schneider, Mark Alstaetter, Mike Miller and Scott Brinkman

PHOTO EDITOR: Craig Orosz Photographers: Jay Sowers, Dean Brown, Richard Parrish and Don Speck

Special thanks to the coaches and athletic directors from Lima-area high schools

Hoyng Boekman Mauk

1. Lima Central Catholic. To put it mildly, expectations are high for Lima Central Catholic. The T-Birds made a run at a state title a year ago and return a deep, experienced team high-lighted by the talented quarterback Ty O’Connor who will be led by savvy veteran coach Jerry Cooper.

2. Kenton. If you haven’t heard, there’s this guy, his name is Maty Mauk. Apparently, he’s a pretty good quarterback.

3. Delphos St. John’s. The Blue Jays were so unstoppable a year ago their state championship game dominance, a 77-6 bombing of Shadyside, became the jumping off point for the OHSAA to consider a rule to make private schools go up a division.

4. Coldwater. The Cavaliers weren’t supposed to go deep into the playoffs a year ago and all they did was go all the way to the Division V state title game. Much like St. John’s, this pro-gram knows how to get the job done.

5. Elida. The Bulldogs turned in a fantastic season last year and they bring back the multi-talented quarter-back Reggie McAdams. So, the team should improve right? Well, we’ll see.

6. Leipsic. Winning is one thing, consistency is another and the Vikings have steadily become a winner. In coach Joe Kirkendall’s three seasons at the helm, Leipsic is 25-8.

7. Ada. Once again, the Bulldogs have a ton of offensive firepower and should be a force in the NWC. Playoffs are certainly expected but trying to knock off LCC for the conference crown is going to be a tough task in 2011.

8. Wapakoneta. Doug Frye looked like a miracle worker last season, recharging a dormant monster. Can he continue that? Wapakoneta hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 1990-91, so Frye and his Redskins have something to shoot for. Oh, and he calls his offense the “Wing and Fling”, that’s just cool.

9. Bath. We dare you to get in front of Aaron Smith. He’s built like a defensive tackle and runs like a back. Though he might be a little dinged up to start the season, he should be a force in 2011.

10. Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans just win. Every single year, Ken Schriner produces a competitive, tough team. And with all the talk going to Kenton, Elida, Aaron Smith and whomever this season, the Titans might be more dan-gerous than ever.

One of the most interesting battles this prep football season could come in a little more than two months when the sports staff at The Lima News sits down and hashes out

which quarterback makes the cut for the season-ending Dream Team.

How can anyone choose the best among three future Division I college athletes in Maty Mauk of Kenton, Ty O’Connor of Michigan State and Reggie McAdams of Elida. Mauk has committed to Missouri and O’Connor to Michigan State to play football, while McAdams will play basketball at Akron.

Consider this, as juniors, the trio combined for nearly 11,000 yards, 128 touchdowns and less than 30 interceptions in more than 1,100 attempts.

It’s not just limited to the aforementioned trio. Other incredibly talented quar-terbacks across the area include Ada’s Konnor Baker (3,773 yards and 46 TDs a year ago), Seth Rosenbauer of Shawnee, Austin Bruns of Coldwater, Adam Nie-meyer of Minster, Braden Bilger at Celina, Colum-bus Grove’s Jordan Travis and Kyle Stahl of St. Henry. A n d while no argument could be made against each one of their abilities, this season is highlighted by Mauk, McAdams and O’Connor.

Obviously this is an historic class. that brings to mind three senior quarterback phenoms from 2002 — St. Henry’s Todd Boeckman, who went on to Ohio State, Coldwater’s Kevin Hoyng, who set records at Dayton, and Ben Mauk of Kenton, a two-time state champion who played for Wake Forest and Cincinnati.

The cream of the class in the 2011 season might find himself in a similar position heading into his senior season to his peers, but each found his way here by differ-ent ways. And one will go a completely different direction next year.The Natural: Maty Mauk, Kenton

Mauk is the least surprising of the three to be in this position. All eyes have been on him and his development since his middle school days. He threw for 3,309 yards and 36 TDs as a freshman and 4,540 and 46 scores as a sophomore.

“It’s definitely the position I wanted to be in,” Mauk said. “I’ve worked my butt off for it, so yeah, definitely the position I feel I should be in.”

It was only natural the best college programs in the nation all would have the name Mauk on a wish list. He picked Missouri over Notre Dame, Illinois and Michigan, among others.

“(Missouri) coach (Gary) Pinkell is all about family stuff. Knowing he’s going to be the guy looking out for me the next four years of my life, I thought that was my best choice,” Mauk said. “Of course the offense is the best fit. It’s hope-fully going to be a smooth transition into the next level.”

With his dad Mike the longtime coach of the Wildcats and older brother Ben the all-time lead-ing passer in Ohio High School Athletic Associa-tion history, Maty has the pedigree to be one of the top prep quarterbacks in the nation.

“We’re always talking and learning,” Mauk said. “I grew up watching Ben and wanting to be just like him, and then the tremendous opportunity I have to play for my dad. Not everyone gets to talk football every day of the year, and I have that.”

Mauk threw for 5,670 yards last season — the third-best season in OHSAA history — with 69

touchdowns and only 14 interceptions, complet-ing 372-of-568 passes. He’s approaching another landmark record, the 17,364 yards amassed by Ben in his career; Maty is just 3,845 yards away from tying the mark.

“It definitely gave me a leg up,” Mauk said. “Being around him, he’s been through it all. He knows what’s going on. Now I’m going to have him beside me every game, teaching me, that’s a tremendous experience just to have him with me.”The Convert: Ty O’Connor, LCC

O’Connor wasn’t always the golden boy quarterback. Entering high school, his sport of choice, and the one he figured held the ticket to college, was basketball. He has flourished at basketball, as a starter on the state championship team 2009, but after taking over for an injured starter at the

beginning of this freshman year, O’Connor quickly realized football might be his best option.

However, the focus on his basketball abilities rather than his quarterback skills in his first prep season might have eased some of the pressure reserved for hot shot freshmen.

“Mauk came in as a freshman and everyone expected him to do great,

they knew he was going to be the starter,” O’Connor said. “(With me), it was kind of like, ‘All right, maybe we’ll get through with this freshman. Maybe we’ll let him hand the ball off, maybe get a few passes in during the game.’ I was nervous, but I think there wasn’t as much pressure as there was on Mauk. ... He was expected to do great things whereas, I was a basketball player.

“After that freshman year, everything completely changed. I became a football player. I worked more on football.”

O’Connor didn’t step into a tailor-made situation like Mauk, either; LCC

coach Jerry Cooper is more known for running the ball than put it in

the air. Having a quarterback like O’Connor changed that, though — he threw for more than 2,500 yards and 27 TDs last year.

His coming out party came against Columbus Grove in the fourth game of his freshman year, when he com-pleted 14-of-26 passes for 268 yards and a score. Cooper told O’Connor it was the first time he’d ever thrown the ball more than he ran it. Last year, O’Connor averaged 17 passing attempts per game.

“Now it’s crazy how he’s opened things up,” O’Connor said. “Our offense is a little more spread out, and just how he’s adapted to the athletes he has in school and how I can get the ball to them. ... He’s changed a lot.”The Hoops Star: Reggie McAdams, Elida

McAdams came into high school like O’Connor, as a basketball player. And while he’s sticking with basketball, it doesn’t mean McAdams lags behind the other two quarterbacks in any way. He completed 202-of-338 passes last season, throwing for 2,967 yards and 32 scores against eight interceptions, helping lead Elida to its first playoff victory in school history.

And there was a time when schools like Ohio State came sniffing around when McAd-ams questioned whether basketball was his route. However, when Akron

offered him a scholarship for hoops, he jumped on it.

“Once I got into AAU basketball, I got a lot more offers, and basketball’s always been my main love. I played it before football, ever since I could walk,” McAdams said. “Coach (Jason Carpenter) always knew I could be a good quar-terback. That’s why we ran the spread, throw it around, find guys and just be a playmaker. Last

season was a huge season for me, I put up some big numbers. That’s when I got

some looks for football.”With so much riding on his basket-

ball abilities, some wonder whether playing football is the wisest deci-sion. A rolling lineman can turn into a sprained ankle or a blind-side hit can break some ribs, but once his

basketball schedule cleared up, there was never a question if McAdams would

buckle up the helmet one last time.“I don’t want to jinx myself, I want to

be careful with what I say, but I know that Akron’s coaches are fine with me

playing football. They like me playing football, they’re coming to a couple of my games,” McAdams said. “They want me to play football to get stronger. I just like football way too much to give it up.”

This will be the last time McAdams does everything with football, unlike his counterparts at Kenton and LCC. The last time he goes through two-a-days, the last time he’ll throw a TD pass, the last time he’ll be sacked. It makes this season more important for him to create memories.

McAdams has always been a basketball name. It just happened to become big in football as well.

“I let my athletic abilities and skills at basketball lead me into football,” McAdams said. “I don’t know, I guess

I’m a big name around here with Ty O’Connor and Maty,

but I really wasn’t expect-ing that. It just kind of happened.”

2011 senior quarterbacks a crew to rememberBy JEREMY SCHNEIDER • [email protected] • 419-993-2088

Year of the golden arms

2002: The year of the quarterback

E4 Thursday, August 25, 2011 The Lima News 2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

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1. Toledo Whitmer. Eleven starters are back from a 12-2 state semifinals team. Defensive lineman Chris Wormley has commit-ted to Michigan. Offensive tackle Storm Norton has committed to Toledo. Tail-back Jody Webb ran for 1,589 yards last year.

2. Toledo St. John. The Titans’ only two losses last season were against Whit-mer. Quarterback Brogan Roback threw for 2,193 yards and 25 TDs. Line-backer Kent Kern has com-mitted to Miami of Ohio.

3. Toledo Central Cath-olic. Five starters return on defense but all 11 offensive starters will be new.

4. Fremont Ross. Quar-terback Tyler Wolf returns after leading Ross to a 9-2 record. Tight end Nick Streacker has drawn some Big Ten interest.

5. Toledo St. Francis. Experience on the offen-sive line is a strength. The Knights have 32 seniors on their roster.

6. Findlay. The Trojans’ “skill” positions at quar-terback, running back and receiver are dominated by juniors.

7. Lima Senior. The Spartans will try to break a streak of five straight 2-8 seasons against stronger competition than they faced in the Greater Buckeye Con-ference.

8. Oregon Clay. The Eagles have six returning starters and concerns about depth.

Lima Senior toughens up for first year in TRACBy JIM NAVEAU

[email protected] 419-993-2087

LIMA — Rebuilding a football program that hasn’t come close to a winning season since 2000 is tough.

Moving into a new league with state powers like Toledo Whitmer, Toledo St. John’s and Toledo Central Catholic is tough.

So, Lima Senior’s football team found tough two-a-day practices waiting for them when they reported for pre-season drills with first-year head coach Brett Lee.

“They were hard. He (Lee) said it would be the hardest week of the year,” senior linebacker Isiah Stinson said. “He said the people who made it through, they were going to be the true people on this team that were going to drive us to get more wins this year.”

Senior running back Keithie Lasenby agreed. “They were very tough,” he said about two-a-days. “It was hard work but it’s going to pay off in the end. We want to bring back some tradition.”

Lima Senior was 2-8 last season in the final year of the Greater Buckeye Con-ference. It was the fifth straight 2-8 season for the Spartans.

Lee, a former Lima Senior assistant coach, is the fifth Spartans football coach since Leonard Rush retired after the 2000 season. Lee replaced Darnell Collins.

“Everybody says, ‘You’ve got your hands full. It’s a challenge,’” he said.

Meeting that challenge starts with three words, the new Spartans coach says. “Three words that we say to them every day are ‘dis-cipline,’ ‘commitment,’ and ‘prepare,’ he said.

“We took them through two-a-days that were tough. We still have 45 or 46 var-sity players. That told me a lot. There are a lot of kids buying into it. They seem to understand.”

Offensively, the Spartans’ No. 1 option is Lasenby, who rushed for 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns and was first-team All-Greater Buck-eye last season as a junior. He also gained 842 yards as a sophomore.

Junior Devon Allen will play quarterback. A year ago, as the backup QB, he

was 4 of 10 passing for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Tyler Lawrence, an honorable mention All-GBC selection last season, leads the offensive line. The top receivers, Brooklyn Shurelds and Reggie Per-kins, are inexperienced. But Lee is excited about them, saying they “would comple-ment any passer.”

Stinson, a first-team All-GBC linebacker, leads the

defense. He also will play fullback as one of six Spar-tans who could go both ways.

Cornerback Desmond Daniel was second-team All-GBC a year ago and Shurelds received honorable mention as a defensive back.

Lima Senior, Findlay and Fremont Ross from the GBC joined Toledo Whit-mer, Oregon Clay, Toledo Central Catholic, Toledo St.

John, Toledo St. Francis and girls-only schools Toledo Notre Dame and Ursuline Academy to form the Three Rivers Athletic Conference earlier this year.

Whitmer was a state semi-finalist last year. St. John’s only two losses were to Whitmer. Central Catholic and St. Francis have won state titles in the last 10 years.

So, the Spartans will be attempting to rebuild against competition that is probably more formidable than what they faced in the GBC.

“It will be a challenge,” Daniel said.

Lawrence said, “We need to win, that’s what we need to do. It’s been a long time since we won. I feel a change coming.”

TRAC FORECAST

• The Lima News photo archive

Lima Senior running back Keithie Lasenby avoids a tackle from the Sandusky defensive line during a game in 2010 at Lima Stadium.

LIMA SENIORCOACH: Brett Lee

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1st season

LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 2-8 overall

OHSAA DIVISION: II

RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 7

RETURNING STARTERS: Keithie Lasenby (Sr., RB), Isiah Stinson (Sr., LB), Brooklyn Shurelds (Sr., WR/DB), Tre’Von Glenn (Jr.OL), Tyler Lawrence (Sr., OL/DL).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Davion Smith (RB/DB), Reggie Perkins (WR), Austin Towsey (TE/LB), D’ante Barqinere (RB)

OFFENSE: With a 1,000-yard rusher returning, a new quar-terback and inexperienced receivers, it would seem prob-able that Lima Senior will run the ball most of the time. But coach Brett Lee likes his receiv-ers, including Reggie Perkins, a first-year player better known for being a high-flying basketball player.

DEFENSE: How fast the defen-sive line improves could be a key for the Spartans on this side of the ball. First-team All-Greater Buckeye Confer-ence linebacker Isian Stinson and defensive backs Brooklyn Shurelds and Desmond Daniel are the veterans on a defense hoping to improve on last sea-son when it gave up 27 points a game.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Running back Keithie Lasenby gained 1,167 yards last season and is back for more this year. He has rushed for almost 2,100 yards combined the last two seasons.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ................................at Piqua

Sept. 2 ..............MARION HARDING

Sept. 9 ............ at Kettering Fairmont

Sept. 16 ........................... FINDLAY

Sept. 23 ................FREMONT ROSS

Oct. 1 ....... at St. John’s Jesuit Toledo

Oct. 7 .......at Toledo Central Catholic

Oct. 14 ........ST. FRANCIS DESALES

Oct. 21 ............. TOLEDO WHITMER

Oct. 28 ................................... at Clay

“Three words that we say to them every day are ‘discipline,’

‘commitment,’ and ‘prepare.’” — Brett Lee

Lima Senior head coachLook for upcoming gamepages in Friday’s sports section

The Lima News Thursday, August 25, 2011 E5 NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

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1. Lima Central Catho-lic. Ten starters, including Michigan State commitment quarterback Ty O’Connor, are back from last year’s state semifinalist team. Several of those players start on both offense and defense.

2. Ada. The Bulldogs need to find some replace-ments on the lines and at receiver. But no replace-ments are needed at quarterback, where Konnor Baker threw for more than 3,000 yards, and at running back, where Kellen Decker was a 1,000-yard rusher.

3. Columbus Grove. Quarterback Jordan Travis (1,942 yards, 24 TDs) is back to lead an offense that averaged 37 points a game last season.

4. Delphos Jefferson. Two-way All-NWC player Cur-tis Miller (2nd-team running back, 2nd-team linebacker) leads the Wildcats.

5. Bluffton. The Pirates, who have won either four or five games each of the last five seasons, hope to break through to a higher level this season.

6. Allen East. A .500 season would be a step in the right direction for the Mustangs in Mike Abbey’s first year as coach.

7. Paulding. The Pan-thers will try to do better than their back-to-back 3-7 records the last two sea-sons.

8. Spencerville. The Bearcats hope 17 returning lettermen and increased strength from a lot of time in the weight room will translate into their first victory since the 2008 sea-son.

9. Crestview. The Knights will be trying to reach the .500 mark for the first time since 2007.

NWC FORECAST

LIMA CENTRAL CATHOLICCOACH: Jerry Cooper

YEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 7th, 58-16

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 12-2 overall, 8-0 Northwest Confer-ence (state semifinals)

DIVISION: V


RETURNING STARTERS: Tyler O’Connor (Sr., QB/SS); Corey Stump (Sr., WR/CB); Sam Huff-man (Jr., WB/FS); Jonathan Washington (Jr., TB); Anthony Wilkerson (Sr., OT); Gabe Schwaiger (Sr., G); Ben Stolly (Jr., G/DE); Sean Griesdorn (Sr., OT/DT); David Gremling (Sr., DE); Austin Bracy (Sr., DT).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Ryan Pitts (Jr., WB); Lee Stewart (Soph., WB); Mykale Rogers (Soph., WB); Darius West (Soph., WB); Kalito Lasenby (Soph., LB); Stephen Saine (Jr., C).

OFFENSE: LCC has the one-back, wing look and will feature Jonathan Washington and a host of others in the ground game. Tyler O’Connor will also be quick to look downfield and spread the ball around.

DEFENSE: 4-3.The T-Birds’ front four and secondary will key the aggressive approach.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Tyler O’Connor. One of the top quar-terbacks in the state will lead the T-Birds behind a veteran offensive line. O’Connor has a quick release and can also run to avoid trouble.

2011 Schedule

Aug. 27 ...... DEL. ST. JOHN’S

Sept. 2 ................at Crestview

Sept. 9 ................PAULDING

Sept. 17 ...........COL. GROVE

Sept. 24 ........at Del. Jefferson

Sept. 30 .......SPENCERVILLE

Oct. 7 ...........at Bishop Ready

Oct. 14 .................. at Bluffton

Oct. 21 ............... at Allen East

Oct. 28 ......................... ADA

LCC expects another big year


419-993-2089

LIMA — Lima Central con-tinues to inch closer to a state championship game.

Jerry Cooper has guided LCC to the playoffs in five of his six seasons.

Last year it made its lon-gest trek in the Cooper era, reaching the Division V state semifinals before falling to eventual-state champion Youngstown Ursuline, 51-36.

With a strong nucleus returning from last year, the T-Birds are looking to clear the final hurdle to Canton or Massillon, homes of the state championship games.

“We’ve still got that bad taste in our mouth, but at the same time, it was pretty good because we almost felt what it was like to be state champions, only to come up short,” LCC two-way tackle Sean Griesdorn said. “Now we know what

it takes to beat that team. We find ourselves with both the bad taste and the good taste and we want to apply that this year to the season and finally beat a team like Ursuline.”

Eight starters return on offense and seven more are back on defense from a T-Birds team that went 12-2 (8-0 Northwest Conference) last season.

“We lost two games to two teams (Delphos St. John’s and Ursuline) who both won the state titles and we competed with both of those teams,” LCC coach Jerry

Cooper said. “Now we have to do all the little things to help us get over the top so we can win against that cali-ber of team. ... Ultimately, you have to find a leader to get over the top. I think Ty O’Connor can be that kind of leader. I think Tank (Wilk-erson) or (Sean) Griesdorn or (Austin) Bracy or those guys can be that kind of leader.”

The senior O’Connor returns for his fourth year as the starting quarterback. The 6-foot-2 Michigan State-bound O’Connor threw for 2,023 yards in the regular

season. He fired 22 TDs and had only three interceptions. He also ran for 336 yards and 10 TDs.

Four offensive linemen return for the T-Birds. They’ll pave the way for the team’s leading rusher from a year ago, Jonathan Washing-ton. Returning wingbacks include Corey Stump and Sam Huffman.

The offense will have plenty of speed with wing-backs Lee Stewart, Mykale Rogers, Ryan Pitts and Dar-ius West.

The 4-3 defense has four starters on the line, along with Stump, Huffman and O’Connor in the secondary. The linebacking unit will need to be rebuilt.

One huge void to fill is the graduation of free safety/wide receiver Bubba Krieg.

“We’ve had playoff suc-cess,” Cooper said. “We’re not that far away, we just have to get over the hump.”

• The Lima News photo archive

Tyler O’Connor of Lima Central Catholic runs with the ball against Hillsdale during 2010 Division V regional finals at Donnell Stadium in Findlay.

“We’ve still got that bad taste in our mouth, but at the same time, it was pretty good

because we almost felt what it was like to be state champions, only to come up short.”

— Sean GriesdornLCC two-way tackle

E6 Thursday, August 25, 2011 The Lima News

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Passion abounds at Allen EastBy MARK ALTSTAETTER

419-993-2085 [email protected]

LAFAYETTE — There’s one thing constant about first-year Allen East head football coach Mike Abbey: He’s very passionate about what he does.

Over the years, Abbey has guided the Allen East wres-tling program to the top of the Northwest Conference.

Now, Abbey will attempt to do the same with the Allen East football program. Abbey takes over a football team that went 3-7 last sea-son. He will continue to head up the wrestling program as well.

“The kids are enthusiastic,” Abbey said. “We’ll have our ups and downs, of course. We have to be able to have fun out there. (Playing) foot-ball has to be fun.

“You have to be able to play with passion. We’re still working on getting to that level of passion, but we’ll hopefully get there.”

The one thing Abbey focused on right after he accepted the job, was per-suading more athletes to come out for football.

“We probably have 10 kids who played before, quit play-ing, and now are back out,” Abbey said. “We want to get as many kids out on the foot-ball field on Friday nights as possible.”

Abbey said he realizes wins are not a given, but he

does believe his team will be competitive every Friday night.

“Our goal is a .500-plus sea-son,” Abbey said. “You never know what can happen. You

get on a roll and anything can happen, good or bad.”

Jacob Lawrence, a 6-foot,

210-pound center, said the team worked very hard dur-ing the preseason.

“It’s been more enthusias-tic out there this summer,” Lawrence said. “We’re work-ing more on our condition-ing, so we won’t be tired in the fourth quarter.”

On offense, Abbey wants to mix up the formations. He said his backs could line up in an I-formation as well as in the broken wing.

Leading the way at quarter-back will be Casey Crow, a 6-2, 190-pound junior. Joining Crow in the backfield will be running backs Ross Stewart (Soph., 6-0, 190) and Tyler Wilson (Sr., 5-9, 150).

Last year, Stewart led the Mustangs on offense, rush-ing for 629 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and scoring seven touchdowns.

Wilson is excited about the changes Abbey has made on the offensive side of the foot-ball.

“It’s Allen East football. We’ll run the football,” Wil-son said. “But, I think we’ll try to throw the football too.”

On the defensive side of the football, the Mustangs will give opponents a 3-5 look. Leading the way on defense will be senior linebacker Evan Miller (5-11, 203). Last season, Miller was in on 60 tackles.

Abbey said his team’s defensive play has to be more consistent this season.

“We cannot give up big plays,” Abbey said. “That really hurt us last year.”

ALLEN EASTCOACH: Mike Abbey

SEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1st

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 3-7 overall, 3-5 NWC

OHSAA DIVISION: V


RETURNING STARTERS: Jacob Lawrence (Sr., C/DL); Evan Miller (Sr., OT/LB); Casey Crow (Jr., QB/DB); Ross Stewart (Soph., RB/LB); Logan Rex (Soph., WR/DB).

