legends of the fall

E1Fall Sports

E2 — Thursday, August 28, 2014 Legends of the Fall THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

“Rambo” played by Sylvester Stallone

Bo Jackson

Sasquatch

AP file photoThe Cleveland Browns Dick Schafrath (77) leads the way for Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown

as quarterback Frank Ryan looks on during the Browns’ 27-0 win over the Baltimore Colts in the 1964 NFL championship game. Schafrath, a 1955 Wooster High graduate, also won a national title while playing for Ohio State in 1957. The legendary 1964 Browns team was the last from Cleveland to win a championship in a major sport.

What does it take to become legendary in high school football?“To work hard every practice and lay it on

the line on Friday nights.”— Jon Miller, Smithville, DE

“Go beyond what is asked and expected to make people remember you.”

— Aaron Indermuhle, Chippewa, G/LB

“Do something that no one else has done.” — J.D. Murphy, Dalton, OT/DT

“People need to fear you when they play you.”— Jesse Mann, Dalton, OLB

“God-given talent and the ability to turn anything into a big play.”

— Trey Pamer, Wooster, WR/CB

Who’s the biggest football legend to you?“Jerry Rice. He’s the No. 1 receiver of

all-time and his dedication was better than anyone else.”

— Troy Haven, Triway, WR/OLB

“My older brother Michael. He played center for Smithville during the 2002 sea-son when they made it to state.”

— Andy Benchoff, Smithville, WR/CB

“Bo Jackson. He was an incredible ath-lete.”

— Jesse Shircliff, Triway, DE/OT

“Larry Zuercher. I grew up hearing sto-ries of how he was the greatest running back of all-time and how he never went down.”

— Patrick McGinty, Dalton, RB/OLB

“Johnny Manziel. I love the way he plays.”

— Zach Ryder, Dalton, QB/CB

Who in your life is legendary?

“My brother Derek. He works harder than anyone I know.”

— Parker Carmichael, Triway, QB/DB

“My brother Shawn Sheridan for hold-ing the (NHS) interception record.”

— Ryan Sheridan, Northwestern, WR/DB

“My mother. She battled cancer twice and hasn’t let it change her one bit. That speaks for itself.”

— Isaiah Klenovich, Wooster, CB

“My brother Jason. He golfed in high school and at Mount Union. After col-lege, he got very sick for two or three years. He handled the adversity well.”

— Dakota Fincham, Waynedale, RB/LB

What’s the most legendary football moment you’ve experienced as a player or fan?

“First varsity touchdown. You’ll never forget it.”

— Ke’Ontae Owens, Orrville, RB/DB

“Beating Triway on the opening night on their turf.”

— Corre Shaffer, Orrville, WR/LB

“Beating Norwayne in 2011. We were their only loss.”

— Ryan Smucker, Smithville, TE/OLB

“Beating Norwayne last season and watching the fans rush the field.”

— Josh Prichard, Chippewa, C/DT

“When Adam (Wallace) complet-ed the pass to Kaleb (Harris) to win the state championship.”

— Garrett BallNorwayne, DE

Which of these legendary creatures do you most think could be real?

A) Sasquatch — 66%B) Loch Ness monster — 18%C) Vampire — 8%D) Werewolf — 8%

Which of these legendary movie

characters would make the best football player?A) Terminator — 10%B) Darth Vader — 28%C) Indiana Jones — 5%D) Rambo — 52%E) Dirty Harry — 5%

Besides football, what is someone on your team legendary for?

“Parker (Carmichael). He’s one of the greatest lead-er I’ve ever been around.”

— Dillon Kopp, Triway, WR/CB

“J.D. Murphy for being dirty.”— Ryan Conner, Dalton, WR/LB

“Nick Zollinger’s hair.”— Jake Gamble, Chippewa, OT/DT

“Coach Kevin Covert. He’s always positive and makes us laugh.”

— Josh Burns, Northwestern, LB/OL

Carmichael

Sheridan

McGinty

Benchoff

Ball Owens

MillerPamerMurphy Indermuhle

Best wishes for a healthy seasonto all area football teams & players

The Daily Record

Zollinger

In what way are your H.S. coaches legendary to you?

“They’ve taught me a work ethic.”— Zach Fitzgerald, Orrville, WR/DT

“They put in legendary effort, devoting most of their free time to finding the best way for us to win.”

— Cooper Braun, Triway, C/DT

“They can deal with our senior class.”— Harold Kennedy, Smithville, C/DT

Senior Player Surveys

E2Fall Sports

330.804.9712

Make our team your team! Wooster * Millersburg * Orrville

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Legends of the Fall Thursday, August 28, 2014 — E3

GOOD LUCK GENERALS!

4570 West Old Lincoln WayWooster OH 44691

330-263-6555

ROLL‘EM OVER GENERALS!

FALL LEAGUES FORMING NOW!

330-262-2451 triwaylanes.com

3392 Columbus Rd. Wooster

E3Cloverleaf

Kevin Lynch photoThe Daily Record sports staff that produced the

“Legends of the Fall” football preview wear cloth-ing that shows off the high schools where they learned to appreciate the game. From left are Art Holden (Chippewa High alum), Aaron Dork-sen (Chardon), Zach Bolinger (Chippewa), Andrew Vogel (Decatur, Ga.) and Mike Plant (Wooster).

Aaron Dorksen photo/www.buydrphotos.comSmithville players (from left) David Myers, Eddie Sherwood and Lance

Bohlen not only got to meet Smithies legend Larry Kolic for the first time this summer, he also drove them in his customized Hummer to a photo shoot at the Smithville Inn.

Aaron Dorksen photo/www.buydrphotos.comDalton football players (from left) Connor Clark, JD Murphy, Tristan Fitz-

water, Andy Caillet, Isaiah Miller and Hayden Amstutz enjoy one of the best breaks from training camp imaginable: ice cream at the Dalton Dari-Ette and football stories from Bulldogs’ legend Larry Zuercher.

Legends of the Fall return, inspire current generationHigh school football

players all over the state will take to the field to open the 2014 seasons this week.

Good teams and players are often remembered in their communities long after their playing days. The great ones might be recalled by an entire county or counties long after they’re done.

The very best of the best will become “Leg-ends of the Fall.”

To help preview the upcoming season and get a better sense of the area’s football history, The Daily Record invited a top former player from 12 area high schools back to his alma mater to meet current standouts and pose for photos at a leg-endary location.

We are thrilled with the cooperation we received from both the current head coaches, players and the alums to complete the preview edition you’re now reading. Nearly every alum we contacted agreed to participate.

Some of the invitations took no time at all for us to decide on. When peo-ple talk about Wooster football, or area greats for that matter, the first name they should think of is Dick Schafrath, who won a national title while playing for Ohio State in 1957 and was on the Cleveland Browns’ last title team in 1964. He was legendary off the field as well, canoeing across Lake Erie and running 60 miles from Cleveland to Wooster after losing a bet.

Wooster coach Doug Haas said he’s like a kid in a candy store when Schafrath is around, lis-tening to stories of block-ing for the likes of Jim Brown and playing for Woody Hayes and Paul Brown.

Because there’s so much time invested in a team getting ready for foot-ball games and so few of them, Haas thinks that makes the sport even more memorable.

“I look at us as a high school program and we get a get a 10-game schedule with five of those at home,” Haas said. “Christmas comes once a year and there’s only five home football games — that’s not much of an increase.”

Smithville’s top player was a no-brainer as well. Larry Kolic helped turn the Smithies into a great program before earning the MVP of the Citrus Bowl as a senior for Ohio State in 1985 and he played for parts of three seasons as a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins.

West Holmes’ legend is another easy choice. Joe Norman is the only other local included in our Legends preview with an NFL pedigree. After star-ring for the Knights he was a tackling machine at linebacker for Indiana and played six years for

the Seattle Seahawks.Other easy choices

included Triway’s Keith Snoddy and Dalton’s Larry Zuercher.

Snoddy helped the Titans win a league title in the 1975 season finale with no time left as a senior with a long touchdown pass and then a successful two-point pass before starring at Youngstown State.

Zuercher averaged more than 14 yards a carry for the Bulldogs in 1961 and better than 10 yards a run for his career before going on to play for Kent State.

Fortunately, all five of those gentlemen agreed to take part in our project because it wouldn’t have been nearly the same without them.

Smithville seniors Lance Bohlen, David Myers and Eddie Sherwood grew up being told stories about Kolic, whose incredible strength and work ethic helped him also own the Ohio Class A shot put record for many years.

“I always heard about him growing up — that he was the best player to ever come through here,” Bohlen said. “My uncle (Jack Eggeman) was a freshman when (Kolic) was a senior and said he was a stud. It was great to actually meet him.”

Just meeting the former stars for our preview added to their legend in some cases. Kolic told the three Smithies seniors to ride with him to the historic Smithville Inn for their photo shoot — in his customized Hummer.

Those players are prob-ably still smiling after riding with Kolic, who said he’s only been back to Smithville a few times since graduating in 1982.

Zuercher was nice enough to drive over from Indiana and still looked fit enough to run the ball at age 70. The Bulldogs’ offensive line-men ate ice cream with him at the Dalton Dari-Ette and said he provided extra motivation to leave their own winning legacy.

Norwayne’s Adam Wallace is the youngest former player spotlighted, having graduated in 2012. However, Wallace led the Bobcats to just the area’s second state title as a senior in an instant clas-sic 48-42 Div. IV win over Kenton in which he threw for four touchdowns, ran for three more and also played linebacker. The play of the quarterback-linebacker was legendary for any era and he’s now a redshirt sophomore starter at linebacker for Ashland University.

Picking a legend who could return late this summer from the other schools wasn’t nearly as easy.

Orrville leads the area with 22 playoff appear-ances and has routinely churned out Div. I play-ers. A dozen or more Red Riders could have been featured, but 1989 gradu-ate Jason Haley’s play at linebacker and fullback before his career was cut short by injury at Akron ranks among the best. And he’s remained on board at OHS to coach an incredible line of col-lege linebackers since.

Waynedale has pro-duced many great ones, including current coach Matt Zuercher. Highlight-ing 1970s running back

Jon Thompson was a chance to showcase one of the area’s greats from that era.

Chippewa has made only two playoff appear-ances, with one of those coming last year.

When the modern Wayne County League was formed in the 1950s, though, the Chipps ran off three straight titles and won 21 straight games with lineman Butch Williams starring before going on to play for a national title winner at Bowling Green.

Northwestern’s under-sized running back Travis “Coop” Morris helped lead his school’s deepest playoff run as a sopho-more in 2005 after mak-ing a legendary climb up the depth chart.

Rittman’s Butch Ullman showed that players don’t necessarily have to be on a title team to leave their mark. His toughness as a tackler in the late 1960s before he went on to play linebacker at Akron is still talked about.

Hillsdale’s Drew Austin was a fierce competitor in the midst of a terrible streak at his school, play-ing fullback and lineback-er for the only winning team (1985) between the 1973-1992 seasons.

Current stars featured on our “Legends of the Fall” cover have already made lasting marks, but have chances to add to the legacy of their teams themselves.

Triway senior Parker Carmichael is already the area’s all-time career passing yardage leader and led the Titans to the second round of the Div. IV playoffs.

Wooster senior Mar-quise Blair is the top returning receiver and tackler for his team and

has committed to sign with Syracuse.

Chippewa junior Bailey Breitenstine quarter-backed the Chipps from 1-9 to 9-3 and a Div. V playoff spot last year, showing a knack for being at his best in crunch time.

“We went on a nice roll winning nine straight games last year and it was nice to see all the support for Triway football,” said Carmichael, who led sev-eral thrilling last-second wins during that 9-3 season. “It’s nice for our team to be talked about with some of the great ones at our school, but we have a lot more we want to do.”

Blair said it would be memorable if the Gener-als could make a run at the playoffs after going 4-6 last year.

“That would be huge for our program, to be the ones who got us back to winning,” Blair said.

Breitenstine knows all about the lasting legacy of high school football.

“People still talk about my dad’s Barberton team beating Massillon at the Rubber Bowl in 1982 when Chris Spielman was a sophomore,” Bailey said of Brian Breitenstine.

“We wore leather hel-mets then,” Brian joked. “I sure couldn’t play quarterback anymore — I’d have to be a guard.”

That’s alright, Brian. They’re still talking about what you did 32 years ago. Like the aforemen-tioned players, that’s the stuff of legends.

Aaron Dorksen can be reached at 330-287-1621 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @adork-senTDR.

AaronDorksen

Daily RecordSports Editor

area football winsA look at the all-time win-

loss-tie totals for area football teams, followed by year their program started and total playoff appearances. W L T Year POOrrville 600 372 41 1903 22Wooster 518 438 53 1899 3Dalton 448 304 5 1924 10Rittman 382 409 32 1923 2Chippewa 376 422 28 1912 2Waynedale 360 215 10 1955 9Smithville 341 253 10 1956 12Tuslaw 243 257 3 1960 7Triway 236 269 12 1963 5Cloverleaf 221 302 5 1960 1W.Holmes 220 217 5 1964 5N’western 190 297 9 1963 5Norwayne 176 297 12 1954 4Hillsdale 160 325 14 1963 3

Note: Loudonville information notavailable.

indexArea schedules E14 Chippewa F1Cloverleaf F7Dalton F4Hillsdale F5Loudonville F8Northwestern F12Norwayne F2OCC Preview E7Orrville E6New rule change E13Rittman E9Smithville E12Triway E10Tuslaw F7Waynedale F6WCAL preview E8West Holmes F10Wooster E4

Past DR football honoreesPLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2013 Parker Carmichael (Triway)2012 Jon Zimmerly (Norwayne)2011 Adam Wallace (Norwayne)2010 Derek Carmichael (Triway) 2009 Chase Hoobler (Orrville) 2008 Ben Cline (Triway) 2007 Thad Nofsinger (Waynedale) 2006 Kyle Simmons (Orrville) 2005 Ryan Kopina (Wooster)2004 Tim Hiller (Orrville) 2003 Derek Jackson (Dalton) 2002 Mark Jameson (Dalton) 2001 Kyle Kauffman (Smithville) 2000 Rod Taylor (West Holmes) 1999 Rod Taylor (West Holmes) 1998 Dru Robinson (Orrville) 1997 Matt Zuercher (Waynedale)1996 Tim Spires (Dalton) 1995 Pete Miley (Smithville) 1987-94 No awards given1986 Tony Lee (Wooster) 1985 Jack Leeder (Orrville) 1984 Tom Bolyard (Orrville) 1983 Kyle Kerstetter (C.F. Northwest) 1982 Ken DePriest (West Holmes), S. Crossland (C.F. Northwest)

COACHES OF THE YEAR2013 Mike Bohley (Chippewa)2012 Joe Harbour (Norwayne)2011 Joe Harbour (Norwayne)2010 Tom Williams (Hillsdale)2009 Doug Davault (Orrville)2008 Kevin Maltarich (Norwayne)2007 Tom Williams (Hillsdale)2006 Doug Davault (Orrville)2005 Mike Thut (Northwestern)2004 Keith Schrock (Smithville)2003 Bill Seder (Waynedale)2002 Keith Schrock (Smithville)2001 Mike Thut (Northwestern)2000 John Lance (Loudonville)1999 Brian Hessey (Chippewa)1998 Bill McMillan (Orrville)1997 Bill Seder (Waynedale)1996 Jeff Souers (Triway)1995 Bill Seder (Waynedale)1987-94 No awards given1986 Bob McFarland (Wooster)1985 Jeff Souers (Waynedale)1984 Keith Schrock (Smithville)1983 Bill Kjerrumgaard (West Holmes), Keith Schrock (Smithville)1982 Dan Evans (West Holmes)

on the coverThe cover was produced and designed by Pete Kiko

of The Daily Record in conjunction with the sports department.

The pictures of the current stars were taken by Daily Record photographer Dan Starcher. The vintage pho-tos were collected from a variety of sources, ranging from DR files, to yearbooks and the past players’ per-sonal collections.


Mike Schenk photo/www.buydrphotos.comWooster legend Dick Schafrath visited Follis Field and posed for a photo next to the Charles Follis

Monument at Follis Field, which has a new turf field this fall as part of a $750,000 stadium renovation project. Schafrath starred for the Generals in the 1950s and then played on championship teams for Ohio State (1957) and the Cleveland Browns (1964). Hoping to add to the Generals’ rich tradition are (from left) seniors Tyson Jackson, Cam Daugherty, Marquise Blair and Martavius Dyson.

Wooster’s tale

Started football in 1899. Made playoffs three times. Play in Ohio Cardinal Con-ference. Play at Fol-lis Field. Coached by Doug Haas (7-13 enter-ing third year leading Wooster). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. II, Region 5.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Highland L, 17-45Sept. 5 WADSWORTH L, 13-14Sept. 12 at Green DNPSept. 19 ASHLAND* L, 17-38Sept. 26 at Madison* W, 48-24Oct. 3 CLEAR FORK* L, 26-29Oct. 10 LEXINGTON* W, 40-20Oct. 17 at Mansfield* L, 21-45Oct. 24 at West Holmes* W, 41-34Nov. 1 ORRVILLE* W, 56-0* Ohio Cardinal Conference game

Meet the startersOFFENSE

Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Cam Daugherty 6-5 225 Sr.RB Martavius Dyson 5-10 185 Sr.RB Mason Woods 6-2 235 Sr.WR Marquise Blair 6-3 190 Sr.WR Colt Morgan 6-4 180 So.TE Storm Nicholson 5-10 185 Sr.LT Tyson Jackson 6-2 290 Sr.LG Seth Folks 5-11 225 So.C Petey Bess 5-9 210 Jr.RG Mason McGee 6-1 200 Jr.RT Staten Kirchofer 6-2 200 Jr.K Alex Hasapis 5-9 160 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Aaron Saal 6-0 190 Sr.DT Tyson Jackson 6-2 290 Sr.DT Shea Hershberger 5-8 230 Sr.DE Eddie Rooney 5-11 185 So.OLB Marquise Blair 6-3 190 Sr.ILB Petey Bess 5-9 210 Jr.OLB Mason Woods 6-2 235 Sr.CB Isaiah Klenovich 5-8 165 Sr.CB Kobe Russell 5-10 160 Jr.FS/P Cam Daugherty 6-5 225 Sr.S Martavius Dyson 5-10 185 Sr.

Wooster plotWhile going 3-7 in coach Doug Haas’ first year at the

helm in 2012 and then 4-6 last season, the Generals have shown flashes of excellence on both sides of the ball. However, too often Wooster been unable to make the big plays in the second half of close games, which has kept it from challenging in the OCC or playoff race. The Gener-als have one of the most explosive and seasoned group of skilled players in the area and most of those returnees also play defense. The lines are green on both sides of the ball, but if they can come of age Wooster has the potential for a special season on its sparkling new turf field.

Words of wisdom“Winning some games early would be huge,” Haas said.

“We’ve harped on that and preached that really from Day 1 in terms of the difference between being 4-6 and potentially 7-3 last year.

“It was 24-17 against Medina Highland (13-1 final record) at halftime, we were leading at halftime against Wadsworth and Ashland and it was a three-point game into the third quarter against Chagrin Falls. Those are just a few (losses) that stick in your craw. We’ve talked about the importance of taking steps to get over that hump so that we’re winning those types of games.”

Main charactersHaas doesn’t downplay the talent of seniors Marquise

Blair (WR-OLB), Cam Daugherty (QB-S) and Marta-vius Dyson (RB-S), often referring to them as a three-headed monster. They’re arguably as talented as any trio in the area. Daugherty is the school’s career passing leader with more than 3,300 yards entering his senior season, including 1,094 stripes and 12 TDs last year. After seeing very little playing time in the first three games of 2013, Dyson exploded to finish the year with 160 carries for 1,202 yards and 16 TDs as he became the focal point of the shotgun-spread offense. Blair, who has verbally committed to sign with Syracuse, led the team in receiv-ing (35 for 724, 11 TDs) and tackles (75).

“Having those three makes it hard for defenses to gameplan against us,” Haas said. “That’s exciting, but we’re only going to go as far as those five or six guys up front and the fullback who leads them. Those guys are special when they get their hands on the ball and when they get a crease they can do some really neat things. Hopefully, the other 55 guys realize that and take pride in wanting to be a cog in the offensive wheel in regards to those guys.”

Two of the biggest cogs are Tyson Jackson (T-DT) and Mason Woods (RB-OLB), who are both returning two-way starters. WR Colt Morgan also saw regular action, but other than Jackson the rest of the offensive line will be new. Shea Hershberger, Staten Kirchhofer, Seth Folks, Petey Bess and Mason McGee are being counted on to step in on the O-Line.

With Blair and Woods at OLB flanking Bess in the middle, the Generals’ 4-3 defense is solid. Athletic Aaron Saal will step in on the D-Line along with Hershberger and Eddie Rooney to join returnee Jackson. The second-ary is solid with Daugherty and Dyson at S and Isaiah Klenovich and Kobe Russell at CB.

“The line is a key on the defense as well,” Haas said. “Can we get eight kids as a D-line group to rotate through because some of them are going to be playing offense as well? It’s a tough position to play and we need to be fresh in the fourth quarter.”

Keys to a memorable fallHaas said he’s not worrying about the other teams on

the Generals’ schedule. Practice is the key to making the program better, Haas said. If the line can come together and Wooster can make a few more plays in the second half of games that have eluded them the last two years, it could truly be a memorable fall.

“One of our turf committee members texted me and said, ‘Hey, it would be fun to be playing for an OCC cham-pionship on that new turf in Week 10,’” Haas said. “That’s obviously something we talk about every year — working to go out and win an OCC championship. I tell the seniors all the time that you have a chance to leave a legacy and to put 2014 on a banner in the gym. That’s why you do it, you want to win and to leave a little bit of a legacy.”

— Aaron Dorksen

Schafrath inspires current Generals

The past, present and future of Wooster High School football all came together when Dick Schafrath visited Follis Field in late August.

Schafrath is as legend-ary as they come as far as area sports personalities go, having starred for the Generals in the mid 1950s and then on champion-ship teams for the Ohio State Buckeyes (1957) and Cleveland Browns (1964).

The seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle was a bit undersized for a pro lineman at 6-foot-3 and usually weighing between 250-260 pounds, but his exploits were larger than life. In addition to block-ing for three Hall of Fame running backs, Schafrath was the first person to canoe across Lake Erie and once ran 60 miles non-stop from Cleveland to Wooster after losing a bet. He also competed in eating contests to keep his weight up and wres-tled bears at carnivals. Schafrath also owned a canoe livery and after his playing days served sev-eral terms in the Ohio Senate. Since last year, Schafrath has offered many words of wisdom as a volunteer coach at Wooster.