KEY NEWCOMERS: John Stephens (Sr., OG/DT); Grant Criblez (Jr., OT/DL); Tyler Wilson (Sr., RB/OLB); Austin Lloyd (Jr., QB/OLB); Nick Kohlrieser (Jr., TE/DE); Mark McAdoo (Jr., TE/LB).

OFFENSE: First-year coach Mike Abbey will run multiple formations. Look for the Allen East running backs to line up in an I-formation, as well as a broken wing formation.

DEFENSE: The Mustangs will employ a 3-5 defensive scheme. Evan Miller, a 5-11, 203-pound senior leads the linebacking core.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Keep an eye on running back Ross Stewart. Last season, Stewart led the Mustangs with 629 rushing yards and seven touch-downs.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ......................at Bath

Sept. 2 .............COL. GROVE

Sept. 9 ...........at Spencerville

Sept. 16 ....DEL. JEFFERSON

Sept. 23 ............. at Crestview

Sept. 30 ................at Bluffton

Oct. 7 ................. PAULDING

Oct. 14 ........................ at Ada

Oct. 21 ......................... LCC

Oct. 28 ................SWANTON

“You have to be able to play with passion. We’re still working on getting to that level of passion, but we’ll hopefully get there.”

— Mike AbbeyAllen East head coach

DON SPECK • The Lima News

Ross Stewart of Allen East looks upfield as Ada senior Aaron Weyer looks to make the tackle in the first half of a 2010 game.

BLUFFTONCOACH: Dennis LeeSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 25th, 162-89LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 5-5, 4-4 Northwest ConferenceOHSAA DIVISION: VRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 14RETURNING STARTERS: Matt Gillett (Sr., WR/DB); Hunter Joseph (Sr., QB); Weston Berry (Sr., DE); Jeremy Basinger (Sr., RB/LB); Michael Liska (Sr., C/DE); Logan Skelley (Sr., OT/DE); Brandon Deeds (Sr., WR/DB); Kyle Risner (Sr., OG/DT); RJ Stratton (Sr., WR/DB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Jacob Nienberg (Sr., TE/LB); Keshawn Hughes (Sr., RB/LB); Kody Koronich (Sr., OG); Landon Sturgill (Jr., OT/LB); Austin Devier (Jr., OG/DT); Matthew Spallinger (Jr., OT); David Evans (Jr., OG/DT); Taylor Reineke (Jr., OG/DE).OFFENSE: The Pirates will be in their familiar shotgun-spread offense, led by senior quarterback Hunter Joseph. Last season, Joseph completed 97 of 199 passes for 1,738 yards and 17 touch-downs. DEFENSE: Bluffton will employ a 4-3 look on defense. With several returners back on the defensive side of the football, the Pirates hope to prevent the big play this season. Senior linebacker Jeremy Basinger led last year’s Bluffton defense with 87 tackles. PLAYER TO WATCH: Keep an eye on senior wide-out RJ Stratton. Last season, Stratton caught 20 balls for 447 yards and had six TDs.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ....................................CORY-RAWSONSept. 2 .....................................................at CareySept. 9 ................................. at Delphos JeffersonSept. 16 .........................................CRESTVIEWSept. 23 ......................................................at AdaSept. 30 ........................................ALLEN EASTOct. 7 ....................................... SPENCERVILLEOct. 14 .....................LIMA CENTRAL CATHOLICOct. 21 ................................................at PauldingOct. 28 ................................... at Columbus Grove

Pirates trying to ‘turn the corner’By MARK ALTSTAETTER


BLUFFTON — Bluffton’s offensive and defensive schemes won’t be any different this foot-ball season.

However, longtime Bluffton head coach Dennis Lee is hope-ful the results will be.

Coming off a 5-5 season in 2010, the Pirates return 14 letter-winners and nine starters. With this nucleus of players coming back, Lee is optimistic his team will finally get over the hump.

“We’ve been hovering around .500 (winning percentage) for a while,” Lee said. “We just need to turn the corner.”

Leading the way on offense is senior quarterback Hunter Joseph (5-foot, 11-inches, 165 pounds). Heading into last sea-son, Lee wasn’t sure if Joseph would be the full-time signal-caller. However, in the first two weeks Joseph made his case and was the starter for the remainder of the season. On the season, Joseph passed for 1,738 yards and had 17 TD passes. He com-pleted 49 percent of his passes.

Joseph’s favorite target, Drew Luginbuhl, has graduated. How-ever, senior RJ Stratton (6-2, 170) returns at a wideout for the Pirates. Last season, Strat-ton caught 20 passes for 447 yards and had a team-leading six touchdowns.

In the backfield, senior Kes-haun Hughes (5-6, 150) returns. In 2010, Hughes rushed for 142 yards on 32 carries (4.4 yards per carry) and had a TD. Alongside Hughes will be Jeremy Basinger (5-11, 165). Last season, Basinger

was used on short-yardage situa-tions, scoring four TDs.

Lee said the one area he is con-cerned with is his offensive line.

“Logan Skelley (6-2, 215; tackle) and Kyle Risner (5-11, 260; guard) are the only two

starting linemen back for us,” Lee said. “So, we will need to build around those two.”

Defensively, the Pirates return some key performers from last season. Senior linebacker Jer-emy Basinger, who led the team in tackles last season with 87, will lead the Bluffton linebacking core. Defensive backs Stratton and Brandon Deeds (6-0, 160), who each had three intercep-tions last fall, return in the sec-ondary.

Lee said the key to a successful season will be how well his team plays early on.

“We have to get out to a better start than last year,” Lee said. “I also felt like we had some games get away from us last year.”

Lee said he is depending on his seniors to lead the way.

“We only have eight juniors, so we’re hoping all 13 seniors step up and give us some leadership,” he said.

“We’ve been hovering around .500 (winning

percentage) for awhile. We just need to turn

the corner.” — Dennis Lee

Bluffton head coach

RICHARD PARRISH • The Lima News

Hunter Joseph of Bluffton tries to avoid Lima Central Catholic’s Cody McCullough and David Gremling during a 2010 game at Lima Stadium.

The Lima News Thursday, August 25, 2011 E7

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Miller’s power will lead Delphos Jefferson

DEAN BROWN • The Lima News

Curtis Miller of Delphos Jefferson runs in the Bluffton secondary in a 2010 Northwest Conference battle at Bluffton.

By MIKE MILLER419-993-2085

[email protected]

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Head coach Bub Linde-man feels the Wildcats have the talent to compete but the development of a young offensive line will be a big key to the Jefferson suc-cess.

Juniors Zach Kimmett, Geoff Ketcham and Colin

McConnahea will join with seniors Kellen Elwer and Darren Edinger to anchor the Wildcats line.

“How quickly our young offensive line can get accli-mated to Friday nights will be key,” Lindeman said. “They have the size to com-pete.”

The Wildcats will be led by Curtis Miller, who will play both running back and

middle linebacker. Miller (6 foot, 2 inches, 230 pounds) is a three-year starter.

The quarterback position is still up in the air with Shayn Klinger and junior Drew Kor-tokrax competing for playing time.

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“How quickly our young offensive line can get acclimated to Friday nights will be key.”

— Bub LindemanDelphos Jefferson head coach

See JEFFERSON • E9


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2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

10 Ricky Matter (Bluffton): It’s a shame we’ll never know how good Matter would have been. His died after his freshman football season in a tragic auto accident.

But in one season, he threw for 2,802 yards, including 523 against Allen East in 2003.

He led the Pirates to an 8-3 season and a 26-18 loss to Delphos St. John’s in the first round of the playoffs. Matter threw for 180 yards and two TDs at the half, as the Pirates led the Blue Jays, 18-7. But they couldn’t hold off the St. John’s offense in the second half.

9 Keith Wenning (Coldwater): He only had one year as a full-time starter, as he was behind Cory Klenke. But he made the most of his opportunity. Wenning threw for 3,629 yards in 2009.

As a junior, he threw some big passes as a wide receiver, including an 80-yard TD pass in the state title victory against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.

Few on the this list had a bigger, stronger and more accurate arm than Wenning.

He’s now playing at Ball State.

8 Nick Kreinbrink (Leipsic): Kreinbrink was one of the first area quarterbacks to guide a wide-open spread offense. He threw for 2,981 yards

in 1996 in leading the Vikings. In 1994, they went 10-2 and advanced to the second round of the play-offs before falling to Del-phos St. John’s.

Kreinbrink had two 500-yard passing games in ‘96, including 565 yards against Arlington on Sept. 20.

That’s the second-best passing game ever in the area behind Ben Mauk’s 567 yards in 2001.

He went on to play at Northwestern.

7Mike Bath (Celina): Bath led the Bull-dogs to back-to-back 10-0 regular seasons in 1994 and ‘95. In ‘94, Bath reached the regional finals before fall-ing to Piqua, 14-7.

As a senior, the Bulldogs went 12-0 before falling to Dublin Scioto 28-14 in the state semifinals. Bath didn’t play that game. He was on crutches after suffering an injury the week before. He threw for 1,943 yards and 17 TDs that year. He also ran for 943 yards and 16 TDs.

For his career, Bath threw for 5,282 yards and 53 TDs.

But, more than the numbers, Bath was a winner. Celina went 32-3 in Bath’s three seasons.

Bath went on to play at Miami (Ohio.).

6 Todd Boeckman (St. Henry): Boeckman guided the Redskins to the Division V state title as a freshman when he threw for 2,520 yards with 23 TDs.

For his career, he threw for 7,023 and 61 TDs. The 7,023 yards rank 19th in Ohio passing history.

He was all-state in basketball and base-ball, where he was one of the top home run hitters ever in the area.

Boeckman went on to start for Ohio State.

5 Zac Dysert (Ada): Coach Mike Fell handed Dysert the ball in the spread offense and the Bulldogs became one of the top teams in the region. As a junior, he threw for 3,550 yards and

29 TDs. In an injury-plagued senior year, he threw for 2,350 yards and 21 TDs. He also ran for 1,364 yards and 14 TDs. He helped the Bulldogs to the state semifinals before falling to Hopewell-Loudon, 41-38.

For his career, he completed 61 percent of his passes for 11,174 yards, the third-most in Ohio behind Ben and Maty Mauk.

Dysert is now playing at Miami (Ohio).

4 Jimmy Morris (Lima Senior): Lima Senior was a running team first in coach Leonard Rush’s veer offense. But when Morris had to make a big throw or run for a key first down, he did it. Morris

was the team leader on the 1996 Division I state championship team that defeated St. Ignatius.

In the state championship game, the Spar-tans fell behind 16-3 in the first half before rallying for a 30-28 victory. Morris completed 12 of 16 for 229 yards and three TDs.

With 1,878-yard rusher William Bratton in the same backfield as a senior, Morris com-pleted 61 percent of his passes and threw for 1,584 yards with 12 TDs. He ran for 417 yards.

Morris had several football college offers, but went on to play shortstop for Wright State.

3 Kevin Hoyng (Coldwater): As good as Kenton’s Ben Mauk was, Hoyng shared the Lima News’ player of the year award in 2002 with Mauk. During the regular season, Hoyng threw for 2,345

yards and 25 TDs. He also ran for 1,823 yards and 29 TDs.

During his senior year, Coldwater went 10-0 during the regular season before losing in the regional semifinals to Reading. The gritty Hoyng played the game with a sepa-rated shoulder that he suffered in Week 10 against Delphos St. John’s.

Hoying went on to a record-breaking career at Dayton.

2 Ben Mauk (Kenton): Two state titles and countless records, what else do you need to be one of the all-time legends in the area? In the Wildcats’ second straight state title in 2002, a 45-13

victory over Portsmouth West, he completed 22 of 37 for 300 yards and four TDs. Oh, by the way, he also ran for 133 yards and three TDs.

As a senior, he threw for state records in yards (6,529) and TDs (79). He also set the national career passing yards mark of 17,223, along with throwing for 175 TDs.

Mauk won Mr. Football went on to start at Wake Forest and star for Cincinnati.

1 Bob Hoying (St. Henry): Quarterbacks have thrown for more yardage, but few, if ever, have had the athletic ability, tal-ent and leadership skills as Hoying.

The Redskins trailed 17-0 to San-dusky St. Marys entering the fourth quarter of the state championship game. St. Henry coach Tim Boeckman was pacing the side-line when Hoying approached him and asked why he was nervous. “Settle down coach. There’s plenty of time.”

Hoying was right.Led by the passing combination of Bob

Hoying to Scott Brunswick, St. Henry scored 20 unanswered points in the final quarter to pull out a 20-17 state-title victory.

He also won two state titles in basketball. Hoying would routinely toss down spectacu-lar dunks.

Hoying was Mr. Football went on to start at Ohio State and played in the NFL.

By TOM USHER • [email protected] • 419-993-2089

The quarterback position has evolved over the last 25 years. It’s gone from being a game manager to now being able to run a wide-open spread offense.

But there’s been one constant among the top quarterbacks over the years. They’ve all been leaders and winners.

There are many key criteria involved in evaluating quar-terbacks. At the top of the list is decision-making ability. It comes down to when to run, when to throw and where to throw the ball. Next comes accuracy, then arm strength.

Running ability helps, but it’s as important as maturity, leadership ability and confidence.

from the last 25 years

PICTURED ABOVE: From left Keith Wenning (Coldwater), Ben Mauk, (Kenton), Jimmy Morris (Lima Senior), Todd Boeckman (St. Henry), Bob Hoying (St. Henry), Zac Dysert (Ada), Ricky Matter (Bluffton), Kevin Hoyng (Coldwater) and Mike Bath (Celina).Current players were ineligible for the listWENDY HELMIG illustration • The Lima News

Kreinbrink

The Lima News Thursday, August 25, 2011 E9 NORTHWEST CONFERENCE




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DELPHOS JEFFERSONCOACH: Bub Lindeman

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 3rd, 11-9

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 5-5 overall, 5-3 Northwest Confer-ence

OHSAA DIVISION: V


RETURNING STARTERS: Shayn Klinger (Sr., QB/DB), Curtis Miller (Sr., RB/LB), Quinten Wessell (Jr., RB/LB), Justin Rode (Sr., OL/DL).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Darren Edinger (Sr., OL/LB), Drew Kortokrax (Jr., QB/DB), Kellen Elwer (Sr., OL/LB)

OFFENSE: The Wildcats will operate of Multiple I formations and will count on the bruising running of 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior Curtis Miller.

DEFENSE: Jefferson will use a base 4-3 set.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Miller, a two-time state qualifier in wrestling, will lead the way from his running back and middle linebacker positions.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...........NORTHWOODSept. 2 .................. at PauldingSept. 9 ......................... BLUFFTONSept. 16 .............. at Allen EastSept. 24 ........................ LCCSept. 30 .............CRESTVIEWOct. 7 ........at Columbus GroveOct. 14 .....at Lehman CatholicOct. 21 .......................... ADAOct. 28 ............ at Spencerville

better runner,” Lindeman said. “It is possible that both will see playing time.”

Lindeman would like to see the Wildcats protect the ball on offense and be able to grind out first downs while limiting turnovers.

“The more we can control the ball, the more we can keep the defense off the field and give them a rest,” Linde-man said.

Goals for the team include playing disciplined football, competing for the Northwest Conference title and playing in Week 11, according to Lin-deman.

JEFFERSON • from E7 –––––– Baker, Ada try to keep expectations high


[email protected]

ADA — The bar has been set high at Ada so expecta-tions for the Bulldogs this season remain to challenge for the Northwest Confer-ence title and a berth in the state playoffs.

Coach Mike Fell, entering his sixth season as Ada head coach, knows the key to the year will be finding replace-ments for graduated offen-sive and defensive linemen.

“We lost a ton of interior guys, I’m not sure how good we are up front but I’m con-fident in our skill players,” Fell said. “Konnor Baker, a senior quarterback/defen-sive back, has started two sports all four years. He’s a man out there and his lead-ership will be a key for us.”

The skill players Fell talks about include Baker, who continues a run of outstand-ing Ada quarterbacks, junior running back Kellen Decker, and wide receivers Jacob Ansley and Cole Simon.

“We must be able to develop both lines, Frank Crea (long-time assistant coach) will have the offen-sive line prepared,” Fell said. “We have three interior line-men to replace on defense but have middle linebacker Christopher Beaschler (6 foot, 1 inch, 205 pounds)

and defensive ends Stephen Budwit (6-1, 220) and Eli Roberson (5-11, 195) to build around.”

Fell also must find replacements for a pair of outstanding departed line-backers, Aaron Weyer and Alex Weber.

Baker and senior Cole Simon return to anchor the defensive backfield.

As has been the case the last few years, Bulldogs fans may be peeking ahead to the week 10 matchup with Lima Central Catholic, but Fell cautions there are potential

pitfalls before that matchup.“I look for Columbus

Grove and Bluffton, along with LCC, to be tough this year,” Fell said. “Our goal is to compete for the NWC title and, if we can do that, we hope that would lead to a berth in the state playoffs.”

ADACOACH: Mike FellSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 6th, 50-13LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 10-2, 7-1 Northwest ConferenceOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 11RETURNING STARTERS: Kon-nor Baker (Sr., QB/DB), Jacob Ansley (Jr., WR), Kellen Decker (Jr., RB), Stephen Budwit (Sr., OT/DE) Cole Simon (Sr., DB/WR), Christopher Beaschler (Sr., LB), Eli Roberson (Jr., DE).KEY NEWCOMERS: Micah Roberson (Jr., WR), Matt Wilcox (Soph., WR), Dalton Bass (Sr., DT), Ryan Allen (Sr., OT), Brent Numbers (Jr., OT).OFFENSE: The Bulldogs return Konnor Baker at quarterback so scoring points from their spread formation should not be a problem.

DEFENSE: Middle Linebacker Christopher Beaschler and defensive ends Stephen Budwit and Eli Roberson return as anchors for the Ada 5-3 defen-sive scheme.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .... at Hardin NorthernSept. 2 ..........SPENCERVILLESept. 9 ......at Columbus GroveSept. 16 ........................ USVSept. 23 ...............BLUFFTONSept. 30 ...............PAULDINGOct. 7 ...................at CrestviewOct. 14 ..............ALLEN EASTOct. 21 ...........at Del. JeffersonOct. 28 ..........................at LCC


Ada quarterback Konnor Baker fakes the hand off to Ada’s Kellen Decker in the first half of a 2010 game against Allen East.

No time like now for BearcatsBy JEREMY SCHNEIDER


SPENCERVILLE — John Zerbe knows to quiet the doubters and trash talk-ers, Spencerville needs to remain silent and just get the job done. The only way to change the image of the downtrodden Bearcats is to actually win a game.

“No one’s going to give us a shot. We’ve been down for a few years and our kids know we can tell everyone that we have more juniors, we have more seniors, that we’re stronger, but nothing is going to change until we go out there and win,” coach Zerbe said. “No talk, no fluff,

just get it done. Our play is going to do the talking for us.

“That first game is impor-tant for us. When we win, it’s going to open the flood gates. I’m not predicting a 9-1 season, but I’m saying it’s going to give our kids a lot of confidence.”

The Bearcats were 0-10 last year. They were 0-10 the year before. They haven’t won a game since a 30-6 win at Crestview on Oct. 10, 2008, the year before Zerbe’s arrival.

“You would think they would give up on the coaches pretty quickly after what we’ve been through, but they haven’t. If anything, it’s made the bond stronger,” Zerbe said. “We commonly talk

about that to succeed in life sometimes you must first fail because you have to know where your weaknesses are. That’s where we’ve focused, making strength out of our weaknesses. I’m happy with how the kids have responded.”

The Bearcats (0-10, 0-8 Northwest Conference) have won 34 games in the last 10 years, so the downturn isn’t a recent development. After losses in Zerbe’s first year, he noticed the players laugh-ing and joking. Losses last year were met with frustra-tion and tears from players. It’s a change in attitude that encourages Zerbe.DENNIS SAAM • The Lima News

Spencerville’s Derek Goecke throws against Shawnee on Aug. 13 during a football scrimmage in Spencerville. See SPENCERVILLE • E10


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An increase in experience and upperclassmen also has Zerbe expecting anything but another 0-10. There are 29 upperclassmen and 17 returning letterwinners.

“I’m not making any excuses by any means, but we’ve had very small senior classes every year that I’ve been here,” Zerbe said. “That’s going to make a big difference, just having older kids and having experience now. ... We started a lot of sophomores last year. It

wasn’t a lack of talent, it was just an age thing.”

Whatever it was, Zerbe and the Bearcats hope it’s over.

“You have to know even-tually it will turn around,” Zerbe said. “I believe that the Lord has a plan for me, and some how or way, I’m being used — I don’t know how, I don’t see the end result yet and sometimes I question it — but somewhere down the line I know He’s going to come through for me.”

SPENCERVILLE • from E9 ––––––––

SPENCERVILLECOACH: John Zerbe

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 3rd, 0-20

LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 0-10, 0-8 Northwest Conference

DIVISION: V


RETURNING STARTERS: Daniel Binkley (Sr., WR/DB); Calvin Grigsby (Sr., WR/DB); Cole Roberts (Jr., RB/LB); Derek Goecke (Jr., QB/LB); Brandon Ball (Sr., WR/DB); Dominick Corso (Jr., TE/DE); Devon Cook (Jr., WB/DB); Austin Lotz (Sr., RB/DB); John Smith (Jr., RB/DB); Jared Rex (Sr., RB/LB); Austin Schleeter (Sr., TE/LB); Coleman McCormick (Jr., OL/DL); Tyler Shumate (Sr., OL/DE); Lucas Krouskop (Jr., OL/DL); Lucas Shumate (Jr., OL/DL); Josh Decker (Sr., OL/LB)

KEY NEWCOMERS: Ben Bowers (Soph., RB/LB); Niko Molina (Sr., RB/DE); Anthony Schuh (Soph., RB/LB); Bryce Ringwald (Jr., OL/DE)

OFFENSE: This year’s offense won’t look anything like the previous years thanks to two changes — the move from a spread look to the Wing-T and the addition of former Delphos Jefferson head coach Jim Morris as offensive coordinator.

DEFENSE: Desert Swarm. Coordinator Rick Orr has pared down the defense to basics, hoping to capitalize on the speed and strength of the players in an aggressive set. A year ago, the Bearcats had four kids who could bench 200 pounds; this year, there are 18.

PLAYER TO WATCH: He’s got quite a famous last name around the area right now, and QB Derek Goecke should gain some looks based upon his play. He threw for 512 yards last year and five touchdowns. The junior has been a part of the varsity program since his freshman year, and the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Goecke should be one of the lead-ers if this team can erase the bad memories of recent years.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ......................................................................at Indian LakeSept. 2 ...................................................................................at AdaSept. 9 ....................................................................ALLEN EASTSept. 16 .................................................................... PAULDINGSept. 23 .............................................................at Columbus GroveSept. 30 ..................................................... at Lima Central CatholicOct. 7 ...............................................................................at BlufftonOct. 14 .................................................................... CRESTVIEWOct. 21 ............................................................ TROY CHRISTIANOct. 28 .....................................................DELPHOS JEFFERSON

Travis steps into spotlight for Grove

By JEREMY [email protected]

419-993-2088

COLUMBUS GROVE — It’s easy to get overlooked in your league when the best quarterback is going to a Big Ten school next year. That doesn’t mean Jordan Travis is anything less than a great quarterback for Columbus Grove, though.

“He had a heck of a sea-son for a high school quar-terback,” Grove coach Scott Palte said. “He’s a good foot-ball player. He’s the center of our offense, our best player. We’re lucky to have him.”

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior is slated to start his

fourth year under center. Last year he threw for 1,942 yards and 24 TDs against six interceptions, completing 60 percent of his 213 attempts. In any other conference, those are first team all-league type numbers.

Travis was also a starter on last year’s basketball team, which won the NWC and Putnam County League titles. His athletic ability gives Palte plenty of options to page through in his offen-sive playbook.

“He’s a real smooth athlete — he can run, move around, he’s real fluid,” Palte said. “In basketball they run that trap and he’s one of those middle guys, tipping balls, intercept-

ing them. He’s a heck of an athlete.”

Travis is joined by last year’s two leading rushers, Wade Heffner (78 carries, 577 yards, six TDs) and Trent Kerns (49-345-2). Outside of replacing four starters on the offensive line — only three-year starter Gavin Windau is back at guard — Palte knows his offense will put up the numbers.

Defense is where concern enters his voice.

“We have to stop people better than we have,” Palte said. “I think we’ll score points, it’s just a matter of how good our defense plays and how our offensive line comes together.”

COLUMBUS GROVECOACH: Scott PalteSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 6th, 39-24LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Over-all, League): 7-3, 6-2 North-west Conference DIVISION: VRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 8RETURNING STARTERS: Jordan Travis (Sr., QB/FS); Trent Kerns (Sr., FB/LB); Zac Barrientes (Sr., SE/CB); Collin Grothaus (Jr., RB/SS); Wade Heffner (Sr., RB/DE); Gavin Windau (Sr., G/LB); Blake Neu (Sr., T/DT); Trent Reed (Sr., C/DE)KEY NEWCOMERS: Derek Rie-man (Jr., SE/DB); Dakota Vogt (Jr., SB/LB); Bobby Lopez (Jr., OL/DT); Trey Roney (Jr., OL/DT); Trevor Schroeder (Jr., OL/DT)OFFENSE: The Bulldogs will be strong on this side of the ball, with Travis back for his fourth year as a starter. They averaged 37 points per game last year with five games of at least 42 points. However, their two lead-ing receivers from 2010 must be replaced.DEFENSE: This is where Grove could struggle according to Palte. The Bulldogs gave up 230 points last year, including 117 points in three losses. Gavin Windau (58 tackles, four sacks) moves from his defen-sive end spot to a linebacker position in the 4-3 scheme this year.PLAYER TO WATCH: The Bull-dogs run through QB Jordan Travis. He threw for 1,942 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions last year, complet-ing 128-of-213 passes. He’s a four-year starter and played a key role on the successful basketball team last season, proving his athletic abilities. He gives the Bulldogs a legit threat at QB.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ........at Pandora-GilboaSept. 2 ..................at Allen EastSept. 9 ............................ADASept. 17 .........................at LCCSept. 23 .........SPENCERVILLESept. 30 ............. EVERGREENOct. 7 .......... DEL. JEFFERSONOct. 14 ....................at PauldingOct. 21 .................. at CrestviewOct. 28 ..................BLUFFTON


[email protected]

CONVOY — Jared Owens returns to his alma mater to begin his first season as head coach of the Crestview Knights.

A lot of his attention will be directed to making his players believe they can compete and win in the tough Northwest Confer-ence.

“We need to learn to prac-tice well so we can compete each week,” Owens said. “If we can do that we can find some success.”

Junior quarterback Trevor Roop will lead Crestview’s flex offense, with some tri-ple option sprinkled in.

“He (Roop) worked extremely hard over the summer to be physically prepared,” Owens said. “He will be counted to limit turn-overs by our offense.”

The Knights will lean heav-ily on a bevy of defensive linemen who saw plenty of action last year.

A trio of seniors led by Drew Miller (6 foot, 290 pounds), Jared Burger (5-11, 282), and Chase Walters (6-4, 315) will be counted on to anchor the defense.

“Both our seniors and juniors are showing good leadership,” Owens said. “We hope both lines will be a real strength for our team this year.”

Owens looks forward to his initial season as the Crestview coach.

“I knew it would be a lot of work,” Owens said. “I am surprised at the amount of administrative work that is involved.”

According to Owens, LCC, Ada, and Columbus Grove will be tough in the NWC this year.

Owens takes over Crestview reins

CRESTVIEWCOACH: Jared OwensSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1stLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 2-8 overall, 1-7 NWCOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 11RETURNING STARTERS: Trevor Roop (Jr., QB/DB), Jake Harmon (Jr., RB/LB), Matt Holden (Sr., RB/DB), Jared Burger (Sr., OL/DL), Avery Jones (Jr., RB/LB), Nick Cunningham (Sr., OL/LB), Drew Miller (Sr., OL/DL), Noah Gebert (Sr., RB/LB), Trevor Saylor (Jr., OL/DL), Chase Walters (Sr., OL/DL), Zach Burdette (Jr., WR/DB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Shayne Goings (Jr., OL/DL), Justin Lare (Jr., WR/DB), Nick Leary (Sr., WR/DB).OFFENSE: Trevor Roop returns to quarterback the Knights flex and triple-option attack.DEFENSE: Six different players who saw time on the defensive line last season will be counted on to anchor the defensive unit.PLAYER TO WATCH: Trevor Roop and his ability to limit turnovers will be a key to the Crestview success.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ............................................................................at ParkwaySept. 2 .................................................................................LCCSept. 9 .......................................................................at Wayne TraceSept. 16 ........................................................................... at BlufftonSept. 23 .................................................................. ALLEN EASTSept. 30 ...................................................................at Del. JeffersonOct. 7 .................................................................................. ADAOct. 14 ...................................................................... at SpencervilleOct. 21 .........................................................COLUMBUS GROVEOct. 28 .......................................................................PAULDING

SARAH GORDON • The Lima News

Columbus Grove quarterback Jordan Travis looks down the field during a 2010 game against Delphos Jefferson at Delphos Stadium.


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1. Kenton. Who else? Quarterback Maty Mauk will have some new receiv-ers this season but he can break his older brother Ben’s national high school record for passing yards if he throws for 3,846 yards this season.

2. Elida. The Bulldogs could get back-to-back playoff trips after going 28 years between postseason appear-ances before last year. Reggie McAd-ams will play basketball in college but he could put up numbers similar to last year (2,967 yards, 32 TD passes) in his last season of football.

3. Wapakoneta. The Redskins nar-rowly missed a trip to the playoffs last season in Doug Frye’s first season as coach. Connor Pickens (665 yards rushing) could become a 1,000-yard rusher as Logan Erb was last season. Kyle Gibson threw for 655 yards and

seven touchdowns.

4. Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans have 1,000-yard rusher Brandon Kuhlman back, but must replace four offensive linemen and last year’s starting quarterback.

5. Bath. If the surest thing in the WBL is Kenton throwing the ball a lot, maybe the second-surest is Aaron Smith running the ball. Smith aver-aged 31 carries a game when he ran for 1,700 yards last season. He and quarterback Brad Davis (605 yards passing) make the Wildcats a dual threat on offense.

6. Shawnee. Injuries to key play-ers like quarterback Seth Rosenbauer and linebacker Trey Runneals contrib-uted to the Indians’ 2-8 record last year. If they stay healthy, improvement

could be around the corner.

7. Celina. Quarterback Branden Billger (2,881 yards, 22 TDs) had a huge sophomore season last fall, but his two top receivers graduated.

8. Defiance. The Bulldogs’ coach Jerry Buti isn’t used to 1-9 seasons, so don’t expect a repeat of last year.

9. Van Wert. The Cougars had one of the WBL’s best offenses last year, but might not light up scoreboards so much this season because they must replace their entire offensive backfield.

10. St. Marys. The Roughriders have a new coach, but have no return-ing player who received first-team, second-team or honorable mention on the All-WBL teams a year ago.

WBL FORECAST

Paulding returns skill, desire to win

By NICK TRUESDALE419-993-2085

[email protected]

PAULDING — After a successful 2009 season, the Paulding’s football team had high hopes for 2010 but seemed to come up short. Now they are even hungrier to get back to the winning ways they had two years ago.

“Our goal is to get better,” Paulding coach Chris Etzler said. “The last couple of years we were average. Now we feel like we have the type of kids this year to improve and we’re excited to start to turn the corner.”

The Panthers return 10 starters from last year’s team, including first-team All-Northwest Conference running back Anthony Arel-lano. Paulding will also be switching up the way they run their offense in 2011.

“In the past we have run the Wing-T because we were bigger,” Etzler said. “That is changing now, we might not be as big but we have a lot of skill guys.”

Paulding will be running more of a spread offense this season in order to utilize their skill players. Their plan is to run the pistol offense to where Arellano is seven

yards deep and they want to get the ball out in open space.

On defense, the Panthers will look to use their experi-ence in order to compete in the Northwest Conference. They return two of their lead-ing tacklers in James Brown and Drey Gamble. Both are linebackers.

With a variety of different offenses that range from the I-formation to the spread, the Panthers do not want to change their philosophy on defense.

“We want a defense that is flexible to play against the run and pass,” Etzler said. “You will see us playing a 4-4 look with kids that are versa-tile enough to cover against the spread.”

NWC powers LCC and Ada are still competing at a high level, but the Panthers hope to give them a run for their money. With a lot of experi-ence at the skill positions back this year, Paulding will look to use their skill to their advantage.

“We will have a lot of new guys playing up front on both sides of the ball,” Etzler said. “We are just going to try and put our skill guys out in the open more than we have in the past.”

PAULDINGCOACH: Chris Etzler

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 5th , 15-25

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 3-7 overall, 2-6 NWC

DIVISION: IV


RETURNING STARTERS: Wade Carnahan (Sr., WR/DB), Drew Bur-nett (Sr., WR/DB), Steve Heilman (Sr., LB), Julian Salinas (Soph., QB), Anthony Arellano (Sr., RB/DE), James Brown (Jr., WR/LB), Logan Doster (Jr., DB), Drey Gamble (Sr., WR/LB), Alberto Flint (Sr., OL/DL) Derek Shrider (Sr., OL/DE).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Chazz Hahn (Soph., LB), Lance Foor (Jr., WR), Sean McMichael (Sr., OL/DL).

OFFENSE: Paulding will switch from the Wing-T to the Pistol offense to utilitize it’s talented skill players.

DEFENSE: 4-4 formation. The Panthers return two of their leading tacklers in linebackers James Brown and Drey Gamble.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Anthony Arellano was a First Team All-NWC selection at running back a year ago. This year, the offense will spread out more than in years past to allow him to use his athleticism.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...........................................................................WAYNE TRACESept. 2 ...............................................................DELPHOS JEFFERSONSept. 9 ............................................................at Lima Central CatholicSept. 16 ........................................................................ at SpencervilleSept. 23 ............................................................................ GREENVILLESept. 30 ......................................................................................at AdaOct. 7 ................................................................................at Allen EastOct. 14 ...................................................................COLUMBUS GROVEOct. 21 ................................................................................. BLUFFTON

Oct. 28 ...............................................................................at Crestview

As Smith goes, so goes BathBy JEREMY SCHNEIDER


BATH TOWNSHIP — Aaron Smith is a marked man.

After carrying the ball 311 times last season, totaling an area-best 1,700 yards with 15 touchdowns, Bath coach Chris Miller said he’d be foolish to expect any-thing less than opponents keying on the burly senior running back. But don’t expect the Wildcats’ ship to change course — they’ll still go where the 5-foot-10, 230-pound battle ship takes them.

“Aaron is a phenomenal running back. If you’ve got a kid that’s as fast as Aaron and as big as Aaron in the backfield, I think you’ve got to give him the ball,” Miller said. “We know that people are going to line up and try to stop Aaron.”

However, Smith’s status for the Week One game against Allen East is up in the air due to an injury; Miller was unable to give specifics, but said if the injury is handled the right way it shouldn’t be season-ending. At this point, Smith is day-by-day.

The biggest change Miller would like to see is a decrease in carries with the same amount of yards. He wants the Wildcats to have a bit more diversity. Return-ing as well is senior quarter-back Brad Davis (40-for-105 passing, 605 yards, five TDs as a junior), just another of the 17 seniors back from a year ago.

The Wildcats aren’t too far removed from the bad of an 0-10 season and back-to-back 2-8 records, but neither are they too long from their Western Buck-eye League title in 1999 and playoff wins in ‘98 and ‘99.

They lost eight straight games to close out Miller’s first season at Bath, losing by an average of 31 points. Last year, they improved

to 5-5, losing their last two games by a combined 13 points, so their lot is look-ing up.

“I’m a football coach, I don’t think any of us are real patient. We all want to be good and we want to be good right now, but the real-ity of it is it does take time,” Miller said. “We’ve spent a lot less time correcting effort and attitude this year, which allows us to spend a lot more time correcting technique and plays and doing the things we should be doing to be a good foot-ball team.

“This has been our best camp since I’ve been here.”

RICHARDPARRISH•TheLimaNews

Aaron Smith of Bath runs for some tough yardage in a scrimmage on Aug. 19 against Lima Central Catholic at Lima Stadium.

BATHCOACH: Chris MillerSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 3rd, 7-13LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 5-5, 4-5 Western Buckeye League DIVISION: IVRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 15RETURNING STARTERS: Derrick Bowman (Sr., DE/OL); Brad Davis (Sr., QB/DB); Garrett Hinegardner (Sr., OL/DL); Darren Johnson (Sr., OL/DL); Mitch Lhamon (Sr., OL/DL); Brandyn Perry (OL/DL); Patrick Rob-erts (Sr., OL/DL); Aaron Siefker (Sr., OL/DL); Aaron Smith (Sr., RB/DL); Keaton Sullivan (Sr., RB/LB); Matt White (Sr., WR/DB); Chris Diensten-berger (Jr., OL/DL); Andrew Garland (Jr., OL/DL); Doug Sanders (Jr., WR/DB); Mitch Skinner (Jr., WR/DB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Hayden Atkins (Soph., DB/WR); Eric Heffner (Soph. DB/WR); Chris Deinstenberger (Jr., OL); Keanu James (Soph., RB/LB).OFFENSE: The Wildcats are coming at you running the ball. Opponents know it, but they’ll still have all sorts of problems stopping Aaron Smith, a 5-foot-10, 230-pound running back. He led the Lima area with 1,700 yards last year. However, Miller hopes returning starter Brad Davis at QB will provide some balance.DEFENSE: 50. The Wildcats are strong up the middle with Brandyn Perry at nose guard and Keaton Sullivan at linebacker, both all-WBL picks last year; they are three-year starters. Last year, Bath allowed 28 points per game, a number that dropped to 15 in its five wins.PLAYER TO WATCH: It won’t be hard to miss Aaron Smith, provided an unspecified injury doesn’t keep him off the field. The 5-foot-10, 230-pound senior might have the biggest legs ever seen on a running back, plus he’ll be toting the ball 30 times a game for the Wildcats. They could do worse — Smith had 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago. Coach Miller wants a bit more variety in his offense this year, but he knows Bath’s bread is buttered by Smith.

2011 Schedule Aug. 26 ..........ALLEN EASTSept. 2 ..............at DefianceSept. 9 ........WAPAKONETASept. 16 ...........at St. MarysSept. 23 ............ at Van WertSept. 30 ........... SHAWNEEOct. 7 ...................at KentonOct. 14 .................... ELIDAOct. 21 ........at Ott.-GlandorfOct. 28 ..................CELINA


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WESTERN BUCKEYE LEAGUE

Western Buckeye League Conf. OverallKenton 8-1 11-2Elida 7-2 9-3Ottawa-Glandorf 7-2 8-3Wapakoneta 6-3 7-3Celina 6-3 6-4Bath 4-5 5-5VanWert 4-5 5-5Shawnee 2-7 2-8Defiance 1-8 1-9St.Marys 0-9 1-9

Northwest Conference Conf. OverallLCC 8-0 12-2Ada 7-1 0-2ColumbusGrove 6-2 7-3DelphosJefferson 5-3 5-5Bluffton 4-4 5-5AllenEast 3-5 3-7Paulding 2-6 2-8Crestview 0-7 2-8Spencerville 0-8 0-10

Midwest Athletic Conference Conf. OverallDelphosSt.John’s 8-0 15-0MarionLocal 6-2 9-3Anna 6-2 8-2Coldwater 6-2 9-3Minster 5-3 7-6Versailles 4-4 6-4St.Henry 26 3-7NewBremen 2-6 2-8Parkway 1-7 2-8FortRecovery 0-8 2-8

Northwest Central Conference Conf. OverallFairbanks 5-0 7-2Waynesfield-Goshen 3-2 5-5UpperSciotoValley 3-2 5-5Riverside 3-2 36Perry 1-4 2-8Ridgemont 0-5 1-9

Others OverallLeipsic 9-2Pandora-Gilboa 5-5Cory-Rawson 5-5IndianLake 2-8LimaSenior 2-8HardinNorthern 0-10

Final 2010 Standings Elida aiming to build on 2010 playoffs


419-993-2089

ELIDA — Seconds after the Week 10 victory over Wapakoneta, the fans poured onto the field at Kraft Stadium. There was plenty to celebrate after the Bulldogs clinched their first trip to the playoffs since 1982.

Elida finished 9-3 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling to Bishop Watterson, 21-7.

A total of 12 starters return, including six on offense.

So what happens now that suddenly expectations are high at Elida?

“Last year we did sur-prise some people, which I think helped us, but this year they’re going to be out to get us,” Elida quar-terback Reggie McAdams said. “We’ll have to work a little bit harder. ... We’re

looking to have another successful season and try-ing not to take anything for granted.”

Elida defeated Delphos St. John’s in a hard-fought scrimmage and Elida coach Jason Carpenter said his team learned something that day.

“That was a wake-up call to our kids that we are not going to sneak up on any-body,” Carpenter said. “We need to deal with every-body’s best effort. Our kids know that. We’ve been tell-ing them there’s a big tar-get.”

Leading the returning

starters is 6-foot-6 senior quarterback McAdams, who threw for 2,967 yards with 32 TDs and eight inter-ceptions. He also ran for 261 yards and eight TDs.

McAdams’ top receiver is also back in Austin Etzler (56 receptions, 1,051 yards, 9 TDs). There’s also Nathan Jenkins (27 receptions, 203 yards, 1 TD).

The ground game is solid as well, in the one-back, spread attack with Colin Blymyer, who ran for 1,190 yards and seven TDs.

“If you load up in the box, we’ll dink and dunk down the field or try to go

deep and if you play the pass, then we’ll try to hit the run,” Carpenter said.

Only one starter returns on the offensive line in tackle Josh Dawson.

“The key is going to be our line play,” Carpenter said. “If Reggie has time, he’ll find the open wide receiver. ... It’ll come down to line play on the defen-sive end, as well.”

The 4-4 defense loses linebacker Ross Harmon to graduation. It has one returnee on the line with end Ian Dukehart. The strength will be at line-backer with K.J. Russell, Jeese Wheeler and stand-out junior Quentin Poling, who led the team with 130 tackles last year.

The challenge for Elida is keeping the Bulldogs mov-ing forward.

“Hopefully, we’ve become a good football program now and not a one-hit wonder,” Carpenter said.

ELIDACOACH: Jason Carpenter

YEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 4th, 14-28

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 9-3 overall, 7-2 Western Buckeye League

DIVISION: III


RETURNING STARTERS: Reg-gie McAdams (Sr., QB); Colin Blymyer (Sr., RB); Austin Etzler (Sr., WR/P); Jeremy Newby (Sr., TE/DB); Josh Dawson (Sr., OT); Nathan Jenkins (Sr., WR/K); Ian Dukehart (Sr., DE); Anthony Sumpter (Jr., DB); K.J. Russell (Jr., OLB); Quentin Poling (Jr., ILB); Jesse Wheeler (Jr., OLB).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Josh Haller (Sr., C/G/OT); Nickoli Sack-inger (Jr., OL); Brandon Stinson (Jr., WR/DB); Dominic Painter (Jr., LB).

OFFENSE: Spread, with one back. It’s a versatile offense with the right arm of Reggie McAdams and the running ability of Colin Blymyer.

DEFENSE: 4-4. The key will be getting pressure up front. The strength is at linebacker with Quentin Poling and company.

PLAYER TO WATCH: It’s easy to think this is a pass-happy offense, but Colin Blymyer ran for 1,190 yards last year. When the Bulldogs had the lead late in games last year, the ball went in the hands of Blymeyer, who pounded straight ahead to drain the clock.

2011 Schedule

Aug. 26 ............... at Fostoria

Sept. 2 ...................at Celina

Sept. 9 .................SHAWNEE

Sept. 16 ...............DEFIANCE

Sept. 23 ................at Kenton

Sept. 30 ......... WAPAKONETA

Oct. 7 .......................at Elida

Oct. 14 ................ ST. MARYS

Oct. 21 .........................BATH

Oct. 28 ............... at Van Wert

ELIZABETH MYERS• The Lima News

Elida quarterback Reggie McAdams looks downfield to pass at a 2010 game against Shawnee at Elida.

“Last year we did surprise some people, which I think helped us, but this year

they’re going to be out to get us. We’ll have to work a little bit harder. ...”

— Reggie McAdams Elida quarterback

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Shawnee looks for bounce-back seasonBy TOM USHER


SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Shawnee rolled out four straight 7-3 seasons from 2006 to 2009.

Last year the bottom dropped out. The Indians limped home at 2-8, 2-7 in the Western Buckeye League.

While key injuries took a huge toll, so did a lack of fundamentals after gradu-ating a host of all-league players.

“We have to go back to basics,” Shawnee coach Dick West said. “The coaches are working on the tackling part. And as a team, we’re working on blocking. ... We have everybody work-ing on ball-handling drills. The coaches are going back to square one. We’re going to really push all the basics a little bit more.”

Among the injuries, quar-terback Seth Rosenbauer played through a right shoulder injury he suffered in Week 4. He kept playing on offense last season, but underwent surgery on the shoulder in the offseason.

Standout linebacker Trey Runneals went down in Week 4 with a concussion.

“We lost some key people last year,” West said.

The offense starts with

the 6-foot-4, 240-pound senior Rosenbauer, who starts the year healthy.

“Now it feels great,” Rosenbauer said. “I just want to be healthy and play both sides of the ball.”

Tailback Jamiil Williams is gone, but there are a

couple of backs who saw time running the ball last year. That group of backs includes Sam Altenbach and fullback Tyler Frieson. Altenbach started the last three games when Williams was injured.

Other backs are Tyler

Lundy, Anthony Gronas, DeAnthony Nance and Ced-ric McNeal.

The offense returns five starters, including co-captain and offensive line anchor center David Werst. There’s also tackle Will Madley, tight end Cole

Shisler and wide receiver/back McNeal.

The defense switches to the 3-5 to utilize the team’s strong linebacking unit.

Runneals heads up the linebacking corps that has Rosenbauer, Altenbach, Zach Graham, Lundy and Gronas.

West will also work with the team’s mental frame of mind.

“We have to learn how to win again when you come off a 2-8 season,” West said. “You have to have confi-dence down the stretch that you can get the job done. You have to learn how to finish games.”

Added Rosenbauer, “We have to learn from our mis-takes last year and go back to the mentality we had the couple of years before that.”