Schafrath has more stories to tell than there are hours in a day and Wooster seniors Marquise Blair (WR-OLB), Cam Daugherty (QB-S), Mar-tavius Dyson (RB-S) and Tyson Jackson (T-DT) are among the players who can’t hear enough of them.

The four senior stand-outs gathered for a photo with Schafrath in front of a monument honoring Charles Follis at the field named for the school’s first football great. Fol-lis was the captain of Wooster’s first team

in 1899 and went on to become the first black pro football player.

“It’s so neat to be able to have a conversation with Coach Schafrath,” said Daugherty, who passed for 1,094 yards and 12 TDs last season. “He comes to our team din-ners on Thursday and tells us stories about blocking for Jim Brown, or play-ing for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. He tells us how unselfish the Browns teams he was on were and how hard guys like Jim Brown and he worked.”

In the distance, work-ers were putting finishing touches on a $750,000 sta-dium renovation project, highlighted by the instal-lation of a new artificial turf field.

Seeing what Schafrath has done and all the current support for the Wooster program gives the seniors confidence of what the future holds for themselves and the pro-gram.

“It’s actually kind of weird to talk to him. You usually don’t talk to people like that every day,” said Blair, a Syra-cuse recruit who’s the top returning tackler and receiver. “He’s an example that people from Wooster have gone on to do some great things.”

Jackson said it’s “unbe-lievable” to think about what Schafrath has done. Dyson, the top returning rusher with 1,180 yards and 16 TDs, enjoys hear-ing stories about Jim Brown.

“He shows that if you work hard the kind of success you can have in life,” said Jackson, a Div. I special mention All-Ohio lineman in 2013. “He makes us want to work even harder to leave the best legacy we can at Wooster.”

Schafrath grew up on a farm and never even saw a football game until he was in eighth grade. He played

all the sports he could at Wooster because it’s the only place he could take hot showers.

“I owe so much to

the game of football,” Schafrath said. “There are so many great memo-ries and it all started at Wooster.”

By AARON DORKSENSports Editor Dick Schafrath file

High School highlights: Dick Schafrath is known best for his time as an offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns, but while at Wooster he was a hard-hitting fullback-linebacker. He earned All-Ohio honors as a junior and senior when the Gen-erals were 6-4 and 5-3-2, respectively.

College highlights: Schafrath played for the leg-endary Woody Hayes at Ohio State and the offen-sive tackle-defensive end never lost against Michi-gan during his three seasons on varsity. He was a standout on the Buckeyes’ 1957 national champi-onship team and a captain on the 1958 squad that won the Rose Bowl. He was inducted into the OSU Athletics HOF in 2012.

Pro highlights: Despite being undersized for an NFL left tackle, the Browns selected the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder in the second round of the 1959 draft. He wound up bulking up to a top weight of a reported 260 pounds, helped by entering eating contests, and started for 13 seasons at left tackle. He blocked for the likes of Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Kelly and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. Schafrath was inducted into the Browns Legends Club in 2003 and many people believe he richly deserves to be enshrined in the Pro Football HOF.

Favorite football memory: “I’ve got so many great memories, but winning a championship is

pretty special,” said Schafrath, of the 1964 Browns. “That was a great team on which everyone played their role and worked together.”

Life today: The 77-year-old Schafrath lives in Mansfield and has seven grown chil-dren from four mar-riages and 21 grand-children. He also has four brothers and one sister. After retir-ing from the NFL, Schafrath’s many endeavors included owning a canoe livery in Loudonville, serv-ing in the Ohio Sen-

ate from 1986-2003 and completing his degree at Ohio State in 2006 at age 69. Since last year he has helped as a part-time volunteer coach at Wooster. Schafrath was voted The Daily Record area’s co-No. 1 greatest athlete of the 20th century along with his good friend Dean Chance in a 1999 series.

Wooster HigH rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.4 MarquiseBlair 6-3 190 WR/LB7 MasonWoods 6-2 235 RB/LB8 MartaviusDyson 5-10 185 RB/DB10 TreyPamer 6-0 160 WR/DB12 CameronDaugherty 6-5 225 QB/DB15 AlexHasapis 5-9 160 K27 IsaiahKlenovich 5-8 165 WR/DB33 StormNicholson 5-10 185 TE/LB47 AaronSaal 6-0 190 TE/DE50 TysonJackson 6-2 290 OL/DL61 SheaHershberger 5-8 230 OL/DL

JUNIORS6 KobeRussell 5-10 160 WR/DB20 TremaineWilson 5-9 165 RB/DB28 JarrellHarden 5-9 155 RB/DB45 LeonGriffith 6-2 165 WR/DB56 PeteyBess 5-9 210 OL/LB60 StatenKirchhofer 6-2 200 OL/DL78 MasonMcGee 6-1 200 OL/DL

81 NickMcGurk 5-9 170 TE/LB

SOPHOMORES5 WilliamSnyder 5-8 145 K9 NickJohnston 5-10 185 RB/LB11 DevonHolmes 6-1 160 WR/DB14 ColtMorgan 6-4 180 WR/DB19 PeytonBennington 6-2 175 QB/DB21 AntonioCrossty 5-9 165 WR/DB24 GrantBerger 5-10 165 WR/DB26 AndrewBevington 5-9 155 WR/DB32 KoryHershberger 5-9 175 RB/LB34 NickBallard 5-11 175 TE/LB42 EddieRooney 5-11 185 TE/DL44 ArmandRutter 5-10 185 TE/DL52 MattWebber 5-11 175 OL/DL55 StirlingMusselman 5-11 232 OL/DL59 SethFolks 5-11 225 OL/DL65 AnthonyLaRocca 5-10 185 OL/DL69 TitusThind 5-8 185 OL/DL72 JacobAbramo 6-4 195 OL/DL75 SeanFead 5-10 175 OL/DL

76 TannerHadorn 5-8 205 OL/DL

FRESHMEN1 CalvinBlair 6-2 190 TE/DL2 TrevonO’Hearn 5-8 145 WR/DB3 Trey-QuanMathis 5-10 210 RB/LB13 JustinSteele 5-7 140 RB/DB16 CalebHouk 5-10 175 RB/LB17 AdamSwindll 6-2 165 QB/DB18 BradStoll 5-7 140 WR/DB22 J.R.Sample 5-9 150 TE/LB23 ColeLang 5-10 155 WR/DB25 AvalonHarper 5-9 140 WR/DB29 DylanHawkins 5-7 135 WR/DB30 TaelonnHarper 5-10 140 WR/DB31 KendrickCorbin 5-10 175 TE/LB35 AndreFloyd 5-11 165 TE/DL46 MichaelCicolani 6-1 170 TE/DE54 ChrisEvege 5-11 234 OL/DL57 CorbinLanker 5-9 220 OL/DL58 ParkerSuggs 5-10 160 OL/DL66 ZachNtia 5-10 190 OL/DL

Haas

Bess

Woods

woostergenerals

E4Wooster


330-345-6600www.fordnow.com

Locally Owned & Operated for nearly 90 years

210 S. Buckeye St. • WoosterKevin Covert

www.300tire.com Ph: [email protected] Fax: 300-263-4466

Mitch Sleek • Chris Bradham Sarah J. Miles

Your Locally Owned Golden Rule Funeral Home

216 E. Larwill St.Wooster330-262-7771

(Next to Pallotta Ford)330-345-5051

TIRE & AUTO CENTER

If there’s any delay, it’s you we pay!

330-262-2244 • 1-866-867-5309258 S. Columbus Ave.

Wooster330-264-2040

1-888-264-2040

GO TEAM!

& Graphics201 N. Buckeye StreetWooster, Ohio 44691

330-264-2223 • 1-800-562-8004FAX 330-262-1628

Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:30; Saturday 9:30 - 12 noon

[email protected]

359 W. Liberty St. Downtown Wooster

330-264-6263

Celebrating 50 years!

Smetzer’Stire centerS

352 W. Liberty • PH. 264-9901238 N. Hillcrest • PH. 264-1055

Wooster

RAY CROWCLEANERSRAY CROW

150 North Grant St., Wooster

330-262-5010Now a Second Location at Buehler’s Milltown

1-800-562-0373www.portspetroleum.com

Good Luck Generals!

WOOSTER, OH

From

www.familypoolsandspas.com

GO GENERALS!

1672 Claremont Ave.,Ashland, Ohio 44805

419.289.1946

4182 Burbank Rd., Wooster, Ohio 44691

330.264.5970Proudly webcasting

WCAL & Cardinal Conference Sports!

E5Wooster

M - F 10:00 - 8:00Sat 10:00 - 6:00

Sun 12:00 - 5:00

Gift CertificatesAvailable

> verticalrunner.com

Your specialty running store - Adventure starts here!

801 W. Old Lincoln Way Wooster, Ohio 44691

330.264.3278

COMING SOONTailgate Party Packs

We are proud to support our local schools.

Good Luck To All

Area Teams!

4122 Burbank Rd., Wooster330-264-2299

Good Luck Generals!

YOU HAVE TO BE HERE!

GoodLuckGenerals!

For FAST, RELIABLE SERVICE call now!

For Garage Doors...It’s

Garage Door IncRESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • OPENERS

MASSILLON2949 Lincoln Way E.

Massillon, Ohio 44646330-837-8100

1-888-331-5163

ASHLAND1196 State Rt. 511

Ashland, Ohio419-281-5682

1-877-331-5163

ORRVILLE350 Wadsworth Rd.Orrville, Ohio 44667

330-682-70001-800-331-5163

10061408

Santmyer Oil Co.

MARATHON MART...

262-2893(BESIDE THE FAIRGROUNDS) WOOSTER, OHIO

1058 W. OLD LINCOLN WAY

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

TERRY SANTMYEROFFICE (330) 262-6501

800-686-4589www.santmyeroil.com

FUEL & LUBRICANTSTRANSPORT AND TANKWAGON DELIVERIES

Your used car Leader!

Kids are only 25% of our population,But 100% of our future

1457 Old Lincolnway W., Wooster

330-262-2802305 Benton Rd., Holmesville

330-279-28002626 Cleveland Rd. Wooster

330-345-1524

Go Woo!

200 Branstetter Street, Wooster

GOOD LUCK GENERALS!

2901 Batdorf Road • Wooster, Ohio330-264-2285

Local growers of fresh fruits & vegetables for over 50 years!

GO GENERALS!

Local growers of fresh fruits

GO GENERALS!State Farm®

Providing Insurance and Financial Services

Home Offi ce, Bloomington, Illinois 61710

Jeff Shamp, Agent3562 Commerce Parkway, Suite CWooster, OH 44691-7128Bus 330 345 [email protected]

BEST OF LUCK GENERALS!