SHAWNEECOACH: Dick WestYEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 13th, 60-71LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 2-8 overall, 2-7 Western Buckeye LeagueDIVISION: IIIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 17RETURNING STARTERS: Seth Rosenbauer (Sr., QB); Will Madley (Sr., OT); David Werst (Sr. C); Cole Shisler (Jr., TE); Cedric McNeal (Sr., WR); Keenan Newland (Sr, DB); Trey Runneals (Sr., LB); Sam Alten-bach (Sr., LB); Zach Graham (Sr., LB); Tyler Lundy (Sr., LB); Anthony Gronas (Soph., LB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Kurtis Newland (Soph., G); Mike Wise (Soph., G); Cody Rollins (Soph., CB); Alec Perrin (Jr., DL); Bran-don Howell (Jr., OT).OFFENSE: Wing-T. The Indians can throw with Rosenbauer, but expect them to lean on their sweeps and off tackles.DEFENSE: 3-5. Shawnee will switch to a 3-5 this year to uti-lize their strength at linebacker with Rosenbauer, Runneals, Altenbach, Graham, Lundy and Gronas.PLAYER TO WATCH: With quarterback Seth Rosenbauer returning from an injured right throwing shoulder, he should be able to return to his previ-ous form. Rosenbauer had offseason surgery, which should give him his needed arm strength and zip on the ball.2011 ScheduleAug. 26........... MARION LOCALSept. 2 ....................VAN WERTSept. 9 ......... at Ottawa-GlandorfSept. 16 ...................at KentonSept. 23 .........................ELIDASept. 30 ..........................at BathOct. 7 .......................... CELINAOct. 14 .....................at DefianceOct. 21 ...............WAPAKONETAOct. 28 ....................at St. Marys

“We have to learn from our mistakes last year and go back

to the mentality we had the couple of years before that.”

— Seth Rosenbauer Shawnee quarterback

• The Lima News

Shawnee quarterback Seth Rosenbauer looks downfield to pass during a 2010 game against Ottawa-Glandorf at Shawnee High Schoool.

Frye, Wapak still have work to doBy MARK ALTSTAETTER


WAPAKONETA — Some-times it pays to be optimisti-cally cautious when taking over a football program.

When long-time St. Marys coach Doug Frye took over the Wapakoneta football pro-gram in 2010, he had a three-year plan for getting the Red-skins back to their winning ways.

The only problem was, the rest of the Western Buckeye League did not get the mes-sage.

In 2009, Wapakoneta went 1-9. In 2010, his first season at the helm, Frye guided Wapakoneta to a 7-3 record. Despite having a winning campaign in his first season at Wapakoneta, Frye realizes his work is not finished.

“When I interviewed for this job, I told them it would take three years to turn the corner,” Frye said. “The tra-dition around here has been roller coaster-type seasons. It’s been 20 years (1990-1991) since we’ve had back-to-back winning seasons here at Wapak.

“So, our No. 1 goal is to

develop a consistency in our habits. We need to develop consistency in the weight room and on the playing field.”

Frye said he is working hard in developing a solid feeder system.

“We ran 200 kids through our youth camps this sum-mer,” Frye said. “I took this job with the obligation to build a program. So, I want to develop a program from top to bottom.”

Wapakoneta returns 12 starters (five on offense, seven on defense).

On offense, junior Kyle

Gibson (6-foot, 2-inches, 180 pounds) leads the way at quarterback. Last year, Gibson completed 48 of 92 passes for 655 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Connor Pickens (6-0, 205) returns at one of the run-ning back positions. In 2010, Pickens rushed for 665 yards on 144 carries and had eight TDs.

Kevin Kraft (Sr., 6-1, 170), who was a Division III Spe-cial Mention All-Ohio defen-sive back at Elida in 2010, will see action on both sides

See WAPAKONETA • E16


Conner Pickens of Wapakoneta turns the corner as Cody Gerderman Ottawa Glandorf dives to try and make the tackle during a 2010 game.

E14 Thursday, August 25, 2011 The Lima News 2011 PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW

need to KNOW

Local football players were recently asked to respond to

questionnaires sent out by the Lima News. Here’s what we got

1 Which website do you spend the most time on?

“Amazon.com to buy literature.” — LCC’s David Gremling

“Craigslist, looking for junk.” — LCC’s Sean Griesdorn

“Facebook and NickJr.com” — LCC’s Tank Wilkerson

“Facebook to see what’s going or what my friends are doing, and to see what other schools put on it about us.” — Allen East’s Grant Criblez

2Who’s the strongest guy you’ve ever played against

“(Former St. John’s linebacker) Chris Pohlman; he is a freak of an athlete.” — Delphos St. John’s Kyle Neumeier

“(Bath running back) Aaron Smith; he’s a strong runner and hard for a defensive lineman to tackle.” — LCC’s Austin Bracy

“Tyler Obringer from Spencerville; on a punt my sophomore year, he threw me aside like it was nothing.” — Allen East’s Evan Miller

3If you were a first-round NFL draft choice, what would you spend your bonus money on?

AARO

N SMI

TH • Ba

th

TYLER

OBRIN

GER •

Spen

cervill

e

CHRIS

POHL

MAN •

Delph

os St.

John’s

“A wicked awesome dome for Delphos St. John’s with blue turf and yellow painted lines and numbers.” — Delphos St. John’s Kyle Neumeier

“A new house and a couple of sweet cars so I can live in style and roll in style.” — Delphos St. John’s Alex Wehri

“Cars. They can be very collectible.” — Delphos St. John’s Brian Lisk

“Go to the race track and bet on some horses.” — LCC’s David Gremling

“Stocks (Intel and Walmart), and lottery tickets.” — LCC Tank Wilkerson

“I want a big yacht so you could throw huge parties.” — LCC’s Gabe Schwaiger

“I would build a Little League baseball diamond at the site of the old Allen East school.” — Allen East’s Jake Lawrence

4Which is your favorite Ohio football team?

Ohio State .............................59%Cincinnati Bengals ...................12%Cleveland Browns ................... 29%

5Was former OSU coach Jim Tressel treated fairly?

Yes ......................................... 57%

No .......................................... 43%

6Will Terrelle Pryor make it in the NFL?

Yes ..................................... 35%

No ...................................... 65%

7Would you rather go 9-1 and lost to your rival, or 1-9 and beat your rival?

9-1, lose .........................................97% (35 votes)1-9, win ............................................... 3% (1 vote)

8How many books did you read this summer?

Zero ................................................ 71%1-3 ............................................... 27%4-6 ................................................... 2%7-more .......................................... Zero

9Other than your own coach, who would you

most like to play for?Schulte Mauk Fell

Cooper Frye

Jerry Cooper (LCC) .................................12%Todd Schulte (Del. St. John’s) .............. 33%Mike Mauk (Kenton) ..............................28%Doug Frye (Wapakoneta) ....................... 8%Mike Fell (Ada) ......................................19%

10What would you do on an off-day?

Sleep.....................................43%Golf ..................................... 18%Video games ........................... 7%Work out .............................. 32%


TOP 10 PLAYERS in the spotlight for 2011

4 Aaron Smith, Bath running back

It won’t be hard to spot Smith this season — he should tote the ball at least 30 times per game, and his listed weight of 230 pounds is being called into question as a bit on the light side. Put it this way, Smith’s defen-sive position is lineman. How many running backs also run with the linemen? His weight isn’t the only impressive number. He led the Lima area with 1,700 rushing yards last year. Though he may be question-able for the early part of the season, once he returns he’ll be a beast.

2 Ty O’Connor, Lima Central Catholic quarterback

O’Connor has taken the area by surprise. Early on, everyone had him pegged as a basketball player moonlighting in shoulder pads. After a solid freshman season and improve-ment as a sophomore, he threw for more than 2,500 yards and 27 TDs last season, helping him earn a scholarship to Michigan State. He also added double digit scores on the ground and averaged nearly 44 yards per punt, earning him first team all-Ohio honors and speaking to his athleticism.

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1 Maty Mauk, Kenton quarterback

The numbers don’t lie with Mauk — he threw for 5,670 yards and 69 touchdowns last sea-son. He’s within 3,845 yards of tying the state career record for passing yards, held by his older brother Ben. He’s a threat when the pocket collapses, too, rushing for 974 yards and 16 TDs. The first team all-Ohio quarterback and Division IV offensive player of the year committed to play at Missouri next season.

3 Reggie McAdams, Elida quarterback

Reggie has always been and will always be a basket-ball player. He just happens to be absurdly good at quar-terback, too. As a junior, he threw for 2,967 yards and 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing 202-of-338 passes. The first team all-Ohio per-former committed to Akron for basketball. McAdams was a primary reasons the Bulldogs won the school’s first playoff game last year.

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6. Brice Fackler, Kenton defensive back

Fackler is the rare Wildcats player who will draw more atten-tion on defense than offense, kind of like his older brother and current Kent State defensive end Mark. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior, Brice Fackler is coming off a junior season where he recorded 86 tackles and four interceptions. He was first team all-Western Buckeye League and second team all-Northwest District.

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5 Chris Schwartz, Wapakoneta offensive guard

Offensive linemen might be the most important players in Doug Frye’s offense, and Schwartz was one of the state’s best last year. He was a special mention Division II All-Ohio player last year, helping pave the way for the turn-around of the Redskins as a rugged running team. If the Redskins want their first back-to-back winning seasons in more than 20 years, Schwartz needs another stellar year.

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8 Konnor Baker, Ada quarterback

In any other year, Baker is garnering most of the spotlight as one of the area’s best quarter-backs. But just because he’s not Mauk, O’Connor or McAdams doesn’t mean he’s any less the impact player. A varsity performer since his freshman year — first as a receiver — he threw for 3,773 yards and 46 TDs as a junior, complet-ing 224-of-335 passes. He’s the latest in a line of out-standing Bulldogs QBs.

7 Trey Runneals, Shawnee line-backer

There’s been a recent run of great lineback-ers at Shawnee, and Runneals fits right into that lineage. Under-sized at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, his stats don’t reflect it — as a junior, he had 121 tackles, 14 for a loss and seven sacks. He missed some time last year with a concussion, so add at least one more healthy game to that and already impressive numbers jump off the page. Tr

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10Kellen Decker, Ada running back

In recent years, the running back at Ada was either a decoy, blocker or receiver. While Decker fits the final two criteria, he’s anything but a decoy. The sophomore rushed for 1,155 yards on 120 carries with 18 scores; his 17 TDs in the regular season led the area. While Ada will still air it out with Kon-nor Baker, a talent like Decker can make coach Mike Fell at least par-tially eschew the offense that relied so much on the pass.Ke

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9 Keithie Lasenby, Lima Senior running back

Lasenby was one of only five area running backs to eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier last season; he rushed for 1,167 yards and 11 TDs as a junior. It might be much to put on the shoulders of the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Lasenby, but any hope for the Spartans this season will mostly begin with their running back.

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of the football for the Red-skins. Kraft, who was ineli-gible to play at Elida for an off-the-field incident, was recently cleared by the OHSAA to play this season. Last season at Elida, Kraft made 62 tackles and had four interceptions. At his wide receiver position, Kraft caught 47 passes for 751 yards and had 10 touchdowns.

Up front, the Redskins return three linemen. Seniors Chris Schwartz (6-0, 220, OG); Trey Smith (6-2, 265, OT) and Jim Knippen (6-0, 235, OT) will spearhead the offensive line. In 2010, Schwartz was Division II Special Mention All-Ohio.

On defense, Brendan Wil-son (5-10, 175) and junior Brandon Miller (6-2, 180) will lead the linebacking corps. Junior Nate Bracy (6-1, 230) and senior Cole Thrush (6-1, 205) return on the defensive line. Three defensive backs return for Wapakoneta. Senior Connor Metz (5-9, 165), along with juniors Johnny Craw-ford (6-2, 170) and Alex Greve (5-11, 170) return in the sec-ondary. Kraft will add even more experience to a veteran Wapakoneta secondary.

Greve, who also is a stand-out basketball player, missed last season because of an injury. Frye said Greve’s return will make an impact on the defensive side of the football.

“He (Greve) suffered a wrist injury in the first week-end in July while playing

AAU basketball,” Frye said. “He missed the entire football season and part of the basket-ball season. He started as a freshman at safety. So, he will make an impact for us in the secondary.”

Frye said his goal on defense is to prepare his team to defend the spread offense a little better. The Redskins will be in a 50-defense (5-2).

“We’re going to do some multiple things on defense this year to try to defend the spread offense a little better,” Frye said.

Frye said the Western Buckeye League is going to be as tough as ever this fall.

“I think Kenton is hands down the best team in the league,” Frye said. “Maty (Mauk) could be one of the best five quarterbacks in the nation. Then you have a bunch of teams right there together after Kenton. This is going to be a very tough league this year.”

WAPAKONETA • from E13 ––––––––

WAPAKONETACOACH: Doug FryeSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 2nd, 7-3 (career coaching record 160-95)LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 7-3; 6-3 Western Buckeye LeagueOHSAA DIVISION: IIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 17RETURNING STARTERS: Kyle Gibson (Jr., QB); Chris Schwartz (Sr, OG); Connor Pickens (Sr., RB); Trey Smith (Sr., OT); Jim Knippen (Sr., OT); Brendan Wilson (Sr., LB); Nate Bracy (Jr., DL); Alex Greve (Jr., DB); Johnny Crawford (Jr., DB); Connor Metz (Sr., DB); Brandon Miller (Jr., LB); Cole Thrush (Sr., DL)KEY NEWCOMERS: Kevin Kraft (Sr., SE/DB); Josh Carder (Jr., DB/SE); Nick Warner (Sr., OC); Lance Vetter (Sr., OT); Nic Sawmiller (Sr., TE); Josh Windle (Jr., RB); Jensen Merricle (Jr., RB); Michael Bower (Jr., DE); Josh Hartman (Sr., LB); Zach Dietering (Jr. DB); Brandon Christler (Jr., TE); Andy Faller (Sr., K); TJ Sprague (Sr., SE); Andrew Hines (Jr., LB); Zach Schmerge (Soph., LB)OFFENSE: Wapakoneta will try to balance out the run and pass, com-ing out of the wing formation.DEFENSE: The Redskins will line up in a 50-defense. With the loss of a few key defensive players from last year, coach Frye is counting on some of the younger players to step up to the challenge.PLAYER TO WATCH: With last year’s leading rusher Logan Erb gone, senior running back Connor Pickens will carry the load this fall. Last season, Erb rushed for 1,193 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2010, Pickens rushed for 665 yards and had eight TDs on the ground.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ..... BELLEFONTAINESept. 2 ...................... ELIDASept. 9 .......................at BathSept. 16 ..................CELINASept. 23 .............. at DefianceSept. 30 ........at Ott.-GlandorfOct. 7 .................ST. MARYSOct. 14 .................at Van WertOct. 21 ................at ShawneeOct. 28 ...................KENTON

Not from scratch, but Titans have work to do


419-993-2088

OTTAWA — To para-phrase the old saying, it’s better to have had talent and graduated it than never to have had talent at all.

With the loss of 16 starters and 17 letterwinners from last year’s squad — includ-ing three all-Ohio players, three other all-Western Buckeye League perform-ers and a two-year starter at quarterback — Ottawa-Glandorf (8-3, 7-2 WBL) has lost a nice crop of talent and experience.

“We lost an outstanding group of seniors, but that’s high school football,” O-G coach Ken Schriner said. “You have to convince your kids, you have to improve every single day. That’s what our goal is. We have to earn everything we get. We need to go out and play hard-nosed, physical foot-ball and to prove ourselves. That’s the challenge which lies ahead.”

Two of those graduated seniors were first team all-Ohioans in linebacker Jeff Siefker and two-way line-man Ross Ellerbrock; Siefker was also the North-west District Defensive Back of the Year. The Titans also lost Nathan Kahle, a dual-threat quarterback and two-year starter.

But the best thing about having players like Siefker, Ellerbrock, Kahle and WBL Lineman of the Year Matt Peck is the example they set for the crop of play-ers climbing up the ladder behind them.

“That’s the thing about building a program — you have to make sure the kids who have seen what’s going on relish the opportunities their given when it’s their

time to shine,” Schriner said. “We have a number of young kids who are hungry to play and kids that are doing an excellent of working hard for us. When it’s their time, we’re going to find out if everything has paid off for what they’ve done to pre-pare.”

Schriner is an offensive lineman from his playing days, and the running game

is still close to his heart. While the Titans lost four of five offensive linemen, at least they return all-WBL running back Brandon Kuhl-man (1,041 yards, 8.3 per carry and 7 touchdowns) and fullback Craig Rieman.

“That hopefully will be the strength of our team,” Schri-ner said. “Our offensive line has some turnover from last year, but we have good size up there.”

ELIZABETH MYERS • The Lima News

Ottawa-Glandorf running back Brandon Kuhlman takes the handoff from quarterback Nathan Kahle (right) and runs through a hole in the line in 2010 game against Shawnee at Shawnee High Schoool.

OTTAWA-GLANDORFCOACH: Ken SchrinerSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 16th, 107-61LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 8-3, 7-2 Western Buckeye League DIVISION: IVRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 12RETURNING STARTERS: Craig Rieman (Sr., RB); Brandon Kuhlman (Sr., RB); Isaac Recker (Sr., LB); Derek Rieman (Jr., OL); Wyatt Karhoff (Jr., DL); Tristan Parker (Jr., LB); Jacob Leopold (Jr., WR)KEY NEWCOMERS: Trey Parsons (Sr., DB/WR); Max Inniger (Sr., OL/DL); Justin Maag (Sr., OL/DL); Tyler Mor-man (Sr., OL/DL); Dallas Patino (Sr., WR/DB); Jeremy Patton (Sr., LB/RB); Joe Potthoff (Sr., OL/DL); Jared Scott (Sr., OL/DL); Matt Stechschulte (Sr., WR/DB); Dusty Verhoff (Sr., WR/DB); Clay Warnecke (Sr., OL/DL); Josh Buckland (Jr., WR/DB); Logan Diemer (Jr., WR/DB); Russell Ellerbrock (Jr., LB/RB); Tanner Hohenbrink (Jr., OL/DL); Luke Recker (Jr., TE/LB); Matt Samuelson (Jr., TE/LB); Caleb Siefker (Jr., QB/DB); Jacob Wells (Jr., OL/LB); Alex Westrick (Jr., WR/DB).OFFENSE: There was a lot of turnover from last year’s squad, including a two-year starter at quarterback and four offensive linemen. However, the cupboard isn’t bare for the TItans, not with 1,000-yard rusher Brandon Kuhlman and burly fullback Craig Rieman back. Coach Schriner said Caleb Siefker is first in line to replace QB Nathan Kahle. There never is much change with the Titan’s Pro-I look, and there won’t be any this year, either.DEFENSE: 4-3. The Titans lost all-Ohio linebacker Jeff Siefker, a hole not easily filled. However, the returning duo of Isaac Recker and Tristan Parker at linebacker hope to make the loss easier to absorb. Rieman also made some noise at defensive line last year.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ................. at FostoriaSept. 2 .....................at CelinaSept. 9 ................SHAWNEESept. 16 ..............DEFIANCESept. 23 ..................at KentonSept. 30 .........WAPAKONETAOct. 7 .........................at ElidaOct. 14 ...............ST. MARYSOct. 21 ........................BATHOct. 28 ................. at Van Wert


2011 Shawnee

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Kenton working to find Mauk some targetsKENTONCOACH: Mike MaukSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 29th, 189-116LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 11-2, 8-1 Western Buckeye LeagueOHSAA DIVISION: IVRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 17RETURNING STARTERS: Maty Mauk (Sr., QB), Clint Brunow (Sr., C), Kieran Fetter (Sr., WR), Kasey Rawlins (Sr., WR), Chris-tian Goecke (Sr. DL), Isaac Jef-fers (Sr., DL), Brice Fackler (Sr., DB), Sean Kelly (Sr., DB), Gabe King (Sr., LB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Noah Fur-bush (Soph., WR), Matt Bahr (Soph., WR), Justin Sawmiller (Soph., WR).OFFENSE: Quarterback Maty Mauk will continue to fill the air with passes. However, with the loss of the top three receivers from last year, development of replacement receivers will be a key to the Wildcats success.DEFENSE: The loss of seven defensive starters means the Wildcats have holes to fill. How quickly the new starters can blend in successfully will largely determine the fate of the Kenton season.PLAYER TO WATCH: With a verbal commitment to Missouri out of the way, quarterback Maty Mauk returns for his fourth season as the Kenton starter. His junior statistics include a gaudy 5,670 yards passing and 69 touchdown tosses.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .............. at ColdwaterSept. 2 ............... ST. MARYSSept. 9 ................. at Van WertSept. 16 ..............SHAWNEESept. 23 ..... OTT.-GLANDORFSept. 30 .....................at ElidaOct. 7 ..........................BATHOct. 14 .....................at CelinaOct. 21 ................DEFIANCEOct. 28 ........... at Wapakoneta


[email protected]

KENTON — There will be no surprises from Kenton this season, the Wildcats will throw the ball at will.

The big question is who will catch it?

Mike Mauk enters his 29th season as coach of the Wild-cats with son Maty returning for his senior season as a four-year starter and a verbal commitment to play colle-giately at Missouri.

Maty has compiled eye-popping passing statistics his first three years as Ken-ton quarterback and has big brother Ben, who holds many of the national pass-ing records Maty is chasing, back to help coach him his senior year.

The Wildcats have plenty of holes to fill on both sides of the ball because of gradu-ation.

Mauk and center Clint Brunow are the only two offensive starters returning. Obviously, development of new linemen and receivers will be a key to the success of the Wildcats this season.

“We lost a lot to graduation but have good new players who just need to gain expe-rience,” coach Mike Mauk said. “We also lost six defen-sive starters to graduation including two linemen, two linebackers and two defen-sive backs.”

The Wildcats will field a good base unit with three-year starters Bryce Fackler and Sean Kelly returning as defensive backs. Line-backer Gabe King (senior, 6-foot, 1 inch, 210 pounds) returns and Christian Goecke and Isaac Jeffers return to anchor the defen-sive line.

“Defense will be a key for us,” Mauk said. “We must

find a way to stop teams that we will be playing against.”

After two straight Western Buckeye League champion-ships followed by state play-off appearances; the Wild-

cats know the key to their season is through the WBL.

“The league is really strong, it should be tough and competitive,” Mauk said. “Elida, Wapakoneta and

Ottawa-Glandorf should all be strong.”

Mauk also spoke about the joy of seeing sons Ben and Maty reunited for this sea-son.

“As a coach it has been enjoyable to see them bond and unite for a common pur-pose,” Mauk said. “As a dad it has been fun just to see them work together.”


Kenton’s Maty Maulk heads upfield and gives a stiff arm to Clinton-Massie’s Wes Clutter in the first quarter of a 2010 game.

Celina ready to build on 2010By SCOTT BRINKMAN


CELINA — The Celina Bulldogs won more games last season (six) than they had the previous two sea-sons combined (three) and will look to take the next step this year.

While they have not made the playoffs since losing 70-43 to Lebanon in 1998 in the state semifinal, Celina is taking steps in the right direction.

Leading the offensive charge is junior quarterback Braden Billger. As a sopho-more, he completed 251 of 430 passes (58.4 percent) for 2,881 yards and 22 touch-

downs.“Throwing the football is our

strength,” Celina coach Jared Rolfes said. “We need to gain experience each week with our young team and work hard to compete in every game. We will play as a team, with confidence, and for four quarters every Fri-day night.”

Center Matt Buschur (6-4, 195) and right tackle Justin Green (6-2, 190) will join David Giesige (5-10, 190) as experienced linemen in charge of protecting Billger.

Craig Welker and Braelen Bader are returning letter-winners who have experi-ence in the spread offense as receivers. Finding other weapons will go a long way

in deciding the Bulldogs’ fate. Juniors Zach Hembree and Kyle Snider will compete for carries.

Defensively, the Bulldogs struggled slowing people down last season. They allowed 184 yards rushing and 189 yards passing each game.

Welker, Jalen Knous, Tony Sutter and Adam Green are linebacker candidates that will compete for minutes in the 4-3 system.

The secondary will have to improve if Celina hopes to make further progress in their development.