Orrville’s taleStarted football in

1903. Made playoffs 22 times, highlighted by state title in 1998. Play in Ohio Cardinal Conference. Play at Red Rider Stadium. Coached by Doug Davault (55-35 enter-ing ninth year leading Orrville). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 16.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 TOL. ROGERS DNPSept. 5 TRIWAY W, 22-17Sept. 12 at Northwest W, 28-22Sept. 19 at Lexington* W, 16-9Sept. 26 MANSFIELD* L, 0-45Oct. 3 WEST HOLMES* L, 23-28Oct. 10 at Ashland* L, 10-30Oct. 17 MADISON* L, 10-20Oct. 24 CLEAR FORK* L, 7-35Nov. 1 at Wooster* L, 0-56* Ohio Cardinal Conference game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Luke Smith 6-2 170 Jr.TB Austin Domer 5-8 160 So.HB Corre Shaffer 6-0 180 Sr.WR Keontae Owens 6-1 180 Sr.WR Nick Fetty 5-9 150 Sr.WR Zach Fitzgerald 5-11 185 Sr.T Amir Simpson 6-4 230 Sr.G Matt Chuning 5-11 198 So.C Korbin Sprowls 6-0 200 Jr.G Jake Hochstetler 6-0 270 Jr.T John Jack McClure 6-4 235 So.K Cole Duskey 6-0 175 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Zach Fitzgerald 5-11 185 Sr.DT Amir Simpson 6-4 230 Sr. Jake Hochstetler 6-0 270 Jr.NT Matt Chuning 5-11 198 So. Caleb Criss 5-5 150 So.LB Colton Shrader 5-8 206 Sr.LB Zach Ramsdell 5-8 175 So.LB Corre Shaffer 6-0 180 Sr.Rov. Keontae Owens 6-1 180 Sr.DB Jake Hershberger 5-8 170 So.DB Nick Fetty 5-9 150 Sr.DB Mike Barr 6-0 165 Jr.DB Austin Domer 5-8 160 So.P Luke Smith 6-2 170 Jr.

Orrville plotAfter back-to-back losing seasons, including a 1-13

Ohio Cardinal Conference record, Orrville head coach Doug Davault and his team will go to a new plan of attack this season. Knowing the challenges of OCC teams physically, the undersized and inexperienced Red Riders will take to the air in 2014, with junior QB Luke Smith throwing to as many as five wide receivers in a spread offense. The good news is that three starters return on the offensive line, including T Amir Simpson, the biggest Rider at 6-4, 235.

The numbers are down in Orrville, and Davault’s team doesn’t have a wealth of size or experience. They can’t look past Week 1 when Toledo Rogers comes to town, and a best-case scenario would be going at least 2-1 before hitting the OCC.

Words of wisdom“In the league we’re in and with what we have, to

line up and say ‘Here we come,’ that’s difficult,” said Davault of the decision to switch offenses. “We’re gonna have to spread it around so everyone gets touches.

“We really wanted to integrate this more last year, but we ran the ball so well the first half of last year out of a two-back set,” he added. “Once we got into the meat of the OCC, we knew we were gonna have to do something else in order to compete. Running the ball wasn’t allowing us to do that, and you’re gonna see us go to the spread all the way through the program down into the junior high.

“It’s a work in progress — we’ve been a spread team before, so it’s not a huge departure, but it’s a different focus than we’ve had the last few years. It’s trying to fit what we do to our personnel.

Main charactersSmith (6-3, 175) should at least double his stats from

a year ago, when he was 81-of-165 through the air for 1,070 yards, eight TDs and 10 INTs as a sophomore. Smith dealt with a collapsed lung during the summer, but Davault said his QB has been cleared to go. “Men-tally and knowledge-wise, Luke’s made huge strides,” the coach said. “His footwork is vastly improved, as have his poise and decision-making. He’s a 6-3 quar-terback with good skills, and we think this offense is tailor-made for him.”

Keontae Owens ran for most of his 721 yards in the first half of last season. This year, the senior will do more of his damage as a receiver. Sophomore Austin Domer (282 yds. rushing as a freshman) and seniors Corre Shaffer, Nick Fetty and Zach Fitzgerald will be other targets. “Owens, Domer and Shaffer will run a little and catch the ball,” Davault said. “Keonte, truth-fully, is better suited for wide receiver than running back. He has good hands, and both he and Domer are perfect fits for the dual-role. Hopefully we can get the ball to them in space and get them opportunities, but we’ve got to be satisfied with throws getting us 5-to-8 yards.”

Simpson, G Jake Hochstetler and C Corbin Sprowls are all back for a second year starting, with Matt Chun-ing, John Jack McClure and freshman Sam Auble bat-tling for the other spots. “I think we’ve got potential up front, they’re starting to understand what’s going on,” Davault said. “Very simply, they have to give Luke the time when he needs it, and he needs to get it out of there when they bring everyone (on a blitz).”

On the other side of the ball, most of the offensive starters will play defense. Shaffer had 96 tackles at LB last year, but most of the secondary and line are new.

“That’s where we’ll be youngest, but we’re looking for improvement,We’ve got new guys everywhere,” Davault said.

“Traditionally, our kids aren’t the biggest, but they’re all scrappy,” the ninth-year coach added. “But if teams come out and want to shove it down our throat, we

Fetty

Davault

Simpson

Mike Plant photo/www.buydrphotos.comOne of the traditions at Orrville is painting the bridge on Crown Hill Road entering the town from

Back Orrville Road. The Red Riders will also look to add to their area-best 22 playoff appearances, several made when Jason Haley (back, middle) played in the late 1980s. Flanking Haley are Corre Shaffer (left) and Luke Smith, while Keontae Owens (left) and Austin Domer are kneeling in front.

Haley grew up on Orrville football

Most of Jason Haley’s football career has been affiliated with Orrville High, where he’s currently an assistant coach.

As a player at OHS from 1985-88, Haley followed Jack Leeder as an All-Ohio linebacker, and is a link in the chain of great Red Rider LBs.

Much is made of Orrville’s long football tradition, but Haley lives it.

“It’s always been big at Orrville High School,” he said. “When I was young-er, I looked up to Jack Leeder, Todd Blake, guys that came ahead of me. When I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a Red Rider, run out on that field and help carry on that Red Rider tradition.”

The Red Riders have won just one Ohio Car-dinal Conference game the past two seasons and five games overall, which doesn’t happen very often in Orrville. This year’s team will be a mix of a few veterans and lots of young players, but senior RB/DB Keontae Owens believes it can be a winning blend.

“I feel like everyone

on the team has a lot of camaraderie, and we’ve got a lot of chemistry on the field and off the field,” Owens said. “I feel we can do great things.”

In his role as a coach, Haley makes sure the current players are aware of those who have come before them.

“You try to instill that in the kids, but genera-tions are different now,” Haley said. “You don’t have those names like the DeHarts and the Densons here — some of the kids now aren’t born and bred here, so you have to try to keep that going and instill it in them.”

One second-generation player who didn’t need indoctrinated is sopho-more Austin Domer, who will run and catch the ball this year, as well as play safety. Domer’s father, Kyle, was a star RB for the Riders who is No. 5 on the school’s all-time rush-ing list.

“My dad played and I watched his highlight vid-eos when I was younger, that’s all I watched. I’ve grown up on Orrville foot-ball,” Domer said. “It’s about always working hard and staying togeth-er.”

By MIKE PLANTSports Writer Jason Haley file

High School highlights: LB/FB was a three-year letterman for Orrville, and earned first-team All-Ohio honors as a senior LB when he made 201 tackles, the second-best total in area history behind fellow legend Joe Norman, including 36 tackles for loss.

College highlights: Earned full-ride scholarship to the University of Akron, but injuries cut his career short.

Favorite football memory: “Always it was play-ing the Wooster game in Week 10. My senior year we beat them 13-10 at Maurer Field. Coaching in state semifinal game and both Genoa (playoff) games was also pretty intense.”

Life today: Haley, 44, lives with his wife, Sta-cey, in Orrville. The couple has a son, 11-year-old Cooper, and daughter Averi, 9. Haley is Safety and Security monitor at Wayne County Schools Career Center. Defensive coordinator at Orrville High.

H i g h l i g h t : “Always it was playing the Wooster game in Week 10. My senior year we beat them 13-10 at Maurer Field, and coaching in state semi-final game and both Genoa (play-off) games was pretty intense.”

Orrville rOsterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.1 KeontaeOwens 6-1 180 RB/CB12 ColtonShrader 5-8 206 QB/SS15 ColeDuskey 6-0 175 P/K26 CorreShaffer 6-0 180 RB/LB74 AmirSimpson 6-4 230 OL/DL82 ZacheryFitzgerald 5-11 185 TE/DL85 NickFetty 5-9 150 WR/DB

JUNIORS3 LukeSmith 6-2 170 QB/DB56 KorbinSprowls 6-0 200 OL/DL58 SchuylarTomes 5-9 150 OL/DL76 JakeHochstetler 6-0 270 OL/DL80 MikeBarr 6-0 165 TE/LB

SOPHOMORES4 CohenNichols 5-8 150 QB/DB21 AustinDomer 5-8 160 RB/SS

34 ColtenDombroski 5-11 150 RB/TE41 JacobHershberger 5-8 170 RB/SS50 MattChuning 5-11 198 OL/DL52 ZachRamsdell 5-8 175 OL/LB54 CalebCriss 5-5 150 OL/DL70 JohnMcClure 6-4 235 OL/DL77 EricSmothers 6-0 260 OL/DL

FRESHMEN9 BrandonLuangraj 5-9 140 QB/DB14 AustinShaffer 5-0 100 WR/DB22 TaylenTomes 5-8 120 WR/DB23 JadenBarnhill 6-0 170 WR/LB24 TaylorDonahue 6-0 170 RB/SS31 SheltonSmothers 5-7 135 WR/DB45 CooperVanDoren 5-1 110 WR/DB48 JakobDavis 6-1 180 TE/LB67 SamAuble 6-0 175 OL/LB73 CameronVanbrunt 5-9 165 OL/DL87 SethHill 6-1 150 TE/LB See Pg. E7 — ORRVILLE

orrvillered riders

E6Fall Sports


Ohio Cardinal Conference: How They’ll Fare

(The Daily Record staff’s predicted order of finish)

1MANSFIELD SENIOR (11-1, 7-0 in 2013) — The Tygers had an historic fall as they won the OCC

title, compiled the first 10-0 regular sea-son in the program’s 118-year history and won a home playoff game.

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

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

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

The WR corps is athletic with sopho-more Brian Benson (move-in from Tole-do) and Asante Wilder (35 for 435 rec.), while TE Mitchell Nixon (6-3, 215) is getting recruiting interest from the Mid-American Conference and is also the backup quarterback.

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

Making Swindle’s job easier in addi-tion to the skilled returnees will be a big, veteran line led by highly recruited left

tackle Marshall Levins (6-6, 265).The 3-4 defense has more holes to fill

than the offense, but an experienced linebacking group led by junior Marvin Parker (6-0, 205) is a strength.

“We’ve got the talent to do great things, talent all over the place,” said Bradley, whose team will rely heavily on underclassmen with just eight seniors. “The only thing they lack is Friday-night experience. There’s only one way to get that.”

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

2WOOSTER (4-6, 4-3) — The Generals last made the playoffs in 2004, but if they can get off to

a better start they have the potential to snap that dryspell.

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

The big question is whether or not Wooster can rebuild its offensive and defensive lines, which have only Jackson back as a starter.

The Generals also need to learn to win

as they’ve let several close games slip away over the last two years.

Wooster coach Doug Haas said if the Generals practice the right way, every-thing else will tale care of itself.

“This is cliche´, but I don’t worry about (the OCC race),” Haas said. “I worry so much more about us and what we can control and our preparation. I’ve told our kids time and time again that we are about practice.

“It’s such a good league that you can’t count anybody out and there are some very good coaches in our league. There’s no haves and have-nots in the OCC and as a coach that’s what you want week-in and week-out.”

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

3ASHLAND (7-3, 6-1) — The Arrows have been “Quarterback High” under coach Scott Valen-

tine.One outstanding signalcaller graduates

and another steps in, ranging from Tay-lor Housewright, to Marcus Fuller up to Tyson Vogel and Nick Zurcher (2,547 yds passing, 26 TDs, 888 yds rushing, 8 TDs last year).