Bader had three intercep-tions last season to lead the team. Joining him in the

secondary will be Hembree, Snider and Limon.

“(We) play fast, physical as a team,” Rolfes said. “(Our) coverage needs to improve for 2010 and continue to be physical.”

CELINACOACH: Jared Rolfes SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 4th, 9-21 LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 6-4, 6-3 Western Buckeye League OHSAA DIVISION: IIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 10 RETURNING STARTERS: Justin Green (Sr., OT/DE), Matt Buschur (Jr., C/DE), David Giesige (Sr., G/DT), Craig Welker (Sr., WR/OLB), Braelen Bader (Soph., K), Braden Billger (Jr., QB/P), Jalen Knous (Jr., G/FB/ILB), Zach Hembree (Jr., RB/DB), Kyle Snider (Jr., RB/DB), Tony Sutter (Jr., G/ILB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Louden Limon (Soph., WR/DB), Derek Waterman (Sr., WR). OFFENSE: Spread-shotgun. Last season the Bulldogs averaged 368.5 yards per game while scoring 24.6 points per game. A record-breaking quarterback needs weapons. Limon and Waterman will be two new receiving threats for the Bulldogs.DEFENSE: 4-3 under. The Bulldogs were near the bottom of the West-ern Buckeye League last season allowing 373.4 yards and 30.9 points per game.PLAYER TO WATCH: Braden Billger. The junior quarterback set a school record for passing yards (2,881) and completions (251) in a season as well as passing yards (589 vs. Shawnee), completions (44 vs. Shaw-nee) and touchdown passes (six vs. Van Wert) in a game.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ................ at VersaillesSept. 2 ........ OTT.-GLANDORFSept. 9 .................DEFIANCESept. 16 .......... at WapakonetaSept. 23 ................. ST. MARYSSept. 30 ................ at Van WertOct. 7 ................... at ShawneeOct. 14 .................... KENTONOct. 21 ........................ELIDAOct. 28 ........................ at Bath


2011 Wapakoneta

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WILSON 1 COMMUNICATIONS15th Year of Producing High School Sports

catch all 10 Wapakoneta High School Games this 2011 Season

Week 1 AUGUST 26 Bellefontaine @ Wapakoneta WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 2 SEPTEMBER 2 Elida @ Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

WOSN SAT 5:00 P.MWeek 3 SEPTEMBER 9 Wapakoneta @ Bath WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 4 SEPTEMBER 16 Celina @ Wapakoneta WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 5 SEPTEMBER 23 Wapakoneta @ Defiance WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 6 SEPTEMBER 30 Wapakoneta @ Ottawa Glandorf WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 7 OCTOBER 7 St. Marys @ Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

WOSN SAT 5:00 P.MWeek 8 OCTOBER 14 Wapakoneta @ Van Wert WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 9 OCTOBER 21 Wapakoneta @ Shawnee WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 10 OCTOBER 28 Kenton @ Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

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In a joint effort WTLW TV 44, WOSN and Dan Wilson owner of Wilson 1 Communication will be providing our viewers with all 10 regular season Wapakoneta Redskin football games. All games will air Saturday at 5:00pm.on WOSN . E lida/Wapak, St. Marys/Wapak and Kenton/Wapak games will air on WTLW night of game in addition to the WOSN airings.

Package A: One: 30 second commercial in all Redskin regular season games $50 spot/per game

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2011 High School Football Rebroadcasts

Week 1 AUGUST 26 Bellefontaine @ Wapakoneta WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !2 SEPTEMBER 2 Elida @ Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

WOSN SAT 5:00 P.MWeek !3 SEPTEMBER 9 Wapakoneta @ Bath WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !4 SEPTEMBER 16 Celina @ Wapakoneta WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !5 SEPTEMBER 23 Wapakoneta @ Defiance WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !6 SEPTEMBER!30 Wapakoneta @ Ottawa Glandorf WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !7 OCTOBER !7 St. Marys! @! Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

WOSN SAT 5:00 P.MWeek !8 OCTOBER !14 Wapakoneta @ Van Wert WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week !9 OCTOBER !21 Wapakoneta @ Shawnee WOSN SAT 5:00 P.M.Week 10 OCTOBER 28 Kenton! @! Wapakoneta WTLW FRI. 10:00 P.M.

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Wilson 1 Communications2011 High School Football Rebroadcasts


By MARK ALTSTAETTER419-993-2085

[email protected]

VAN WERT — Last season, Van Wert’s offense was one of the most explosive in the Western Buckeye League, scoring nearly 30 points per game. It also was the third highest-scoring offense in Van Wert history.

Now, with the graduation of its entire backfield, along with its center, the Cougars are hoping to fill those big voids.

Second-team All-WBL quarterback Corey Clifton (1,500 passing yards), sec-

ond-team All-WBL fullback Connor Massillo (973 rush-ing yards), honorable men-tion All-WBL running back Donny Sites and honorable mention center Cory Hirschy are all gone.

With the loss of the heart of his offense, head coach Bob Priest had to make some decisions this summer.

“When you look at our offense, it starts at center,” Priest said. “Cory Hirschy was not first-team All-WBL, but we (the coaching staff) felt like he was the best cen-ter in the league. That was a big loss for us.

“So, our first thought

was to put Austin Reichert (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) at cen-ter. But, we moved things around and decided to put Hunter Monroe (6-1, 220) at center and put our best ath-lete on the team (Reichert) at fullback.”

Priest said replacing Clif-ton wasn’t easy.

“In our offense, last year, Corey (Clifton) was respon-sible of changing a lot of our plays, if the situation called for it,” Priest said. “You nor-mally don’t want to use a sophomore in this type of situation, but sophomore

VAN WERTCOACH: Bob PriestSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 5th, 16-24LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 5-5, 4-5 Western Buckeye LeagueOHSAA DIVISION: IVRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 12RETURNING STARTERS: Austin Reichert (Sr., FB/DE); Tyson Crone (Sr., WR); Jimmy Hardman (Sr., DT); Kody Heitz (Sr., DE); Terrin Contreras (Jr., DT); Mitch Vargas (Jr., DT)KEY NEWCOMERS: Tyler Williams (Soph., QB); Caleb Lloyd (Jr., RB); Hunter Monroe (Jr., OL); Logan Ray (Jr., WR); Lucas Sullivan (Jr., RB); Nik Wolford (Jr., LB)OFFENSE: Van Wert will run the triple option. With the graduations of second team All-WBL quarterback Corey Clifton and second team All-WBL running back Connor Massillo, the Cougars will have new faces in the back-field.DEFENSE: Last season, Van Wert was last in the WBL in defense, allowing 32 points per game. This year, the Cougars hope to improve their defense as five starters return. Van Wert will bounce back and forth from 4-3 to 4-4 formations.PLAYER TO WATCH: Keep an eye on fullback Austin Reichert. Reichert, who was First Team All-WBL last sea-son at defensive end, will also be asked to carry the load in the backfield, along with first-year quarterback, sophomore Tyler Williams.

Cougars working to replace plenty of offense

St. Marys hopes to put in new foundation ST. MARYSCOACH: Greg Phillips

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1st

LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Over-all, League): 1-9, 0-8 WBL

OHSAA DIVISION: III


RETURNING STARTERS: T.J. Powell (Sr., QB), Tre Sherman (Sr., WR/DB), Steve Elshoff (Sr., OT/DT). (Incomplete list. St. Marys did not provide returning starters’ names or a roster).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Jordan Baskin (Sr., WR), D.J. Manning (Sr., RB), Tyler Core (Soph., QB), Adam Brown (Soph., QB)

OFFENSE: I-formation. The run-ning game will still be at the core of St. Marys’ offense, but first-year coach Greg Phillips says the Roughriders might increase the number of times they pass the ball this season. That shouldn’t be hard to do, considering St. Marys passed the ball 35 times all season in 2010.

DEFENSE: 3-4. “We think we have more flexibility with that rather than being tied into a four-man line or a five-man line,” Phillips said.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Running back/defensive back D.J. Manning was one of many Roughriders who battled inju-ries last season. Keeping him healthy could be one of the keys for St. Marys’ offense.

By JIM [email protected]

419-993-2087

ST. MARYS — It was not the kind of football season St. Marys has gotten used to having.

A 1-9 season last fall, in which no Roughrider made first-team or second-team All-Western Buckeye League, puts St. Marys in the unaccus-tomed position of rebuilding from the ground up.

That season also brought a new man to the top of the program with the arrival of Greg Phillips, who was head football coach at Oak Hill in southeastern Ohio for five years before being named the Roughriders’ coach in February.

St. Marys will be looking forward, not backward, this season, Phillips says.

Last year can’t be changed, but it doesn’t have to be revisited too often, either.

“I told them we will try to learn a few things from last year, but at the same time we need to forget about last year,” Phillips said.

He said he did not watch the entire 2010 season on tape and told the players he came into this season with no preconceived opinions on them.

“I had all 10 of the game films when I was hired. A couple people stand out on tape but I didn’t really ask

the coaches for too many names or numbers. I didn’t want to get a feel or non-feel for what a particular player could do or what he could be,” Phillips said.

If the strongest tradition at St. Marys is winning, maybe the second-strongest is run-ning the football, and run-ning it and running it.

That could change slightly

this year, with an I-forma-tion replacing the traditional wing-T offense.

“We’ve put in a small pass-ing attack, which I know is a foreign language in St. Marys,” Phillips said. “We’re going to see what happens. If we’re efficient with it, we might expand it a little more. I don’t think we can line up and say we’re going to run

these same two plays and if they stop us, they stop us.

“I would like to be a really balanced team. At my previ-ous school last year, I think we ended up about 58 per-cent run,” he said.

Returning quarterback T.J. Powell is the leading candi-date for that job, with sopho-mores Tyler Core and Adam Brown also practicing at the

position. D.J. Manning is run-ning No. 1 at tailback and Tre Sherman and Jordan Baskin are the leaders at the wide receiver position.

“Tre Sherman thought he might want to play quarter-back. He said, ‘Coach, are you actually going to throw the ball?’ I said, ‘We’re going to try.’ And he said, ‘I think I might like to try wide receiver.’ ”

Steve Elshoff, a tight end last season, has been moved to offensive tackle, where he has emerged as a leader of that group. “We really like our offensive line,” Phillips said.

Elshoff, Sherman and Man-ning will play both ways, with Elshoff being on both lines and Sherman and Man-ning going into the defensive backfield when the defense is on the field.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...................at SidneySept. 2 ...................at KentonSept. 9 ...................... ELIDASept. 16 .....................BATHSept. 23 .................. at CelinaSept. 30 ..............DEFIANCEOct. 7 .............at WapakonetaOct. 14 ..........at Ott.-GlandorfOct. 21 ............... VAN WERTOct. 28 ................SHAWNEE

SARAH GORDON • The Lima News

St. Marys TJ Powell (left) is tackled during a 2010 game against Elida.

See VAN WERT • E19


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OTTAWA-GLANDORF TITANS VARSITY TRACK

Tues. Mar. 29 Elida/Ft Jennings E 5:00 Sat. Apr. 2 Celina Inv A 11:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Napoleon/McComb H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 9 Bath Inv A 9:00 Tues. Apr. 12 Defiance H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 15 Gold Medal H 9:30 Tues. Apr. 19 St. Marys H 5:00 Thur. Apr. 21 Wapak Redskin Relays A 4:30 Tues. Apr. 26 Col Grove H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 30 Bryan Inv A 9:30 Tues. May 3 Wapak/Celina H 5:00 Thur. May 5 Kenton/Van Wert K 5:00 Mon. May 9 J-V WBL W 5:00 Wed. May 11 WBL VW 5:00 Fri. May 13 WBL VW 5:00

VARSITY BOYS BASEBALL Mon. Mar. 28 Bryan H 5:00 Tues. Mar. 29 Ottoville H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 1 Miller City H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 2 Paulding (DH) A 11:00 Mon. Apr. 4 Ft Jennings H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Van Wert H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 8 Celina H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 9 Fairview/Patrick Henry H 11/1/3 Mon. Apr. 11 Wayne Trace H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 12 Shawnee A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 14 Liberty-Benton H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 15 Defiance A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 16 Wauseon (DH) A 11:00 Tues. Apr. 19 Kenton H 5:00 Thur. Apr. 21 Wapak A 5:00 Tues. Apr. 26 Elida H 5:00 Thur. Apr. 28 Napoleon H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 2 St Marys A 5:00 Mon. May 2 Continental A 5:00 Tues. May 3 Bath A 5:00 Thur. May 5 Leipsic A 5:00

JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS BASEBALL Mon. Mar. 28 Bryan A 5:00 Thur. Mar. 31 Col Grove (Frosh) A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 2 Paulding (DH) H 11:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Van Wert A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 7 Patrick Henry H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 8 Celina A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 9 Liberty-Benton (DH) A 11:00 Tues. Apr. 12 Shawnee H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 15 Defiance H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 16 Wauseon (DH) H 11:00 Tues. Apr. 19 Kenton A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 21 Wapak H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 23 LCC (DH) H 11:00 Mon. Apr. 25 Napoleon A 5:00 Tues. Apr. 26 Elida A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 28 Leipsic H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 29 St Marys H 5:00 Mon. May 2 St Marys (Frosh) H 5:00 Tues. May 3 Bath H 5:00 Tues. May 10 Leipsic A 5:00 Thur. May 12 Patrick Henry A 5:00

VARSITY SOFTBALL Tues. Mar. 29 Leipsic A 5:00 Thur. Mar. 31 Bluffton H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 1 Patrick Henry H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 2 Paulding (DH) A 11:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Van Wert A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 7 Liberty Center H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 8 Celina A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 9 Columbus Grove (DH) A 12:00 Mon. Apr. 11 Miller City A 5:00 Tues. Apr. 12 Shawnee H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 15 Defiance H 5:00 Mon. Apr. 18 Kalida H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 19 Kenton A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 21 Wapak H 5:00 Sat. Apr. 23 Wayne Trace (DH) H 10:00 Tues. Apr. 26 Elida A 5:00 Wed. Apr. 27 Findlay H 5:00 Thur. Apr. 28 Napoleon H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 29 St Marys H 5:00 Mon. May 2 Ottoville A 5:00 Tues. May 3 Bath H 5:00 Thur. May 5 Liberty-Benton H 5:00 Mon. May 9 Delphos Jefferson H 5:00

JUNIOR VARSITY SOFTBALL Tues. Mar. 29 Miller City H 5:00 Thur. Mar. 31 Columbus Grove A 5:00 Cancelled Sat. Apr. 2 Paulding (DH) H 11:00 Mon. Apr. 4 Lima Sr H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Van Wert H 5:00 Fri. Apr. 8 Celina H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 12 Shawnee A 5:00 Fri. Apr. 15 Defiance A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 16 Wayne Trace (DH) A 10:00 Mon. Apr. 18 Kalida A 5:00 Cancelled Tues. Apr. 19 Kenton H 5:00 Thur. Apr. 21 Wapak A 5:00 Sat. Apr. 23 Patrick Henry (DH) A 11:00 Tues. Apr. 26 Elida H 5:00 Wed. Apr. 27 Findlay A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 28 Napoleon A 5:00 Fri. Apr. 29 St Marys A 5:00 Tues. May 3 Bath A 5:00 Thur. May 12 Arlington A 5:00

TENNIS Mon. Mar. 28 Lima Sr A 5:00 Fri. Apr. 1 Bath H 4:30 Mon. Apr. 4 Wauseon H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 5 Van Wert A 4:30 Thur. Apr. 7 Napoleon A 5:00 Fri. Apr. 8 Celina A 4:30 Tues. Apr. 12 Shawnee H 4:30 Fri. Apr. 15 Defiance H 4:30 Mon. Apr. 18 Ayersville H 5:00 Tues. Apr. 19 Kenton A 5:00 Thur. Apr. 2 Wapak H 4:30 Sat. Apr. 23 Lima Tourn A 9:00 Mon. Apr. 25 Archbold A 4:30 Tues. Apr. 26 Elida A 4:30 Fri. Apr. 29 St Marys H 4:30 Tues. May 3 Bluffton H 5:00 Thur. May 5 WBL @ UNOH A 9:00 Sat. May 7 WBL @ UNOH A 9:00 Tues. May 10 LCC A 4:30

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Tyler Williams (5-9, 170) has stepped in this sum-mer and has done a nice job for us.

“Tyler is shorter than Cory. Cory was 6-3 and could look over the line a little easier. But Tyler has done a nice job so far.”

The Cougars return seven starters from a year ago. Despite having just 36 players on the roster, 21 of those athletes will be starting.

“With the exception of one position, we are nearly two-platoon this season,” Priest said. “With each athlete working on learn-

ing one position, this has given our coaches more time to work with them, which has been good.”

Priest said there is a lot of inexperience on his team.

On offense, senior Tyson Crone (6-0, 165) returns at a wide-out position. On defense, Jimmy Hardman (Sr., 6-2, 265) returns at tackle, along with tack-les Terrin Contreras (Jr., 5-7, 250) and Mitch Vargas (Jr., 6-0, 210). Reichert will anchor that defense at one of the end positions.

“We are a very junior-dominated team with little varsity experience,” Priest said. “Our kids have

worked extremely hard in the weight room, but we are young. We will need to mature quickly for wins to come our way.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ................ at BryanSept. 2 ............at ShawneeSept. 9 ............... KENTONSept. 16 .................at ElidaSept. 23 ..................BATHSept. 30 ...............CELINAOct. 7 ...............at DefianceOct. 14 .......WAPAKONETAOct. 21 ............at St. MarysOct. 28 ....OTT.-GLANDORF

VAN WERT• from E18 ––––––––––––––––––––––DefianceCOACH: Jerry ButiSEASONS: 21stLAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 1-9 overall, ninth in WBLOHSAA DIVISION: IIIRETURNING STARTERS: 6 offense, 5 defenseKEY RETURNERS: Joe Keween (Jr., QB), Max Glassford (Sr., OT/DL), Jake Estle (Jr., OL/DL), Nick Lopez (Sr., RB/LB), Nick Vittorio (Sr., LB), Kam Shankle (Sr., TE/DE), Justin Kahle (Sr., RB/LB), Troy Mayes (Jr., DT/OT), Gabe Martinez (Jr., DL/RB).OUTLOOK: Keween started the final three games of the season, navigat-ing Defiance’s bootleg/option, spread offense. The Bulldogs will run a 5-3 defense. With nine total seniors returning, the team is somewhat young as it looks to rebound from a surprising 1-9 season a year ago. However, in Buti’s 21 seasons as coach, the team has had just three losing seasons.

2011 ScheduleAug. 25 ........................................................................NAPOLEONSept. 2 ..................................................................................BATHSept. 9 ................................................................................... at CelinaSept. 16 ................................................................. at Ottawa-GlandorfSept. 23 ...................................................................WAPAKONETASept. 30 ............................................................................ at St. MarysOct. 7 ............................................................................VAN WERTOct. 14 .......................................................................... SHAWNEEOct. 21 ..................................................................................at KentonOct. 28 ..................................................................................... at Elida

New faces but same-old Blue Jays 1. Anna. The Rockets have been contenders every year since entering the MAC, but haven’t been able to knock off the big guys. Could this be the year they do it?

2. Coldwater. Last year’s unexpected trip to the Divi-sion V state championship game showed to never underestimate the Cavaliers.

3. Delphos St. John’s. The Blue Jays have only five returning starters and just one of them on offense from last year’s Division VI state champs.

4. Marion Local. The Fly-ers have to fill holes at quar-terback, running back and on the offensive line. But, typically, replacements have been found when the Flyers needed them.

5. Minster. The Wild-cats will be without most of the defensive players who helped them make a surprising run to the play-offs. Quarterback Adam Niemeyer, who started at that position in 2009 but was injured last season, will take over for the gradu-ated Chase Paxson.

6. Versailles. Last year’s six wins was a start, but still not what Versailles fans have become accustomed to having.

7. St. Henry. The Red-skins will try to bounce back after a 3-7 season. Quarterback Kyle Stahl is healthy again after suffering a broken leg halfway though last season.

8. New Bremen. Hoping to be the Minster of 2011.

9. Parkway. Also hoping to be the Minster of 2011.

10. Fort Recovery. See New Bremen and Parkway.

MAC FORECAST

Look for upcoming gamepages in Friday’s sports section

Check out your high school sports online at www.limasports.com


419-993-2089

DELPHOS — The Delphos St. John’s team bus hadn’t arrived back in Delphos after last year’s state cham-pionship when fans began asking about the prospects for 2011.

Here’s the reality of this year: The Blue Jays have only five starters returning from last year’s 15-0 team that completely leveled Sha-dyside 77-6 in the Division VI state championship game.

“It’s a whole different team,” St. John’s coach Todd Schulte said. “Our approach is we remind each other, as coaches, we have to have a little more patience.”

Even with the changes in personnel, the ground-oriented offense and 4-3 defense won’t change.

“We’re sticking with what we have,” Schulte said. “It’ll be the same Blue Jays.”

Of those five starters, only one (fullback Jordan Berg-feld) is back on offense.

Returning starters on defense include linebacker Kyle Neumeier, who led the team with 135 tackles last year. The other returnees are cornerback Ryan Densel (5 interceptions), corner-back Tanner Calvelage (3 interceptions) and guard/

defensive tackle Alex Wehri, a part-time starter because of injuries.

Graduation took first-team all-state players offensive tackle Austin Vogt, defen-sive end/guard Derek Klaus and state defensive player of the year linebacker Chris Pohlman (131 tackles). Also gone is quarterback Jordan Leininger (1,397 yards pass-ing, 19 TDs, 1,236 rushing) and tailback Evan Burgei (1,674 yards rushing, 27 TDs).

“It’s a lot different. We’re pretty much replacing a

whole team,” Bergfeld said. The quarterback job is

between senior Alex Clark and junior Mark Boggs. Schulte said both can run, throw and run the Jays’ option play.

The tailback job will be a mix of senior fullback Berg-feld (734 yards, 13 TDs), senior Chris Will (238 yards, 3 TDs) and 6-foot sopho-more Tyler Jettinghoff (two carries, 75 yards, 1 TD).

Will had a 75-yard TD run in the fourth quarter of the state championship game. Jettinghoff had a 72-yard TD

in the 73-21 playoff win over Edgerton.

Overall, the Blue Jays will have plenty of holes to fill after the graduation of a host of three-year starters.

“People are going to see a lot of new names and faces,” Schulte said. ... “They (this year’s newcomers) saw some pretty incredible play-ers every day in practice and had to figure out to survive against those guys. Hope-fully, those things will trans-late into the pressure situ-ations that we’ll have this year.”

And Schulte realizes that some teams will be gunning for the Blue Jays this year.

“There’s a big bull’s-eye on us and that’s fine,” he said. “With the success we’ve had, we know that that’s going to come with it and that’s OK.”

2011 ScheduleAug. 27 .................... at LCCSept. 2 .......................OPENSept. 10 ............ MINSTERSept. 16 ..................at AnnaSept. 23 ...........ST. HENRYSept. 30 ........... at VersaillesOct. 7 ..............at ColdwaterOct. 14 ... FORT RECOVERYOct. 22 .... MARION LOCALOct. 28 ....... at New Bremen

DELPHOS ST. JOHN’SCOACH: Todd SchulteYEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 12th, 127-32LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 15-0 overall, 8-0 Midwest Athletic Conference (state champions)DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 13RETURNING STARTERS: Ryan Densel (Sr., CB); Kyle Neumeier (Sr., LB); Tanner Calvelage (Sr., CB); Jordan Bergfeld (Sr., FB); Alex Wehri (Sr., DT/G).KEY NEWCOMERS: Cody Looser (Soph., LB); Tyler Jettinghoff (Sr., TB/LB); Spencer Ginter (Soph., OT); Ryan Shumaker (Soph., OT); Mark Boggs (Jr., QB); Andrew Metzger (Jr., WR); Seth Bockey (Jr., G); Austin Jostpille (Sr., DB); Alex Clark (Sr., QB); Austin Rein-del (Sr., CB).OFFENSE: Pro-I. The faces have changed, but the Blue Jays will continue to run the option and power sweep.DEFENSE: 4-3. Chris Pohlman, Derek Klaus and company are gone, but it’s the same defense that defensive coordinator Steve Recker has run to multiple state titles.PLAYER TO WATCH: Linebacker Kyle Neumeier led the team in tackles (135) last year and will take an added leadership role with the graduation of Chris Pohlman. The linebackers will be expected to make plays.