Expected to take over this year is soph-omore QB Grant Denbow (6-5, 190).

There are many other holes to fill as well, with the leading receivers also grad-uated and the likes of Lonzo Dampier IV (28 for 239 rec.) and Cole McQuate (12 for 132) being asked to fill bigger roles. Senior T Drew Dickinson (6-4,

285) is getting some Div. I college looks as one of six starters back on offense, but there are only three regulars back on defense.

The defense also has many new faces, but Valentine and staff have shown they should never be counted out as winners of four of the last eight OCC titles.

“We like throwing the ball, that’s our history,” said Valentine, the dean of OCC coaches with a 94-41 record over 12 seasons. “We feel we have some good skill players, but just not a lot of Friday-night experience.”

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

4WEST HOLMES (6-4, 3-4) — The Knights return five starters on both sides of the ball as they

try to continue their winning ways under fifth-year coach Kevin Maltarich.

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

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

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

“I think Wooster easily has the most athletes of anyone in the league. They can throw the ball, they can run the ball, they’ll have some great athletes on defense. I think they’re the leaders this year,” Maltarich said. “You can never

By AARON DORKSENSports Editor

See Pg. F11 — OCC

won’t know if we can stand up to that for a while. We’re gonna have to defend a lot. West Holmes wants to run it, and Wooster, then you’ve got teams like Triway and Ashland who spread you out. The goal is to always get the best 11 out there, and then we’ll try to put them in position to make plays. That’s easier said than done.”

Keys to a memorable fallWith 22 playoff appearances, there have been many memo-

rable falls at Orrville. And while this may be one of the biggest challenges Davault has faced in his tenure, he’s not lowering the bar.

“Our expectations aren’t ever going to drop down,” Davault said. “We still hope we’re capable of playing Orrville football, and we have those expectations every year, founded or not. The difference is, we lack depth, and some young kids will have to play on Friday nights. We’re looking at young guys everywhere — wideout, linebacker, linemen — they’re all over the place.

“We’ve had a sign in our locker room since I’ve been here that says just ‘5.1,’ which is how long a play lasts,” he added. “If you’ve got 25 seconds to rest between plays, you should be able to do anything for 5.1 seconds. I won’t predict wins and losses. We’re not what Orrville teams have been, but we’re still Orrville. I think these kids will respond to that, then we’ll see what we can do.”

— Mike Plant

(From Page E6)

Orrville

E7Orrville



TIRE & AUTO CENTER

207 N. Main St.P.O. Box 107Orrville, OH

Phone - (330) 684-5080Fax - (330) 684-5040

GoodLuckRed

Riders! For FAST, RELIABLE SERVICE call now!




Massillon, Ohio 44646330-837-8100

1-888-331-5163



1-877-331-5163


330-682-70001-800-331-5163

10061408

1773 N. Main St., Orrville(330)683-4763

“Your Hometown Pizza Favorite!”

330-682-0630127 E. Water St • Orrville, OH 44667

GO RED RIDERS!

Justin HaislipAgent

160 West Market StreetOrrville, Ohio 44667

(330) 683-2000 Office

Let’s Go Red Riders!

9658 W. High St., Orrville OH,330-682-1911

GO RED RIDERS!



1107 N. Main St. • Orrville330-683-6050

BUICK CHEVROLET

We Support The Red RidersGood Luck

Riders

1780 N. Main St. (Rt. 57), Orrville330-682-2040

www.maibachford.comMon., Wed., Thur., 8-8pm, Tue., Fri., 8-5:30, Sat. 8-3pm

Dunlap Family Physicians, Inc.A Member of Aultman Medical Group

Orrville Office330.684.2015 Robert Hutson, M.D. Andrew Naumoff, M.D. Renee Schlabach, M.D. Jessica Witmer, RN, FNP-BC

Dalton Office330.684.5480 Steven Murray, M.D. Brett Buller, D.O.Apple Creek Office330.684.5470 Richard Tompkins, RN, FNP-BCwww.DFPDocs.com


(The Daily Record staff’s predicted order of finish)

1CHIPPEWA (9-3, 6-1 in 2013) — Coming into last season, Chip-pewa was on a 1-29 streak over

the previous three years, but new head coach Michael Bohley led the Chipps to a complete turnaround.

Not only did the Chipps win, they won big, finishing second to Northwestern in the league and winning a playoff game. With a multitude of starters back on both sides of the ball, they were the unanimous pick as this season’s WCAL favorite.

Bailey Breitenstine threw for 1,829 yards, ran for 332 more and accounted for 27 total touchdowns as a sophomore last year, and he’s back for a third year at QB. Nick Zollinger added 831 yards and 12 TDs rushing, Austin Durbin had 20 receptions, and mammoth lineman Jake Gamble (6-6, 295) returns up front. Defensively, Trent Abel had 12 1/2 tack-les for loss a year ago, while Durbin and Breitenstine combined for 10 intercep-tions.

“I don’t know what to say about being the favorite, or if there really is one,” Bohley said. “Waynedale will be really good, Norwayne is still as athletic as they come, Dalton will be very improved and Smithville’s young kids are a year older. We just can’t get ahead of ourselves.

“To go from Week 1 last year when we played in front of the band and parents to half the school coming down on the field to celebrate with us, that was kind of surreal,” he added. “I feel we do have a lot of experience back, a lot of guys who played in tight games, so I don’t think any situation is going to be too big for our kids.”

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

2NORWAYNE (7-3, 5-2) — The two-time defending league champs dropped to third last year,

and among the losses to graduation were record-setting QB Joe Dreher and Div. I recruits Kaleb Harris (Marshall) and Trevahn Beery (Bowling Green).

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

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

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

3WAYNEDALE (6-4, 4-3) — Two years after going 0-10, the Golden Bears look ready to keep climbing

the WCAL ladder, keyed by a big and talented junior class.

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

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

4HILLSDALE (4-6, 3-4) — In some years, 4-6 would have been good enough for a tickertape

parade through Jeromesville, but not with Hillsdale’s recent success (three playoff berths in the last five seasons). However, injuries helped send the Fal-cons to that sub-.500 mark in 2013.

The biggest one was to RB Corbin Mager, who after rushing for a school-

record 1,574 yards (and 18 TDs) as a sophomore was limited by a bad ankle to just 440 as a junior. Mager’s back and feeling good, QB Troy Marksberry (946 yds., 11 TDs passing, 535, 7 TDs rush-ing) is back for a second season, and the front line averages between 220 and 265 pounds, with three starters back. Nine starters are back defensively, too, includ-ing All-Ohio DB Doug Cline, who led the area with six picks last season.

Picking an order for the top five was difficult, and the Falcons have the tal-ent to contend, especially with a healthy Mager, one of the area’s top players.

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

5DALTON (3-7, 2-5) — After lan-guishing in the league’s second division the past few seasons, the

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

Having 6-1, 310-pound lineman J.D. Murphy paving the way will help. In fact, the smallest DHS offensive lineman is C Andy Caillet, and he’s 5-10, 220. The backfield of new QB Zach Ryder, Mario McFarren (564 yds. last year) and Pat-rick McGinty is athletic, while not many

schools have a 6-6, 240-pound TE like Connor Clark, who caught 23 balls as a junior.

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

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

6SMITHVILLE (1-9, 1-6) — Sometimes, a program has to suf-fer through a rare bad season to

get back to the good times. And good times in Smithville include winning, but the traditional league power has been over .500 just once since 2009.

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

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

7NORTHWESTERN (9-2, 7-0) — No area team was hit harder by graduation than Northwestern,

which ran the table a season ago but lost one of the area’s all-time leading rushers in Tyler Smith as well as two-way stars Malachi Nolletti and Matt Kohler and nearly all the key players on both lines.

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

8RITTMAN (1-9, 0-7) — There’s nowhere to go but up for Rittman, and new coach Levi Nelson does

have 14 lettermen back, including QB Ty Ramsier, who threw for 708 yards, eight TDs and just two INTs after taking over last year. Seven more seniors and six juniors return, and Nelson lists 15 more promising newcomers. That doesn’t include 13 sophomores on the roster.

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

E8Waynedale


TIRE & AUTO CENTER


Good Luck Indians!



Wayne County Athletic League: How will they fare?By MIKE PLANT

Sports WriterWAYNE COUNTY

ATHLETIC LEAGUEAnnual football champions

Year School2013 Northwestern2012 Norwayne2011 Hillsdale,Norwayne,Smithville2010 Hillsdale2009 Dalton2008 Norwayne,Waynedale2007 Northwestern,Waynedale2006 Northwestern2005 Dalton,Smithville2004 Smithville2003 Dalton,Smithville,Waynedale2002 Smithville2001 Northwestern,Smithville2000 Smithville1999 Chippewa1998 Waynedale1997 Waynedale1996 Dalton1995 Waynedale1994 Smithville1993 Dalton,Smithville,Waynedale1992 Dalton,Waynedale1991 Dalton1990 Smithville1989 Waynedale1988 Smithville1987 Smithville1986 Rittman1985 Waynedale1984 Smithville

1983 Smithville1982 Waynedale1981 Waynedale1980 Rittman,Smithville1979 Rittman1978 Waynedale1977 Dalton1976 Dalton1975 Rittman1974 Dalton1973 Waynedale1972 Waynedale1971 Dalton1970 Chippewa1969 Chippewa1968 Dalton1967 Dalton,Northwestern1966 Dalton1965 Norwayne1964 Rittman1963 Dalton1962 Smithville1961 Dalton1960 Waynedale1959 Dalton,Waynedale1958 Rittman1957 Doylestown1956 Doylestown1955 Doylestown1954 Dalton,DoylestownChampionships by school: Dalton (18), Waynedale (17), Smithville (16), Chippewa (7), Rittman (6), Northwestern (5), Norwayne (4), Hillsdale (2).

past WCaL Champs


Dan Starcher photo/www.buydrphotos.comIndians Stadium is one of the oldest landmarks in Rittman — it’s the same field where Butch Ullman

(’69) starred as a fullback and linebacker nearly 50 years ago. As a senior, Ullman helped the Tribe engineer a turnaround season and current seniors (from left) Ty Ramsier, Jordan Barnes and Brandon Daso are looking to pull off a similar feat under new coach Levi Nelson.

Andre

Nelson

Butcher

Rittman’s tale

Started football in 1923. Made playoffs two times. Play in Wayne County Ath-letic League. Play at Indians Stadium. Coached by Levi Nel-son (0-0 in first year at Rittman). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. VI, Region 19.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 NORTH L, 34-42Sept. 5 GROVE CITY CHRISTIAN W, 41-38Sept. 12 MAPLETON L, 6-41Sept. 19 at Chippewa* L, 14-53Sept. 26 DALTON* L, 0-36Oct. 3 at Smithville* L, 13-14Oct. 10 HILLSDALE* L, 0-25Oct. 17 at Northwestern* L, 0-57Oct. 24 at Waynedale* L, 6-49Oct. 31 NORWAYNE* L, 0-42* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Ty Ramsier 6-2 185 Sr.RB Josh Miller 5-10 155 Jr.WR Tristan Kidd 5-8 140 Jr.WR Matt McMillan 6-2 165 Jr.WR Tyler Gault 6-3 180 Jr.HB Jeremiah Butcher 6-0 175 Sr.T Brandon Cutright 6-2 250 Jr.G Jacob Carr 6-0 195 Fr.C Brian Ramsier 5-11 205 Jr.G Deion Bais 5-11 230 So.T Jordan Barnes 6-0 215 Sr.K Tyler Gault 6-3 180 Jr.

DEFENSEDE Tyler Gault 6-3 180 Jr.DT Brandon Cutright 6-2 250 Jr.DT Deion Bais 5-11 230 So.DE Austin Endress 6-2 170 Jr.LB Jeremiah Butcher 6-0 175 Sr.LB Nick Andre 5-11 185 Sr.LB Shane Wilmoth 5-9 180 Sr.CB Brandon Daso 5-8 170 Sr.CB Tristan Kidd 5-8 140 Jr.SS Josh Miller 5-10 155 Jr.FS Todd Ramsier 6-0 140 So.P Austin Endress 6-2 170 Jr.

Rittman plotThe Indians are looking to put a turbulent 2013

campaign behind them, when former coach Bill Den-nis resigned two games before the end of the regular season, capping a tenure in which he went 4-24 in three seasons. After serving as an assistant for five years at Tallmadge under Joe Vassalotti, the 27-year-old Nelson inherits his own program. He knows it is a significant rebuilding job — the Tribe’s last winning season was in 2005 and it has averaged just over one win per season in the last eight years. However, Nelson and his young staff have brought an energy and enthusiasm that may provide the shot in the arm the program needs.

Words of wisdom“I’ve wanted to be a high school football coach for as

long as I can remember and I’ve got that opportunity now,” Nelson said. “I’m here and I’m committed. I’m trying to set an an example by doing. I’ve lifted with them and that’s different from what they’re used to.”

Main charactersOne luxury that Nelson will have right off the bat is

a healthy Ty Ramsier at QB. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior tore his ACL during Week 4 last fall, but is fully recovered and will be arguably the most crucial piece on offense as Nelson installs his spread attack. Before his injury last fall, Ramsier completed 45-of-78 passes for 708 yards and eight scores with just two intercep-tions.

“To walk into a situation with a quarterback who’s been around the game, it’s awesome,” Nelson said.

Brandon Daso, Josh Miller and Jeremiah Butcher could all see his carries in the backfield. Meanwhile, Nelson is excited about the players he has on the out-side in WRs Tristan Kidd, Tyler Gault (6-3) and Austin Endress (6-2). Jordan Barnes, Brandon Cutright and Deion Bais will anchor the line.

The new coach is excited about the potential of his offense with Ramsier throwing to that trio.

“We have a good, young group at receiver and we want to get the ball in their hands as much as we can,” Nelson said.

Defensively, the strength of the Indians is at LB. Nick Andre, Butcher, Tyler Murdock and Shane Wilmoth are all seniors and Nelson expects them to step up and anchor the defense, especially early in the season. Nelson is open to having a number of players go both ways, meaning that Ramsier, as well as perhaps Daso and Miller, could also see time in the defensive back-field.

“There are a lot of guys fighting in that secondary,” Nelson said. “We’re going to put our best 11 on offense and defense.”

Keys to a memorable fallIn one sense, there’s nowhere to go but up for the

Tribe. The Indians have had more than one WCAL vic-tory just twice in the last eight seasons. Nelson knows that it will be a process, but the first step is establish-ing trust in the locker room and continuity within the program.

“They understand we’re on them because we care about them,” he said. “My favorite quote is, ‘They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’”

There are some pieces to work with — namely Ramsier, who has started for portions of the last two years but could break out in his first full season as the signalcaller. The question will be whether the Indians have enough athletes around him to be competitive in the WCAL. In order to do so, the Indians have to be stronger at the line of scrimmage than they have in recent seasons, as well as cut down on the turnovers.

On paper, Rittman will again be picked to finish at the bottom of the league, but Nelson is working to turn that into a motivating factor. He can also point to the fact that rival Chippewa, the other perennial WCAL bottom-feeder, just completed the area’s biggest turn-around by winning a playoff game last fall.

— Andrew Vogel

Butch Ullman fileHigh School highlights: Butch Ullman, a 1969

Rittman grad, was a fullback and linebacker for the Indians. Ullman’s big senior season helped the Tribe go 6-3-1 in 1968 after going a combined 5-12-2 the previous two seasons. Ullman was named All-Wayne County Athletic League as a junior and senior.

College highlights: Ullman played special teams and linebacker at the University of Akron. Two of Ullman’s opponents included Youngstown State’s Ron Jaworski, the legendary Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, as well as Daryl Hall, whom he had blocked for when they were teammates at Rittman.

Favorite football memory: The biggest win of Ullman’s high school career was a 6-0 upset over Waynedale.

“We had a goal-line stand and won,” Ullman said. “That was a fun night. Waynedale was one of those teams we had a hard time beating.”

Life today: Ull-man lives in Ritt-man with his wife Susan and has three grown children and five grandchildren. He is currently the superintendent of the Rittman Acad-emy, a community school sponsored by Rittman Exempted Village Schools. He has been involved with the Rittman school system for over 25 years, serv-

ing as Rittman’s middle school principal from 1989-91 and the high school principal from 1992-96. He served as Rittman’s superintendent from 1996-2007.

Ullman knows about a turnaround

For Butch Ullman, a 1969 Rittman grad who went on to play line-backer at the University of Akron, the memory of his senior year sticks out in particular. During Ullman’s sophomore and junior years, the Indians finished sixth and sev-enth, respectively, in the Wayne County League before breaking through under new coach Bob Wachtel and going 6-3-1 in 1968.

“That was a big turn-around,” Ullman said. “We were the doormat of the league for a couple years and the big thing was he brought in a dis-cipline.”

Sounds quite similar to the culture new Tribe coach Levi Nelson is try-ing to create.

After going just 4-26 the previous three years, senior quarterback Ty Ramsier, running back Brandon Daso and offen-sive lineman Jordan Barnes said the 27-year-old Nelson and his young, enthusiastic coaching staff have brought a new energy that’s been well-received by the entire squad.

“Everyone’s bought in this year,” Ramsier said. “It’s a new start and a new atmosphere.”

“It’s a younger staff with more enthusiasm,” Barnes said. “They’re excited about the game.”

Nelson is slowly making believers out of this year’s Indians, just as Wachtel did for Ullman and his teammates in the late 1960s. Ullman, who was named All-WCAL as a junior and senior and also played fullback, admitted he was never the fastest player, but he was physi-cal.

“I loved hitting people,” he said with a smile.

Wachtel instilled a toughness that changed the culture in Rittman.

“If you jumped offsides, the whole team got cor-rected,” Ullman said. “He developed a cohesiveness and an attitude that we could be better. If he told us we thought we could run down the field on somebody, we thought we could do it.”

For a team that has notched just four wins in the last three years, that’s the challenge Nelson now faces. He’s started by focusing on teaching more fundamentals, as well as lifting morale in the locker room.

“He’s making sure we know what routes to run, who we need to block and what guys we need to hit,” Daso said. “He’s opening our eyes to a new game. Everyone in town’s watching to see if things are going to change.”

Ullman, who helped the Indians turn things around in 1968, will be among those waiting to see if this year’s team can pull off a similar feat.

By ANDREW VOGELSports Writer

Rittman RosteRSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.8 ShaneWilmoth 5-9 180 HB/LB11 TyRamsier 6-2 185 QB/DB22 JeremiahButcher 6-0 175 HB/LB23 TimMiller 5-11 185 WR/DB52 TylerMurdock 6-1 200 OL/LB72 NickAndre 5-11 185 OL/LB77 JordanBarnes 6-0 215 OL/DL80 BrandonDaso 5-8 170 RB/DB

JUNIORS1 TristanKidd 5-8 140 WR/DB3 SamWilson 5-11 160 WR/DB4 MattEvans 6-1 185 WR/DB6 MattMcMillan 6-2 165 WR/DB9 JoshMiller 5-10 155 RB/DB12 AustinEndress 6-2 170 WR/DL15 CalebKeck 6-3 160 WR/DB30 TylerGault 6-3 180 WR/DL54 BrianRamsier 5-11 205 OL/DL59 ZackMcComas 5-10 200 OL/DL

68 BrandonCutright 6-2 250 OL/DL

SOPHOMORES7 MichaelFeldon 5-9 150 RB/LB10 ToddRamsier 6-0 140 QB/DB14 TylerSmead 5-10 150 WR/DB20 SeanKavanagh 5-8 140 RB/LB25 JacksonYontz 5-8 135 WR/DB28 DrayKirsch 5-11 150 HB/LB32 EthanLabouf 5-5 130 QB/DB48 AustinCarder 5-8 145 RB/LB53 GrantYarman 5-10 160 OL/DL55 AaronReagon 5-11 225 OL/DL56 DerekCrawford 5-10 185 OL/DL65 DeionBais 5-11 230 OL/DL73 RyanArcher 6-2 235 OL/DL

FRESHMEN50 JacobCarr 6-0 195 OL/LB51 JustinFlaisman 6-7 200 OL/DL58 BrandonBowes 6-0 140 OL/DL

Rittmanindians

E9Fall Sports


Triway’s tale

Started football in 1963. Made play-offs six times. Play in Principals Athletic Conference. Play at Jack Miller Field. Coached by Tony Lee (34-20 entering sixth year leading Triway). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. IV, Region 12.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 WEST HOLMES L, 35-54Sept. 5 at Orrville L, 17-22Sept. 12 at Waynedale W, 29-14Sept. 19 TUSKY VALLEY W, 32-13Sept. 26 at Fairless W, 29-26Oct. 3 TUSLAW W, 35-6Oct. 10 CVCA W, 43-21Oct. 17 at Indian Valley W, 35-34Oct. 24 at Manchester W, 34-14Oct. 31 TIMKEN W, 42-20* Principals Athletic Conference game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Parker Carmichael 5-10 165 Sr.RB Kyle Strock 5-9 175 Jr.WR Logan Garrett 6-2 165 Jr.WR Dillon Kopp 6-0 161 Sr.WR Troy Haven 5-9 175 Sr.WR Jordon Miller 5-7 162 Sr.T Stephen Shock 6-2 210 Sr.G Curtis Burgan 5-11 240 So.C Cooper Braun 6-0 202 Sr.G Tyson Cook 6-0 180 Sr.T Logan Kendall 6-1 190 Sr.K Timmy Ritchey 6-1 170 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Jesse Shircliff 6-1 185 Sr.DT Bryce Garman 5-10 220 Sr.NT Curtis Burgan 5-11 240 So.DE Tyson Cook 6-0 180 Sr.DT Cooper Braun 6-0 195 Sr.ILB Devin Durbin 5-7 145 Jr.OLB Stephen Shock 6-2 210 Sr.OLB Kyle Strock 5-9 175 Jr.CB Jordon Miller 5-7 162 Sr.CB Daimen Tucker 5-9 165 Jr.S Dillon Kopp 6-0 161 Sr.P Jay Duncan 6-1 180 Jr.

Triway plotQuite simply, this is the season Triway has been wait-

ing for, as a group that has been contributing for as many as three years is now seniors. Coming off a PAC title and second-round playoff berth, and guided by record-setting QB Parker Carmichael and a host of talented, fast receivers, as well as a veteran line and defense, the Titans have their sights set even higher.

“Their goal is to go further than any other team here (second round),” said head coach Tony Lee. “We’ve progressively seen our expectations go higher and higher, because we have so many veteran kids, and not just skilled kids. We’ve got some very good linemen and linebackers. That’s the key, it’s just not the seniors, it’s everyone.