Delphos St. John’s Jordan Bergfeld collides with Sidney Lehman’s Herschel Hoehne in the first quarter of a 2010 game.


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COLDWATERCOACH: Chip Otten

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 2nd, 11-4

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 11-4 overall, 6-2 MAC

OHSAA DIVISION: V


RETURNING STARTERS: Austin Bruns (Jr., QB), Troy Otten (Sr., K), Jordon Chapin (Jr., LB), Caleb Siefring (Jr., DB), Zach Dickman (Jr., LB), Mark Brunet (Sr., OL), Alex Grieshop (Sr., OL/DL), Jordan Harlamert, (Jr., DE), Jordan Klosterman, (Sr., LB).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Alex Stammen (Sr., WR), Aaron Mestemacker (Sr., WR), Zach Gerlach (Sr., DE).

OFFENSE: Spread. Last season Bruns threw for nearly 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns despite missing some games because of injury.

DEFENSE: 50. The Cavaliers return a strong group that gave up just 16.6 points per game a year ago.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Austin Bruns. The junior quarterback has the potential to take the Cavaliers back to Stark County for the state championship.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ....................KENTONSept. 2 ..................at HicksvilleSept. 9 .........................ANNASept. 16 ................ at St. HenrySept. 23 .............VERSAILLESSept. 30 ..................at ParkwayOct. 7 ...........DEL. ST. JOHN’SOct. 14 ............ at Marion LocalOct. 21 ........... NEW BREMENOct. 28 .....................at Minster

Bruns returns to guide CavaliersBy SCOTT BRINKMAN


COLDWATER — The Cold-water Cavaliers have won more games since 2000 — 134 — than any other team in the state of Ohio. In order for that trend to continue, the Cavaliers will once again reload and look to make another long playoff run.

For the second straight season last year the Cavaliers lost in the state championship game to Youngstown Ursu-line. If the Cavaliers hope to see the Irish, or whichever other program makes the Division V state title game, for the third straight season they will once again have to maneuver a tough nonleague schedule and then battle through the Midwest Athletic Conference.

Austin Bruns will quar-terback the spread offense. Last season the junior signal-caller was 170 for 370 for 2,477 yards and 24 touch-downs.

“It’s been awesome,” sec-ond-year coach Chip Otten said of Bruns’ progress. “He lifted hard and he threw with four or five guys in the spring on their own. He’s got 12 or 13 games under his belt and he knows the passing part of the offense better than any-one on the team.”

Caleb Siefring, Aaron Mestemaker, Alex Stam-men, Troy Otten and Eric Schmackers will be Bruns’ top receiving threats.

One concern for coach Chip Otten is the develop-ment of the offensive line. Kyle Bergman (5-foot-10, 160 pounds), Justin Post (6-1, 230), Mark Burnet (6-3,

200), Jake Kramer (6-5, 205), Mike Rios (6-1, 200) and Nick Albers (6-3, 215) will need to gel quickly.

“Will the O-line develop?” Otten said after being asked what questions does he have about the team. “Can the offensive line continue to protect? It seems like we ask

that question every year.”Defensively the Cavaliers

should be able to better last season when they allowed 16.6 points per game and allowed 50 or more points twice.

Up front, Jordan Har-lamert, Zach Gerlach, Cody Madaj and Alan Kunk will

battle in the trenches.Linebackers Jordan Klos-

terman, Isaac Dippold, Zach Dickman and Jordon Chapin should be the strongest unit of the defense.

In the secondary, Caleb Siefring was second team All-MAC last season. The junior will be joined by Josh Huber

and the receiving corps that will play both ways.

The Cavaliers open the season at home against nonleague rival Kenton before facing Hicksville for first time since the teams played times in 1947, 1948 and 1949.


Coldwater’s Jordan Harlamert (left) and Jordan Klosterman combine to make the stop on Ursuline quarterback Paul Kempe in the first quarter of a 2010 game.

St. Henry plans to right the ship

ST. HENRYCOACH: Jeff Starkey SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 9th, 62-31LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 3-7, 2-6 Midwest Ath-letic Conference OHSAA DIVISION: VI RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 19 RETURNING STARTERS: Mitchell Rinderle (Sr., OL/DL), Jordan Bender (Jr., WR/DB), Kent Stam-men (Sr., WR/DB), Steven Luttmer (Sr., LB), Matt Osterholt (Jr., WR/DB), Jason Guggenbiller (Sr., WR/DB), Dominic Leugers (Jr., RB/DL), Nathan Dues (Sr., TE/DL), Alex Post (LB), Kyle Stahl (Jr., QB/DB), Nathan Uhlenhake (Sr., WR/DB), Trey Rutschilling Sr., (LB), Nathan Froning (Sr., OL/DL).KEY NEWCOMERS: Kent Hem-melgarn. The 6-2, 220 pound offensive and defensive lineman has been a surprise thus far according to Starkey. The Redskins have traditionally been solid up front and Hemmelgarn looks to continue that trend. OFFENSE: I-formation. Stahl is the catalyst who will propel the Redskin offensive machine. Last season St. Henry averaged 19.2 points per game. DEFENSE: 4-3. Last year the Redskins allowed 20.2 points per game while allowing 30 or more points on four different occasions. PLAYER TO WATCH: Kyle Stahl. The junior signal-caller has the size (6-5, 230) and has com-pleted 184 of 301 passes for 2,480 yards and 19 touchdowns in his career. On the ground, Stahl carried the ball 90 times for 340 yards and six touchdowns. Last season Stahl missed part of the season due to injuries.

By SCOTT BRINKMAN419-993-2085

[email protected]

ST. HENRY — The St. Henry Redskins have a tra-dition second to none.

Six state championships, two state runners-up and a 41-8 record in 14 playoff appearances. So last sea-son’s 2-6 record in the Mid-west Athletic Conference — the program’s worst since 1982 — does not sit well with St. Henry faithful. If the Redskins are going to turn things around, they will have to lean on 19 returning letterwinners and 16 returning starters.

On the offensive side of the ball, the combina-tion of a healthy Stahl and returning offensive line-man will be the key for the Redskins. Hemmel-garn (6-2, 220), Mitchell Rinderle (6-2, 235), Dylan Bruening (6-3, 230), Aaron Post (6-1, 205), Caleb Hemmelgarn (6-2, 235), Nathen Froning (6-1, 220) and Ben Werling (6-1, 255)

are all returning letter-winners who can play on the offensive line. Their size and experience will give the Redskins running lanes and protection for the skilled players.

Finding weapons for Stahl will be important, and several options are avail-able.

Jordan Bender, Kent Stammen, Jason Guggen-biller, Dominic Leugers, Matt Osterholt, Nathan Uhlenhake, Trey Rutschil-ling, Steve Luttmer and

Jesse Evers are all return-ing letterwinners from last year’s team who will supply depth. Last season, Oster-holt made 33 receptions for 348 yards and two touch-downs.

On the defensive side of the ball the combination of speed and size should help a group that made improve-ments last season.

Luttmer made 58 tackles a year ago to spearhead the charge while Leugers recorded three sacks and 49 tackles.

“We are looking forward to starting the season, try-ing to improve each day, and participating in another great year of MAC football,” Starkey said. “2011 may be the most competitive this conference has been from top to bottom in quite a few years.”

A home opener on Sat-urday against Marion Pleasant will give St. Henry an early test before the challenging road in the MAC.

2011 ScheduleAug. 27 ..............PLEASANT

Sept. 2 .................... at Eaton

Sept. 9 .................at Parkway

Sept. 16 ......... COLDWATER

Sept. 23 ..... at Del. St. John’s

Sept. 30 ....MARION LOCAL

Oct. 7 ..................MINSTER

Oct. 14 ..................... at Anna

Oct. 21 ........at Fort Recovery

Oct. 28 ............VERSAILLES

ANNACOACH: Bryan RiochSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 13th; 91-32LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 8-3, 6-2 MACOHSAA DIVISION: VRETURNING STARTERS: Maverick Long (Sr.,OT/DT), Dustin Noff-siger (Sr.,RB/DT), Drew Guisinger (Sr.,C), Caleb Maurer (Sr.,LB/TE), Wes Wolters (Sr.,RB/DB), Jay Meyer (Sr.,QB), Cole Ferguson (Sr.,RB)KEY NEWCOMERS: Ryan Spicer (Jr.,DE/OT), Chandon Williams (Jr.,WR), Stewart Watkins (Jr.,LB), Nate Metz (Jr.,TE/LB)OFFENSE: Quarterback Jay Meyer (1,540 yards, 20 TDs) leads the Rockets’ offense. They will be searching for running backs after last year’s top two graduated. Cole Ferguson (400 yards rushing) is the top returning back. DEFENSE: First-team All-MAC defensive linemen Maverick Long and Dustin Noffsiger and second-team All-MAC linebacker Caleb Maurer (98 tackles) and second-team All-MAC defensive back Wes Wolters (75 tackles, 5 interceptions) are the leaders on defense. PLAYER TO WATCH: Maverick Long is a two-way starter at offensive tackle and defensive tackle. He was first-team All-MAC as a defen-sive lineman and as a punter.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ............................................................SIDNEY LEHMANSept. 2 ............................................................ at Sherwood FairviewSept. 9 .......................................................................... at ColdwaterSept. 16 ...........................................................DELP. ST. JOHN’SSept. 23 ................................................................... at Marion LocalSept. 30 ...............................................................NEW BREMENOct. 7 ...................................................................... at Fort RecoveryOct. 14 .......................................................................ST. HENRYOct. 21 ........................................................................... at VersaillesOct. 28 ........................................................................PARKWAY

MAC TEAM CAPSULE

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MARION LOCAL

COACH: Tim Goodwin

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 13th, 128-36

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 9-3, 6-2 MAC

OHSAA DIVISION: VI

RETURNING LETTERWIN-NERS: 8

RETURNING STARTERS: Jack Homan (Sr., DE), Logan Albers (Sr., LB), Nate Wendel (Sr. DT), Lee Pierron (Sr., WR), Kellen Goettemoeller (Sr., TE/DE).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Adam Bertke (So., QB), Jake Heit-kamp (Sr., RB/LB)

OFFENSE: I-Formation. In years past, the Flyers would feature a running back and ride him all season. This year, Marion Local will use the running back by committee approach.

DEFENSE: 3-4. The switch in defense, once learned, will continue to be the strong point of Marion Local.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Alex Rosenbeck and Adam Bertke. One will win the battle and be the quarterback that leads the Flyers. Whichever player adapts the quickest will give Marion Local the best chance of returning to the playoffs.

Marion Local seeks new talent to emergeBy SCOTT BRINKMAN


MARIA STEIN — There are probably more questions than answers this summer as the Marion Local Flyers look to make playoffs for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons. Although new faces will populate the Flyer lineup with 16 seniors graduating, the cupboard is far from bare in Maria Stein.

Last season, Marion Local lost to Minster in the regional semifinal 30-26. It was the earliest playoff exit for the Flyers, who have won four state championships since 2005.

On offense both sopho-more Adam Bertke and senior Alex Rosenbeck are competing for playing time at quarterback. Both bring dif-ferent talents to the position and whichever one can make the smoothest transition will getting the starting nod.

Rosenbeck and Jake Heit-kamp will get carries behind an offensive line that is rebuilding. As a unit last sea-son, the Flyers averaged 34.1 points per game.

Tight end Kellen Goette-moeller was second-team All-MAC last season while wide receiver Lee Pierron made 25

catches for 300 yards.Defensively Jack Homan

was second team All-MAC last year at end. The senior recorded eight sacks a season ago. Nate Wendel will anchor the 3-4 defense. The senior recorded 75 tackles last year. Goettemoeller will join his classmates on the line.

The back eight will feature linebacker Logan Albers and Heitkamp along with Rosen-beck in the secondary. With so many new starters, many players will get the chance to shine on both sides of the ball.

The Flyers will start the season at Shawnee before playing host to Our Lady of Mount Carmel from Ontario, Canada. Two seasons ago, the Flyers played Our Lady of Mount Carmel and defeated them 61-14.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .............. at Shawnee

Sept. 9 .........NEW BREMEN

Sept. 16 ................ at Minster

Sept. 30 ............. at St. Henry

Oct. 7 ...................at Parkway

Oct. 14 ............COLDWATER

Oct. 22 ........at Del. St. John’s

Oct. 28 ..... FORT RECOVERY


Alex Post of Marion Local tries to get away from Delphos St. John’s Chris Pohlman in the first quarter of a 2010 game.

Cairns brings coaching experience to Parkway


[email protected]

ROCKFORD — The Park-way Panthers have finished in the bottom three of the Midwest Athletic Conference nine of the last 10 years, so the job of restoring the Pan-ther pride falls to first-year coach Dan Cairns.

Cairns brings 20 years coaching experience, includ-ing 13 years as head coach — most recently at Sidney High School.

A lot of changes for the Panthers could mean some growing pains especially in the rough and tumble grind of the MAC.

“Lack of experience, depth, a new coach, a new system on both sides of the ball (are team weaknesses),” Cairns said. “This year’s team con-sists of a tough hard working group of blue collar type of players.”

The offense will lean on senior quarterback Bryce Bedwell. How quickly he adjusts to Cairns’ new offensive system will help determine how quickly the Panthers turn around the program.

Brandon Moorman in the backfield and wide receiver Derek Luth will be primary weapons for a Parkway offense that aver-aged 13.5 points per game last season.

The defense will feature Nick Routt, who led the team in tackles last season. The senior will help lead a defen-sive turnaround. Last sea-son Parkway allowed 36.4 points per game including five games with more than 42 points.

Despite never coaching in the MAC, Cairns knows the conference will be tough.

“Keeping with tradition,” Cairns said, “Coldwater, Anna, Delphos St. John’s and Marion Local should be the class of the league.”

Parkway will open the season against nonleague foe Crestview on Friday before facing perennial playoff contender Tinora.

In order to be successful this season, the Panthers will have to learn on the fly.

“Stay injury free and hope that the players pick up the new schemes that we are going to be running,” Cairns said of his team’s keys to success.

PARKWAY

COACH: Tim Goodwin


LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 9-3, 6-2 MAC

OHSAA DIVISION: VI


RETURNING STARTERS: Jack Homan (Sr., DE), Logan Albers (Sr., LB), Nate Wendel (Sr. DT), Lee Pierron (Sr., WR), Kellen Goettemoeller (Sr., TE/DE).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Adam Bertke (So., QB), Jake Heit-kamp (Sr., RB/LB)

OFFENSE: I-Formation. In years past, the Flyers would feature a running back and ride him all season. This year, Marion Local will use the running back by committee approach.

DEFENSE: 3-4. The switch in defense, once learned, will continue to be the strong point of Marion Local.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Alex Rosenbeck and Adam Bertke. One will win the battle and be the quarterback that leads the Flyers. Whichever player gels the quickest will give Marion Local the best chance of returning to the playoffs.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .............. at Shawnee

Sept. 9 .........NEW BREMEN

Sept. 16 ................ at Minster

Sept. 30 ............. at St. Henry

Oct. 7 ...................at Parkway

Oct. 14 ............COLDWATER

Oct. 22 ........at Del. St. John’s

Oct. 28 ..... FORT RECOVERY

New Bremen returns with speed, skill

NEW BREMENCOACH: Rob Messick


LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Over-all, League): 2-8, 2-6 Midwest Athletic Conference

OHSAA DIVISION: VI


RETURNING STARTERS: Alec Frideger (Sr., RB/FS), Elliot Westerbeck (Sr., QB), Ben Chaney (Sr., WR/DB), Nathan Skinner (Sr., RB/LB), Alex Speelman (Jr., OL/DL), Neven Frazee (Sr., OL/DL), Adam Meyer (Sr., OL/DL).

KEY NEWCOMERS: Nick Ahlers (Jr., LB), Aaron McCollum (Sr., LB).

OFFENSE: Double Slot. Last season the Cardinals averaged just 16.6 points per game and were shut out twice.

DEFENSE: 4-4. The Cardinals had difficulty slowing down opponents last season allow-ing 32.9 points per game. They allowed 40 or more points on four different occasions.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Nathan Skinner. The 5-10, 180-pound senior running back spear-heads an offensive backfield that should be the strength of the Cardinals. Last season Skinner rushed for 500 yards.


[email protected]

NEW BREMEN — The New Bremen Cardinals have fallen on tough times the last several years.

New Bremen has not had a winning record since 2004, the last year the Car-dinals made the playoffs. That season they lost to Hardin Northern 22-7 in the regional finals.

This season the Cardi-nals will rely on an expe-rienced group of skilled offensive players to try to regain past glory. The Car-dinals will focus on speed and quickness to turn last season’s struggles into suc-cesses.

Elliot Westerbeck (6 foot, 170 pounds) will quarter-back coach Rob Messick’s double slot offense. Behind the senior signal-caller will be Alec Frideger, Nathan Skinner and Aaron Clune.

While the backfield will be experienced and tal-ented, the offensive line will have to learn on the fly. Alex Speelman (6-3, 200), Neven Frazee (6-0, 200) and Adam Meyer (6-0, 195) will lay the foundation on the line.

“We have exceptional running backs and quar-terback,” Messick said. “Offensive line (is what we have to work on).”

The defense surrendered 329 points last season, but enough experience returns to make the Cardinals con-tenders.

The secondary should be a strength with Frideger and Chaney. The lineback-ers will be Skinner, Ahlers and Aaron McCollum.

The offensive line trio of Speelman, Frazee and Meyer will play both ways and battle in the defensive trenches as well.

“Play good defense,” Mes-sick said of what they do well. “We are undersized for our league, but we have great team speed and our seniors are highly moti-vated.”

A home opener against Covington and road trips to Fort Loramie and Marion Local will give the Cardi-nals an early indication of the type of team they will be.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ............ COVINGTONSept. 2 .......... at Fort LoramieSept. 9 ..........at Marion LocalSept. 16 ....FORT RECOVERYSept. 23 ...............MINSTERSept. 30 .................... at AnnaOct. 7 ..................at VersaillesOct. 14 ....................PARKWAYOct. 21 ...............at ColdwaterOct. 28 .......DEL. ST. JOHN’S

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FORT RECOVERYCOACH: Brent NiekampSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 6th, 15-45LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 2-8 overall, 0-8 MACOHSAA DIVISION: VI, Region 24RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 9RETURNING STARTERS: Aaron Vagedes (Sr., WR/DB), Jason Pottkotter (Sr., QB/DB), Kenny Wenning (Sr., WR/LB), Derek Gaerke (Sr., WR/DB), Jacob Whitacre (Sr., OL/DL), Ryan Gaerke (Sr., OL/DL), Mason Evers (Jr., OL/LB), Trent Kaiser (Jr., OL/LB).KEY NEWCOMERS: Alex Wenning (Soph., WR/LB), Wyatt Blockberger (Soph., WR/DB), Cole Hull (Fr., WR/DB), Reece Grieshop (Soph., OL/DL), Seth Riegle (Fr., OL/DL).OFFENSE: Pottkotter will call the signals for the spread offense and has two solid targets in slot receivers Kenny Wenning and Aaron Vagedes while sophomore Kyle Timmerman will play running back. Niekamp is happy with the job the offense does of getting the ball to its best players in space. However, blocking needs to improve this season.DEFENSE: 4-3. The defense is pursuing and tackling well and needs to improve on getting off blocks after struggling in that regard a year ago. Trent Kaiser will give the defense, and the offensive line, a boost. Kaiser missed most of last year after a broken collar bone sidelined him in Week 3 when he was just starting to show what he can do. PLAYER TO WATCH: Kenny Wenning, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound line-backer, recorded 93 tackles last season, including three for loss. The senior is highly physical, hard to block and knows how to bring down a ballcarrier.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ......................................................MISSISSINAWA VALLEYSept. 2 .............................................................. at Waynesfield-GoshenSept. 9 ........................................................................VERSAILLESSept. 16 ........................................................................at New BremenSept. 23 ..........................................................................PARKWAYSept. 30 ................................................................................ at MinsterOct. 7 ....................................................................................ANNAOct. 14 ........................................................................at Del. St. John’sOct. 21 ...........................................................................ST. HENRYOct. 28 .........................................................................at Marion Local

MAC TEAM CAPSULE Minster ignores last year, but hopes for similar success

VERSAILLESCOACH: Bob OlwinsSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 4th, 14-16LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 6-4 overall, 4-4 MACOHSAA DIVISION: VOFFENSE: Spread. Sophomore Nick Campbell took most of the snaps in preseason but he is battling for the starting spot with William Borchers. Nine players are battling for playing time on the offensive line, which has been a work in progress. Versailles has many options at receiver with Mitchell Campbell, Aaron McNeilen and Ethan Bruns returning to the five-wide attack. DEFENSE: 4-4. The defense lost some key linebackers but Kaleb Matchett and Chris Ruchty will try to shore it up from the inside backer positions. Bruns, Jacob Barga and Jacob Paulus are rotating at the corner postions and McNeilen will be the free safety. OVERVIEW: Versailles had 71 players come out to the team, a number that has increased each year for Olwins. That depth has created a lot of competition for playing time. The numbers and the talent should make Versailles a contender in the brutal MAC.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ......................................................................... CELINASept. 2 ...................................................................at Graham LocalSept. 9 ................................................................... at Fort RecoverySept. 16 .....................................................................PARKWAYSept. 23 .......................................................................at ColdwaterSept. 30 ........................................................... DEL. ST. JOHN’SOct. 7 ..................................................................NEW BREMENOct. 14 .............................................................................at MinsterOct. 21 .............................................................................ANNAOct. 28 .......................................................................... at St. Henry


419-993-2088

MINSTER — The 2010 season was shaping up to be just like every one of the previous six before it — .500 or worse. But the Wildcats used a string of five straight wins late in the season to qualify for their first post-season appearance since 2001.

They won two games, including an upset of Mid-west Athletic Conference rival Marion Local, and turned a lot of heads. So now second-year coach Nate Moore is left with what to do for an encore.

“We don’t approach it as how to top last year. It’s a brand new year, a brand new team,” Moore said. “We’re very proud of what we accomplished last sea-son and because of those things, we’re further ahead of where we were last sea-son. ... The guys believe. We’ve had great practices all

summer.”The Wildcats (7-6, 5-3

MAC) haven’t put together back-to-back winning sea-sons since 1995-96, and they last qualified for consecu-tive postseasons in 1987-92, including a Division V state title in ’89.

While Moore and his mates are proud of last sea-son and what was accom-plished, there has been little talk about 2010 in this sea-son’s camp. It’s a two-way street — Moore didn’t want the Wildcats dwelling on the 31-49 record since they last played in Week 11, just as now he doesn’t want them easing up and expecting another berth in the play-offs.

“Last year, one of the first things I said at the beginning was I don’t want to hear anything about the past. We certainly talked about the history, the tradition of Min-ster football, but we didn’t talk about 1-9, 0-10, or any-thing like that,” Moore said. “Really, it’s been a similar

approach this year. We’re proud of what we did last year, but I don’t have prac-tice on what we did last year. Everything is focused on this year and getting this team ready to go.”