“But you can’t be consumed with it, and we haven’t done anything yet. West Holmes spanked us last year, and we haven’t lined up against them this year.”

Words of wisdom“I told the kids that, yeah, on paper, we can be pretty

good. But you don’t play games on paper,” Lee said. “That’s a cliche, but we’ve got to stay grounded. I told the kids we’ve got to be humble, and we’ve got to make sure we bust our rear ends even more so to stay focused and get the job done.”

Main charactersCarmichael (5-10, 165) will begin his fourth season

as the QB, and he will own all of the area’s passing marks when he’s done. Last year, he was 308 of 453 for 3,336 yards, 32 TDs and 15 INTs, and added another 397 yards and 13 TDs rushing. “He’s deceptively quick and athletic, and he’s got a great arm,” Lee said. “He can throw the quick pass and he can throw the deep one better, he’s gotten stronger. More than anything, he knows the game. he’s very hard on himself, he’s not satisfied ever. He’s been around the game and me a long time, he’s been throwing a lot of passes, and he’s got confidence in his guys to make things happen.”

The targets include seniors Troy Haven (109 rec., 965 yds., 13 TDs) and Jordan Miller (84, 1,163, 11) and Dylan Kopp (41, 615, 5), as well as Jay Duncan (28, 257, 1) and 6-2 Logan Garrett, a junior. RB Kyle Strock (5-9, 175, jr.) is the fastest Titan.

“Our receivers, when you’re returning your top four receivers and we’ve worked to develop two or three other guys. Garrett, (Daimen) Tucker and Andy Mairs — we’ve got to be able to get some of those other guys in there, because those four guys are on defense, too,” Lee said. “Kyle Strock is by far the fastest tailback we’ve ever had and we’re gonna put him out on the perimeter to do some things, too. Devin Durbin’s back at tailback, too, so we’ve got eight kids who are pretty athletic. We have to run the ball more. Teams will drop eight, and we’ve got to be able to run the ball more. With Kyle’s power and speed, I want to, and the line wans to run it better than we did last year.”

Up front, C Cooper Braun, G Tyson Cook and T Ste-phen Shock (6-2, 210), one of the team’s top two-way performers, will be joined by junior T Logan Randall and sophomore G Curtis Burgan (5-11, 240). “You can’t do the things we do without an offensive line,” Lee said. “We don’t run the ball all that much, but these guys, we ask them to do a lot.”

One of the keys to Triway’s nine-game winning streak a year ago was the improvement on defense. Cook and Jesse Shircliff are the DEs, Burgin, senior returnee Bryce Garman and Braun will line up inside, while Shock, Durbin and Strock are the LBs. Kopp, Miller, Tucker and Duncan give the Titans an experienced secondary.

“We’ve got to play assignment football on defense. If we’re gonna stunt or slant, we’ve got to be in the right spots, because if you create a bubble, teams we play like West Holmes, Indian Valley and Manchester are gonna tear you apart,” Lee said. “We’ve got a little more depth, and that’ll be a key for us, because we’ve got so many going both ways.”

The experience even extends to special teams, as K Timmy Ritchey and P Duncan both possess booming

Lee

Shock

Strock

Mike Schenk photoGetting their photo taken at the iconic Purple Pumper, Triway legend Keith Snoddy stands with

Titans seniors Jay Duncan (11), Parker Carmichael (12), Dylan Kopp (7), Troy Haven (20) and Jordon Miller (1).

Glory days return for Triway football

Everybody who’s been to Triway also knows of the Purple Pumper, said senior wide receiver Jor-don Miller.

“As soon as people hear you’re from Triway, they say ‘Oh yeah, the Purple Pumper.’”

The oil pumper sits on the corner of Route 3 and Blachleyville Road in Wooster. It marks the entrance to Ken Miller Supply, Inc., which has been an institution as an oilfield supply store since 1959.

The late Ken Miller founded the company and his son Jack Miller now runs it along with grand-son Kirk Miller. Jack Miller was the lead donor when Titans Stadium was outfittted with artificial turf last year.

The Millers have always supported Triway athlet-ics and with Jordon Mill-er, Kirk’s son, now team-ing up with fellow wide receivers Troy Haven, Dil-lon Kopp and Jay Dun-can to catch aerials from senior classmate Parker Carmichael, football fever is as high as ever in Titan Country.

Carmichael, who’s already the area’s all-time career passing leader with 7,473 yards, has followed in the footsteps of his dad, Sean, and older brother, Derek, as a standout QB at the school.

Keith Snoddy still has to go down, though, as the school’s all-time football legend. He led a fantastic finish in the season finale to beat Wadsworth with no time left on the clock to win the Chippewa Con-

ference in 1975 and then starred at Youngstown State for three seasons.

“I’d have had a lot of fun playing in the offense these guys use now,” said Snoddy, of current coach Tony Lee’s shot-gun spread attack. “They throw for more yards in three games than I did in an entire season.

“But I had a lot of fun playing the style we used. The fact that I could run the option helped get me my scholarship to YSU.”

The current Titans won a school-record nine straight games in going 9-3 last year, but have set a goal to advance much further than the second round of the playoffs.

“It’s great to have some-one around like coach Snoddy to talk to, and my dad and brother who have experienced some of the same things I have as a quarterback,” Parker Car-michael said. “(Snoddy) is a legend here and it’s great that we’ve brought a lot of excitement, too, but we have a lot more work to do.”

Haven, who caught an area record 109 passes last year, which went for 965 yards and 13 TDs, knows the team has more it can accomplish.

“We just have to keep a cool head and focus on the task at hand,” Haven said.

Jordon Miller, who pulled in 84 passes for 1,163 yards and 11 TDs last year, wants Triway football to be known statewide.

“It’s real exciting,” Miller said of the team’s potential, “but we know we have a lot more work to do.”

By AARON DORKSENSports Editor Keith Snoddy file

High School highlights: Keith Snoddy had a dream ending to his career at Triway in 1975, throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Mike Coleman on the final play of the last game to pull Triway within 13-12 of Wadsworth at Titans Stadium. Snoddy then completed a two-point pass to Keith Marcum and give the Titans a 14-13 win and the Chippewa Conference cham-pionship. The three-year starter was first-team all-state as a senior after missing most of junior season due to injury.

College highlights: After backing up future NFL QB Cliff Stoudt for one year at Youngstown State, Snoddy went on to start for the Penguins from 1977-79. YSU was 11-2 and the Div. II national runner-up in 1979 and 10-2 and reached the semis in 1978. Snoddy was an adept runner and passer who set numerous records.

Favorite football memory: “Beating Wad-sworth like we did with no time left on the clock was a finish a lot of people still remem-ber,” Snoddy said. “I had some great coaches and teammates at both Triway and Youngstown State.”

Life today: Snoddy lives with his wife, Cheri, in Shreve. The couple has three daughters, Kate

G e i t g e y , Vicki and Maggie, and two grand-kids. He owns Wasuka Farms, Inc., is co-owner of Carmichael Sports and retired as Tri-way boys bas-ketball coach in 2013 with a 159-104 record and two state run-ner-up teams. Snoddy was voted The Daily Record area’s No. 16 greatest ath-lete of 20th century in a 1999 series.

Triway rosTerSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.1 JordonMiller 5-7 162 WR/DB7 DillonKopp 6-0 161 WR/DB9 TimmyRitchey 6-0 170 K/WR11 JayDuncan 6-1 180 WR/DB12 ParkerCarmichael 5-10 165 QB/DB19 AndyMairs 5-4 155 WR/DB20 TroyHaven 5-9 175 WR/LB35 ZachSidel 5-11 165 TB/LB44 ChandlerArmstrong5-10 150 TB/LB51 JesseShircliff 6-1 185 OL/DL52 CooperBraun 6-0 202 OL/DL55 TysonCook 6-0 180 OL/DL65 BryceGarman 5-10 220 OL/DL77 StephenShock 6-2 210 DL/LB

JUNIORS5 SeanLacey 6-1 163 QB/DB15 MasonPlant 6-1 150 WR/DB16 NickChuma 5-6 155 WR/DB21 DaimenTucker 5-9 165 WR/DB22 LoganGarrett 6-2 165 WR/DB26 KyleStrock 5-9 175 TB/LB32 DevinDurbin 5-7 145 TB/LB40 LoganTeague 5-10 160 K57 LoganKendall 6-1 190 OL/DL60 MarcusKruit 5-9 190 OL/LB63 ColtonShanley 6-1 185 OL/DL65 SethMiller 5-10 184 OL/DL68 AnthonyStephenson5-10 155 OL/LB75 DominicWatson 5-10 157 OL/DL78 ForrestLang 6-0 224 OL/DL88 TrevorElser 5-8 125 WR/DB

SOPHOMORES25 JustinMackey 5-7 145 WR/DB33 DylanAllison 5-9 170 WR/LB36 DavidConnor 5-8 150 WR/DB38 ConnerSchlauch 5-7 135 WR/DB45 RickyHurt 5-10 150 WR/LB48 DylanProst 5-10 155 TB/DL59 CurtisBurgan 5-11 240 OL/DL62 MichaelYacapraro 5-5 150 OL/DL66 ParkerAckerman 6-0 215 OL/DL69 JaredGroves 5-8 158 OL/DL71 KevinRice 5-10 172 OL/DL79 EddieGibson 6-2 320 OL/DL82 HunterBrown 6-2 155 WR/DB87 DillonYankello 5-7 130 WR/DB

See Pg. E11 — TRIWAY

triwaytitans

E10Fall Sports


legs.

Keys to a memorable fallLast year, before the winning came a

two-game losing streak to open the sea-

son. The Titans begin with three rivalry games — West Holmes, Orrville and Waynedale — before defending their PAC crown in a league that boasted four playoff teams in 2013.

So, a good start out of the gates, while not guaranteed, could put Triway in solid position to begin defense of its PAC

crown.“We have by far one of the toughest

non-league schedules around the area — we’ve got our work cut out for us our first three games,” Lee said. “Our conference gets overlooked, but when half your teams make the playoffs and do well in the playoffs, that says a lot.

When you mix in three tough non-league games, we’ve got to stay healthy and we can’t overlook anybody. We can’t be satisfied if we want to be as good as we want to be.”