Moore said two of the best players are linemen Clay Bornhorst and Ryan Will, calling them gritty, smart, intelligent leaders. He also pointed out junior Adam Niemeyer, who will take over for Chase Paxson at quarterback. Niemeyer started in ’09 but broke his finger in the last scrimmage a year ago; he returned but played receiver and defen-sive back.

“It’s like having a returning starter at quarterback, he’s highly intelligent, athletic, throws a great ball, under-stands the offensive things we’re trying to do,” Moore said. “He played some receiver, he played some defensive back and did a nice job, but he’s a quarter-back. That’s the position he wants to play.”

MINSTERCOACH: Nate MooreSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 2nd, 7-6LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Over-all, League): 7-6, 5-5 Midwest Athletic ConferenceDIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 12RETURNING STARTERS: Troy Kauffman (Jr., LB/RB); Adam Niemeyer (Jr., DB/QB); Devon Poeppelman (Jr., LB/WR); Derek Collins (Sr., DB/WR); Daniel Gusching (Sr., LB/WR); Austin Knapke (Sr., DB/WR); Wes Hegemann (So., DL/OL); Clay Bornhorst (Sr., DL/OL); Eddie Bruns (Sr., DL/OL); Rob Wente (Sr., DL/TE); Ryan Will (Sr., DL/OL)KEY NEWCOMERS: Mason Haney (Jr., DL/OL); Korey Schultz (Jr., DB/RB); Jay Eil-erman (Jr., DB/WR)OFFENSE: The Wildcats return eight starters on offense. QB Adam Niemeyer was the 2009 starter and carried the job over into last season before he broke his finger in a scrim-mage. The job is his again, and coach Moore is excited to see what the Division I college prospect can do.DEFENSE: 4-3. The defense will struggle with experience as only three starters return, but one of those is middle linebacker Daniel Gusching. Coach Moore says Gusching is a Division I college prospect who is athletic and a good hit-ter, equally adept at coming off the edge on a rush or dropping into coverage.PLAYERS TO WATCH: With all of the attention on Niemeyer and his stats, it’s going to take five players to keep him upright — the offensive line. Coach Moore called linemen Clay Bornhorst and Ryan Will the best players on his team — both are around 200 pounds, neither are overly large, but they’ve experienced the play-offs and know how to keep an offense moving.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...... FORT LORAMIESept. 2 ...at Lehman CatholicSept. 10 ......at Del. St. John’sSept. 16 .....MARION LOCALSept. 23 ....... at New BremenSept. 30 ... FORT RECOVERYOct. 7 ................. at St. HenryOct. 14 ............VERSAILLESOct. 21 .................at ParkwayOct. 28 ............COLDWATER

NICK TURNER• The Lima News

Minster’s Mitchel Poeppelman watches the ball fall to the ground after missing a pass Friday night during the regional final game at Piqua against Lehman Catholic in 2010.

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NORTHWEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE

1. Fairbanks. The path to the title goes through the defending champion.

2. Waynesfield-Goshen. The Tigers are looking to bounce back from a 5-5 record, which is less than they’ve become accustomed to in recent years.

3. Perry. With 1,000-yard rusher Quis Woods and first-year quarterback T.J.Sloan, the Commodores could sur-prise some people.

4. Upper Scioto Valley. The Rams have some holes because of graduation from a 5-5 team a year ago.

5. Riverside. The Pirates will try to improve on a three-win season.

6. Ridgemont. Getting out of the basement would be a positive step for the Gophers.

NWCC FORECAST

By MARK ALTSTAETTER419-993-2085

[email protected]

PERRY TOWNSHIP — You have to seize the opportunity when it comes around.

That’s exactly what for-mer Delphos St. John’s and Ohio Northern University football standout Jesse Kill did when the Perry foot-ball head coaching position came open.

The 25-year-old Kill is tak-ing over a Perry program that went 2-8 (2-4 in the Northwest Central Confer-ence) last season. Kill has been an assistant on the Perry coaching staff for the past two seasons.

The Commodores return nine letterwinners with eight of those being starters. Leading the way is 1,000-yard rusher Quis Woods, a junior. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Woods will be joined in the backfield by junior running back Kevin Turner (5-11, 180), along with first-year quarterback TJ Sloan (5-6, 155).

Kill said getting the head coaching job at such an early age is definitely a blessing.

“It was a dream come true,” Kill said. “At my first interview, I thought maybe I could be a head coach at age 30 or so, but not at 25.

“I’m excited and nervous. I have a long-term plan. We will take baby steps.”

On offense, Kill plans to use an attack that suits his team quite well.

“We’re going to run the triple option,” Kill said. “We don’t have the big 6-foot-4 receivers and the big line-men, but with the triple option, you only need a couple seconds (to execute a play).

“We have some speed in

the backfield. All three guys in our backfield run a 4.7 (-second 40-yard dash) or better.”

Woods leads the way in the backfield for the Com-modores. Kill said Woods poses a tough challenge for opposing defenses.

“He’s the total player,” Kill said. “He’s 6-1, 190 and runs in the 4.7s. He can run side-to-side and he also can run over you.”

Sloan, who has not played football since junior high, said it did not take long for him to decide to come out for football. Sloan is a stand-out on the Perry baseball team.

“It was coach Kill,” Sloan said. “His attitude was what

got me to come out.”Kill said his defensive

scheme will be rather sim-ple.

“We’re going to run a 4-3 (defense),” Kill said. “We will hardly blitz. We’ll focus more on the fundamentals.

“Last year, we blitzed about 95 percent of the time and we got drawn off a lot. So, we’ll try to keep it simple this year.”

Kill said he wanted to sur-round himself with as much experience as possible. For-mer Perry and Lima Central Catholic head coach Andy Etzkorn will be in charge of the defensive unit. Mark Hoersten, a long-time assis-tant, will help Kill with the offensive unit. Marvin Har-

vey and Derek Coker will round out Kill’s coaching staff.

“I’m surrounded by some very good coaches,” Kill said. “They’ll definitely make my job a lot easier.”

Kill believes his team can improve on last year’s per-formance.

“With four seniors and six juniors, we are a young team,” Kill said. “But a lot of those 10 (players) played a lot last year.

“I’ve been to three state semifinals (in high school) and an Elite 8 (in college). So, I’m going to take bits and pieces from both programs. I think we can definitely improve on last season.”

Kill looks to revitalize Perry


Perry’s Quis Woods runs for yardage against Waynesfield-Goshen during a 2010 game in Waynesfield.

PERRYCOACH: Jesse Kill

SEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1st season

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 2-8 overall, 2-4 Northwest Central Conference

OHSAA DIVISION: VI


RETURNING STARTERS: J’ton Washington (Soph., RB/CB); Jamal Banks (Sr., TE/SS); Shaquille Douglas (TE/LB); Caiden Dicke (Soph., RB/LB); Quis Woods (Jr., RB/DE); Kevin Turner (Jr., RB /DE); Andrew Russell (Soph., OL/LB); Andrew Gipson (Jr., OG/NG); Josh Foust (Jr., OT/DT).

KEY NEWCOMERS: TJ Sloan (Sr., QB/S); Kevontae Steele (Sr., WR/CB); Malcolum Glenn (Soph., TE/DE).

OFFENSE: Perry will run the triple option. With three very quick backs, look for the Com-modores to be a potentially explosive team on offense.

DEFENSE: The Commodores will employ a 4-3 defensive scheme. Kill wants to keep it simple for the defense.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Keep an eye on junior running back Quis Woods. Woods rushed for 1,001 yards last season. With the triple-option offense, look for Woods to have another stel-lar season.

2011 Schedule

Aug. 26 ...................at Ansonia

Sept. 2 ............. at Wayne Trace

Sept. 9 ...............AYERSVILLE

Sept. 16 ................at Riverside

Sept. 23 ...WAYNES.-GOSHEN

Sep. 30 ................at Fairbanks

Oct. 7 ......... TROY CHRISTIAN

Oct. 14 ............... at Ridgemont

Oct. 21 .............at St. Wendelin

Oct. 28 ...........................USV

UPPER SCIOTO VALLEYCOACH: Ryan RoseYEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 4th, 18-222010 RECORD: 5-5 overall, 4-2 NWCCOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 12RETURNING STARTERS: Maclain Dyer (Sr., OL/LB), Mason Howard (Sr., RB/LB), Devin Carl (Sr., OL/DL), Brandon Overs (Sr., RB/DB), Quintin Lewis (Jr., RB/LB), Cain Haney (Jr., OL/DL), Kaleb Gullett (Soph., OL/DL), Dylan Hunsicker (Soph., WR/DB), Cole Crawford (Soph., QB/LB), Seth Evans (Soph., OL/DL).PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Shane Rofe (Jr., WR/DB), Luke Boecher (Sr., WR/DB), Blake Watkins (Jr., WR/DB).OFFENSE: Crawford will lead the spread offense from his quarterback spot and Brandon Overs will start at running back.DEFENSE: 40 scheme. Many returning players should make it a formidable defense. PLAYERS TO WATCH: Maclain Dyer moves to the middle linebacking spot and covers tackle-to-tackle very well out of the 40-defense.OVERVIEW: According to Rose, the Rams are very balanced in all areas but need to work on reads and cover-age. USV will play a tough, nonconference schedule and should fair well in the NWCC.

2011 Divisional Breakdown

Division INone

Division IICelinaLima SeniorWapakoneta

Division IIIDefianceElidaIndian LakeSt. MarysShawnee

Division IVBathKentonOttawa-GlandorfPauldingVan Wert

Division VAllen EastAnnaBlufftonColdwaterColumbus Grove

Delphos JeffersonLima Central CatholicParkwaySpencervilleVersailles

Division VIAdaCory-RawsonCrestviewDelphos St. John’sFort RecoveryHardin NorthernLeipsicMarion LocalMinsterNew BremenPandora-GilboaPerryRidgemontSt. HenryUpper Scioto ValleyWaynesfield-Goshen

INDIAN LAKECOACH: Dave CoburnSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 15th, n/aLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 2-8 overall, 1-4 in leagueOHSAA DIVISION: IIIRETURNING STARTERS: Tyler McCullough (Sr., QB), Nate Davis (Jr., TE/DE), Chandler Golden (Sr., G), John Schulz (Sr., C), Keith Harvey (Sr., DB), Montel Morgan (Soph., DB).PROJECTED OFFENSIVE STARTERS: Tyler McCullough, Shylar McIntire (Sr., FB), Chris Teague (Soph., RB), Montel Morgan (Soph., Wing), Keith Harvey (Sr., SE), Dustin Dapice (Jr., SE), Nate Davis (Jr., TE), Donny Davidson (Sr., T), Chandler Golden (G), Dustin LeVan (Jr., G), John Schulz (Sr., C), Corey Bed-dies (Sr., T), Mason Evilsizor (Jr., K).PROJECTED DEFENSIVE STARTERS: John Schulz (Sr., DE), Nate Davis (DE), Jesse LeMaster (Sr., DT), Dustin LeVan (DT), Robert Wallace (Jr., NG), L.J. Henderson (Soph., LB), Ben Wahl (Soph., LB), Keith Harvey (DB), Chris Teague (Soph., DB), Shylar McIntire (Sr., DB/P), Montel Morgan (DB).OVERVIEW: Indian Lake is young, very young according to Coburn, and might be starting five sophomores and a freshman this season. However, he feels that if his team can hang in there early it will get better as the season progresses. “We’ll play better toward the end of the year. It’s important we get off to a good start, stay healthy. There is some potential with this group. I’m optimistic.”

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...... SPENCERVILLESept. 2 ........ at Kenton RidgeSept. 9 .................LEHMANSept. 16 .........TIPPECANOESept. 23 .......at BellefontaineSept. 30 ...............at GrahamOct. 7 .......NORTHWESTERNOct. 14 ................at GreenonOct. 21 .................URBANAOct. 28 ....at Benjamin Logan

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .............. at MohawkSept. 2 ............ RIVERDALESept. 9 ...................at TinoraSept. 16 .................... at AdaSept. 23 ........ RIDGEMONTSept. 30 .... LEH. CATHOLICOct. 7 ..............FAIRBANKSOct. 14 .. at Waynes.-GoshenOct. 21 .............RIVERSIDEOct. 28 .................... at Perry


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FRIDAY, AUGUST 26Ada at Hardin Northern ..................................7 p.m.Allen East at Bath ......................................7:30 p.m.Cory Rawson at Bluffton .................................7 p.m.Celina at Versailles .....................................7:30 p.m.Kenton at Coldwater ..................................7:30 p.m.Columbus Grove at Pandora-Gilboa ..........7:30 p.m.Crestview at Parkway .................................7:30 p.m.Northwood at Delphos Jefferson ................7:30 p.m.Ford, Mich. at Elida ....................................7:30 p.m.Mississinawa Valley at Fort Recovery .........7:30 p.m.Spencerville at Indian Lake .......................7:30 p.m.Hopewell-Loudon at Leipsic ............................7 p.m.Lima Senior at Piqua ..................................7:30 p.m.Marion Local at Shawnee ..........................7:30 p.m.Fort Loramie at Minster .............................7:30 p.m.Covington at New Bremen .........................7:30 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Fostoria ............................7 p.m.Wayne Trace at Paulding ............................7:30 p.m.Perry at Ansonia .........................................7:30 p.m.Upper Scioto Valley at Mohawk ......................7 p.m.St. Marys at Sidney ...................................7:30 p.m.Van Wert at Bryan ......................................7:30 p.m.Bellefontaine at Wapakoneta .....................7:30 p.m.Triad at Waynesfield-Goshen .................... 7:30 p .m.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27Delphos St. John’s at LCC ..........................7:30 p.m.Ridgemont at Vanlue .......................................7 p.m.Pleasant at St. Henry ......................................7 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2Spencerville at Ada ....................................7:30 p.m.Columbus Grove at Allen East ...................7:30 p.m.Bath at Defiance ........................................7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Carey ........................................7:30 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Celina .........................7:30 p.m.Coldwater at Hicksville ...............................7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at Cory Rawson ....................7 p.m.Delphos Jefferson at Paulding ...................7:30 p.m.Detroit Catholic Central at Del. St. John’s ..7:30 p.m.Elida at Wapakoneta ..................................7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at Waynesfield-Goshen .............7 p.m.Indian Lake at Kenton Ridge .....................7:30 p.m.St. Marys at Kenton ...................................7:30 p.m.Leipsic at Pandora-Gilboa ..............................7 p.m.Lima Central Catholic at Crestview ............7:30 p.m.Marion Harding at Lima Senior .......................7 p.m.Minster at Lehman Catholic .......................7;30 p.m.New Bremen at Fort Loramie .....................7:30 p.m.Parkway at Tinora .......................................7:30 p.m.Perry at Wayne Trace .......................................7 p.m.Crestline at Ridgemont ...................................7 p.m.Versailles at Graham Local ........................7:30 p.m.St. Henry at Eaton .....................................7:30 p.m.Riverdale at Upper Scioto Valley .....................7 p.m.Van Wert at Shawnee .................................7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9Ada at Columbus Grove .............................7:30 p.m.Allen East at Spencerville ..........................7:30 p.m.Wapakoneta at Bath ..................................7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Delphos Jefferson .....................7:30 p.m.Defiance at Celina .....................................7:30 p.m.Anna at Coldwater .....................................7:30 p.m.Cory Rawson at Pandora-Gilboa .....................7 p.m.Crestview at Wayne Trace ...........................7:30 p.m.Elida at St. Marys ......................................7:30 p.m.Versailles at Fort Recovery .........................7:30 p.m.Van Buren at Hardin Northern ........................7 p.m.

Lehman at Indian Lake ..............................7:30 p.m.Kenton at Van Wert ....................................7:30 p.m.Vanlue at Leipsic .............................................7 p.m.Paulding at Lima Central Catholic .............7:30 p.m.Lima Senior at Kettering Fairmont .............7:30 p.m.New Bremen at Marion Local 7:30 p.m.Shawnee at Ottawa-Glandorf .....................7:30 p.m.St. Henry at Parkway ..................................7:30 p.m.Ayersville at Perry ............................................7 p.m.Ridgemont at Lucas ........................................7 p.m.Upper Scioto Valley at Tinora ..........................7 p.m.Waynesfield-Goshen at Troy Christian ...... 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10Minster at Delphos St. John’s ....................7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16Upper Scioto Valley at Ada ........................7:30 p.m.Delphos Jefferson at Allen East .................7:30 p.m.Bath at St. Marys .......................................7:30 p.m.Crestview at Bluffton ..................................7:30 p.m.Celina at Wapakoneta ................................7:30 p.m.Coldwater at St. Henry ...............................7:30 p.m.Defiance at Ottawa-Glandorf .....................7:30 p.m.Delphos St. John’s at Anna ........................7:30 p.m.Van Wert at Elida .......................................7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at New Bremen ...................7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at McComb ..........................7 p.m.Tippecanoe at Indian Lake ........................7:30 p.m.Shawnee at Kenton ...................................7:30 p.m.Leipsic at Van Buren .......................................7 p.m.Findlay at Lima Senior ....................................7 p.m.Marion Local at Minster .............................7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Arlington ............................7 p.m.Parkway at Versailles ..................................7:30 p.m.Paulding at Spencerville ............................7:30 p.m.Perry at Riverside ............................................7 p.m.Marion Catholic at Ridgemont ........................7 p.m.Arcadia at Cory Rawson. .................................7 p.m.Waynesfield-Goshen at Fairbanks ...................7 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17Columbus Grove at LCC ..............................7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23Bluffton at Ada ...........................................7:30 p.m.Allen East at Crestview ..............................7:30 p.m.Bath at Van Wert ........................................7:30 p.m.St. Marys at Celina ....................................7:30 p.m.Versailles at Coldwater ...............................7:30 p.m.Spencerville at Columbus Grove ................7:30 p.m.Cory Rawson at Liberty-Benton ......................7 p.m.Wapakoneta at Defiance ...........................7:30 p.m.St. Henry at Delphos St. John’s .................7:30 p.m.Elida at Shawnee .......................................7:30 p.m.Parkway at Fort Recovery ...........................7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Hardin Northern ................7 p.m.Indian Lake at Bellefontaine ......................7:30 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Kenton ........................7:30 p.m.Arlington at Leipsic .........................................7 p.m.Fremont Ross at Lima Senior .........................7 p.m.Minster at New Bremen .............................7:30 p.m.Greenville at Paulding ................................7:30 p.m.Waynesfield-Goshen at Perry ..........................7 p.m.Ridgemont at Upper Scioto Valley ..................7 p.m.Ridgemont at Tinora ........................................7 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24LCC at Delphos Jefferson ...........................7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30Paulding at Ada .........................................7:30 p.m.Allen East at Bluffton .................................7:30 p.m.Shawnee at Bath ..................................... 7:30 p .m.Celina at Van Wert ......................................7:30 p.m.Coldwater at Parkway .................................7:30 p.m.Evergreen at Columbus Grove .........................7 p.m.Crestview at Delphos Jefferson ..................7:30 p.m.Defiance at St. Marys ................................7:30 p.m.Delphos St. John’s at Versailles ..................7:30 p.m.Kenton at Elida ..........................................7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at Minster ............................7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at Leipsic ..............................7 p.m.Indian Lake at Graham ..............................7:30 p.m.Spencerville at LCC ...................................7:30 p.m.Marion Local at St. Henry ..........................7:30 p.m.New Bremen at Anna .................................7:30 p.m.Vanlue at Pandora-Gilboa ...............................7 p.m.Perry at Fairbanks ...........................................7 p.m.St. Wendelin at Ridgemont .............................7 p.m.Lehman Catholic at Upper Scioto Valley .........7 p.m.Wapakoneta at Ottawa-Glandorf ................7:30 p.m.Riverside at Waynesfield-Goshen ....................7 p.m.McComb at Cory Rawson ...............................7 p.m.Lima Senior at St. John’s Jesuit ......................7 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1Lima Senior at St. John’s Jesuit Toledo ...........7 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7Ada at Crestview ........................................7:30 p.m.Paulding at Allen East ................................7:30 p.m.Bath at Kenton ..........................................7:30 p.m.Spencerville at Bluffton .............................7:30 p.m.Celina at Shawnee .....................................7:30 p.m.Delphos St. John’s at Coldwater ................7:30 p.m.Delphos Jefferson at Columbus Grove .......7:30 p.m.Van Wert at Defiance .................................7:30 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Elida ...........................7:30 p.m.Anna at Fort Recovery ...............................7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at Liberty-Benton ..................7 p.m.Northwestern at Indian Lake ......................7:30 p.m.Arcadia at Leipsic ...........................................7 p.m.LCC at Bishop Ready .................................7:30 p.m.Lima Senior at Toledo Central Catholic ...........7 p.m.Marion Local at Parkway ............................7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at St. Henry .........................7:30 p.m.New Bremen at Versailles ..........................7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Van Buren .........................7 p.m.Troy Christian at Perry .....................................7 p.m.Ridgemont at Riverside ...................................7 p.m.Cory Rawson at Vanlue ...................................7 p.m.Minster at St. Henry ...................................7:30 p.m.Fairbanks at Upper Scioto Valley ....................7 p.m.St. Marys at Wapakoneta ...........................7:30 p.m.Waynesfield-Goshen at Fort Loramie .........7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14Allen East at Ada .......................................7:30 p.m.Elida at Bath ..............................................7:30 p.m.LCC at Bluffton ...........................................7:30 p.m.Kenton at Celina ........................................7:30 p.m.Coldwater at Marion Local .........................7:30 p.m.Columbus Grove at Paulding .....................7:30 p.m.Crestview at Spencerville .......................... 7:30 p.m.Shawnee at Defiance .................................7:30 p.m.Del. Jefferson at Lehman Catholic .............7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at Delphos St. John’s ..........7:30 p.m.Arlington at Hardin Northern ...........................7 p.m.Indian Lake at Greenon .............................7:30 p.m.

Leipsic at Cory-Rawson ..................................7 p.m.St. Francis DeSales at Lima Senior ................7 p.m.Versailles at Minster ...................................7:30 p.m.Parkway at New Bremen ............................7:30 p.m.St. Marys at Ottawa-Glandorf ....................7:30 p.m.Liberty-Benton at Pandora-Gilboa ..................7 p.m.Perry at Ridgemont .........................................7 p.m.St. Henry at Anna ......................................7:30 p.m.Upper Scioto Valley at Waynesfield-Goshen ....7 p.m.Wapakoneta at Van Wert ............................7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21Ada at Delphos Jefferson ...........................7:30 p.m.Lima Central Catholic at Allen East ............7:30 p.m.Bath at Ottawa-Glandorf ............................7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Paulding ...................................7:30 p.m.Elida at Celina ...........................................7:30 p.m.New Bremen at Coldwater .........................7:30 p.m.Columbus Grove at Crestview ....................7:30 p.m.Van Buren at Cory Rawson .............................7 p.m.Defiance at Kenton ....................................7:30 p.m.St. Henry at Fort Recovery .........................7:30 p.m.Arcadia at Hardin Northern .............................7 p.m.Urbana at Indian Lake ...............................7:30 p.m.Liberty-Benton at Leipsic ................................7 p.m.Toledo Whitmer at Lima Senior .......................7 p.m.Minster at Parkway .....................................7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at McComb ...........................7 p.m.Perry at St. Wendelin ......................................7 p.m.Fairbanks at Ridgemont ..................................7 p.m.Anna at Versailles ......................................7:30 p.m.Riverside at Upper Scioto Valley .....................7 p.m.Wapakoneta at Shawnee ...........................7:30 p.m.Troy Christian at Spencerville ..........................7 p.m.Van Wert at St. Marys ................................7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22Marion Local at Del. St. John’s ..................7:30 p.m.Waynesfield-Goshen at Lehman Catholic .......7 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28Ada at LCC .................................................7:30 p.m.Swanton at Allen East ................................7:30 p.m.Celina at Bath ............................................7:30 p.m.Bluffton at Columbus Grove .......................7:30 p.m.Coldwater at Minster ..................................7:30 p.m.Paulding at Crestview .................................7:30 p.m.Defiance at Elida .......................................7:30 p.m.Delphos Jefferson at Spencerville ..............7:30 p.m.Delphos St. John’s at New Bremen ............7:30 p.m.Fort Recovery at Marion Local ...................7:30 p.m.Hardin Northern at Vanlue ..............................7 p.m.Indian Lake at Benjamin Logan .................7:30 p.m.Kenton at Wapakoneta ..............................7:30 p.m.Leipsic at McComb .........................................7 p.m.Lima Senior at Clay .........................................7 p.m.Ottawa-Glandorf at Van Wert ......................7:30 p.m.Pandora-Gilboa at Arcadia ..............................7 p.m.Parkway at Anna ........................................7:30 p.m.Upper Scioto Valley at Perry ...........................7 p.m.Ridgemont at Waynesfield-Goshen .................7 p.m.Versailles at St. Henry ................................7:30 p.m.Shawnee at St. Marys ................................7:30 p.m.Cory-Rawson at Arlington ................................7 p.m.

ABOVE: Delphos St. John’s fans celebrate after watching their team win the Division 6 State Championship Game last year.


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WAYNESFIELD-GOSHENCOACH: Gary SpencerSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 7th, 44-16LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 5-5, 4-2 NWCCOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 17RETURNING STARTERS: Ron-nie Jarvis (Sr. OL/DL), Gabe Hennon (Sr. RB/LB), Garret Miller (Jr. QB), Evan Humes (Sr. WR/DB), Cody Baker (Sr. RB/NG), Eli O’Leary (Jr. WR/DB), Kendall Keiser (Sr. WR/DB), Nathan Turner (Sr. RB/LB), Lee Turner (Jr. TE/LB), Cody Schle-gel (Jr. OL/DL), Shawn Robin-son (Jr. OL/DL), Ron Jarvis (Sr. OL/DL), Eric Golver (Sr. (OL/DL), Deryk Plapp (Jr. OL/DL).KEY NEWCOMERS: Col-ten Miller (So. RB), Gabe Wilcox(So. OL/LB).OFFENSE: VeerDEFENSE: 5-2PLAYER(S) TO WATCH: Junior quarterback Garret Miller will be counted to provide leader-ship and run the Tigers option attack. Middle Linebacker Gabe Hennon looks to have a break-out year.

HARDIN NORTHERNCOACH: Shane Cavinee

SEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 2nd, 0-10

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 0-10 overall

OHSAA DIVISION: VI

RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 14. Chris Obenour (Sr., TE/LB), Jacob Gossard (Soph., WR/DB), Dustin Duvall (Sr., RB/LB), Reed Poling (Sr., RB/LB), Austin Garman (Sr., RB/DB), Kurt Thomson (Sr., WR/DB), Hayden Bradley (Jr., RB/LB), Patrick Stevenson (Sr., G/DL), Bill Allen (Jr., C/DL), Linkoln LaRoche (Jr., T/DL), Brandon Coo-per (Sr., T/DL), Austin Roby (Sr., G/LB), Trevor Prichard (Soph., C/DL), Brandon Smtih (Jr., T/DL).

OVERVIEW: The Polar Bears have nowhere to go but up, but that won’t be easy in the tough Blanchard Valley Conference. A year ago, they were outscored 435-53. This season, Hardin Northern has just 21 players, but 14 of them are returning letterwinners. Obenour at linebacker and tight end, Austin Garman and Dustin Duvall at safety and running back, and Kurt Thomson at cornerback and wide receiver, will be key players. At quarterback, junior Brock Spearman and sophomore Rylie Drumm are competing for the starting spot.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ...................................................................................ADASept. 2 ...................................................at Cory-RawsonSept. 9 ........................................................................VAN BURENSept. 16 .......................................................at McCombSept. 23 ............................................................ PANDORA-GILBOASept. 30 ......................................................... at LeipsicOct. 7 .........................................................................at Liberty-BentonOct. 14 ........................................................................ ARLINGTONOct. 21 ............................................................................ ARCADIAOct. 28 ............................................................at Vanlue

BVC TEAM CAPSULES

Good backs, line give Tigers reason for optimismBy MIKE MILLER

419-993-2085

[email protected]

WAYNESFIELD — Waynesfield-Goshen head coach Gary Spencer knows just where his Tigers stand and what they need to improve on to have a suc-cessful 2011 season.

“We have 13 or 14 good players but we must develop some depth,” Spencer said. “Our offensive line and run-ning backs are both strong points for us.”

Junior quarterback Garret Miller (6 foot, 165 pounds) returns to lead the Tigers offense.

He will be counting on help from a pair of seniors, offen-sive guard Ronnie Jarvis (5-9, 210) and running back Gabe Hennon (6-0, 177).

The offensive line could develop into a battering ram for the Tigers this season with Cody Schlegel (Jr., 6-0, 235) and Gabe Wilcox (soph. 6-1, 210) playing the tackle spots, Jarvis and Deryk Plapp (6-0, 215) at the guard spots, Eric Golver (6-1, 252) at center,

Hennon will also lead

Waynesfield-Goshen’s 5-2 defense from his linebacker position.

A trio of sophomores, Gabe Wilcox (6-1, 210), Nathan Turner (5-9, 155), and run-ning back Colten Miller (5-8, 160) will be counted on to provide some of that depth that Spencer is looking to develop.

Finishing high in the North-west Central Conference is a goal that coach Spencer has set for his squad.

“Our goal every year is to compete for the league title,” Spencer said. “Defending champion Fairbanks is the team to beat.”

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 .......................TRIADSept. 2 ........FORT RECOVERYSept. 9 ............at Troy ChristianSept. 16 ...............at FairbanksSept. 23 ...................... at PerrySept. 30 .............. RIVERSIDEOct. 7 .............. at Fort LoramieOct. 14 ...........................USVOct. 22 ..... at Lehman CatholicOct. 28 ..............RIDGEMONT

Waynesfield- Goshen’s Connor Mortimer hands off the ball to his running back dur-ing a 2010 game against Perry in Waynesfield.


RIDGEMONTCOACH: Frank StidSEASONS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 1stLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 1-9 overallOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 13RETURNING STARTERS: CJ Castle (Sr., SB/DB), Deric Cobb (Soph., WR/DB), Nathan Fout (Sr., OL/DL), Derrick Freshcorn (Sr., OL/DL), Luke Heilman (Sr., WR/DB), Myles Hoffman (Sr., WB/LB), Reese Overly (Sr., FB/DL), Caleb Scott (Sr., WB/LB), Shawn Smith (Sr., WB/WR/DB), Ryan Shafer (Sr., OL/DL), Tyler Tillman (Jr, QB/WB/DB), Colin Turner (Jr., FB/DL), Darian Ward (Jr., WB/LB). PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Justice Mague (Fr., OL). OFFENSE: Triple option.DEFENSE: Ridgemont will run a 4-3 defense with a Cover-2 back-field against the throw-heavy NWCC. PLAYER TO WATCH: Shawn Smith. The senior quarterback is read-ing the option well and providing leadership.OVERVIEW: On the 26-man roster, Ridgemont has 12 seniors. According to Stid, the players are adapting well to his new system. The seniors are bringing excellent leadership and the younger play-ers are enthusiastic.

2011 ScheduleAug. 27 ...........................................................at VanlueSept. 2 ........................................................................CRESTLINESept. 9 ............................................................at LucasSept. 16 ......................................................... MARION CATHOLICSept. 23 ......................................at Upper Scioto ValleySept. 30 ................................................................. ST. WENDELINOct. 7 .........................................................at RiversideOct. 14 ...............................................................................PERRYOct. 21 .......................................................................FAIRBANKSOct. 28 .......................................at Waynesfield-Goshen

CORY-RAWSONCOACH: Andy Schafer

YEARS, RECORD AT SCHOOL: N/A

LAST YEAR: 5-5 overall, 4-5 Blanchard Valley Conference

RETURNING STARTERS: Jeremiah Alspach (Sr., QB/DB), Josh Hill (Sr., OT), Mason Banner (Sr., OG), Grant Marshall (Sr., CL), Tyler Harris (Jr., RB/DB), Josh Hill (Sr., LB), Buzzy Simpson (Sr., WR/DB), Nathan Davis (Sr., DT),

PROMISING NEWCOMERS: Heath Risner (Soph., LB), Mitch Kar-hoff (Jr., OT), Macen Desgranges (Soph., G), Austin Heath (Sr., WR/LB), Alex Edson (Sr., WR), Chris Reichley (Sr., WR).

OFFENSE: The Hornets will still be a spread offense, but the mentality will be to run-first based on personnel. Hill, Banner and Marshall give them a strong offensive line while Alspach returns at quarterback after setting a school record for single-season passing with 1,788 yards with 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

DEFENSE: Cory-Rawson took a big hit when middle linebacker Adam Rosendale graduated (now at Findlay). Risner will try to replace him while Risner and Hill will lineup at oustide linebackers. The defensive backfield returns starting cornerbacks Harris, Alspach and free safety Simpson.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Alspach proved he can work in a pass-happy offense a year ago. Now, behind a strong offensive line and a versa-tile running back, he’ll have more balanc and help all over the field.

OVERVIEW: Cory-Rawson should improve on last year’s 5-5 record. A good line and Alspach experience at QB, along with a talented and experienced running back in Harris, are a solid nucleus on offense. Losing Rosendale hurts the defense, but the Hornets seem to have plenty of experience and talent back in all areas to make up the gap.

2011 ScheduleAug. 26 ................................................................................ at BlufftonSept. 2 ............................................................HARDIN NORTHERNSept. 9 .....................................................................at Pandora-GilboaSept. 16 .......................................................................... ARCADIASept. 23 .....................................................................at Liberty-BentonSept. 30 .........................................................................MCCOMBOct. 7 ..................................................................................... at VanlueOct. 14 .............................................................................. LEIPSICOct. 21 ........................................................................VAN BURENOct. 28 ................................................................................at Arlington

Shelby Motter wears her team colors during Fri-

day’s game between Perry against Waynesfield-Gos-

hen in Waynesfield.

RICHARD PARRISH • The Lima News Want the best high school sports coverage

Click onto limasports.com

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LEIPSICCOACH: Joe KirkendallSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 4th; 25-8LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 9-2, 8-1 BVCOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 16RETURNING STARTERS: Brady Schroeder (Sr., RB/DB), Travis Schroeder (Sr., DB), Ty Maag (Sr., WR), Nate Schey (Sr., WR/DB), Nate Nuveman (Sr., DB), Trevor Schroeder (Sr., RB), Joe Berger (Sr., OL), Greg Berger (Sr., DL), Josh Turnwald (Sr., OT), Ross Benton (Sr., OG), Ryan Mangas (Sr., OT), Aric Schroeder (Jr., WR), Cody Guerra (Jr., LB), Devin Mangas (Jr., K)KEY NEWCOMERS: Caleb Klin-ebriel (Jr., OG), Logan Hasel-man (Jr., LB), Colyn Niese (Jr., C), Austin Brown (Jr., DB), Gar-ret Bardall (Soph., DE), Edgar Ralda (Jr., DE)OFFENSE: Pro. The Vikings aim for a balanced offense, but with two running backs who combined for more than 1,700 yards rushing last season, some veterans on the offensive line and a first-year starter at quarterback, they might lean toward the running game early.DEFENSE: 4-3. Stopping the run is a strength for the Vikings, led by four-year starter Greg Berger at nose guard. The start-ing defensive backfield is back intact from last season and the linebacker group is also strong.PLAYER TO WATCH: Senior running back Trevor Schroeder gained almost 1,200 yards last year and could beat that total this season.

PANDORA-GILBOACOACH: Carey ArthurSEASON, RECORD AT SCHOOL: 6th; 33-21LAST YEAR’S RECORD (Overall, League): 5-5, 5-4 BVCOHSAA DIVISION: VIRETURNING LETTERWINNERS: 6RETURNING STARTERS: Josh Breece (Sr., QB/S), Levi Hovest (Sr., WR/LB), Nathan Schutz (Sr., OG/LB), Lucis Ladden (Sr., OT/DT), Abram Basinger (Jr., WR/CB), Brady Schulte (Jr., OT/DT)KEY NEWCOMERS: Nick Walther (Jr., TB/DE), Seth Schmenk (Soph., WR/S), Alex Osborn (Soph., TE/DE), Evan Hovest (C/LB), Jared Tousley (Soph., OT/DE), Brian Schneck (Soph., WR/CB), Garrett Gerdeman (FR., OG/DT)OFFENSE: Spread. Quarterback Josh Breece, one of only three returning starters on offense, threw for almost 2,000 yards and rushed for nearly 500 yards. He averaged 25 passing attempts and 19 carries a game. The Rockets hope to lessen the rush-ing load on him a little bit this season by using a running back more often.DEFENSE: 4-3. Young players will fill many starting slots, which means strength is a concern. PLAYER TO WATCH: Quarterback Josh Breece is in his third year as a starter. He threw for 1,951 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year. As a sophomore, he passed for 1,542 yards. Expect the ball to be in the air a lot again this fall.

Finding quarterback biggest concern for LeipsicBy JIM NAVEAU


LEIPSIC — It’s not the only question, but it’s the biggest one.

Who is going to play quarterback for Leipsic this season? Two-year starter Liam Nadler has moved on to Gannon University. Now somebody new has to step up at that position.

The Vikings were 9-2 last season and 19-4 the last two seasons with Nadler at quarter-back. With a 1,000-yard rusher and a 600-yard rusher, a veteran offensive line and lots of experience back on defense, they are in the discussion again about who might win the Blanchard Valley Conference this season.

Zach Kuhlman, a sophomore who was the backup quarterback last season, and Derek Steffan, who played defensive back in 2010, are competing for the starting quarterback job.

“If you want to ask about our No. 1 con-cern, it’s right there at the quarterback posi-tion,” Leipsic coach Joe Kirkendall said.

“We really like the depth and experience we have back on the offensive line. Our quarterback is going to be the key. But we’re not going to ask him to do a lot to win games. If we need our quarterback to win games, we’ve got other problems. Our offense isn’t designed like some of these other offenses where everything runs through the quarter-back.

“We went back to the basics, we’ve tried to simplify what we ask the quarterback to do. Liam had been through it. There were things he could do because he’d seen it,” he said.

Tailback Trevor Schroeder rushed for 1,157 yards last season and Brady Schroeder had 600 yards on the ground. They will have veterans like tackle Josh Turnwald (four-year starter), guard Ross Benton (three-year starter), center Joey Berger (two-year

starter) and Ryan Mangas (three starts at tackle, three at tight end last season) block-ing for them.

Defensively, nose guard Greg Berger is a four-year starter and linebacker Cody Guerra led the team in tackles last year as a sopho-more.

The Vikings have all four returning starters in the defensive backfield, with Brady Schro-eder, Travis Schroeder, Nate Schey and Nate Nuveman. And the linebacking group, led by Guerra and Dan DeLaRosa, “is as strong as it has ever been,” Kirkendall said.

High expectations aren’t just something that comes from the outside for the Vikings.

“How often can you say a 9-2 season is dis-appointing and in a way last year was,” Kirk-endall said. “But we didn’t win the league and we didn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs (a 45-35 loss to Ada). Now we have to make that step.

“We lost a senior class that had a lot of three-year starters in it, but we’ve got a lot of kids who have played for two or three years who are still here,” he said.


Trevor Schroeder of Leipsic is tackled by Liberty-Benton defenders during Friday’s game at Liberty-Benton.

2011 Schedule

Aug. 26 ..........................HOPEWELL-LOUDONSept. 2 .................................. at Pandora-GilboaSept. 9 ..............................................VANLUESept. 16 .........................................at Van BurenSept. 23 ...................................... ARLINGTONSept. 30 ......................... HARDIN NORTHERNOct. 7 ..............................................ARCADIAOct. 14 ...................................... at Cory-RawsonOct. 21 ................................LIBERTY-BENTONOct. 28 .............................................at McComb

Pandora-Gilboa hopes young players mature earlyBy JIM NAVEAU


PANDORA — At any level — pros, college or high school — football coaches are reluctant to identify first-year players as starters early in practice.

But not at Pandora-Gilboa this sea-son. Having to replace 11 seniors, most of whom started on offense and defense, means there will be a lot of young players on the field right away for the Rockets this fall.

Any discussion of P-G starts with a veteran, not its inexperienced play-ers, though.

Quarterback Josh Breece will be in his third year as a starter. He threw for 1,951 yards last season and 1,542 yards as a sophomore. He had 21 touchdown passes with only seven interceptions last season and four of those interceptions came in one game against McComb.

“We’ve got a returning quarterback who has thrown for 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns the last two years, so obviously the pass will be a forte. We’re young and inexperienced. We’ll have to ride Josh’s arm, at least early in the season until some of the younger kids develop,” Pandora-Gilboa coach Carey Arthur said.

One area where Breece will be asked to carry less of the load is in the running game, where he gained

490 yards a year ago.After having an “empty” backfield

last fall with no one but the quarter-back lined up there, the Rockets will add a former tight end, Nick Walther, to the backfield to improve the pass protection.

“We’re putting in what we call a ‘Rocket’ sweep offense where we have double wings and we can put

them in motion and pitch it. We plan on running a couple of our other kids rather than putting the whole burden on Josh,” Arthur said.

Seth Schmenk, Alex Osborn, Brian Schneck, Levi Hovest and Abram Basinger are the receivers. Hovest is a senior and Basinger is a junior, while the other three are sopho-mores.

Lucis Ladden (OT/DT), Nathan Schutz (OG/LB), Levi Hovest (WR/LB), Brady Schulte (OT/DT), who is out for the first half of the sea-son, Basinger (WR/CB) and Breece (QB/S) are two-way starters.

That means the Rockets are espe-cially young on the defensive front.

“We know we can move the foot-ball. On the other hand, it’s hard to know if we’ll be able to stop teams because of our inexperience on the front,” Arthur said.

“We want to build a foundation for the future. We’re realistic but we also know that if the cards fall right, with our quarterback returning, that says an awful lot in the game of football.”

2011 Schedule

Aug. 26 ............COLUMBUS GROVE

Sept. 2 ...............................LEIPSIC

Sept. 9 ....................CORY-RAWSON

Sept. 16 ........................... at Arlington

Sept. 23 .............. at Hardin Northern

Sept. 30 .............................VANLUE

Oct. 7 .............................at Van Buren

Oct. 14 .................LIBERTY-BENTON

Oct. 21 .............................at McComb

Oct. 28 ............................... at Arcadia


Pandora-Gilboa quarterback Josh Breece runs the ball upfield into the Columbus Grove secondary in last year’s showdown.


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Delphos St. Johns’ Jeremy Newby carries the ball during a scrimmage with Elida at Delphos.

DENNIS SAAM • The Lima News

Perry quarterback T. J. Sloan carries the ball in a scrimmage against Van-lue at Perry High School.

• The Lima News

• The Lima News

Lima Central Catholic’s Kalito Lazenby runs through the Bath sec-ondary in a scrimmage at Lima Stadium.


Lima Senior’s Martin Cockrell (right) brings down Defiance’s Joe Keween during a scrimmage held at Lima Stadium.


Colin Blymeyer carries the ball for Elida past St. John’s defender Brett Schwinen-

during a scrimmage at Delphos.

Spencerville Bearcat Austin

Lotz, 7, leans for extra yards during a scrim-mage against

Shawnee.


• The Lima News

ABOVE: Lima Central Catholic’s Corey Stump runs in the secondary after the reception in a scrimmage against Bath at Lima Stadium.

• The Lima News

Perry defenders Nico Maroney and Kayden Dickey make a tackle in a scrimmage at Perry.


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Silver, 74K Miles.............................................. $8,95006 ELANTRA

Red, Nicely Equipped..................................... $9,99908 KIA RIO

26K Miles, Silver.............................................. $10,99908 ACCENT GLS

Leather, Sunroof, Gray, 29K Miles

$27,933

HIGH LINES09 INFINITI G37

2 To Choose From, Leather, Loaded, Priced From... $28,98910 GENESIS

Black, Leather, Sunroof, 17K Miles, Loaded $29,95009 MERCEDES C300

Gray, 16K Miles, Leather, Loaded.................. $31,95010 MERCEDES C300

Wonderful Small Sport Utility, 20K Miles...... $32,97010 MERCEDES GLK

Black, Only 36K Miles..................................... $11,95007 KIA SPECTRA

Blue, Nicely Equipped, 2 To Choose From.. $13,65010 ACCENT GLS

3 To Choose From, As Low As 19K Miles.... $15,55010 COROLLA S

Gray, 20K Miles, FUN CAR! .......................... $16,95008 TIBURON

5K Miles, Gold................................................ $16,98711 COROLLA S

2 To Choose From, As Low As 18K Miles, Priced From $16,98909 CAMRY LE’S

Blue, 38K Miles............................................... $16,99007 SANTA FE GLS

33K Miles, Silver............................................. $19,95010 SANTA FE GLS

Burgunday, 4X4, 48K Miles............................ $19,95007 MURANO

Black, 24K Miles............................................. $21,98910 HONDA CIVIC

Black, Only 14K Miles.................................... $23,95911 SANTA FE GLS

Gray, 33K Miles............................................... $25,97808 ODYSSEY

Red, Only 11K Miles........................................ $26,95010 TOYOTA PRIUS HYBRID

HURRY TO TOM AHLS!!HURRY TO TOM AHLS!!OVER 550 PRE OWNED

VEHICLE MARKED DOWNOVER 550 PRE OWNED

VEHICLE MARKED DOWNTO MOVE OUT BEFORE

SCHOOL STARTS!TO MOVE OUT BEFORE

SCHOOL STARTS!

Best Deals & Best Selectionin Town are at Tom Ahl’s!

Best Deals & Best Selectionin Town are at Tom Ahl’s!

800-289-2457

WWW.TOMAHL.COM

Pewter, Local Trade, 25K Mi

$13,996

25 GMC DEALS07 GMC SIERRA

Chrome Wheels, Cap, Clean CarFax............. $13,98908 GMC SIERRA

Extended Cab, 4X4.......................................... $14,94906 GMC SIERRA

Gray, 4X4, Pwr Wndws&Lcks, Was $21,900.. $19,48609 GMC CANYON

Silver, Lthr Htd Seats, Clean CarFax, NADA $35,200 $28,96011 GMC ACADIA

Gray, Lthr Heated Seats, 4X4, Clean CarFax.... $35,43510 GMC YUKON XL SLT

8 - 2011 GMC ACADIAS5 - GMC SIERRAS

10 DODGENITRO SXT

Green, 4X4One Owner

Was $19,999

$18,994

SALVATION ARMYTools 4 School

program distributes school suppliesto help disadvantaged children.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED...Tom AhlFamily of Dealerships will be

collecting new school supplies nowthrough August 12th. Please drop

off supplies at any Tom Ahl location.Thank you and God Bless.

VISIT US ONLINE ATwww.tomahl.com

SALE HOURS:MON 9-8 • TUES 9-6

WED 9-6 • THURS 9-8FRI 9-6 • SAT 9-3

Chrysler - 419-227-0202Buick - 419-228-2345Hyundai - 419-228-3951Ahl Under 10 - 419-222-9999


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