— Mike Plant

(From Page E10)

Triway

final 2013 individual statistiCsPASSING

(players ranked by yardage)Player Com-Att Yds TD IntP. Carmichael, Tri 308-453 3336 32 15J. Dreher, Nor 165-239 2710 39 8B. Breitenstine, Chi 95-177 1829 23 6G. Flora, Clo 125-223 1603 12 12J. Burke, Dal 106-181 1515 12 14M. Nolletti, Nwn 79-156 1377 11 6G. Lau, Tus 118-226 1309 7 9R. Weaver, Way 76-150 1241 12 7K. Edmondson, Lou 75-143 1094 12 4C. Daugherty, Woo 77-178 1094 12 10L. Smith, Orr 81-265 1070 8 10T. Marksberry, Hill 58-129 946 11 11T. Ramsier, Rit 45-78 708 8 2B. Miller, WH 21-46 516 6 2H. Snyder, Tus 20-55 483 5 2M. King, Smi 28-76 433 4 9

———RUSHING

(players ranked by yardage)Player No. Yds TDK. Edmondson, Lou 204 1675 25T. Smith, Nwn 267 1635 29L. Perone, WH 241 1608 21L. Ogi, WH 136 1400 15R. Weaver, Way 144 1248 13R. Weber, Lou 160 1200 16M. Dyson, Woo 160 1180 16B. Whetsell, Chi 164 1142 11B. Bauman, Smi 223 1108 10D. Cunningham, Clo 206 1035 7J. Miller, Nor 181 991 11R. Stanley, Way 159 952 8N. Zollinger, Chi 129 831 12Q. Raines, Dal 130 752 9M. Nolletti, Nwn 112 721 6

K. Owens, Orr 158 721 5T. Trogdon, Smi 107 702 0D. Eberly, Hill 78 571 5M. McFarren, Dal 139 564 0T. Marksberry, Hill 103 535 7

——— RECEIVING

(players ranked by receptions)Player No. Yds TDT. Haven, Tri 109 965 13J. Miller, Tri 84 1163 11G. Miller, Tus 65 1074 9T. Beery, Nor 52 761 11A. Smith, Clo 49 797 9D. Kopp, Tri 41 619 5D. Cunningham, Clo 41 340 1S. Epling, Chi 40 1032 16B. Dennis, Rit 38 328 6A. Metzger, Dal 37 575 5M. Blair, Woo 35 724 11T. Davis, Nor 34 512 8M. Kohler, Nwn 32 539 4K. Harris, Nor 29 707 13Mas. Karn, Tus 28 286 2J. Duncan, Tri 28 257 1D. Reed, Nor 26 306 4J. Lidge, Woo 25 213 1

———SCORING

Player TD 1-xp 2-xp FG TotT. Smith, Nwn 33 0 3 0 204K. Edmondson, Lou 26 0 3 0 162L. Perone, WH 21 0 0 0 126S. Epling, Chi 17 0 1 0 104N. Zollinger, Chi 16 0 0 0 96R. Weber, Lou 16 0 0 0 96M. Dyson, Woo 16 0 0 0 96B. Arnold, WH 15 0 0 0 90

L. Ogi, WH 15 0 0 0 90R. Weaver, Way 14 0 3 0 90P. Carmichael, Tri 13 0 5 0 88T. Haven, Tri 14 0 0 0 84M. Blair, Woo 14 0 0 0 84Q. Raines, Dal 13 0 1 0 80K. Harris, Nor 13 0 0 0 78J. Miller, Nor 13 0 0 0 78T. Beery, Nor 12 0 0 0 72Tu. Bender, Lou 2 45 1 3 68B. Whetsell, Chi 11 0 0 0 66R. Stanley, Way 9 0 6 0 66J. Miller, Tri 10 0 2 0 64G. Miller, Tus 10 0 1 0 62B. Bauman, Smi 10 0 0 0 60

———DEFENSE

(players ranked by tackles)Player Tkls TFL SacksR. Weber, Lou 142 19.5 9.5Tr. Bender, Lou 142 8.5 0C. Huffman, Tri 132 7.5 1J. Morehart, Dal 121 12 1R. Stanley, Way 118 2 2L. Perone, WH 117 8 3J. Miller, Nor 113 10 1T. Haven, Tri 106 9.5 0A. Wengerd, WH 105 5 0.5T. Summers, Orr 104 11 3G. Miller, WH 104 5 2Z. King, Way 100 5 3.5L. Ammond, Tus 98 0 0T. Abel, Chi 96 12.5 5.5C. Fitzwater, Dal 96 6 1C. Shaffer, Orr 96 8 0M. Kohler, Nwn 94 5 1A. Lewis, Way 94 4 1.5D. Eberly, Hill 92 11 0

C. Brewer, Way 91 0 2J. Miller, Chi 90 8 4.5R. Bee, Hill 88 24 15R. Harpster, Hill 87 4 0B. Fortune, Nwn 86 5 0L. Ogi, WH 86 4 0M. Henderson, Lou 85 10 1T. Topp, Nwn 85 5 0S. Weaver, Way 85 6 0.5C. Stutzman, WH 85 1 0Z. Rowley, Dal 82 2 0J. Butcher, Rit 82 4 1

———INTERCEPTIONS

Player Int. TDD. Cline, Hill 6 0A. Durbin, Chi 5 2B. Breitenstine, Chi 5 1Z. Ryder, Dal 5 0C. Figley, Hill 4 1A. VanSickle, Lou 4 1H. Shue, Nor 4 1T. Weaverling, Nwn 4 0J. Butcher, Rit 4 0C. Blair, Woo 4 0M. Vespucci, Clo 3 1A. Lewis, Way 3 1A. Flores, Hill 3 0Tu. Bender, Lou 3 0M. Nolletti, Nwn 3 0T. Beery, Nor 3 0P. Carmichael, Tri 3 0D. Kopp, Tri 3 0J. Miller, Tri 3 0Mas. Karn, Tus 3 0G. Lau, Tus 3 0N. Strausbaugh, Way 3 0T. Bridenthal, WH 3 0

2013 standingsWAYNE COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE

School Lg. Overall PF PANorthwestern* 7-0 9-2 422 149Chippewa 6-1 9-3 453 278Norwayne 5-2 7-3 375 221Waynedale 4-3 6-4 296 226Hillsdale 3-4 4-6 218 232Dalton 2-5 3-7 198 288Smithville 1-6 1-9 133 380Rittman 0-7 1-9 114 397

OHIO CARDINAL CONFERENCESchool Lg. Overall PF PAMansfield*# 7-0 11-1 401 133Ashland 6-1 7-3 340 237Clear Fork 5-2 7-3 309 243Wooster 4-3 4-6 294 277West Holmes 3-4 6-4 378 266Madison 2-5 3-7 228 306Orrville 1-6 4-6 158 268Lexington 0-7 1-9 245 394

PRINCIPALS ATHLETIC CONFERENCESchool Lg. Overall PF PATriway*# 7-0 9-3 363 291Manchester# 5-2 11-3 N/A N/AIndian Valley# 5-2 10-2 323 203Fairless 4-3 7-3 387 277CVCA 4-3 5-5 236 229Tusky Valley 2-5 4-6 224 306Tuslaw 1-6 2-8 181 344Timken 0-7 3-7 228 291

OTHERSSchool Lg. Overall PF PALoudonville (MBC)# 3-0 10-2 430 143Cloverleaf (SL) 0-7 2-8 182 342

* league champion# playoff qualifier

E11Triway

TROY MILLER AGENCY

L.L.C.

Shreve567-2626

Berlin893-2446or

www.troymilleragency.com

GO TITANS!


1679 Old Columbus Rd.330-262-9211

GOOD LUCK, TITANS!

330-496-2361

HARDWARE FlooRingsPAinTs

HoUsEWAREsHours:

M-F 7am-6pmsat 7am-7pm

330-567-2121

GOOD LUCK TRIWAY

10060629

Celebrating 55 years!138 N Market St. Shreve

MARTIN J ewe le r s

1830 Cleveland Road Wooster, Ohio 44691330-262-1136 www.Martinjeweler.com

GO TITANS!


TIRE & AUTO CENTER






KNOCK’EM DOWN TITANS!

FALL LEAGUES FORMING NOW!

330-262-2451 triwaylanes.com

3392 Columbus Rd. Wooster

2901 Batdorf Road • Wooster, Ohio330-264-2285

Local growers of fresh fruits & vegetables for over 50 years!

GO TITANS!

Local growers of fresh fruits

GO TITANS!

1-800-562-0373www.portspetroleum.com

Good Luck Titans!

WOOSTER, OH

From


GOOD LUCK TITANS!

Junction City, Ohio740-987-5010

Fallsburg, Ohio740-828-3385

Wooster, Ohio330-264-9146

Marietta, Ohio740-373-6806

Go Titans!

13701 Eby Rd. Creston, OH 44217

330-939-4192

GOOD LUCK TITANS!

GOTITANS!

Mike Faught, Agent3880 Cleveland Rd,

Suite A330-345-6300

www.mikefaught.comProviding Insurance and Financial Services

Smithville’s tale

Football started in 1955 at Smith-ville. Made playoffs 12 times, including a Div. V state runner-up finish in 2002. Plays in Wayne County Athletic League at Smithville Stadium. Coached by Smithie alum Brent Besan-con (6-14 entering his third season). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 19.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LASTYEARAug. 29 TUSLAW DNPSept. 5 at Mogadore L, 14-49Sept. 12 at Fairless L, 26-48Sept. 19 HILLSDALE* L, 13-50Sept. 26 at Northwestern* L, 2-35Oct. 3 RITTMAN* W, 14-13Oct. 10 at Norwayne* L, 20-41Oct. 17 CHIPPEWA* L, 25-46Oct. 24 at Dalton* L, 0-14Oct. 31 WAYNEDALE* L, 13-36* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Isaiah Ajian 5-8 175 Sr.FB Cody Tipple 5-11 190 Jr.TB Michael Lengacher 5-5 145 Jr.WB Noah Schonover 6-0 165 Jr.TE Colt Ullman 6-0 230 Jr.SE Isaiah Viator 6-2 170 Jr.RT Eddie Sherwood 5-5 215 Sr.RG Lance Bohlen 5-10 200 Sr.C Harold Kennedy 5-8 215 Sr.LG Wyatt Loving 6-2 215 Jr.LT David Myers 6-0 225 Sr.K Justin Kauffman 6-4 170 Jr.

DEFENSEDE Brent Rosenbaum 6-5 205 Jr.DE Wyatt Loving 6-2 215 Jr.DT Roger Gehring 5-6 175 Sr.DT David Myers 6-0 225 Sr.ILB Lance Bohlen 5-10 200 Sr.ILB Gus Boyd 5-11 190 Sr.OLB Colin Cottrell 5-11 170 Jr.OLB Ryan Smucker 6-1 175 Sr.CB Isaiah Ajian 5-8 175 Sr.CB Isaiah Viator 6-2 170 Jr.FS Justin Fath 5-10 170 So.P Cody Tipple 5-11 190 Jr.

Smithville plotSmithville struggled to a 1-9 finish a season ago,

matching three other Smithie squads (1967, 1969, 1978) for the worst mark in a single season. But Smithville has “somewhere around 17, 18, 19” returning letterwin-ners, according to Besancon, and this year’s version should be improved — on paper, anyhow. The Smithies must be better on defense, first and foremost, as they surrendered a school-record 380 points a season ago. Perhaps all the sophomores Smithville played a season ago have matured both physically and mentally, which will go a long way in the standing. That, and improving a minus-17 turnover ratio, as the Smithies threw 11 interceptions and fumbled it away another 16 times.

Words of wisdom“One thing I can say about last year, and I hate to

bring up youth, but I think we have a lot of guys who realized how big of a step it is transitioning from fresh-man to varsity,” Besancon said. “We played a lot of sophomores and they just weren’t ready. It was what it was. ... We did gain a lot of experience, in terms of understanding what type of speed and aggressiveness it takes to play at this level. Our offseason focused on weight training and speed training, and so far — and I emphasize so far — I feel pretty good where we sit in those areas.”

Main charactersSmithville did graduate seven seniors, but not all

were seeing extended action at season’s end a year ago. Two of those — Bryce Bauman and Tyler Trogdon — were, combining for 1,810 of the Smithies’ 2,159 rush-ing yards in 2013. Junior tailback Michael Lengacher returns as Smithville’s top rusher (148 yards on 35 carries). Noah Schonover, a junior wing back, and Isa-iah Ajian, a senior battling sophomore Justin Fath for the starting quarterback spot, combined for 45 rushing attempts. Cody Tipple, who will start at fullback, had just 12 carries, while Isaiah Viator is also back after 14 receptions (224 yards) and two scores.

“(Lengacher) is shifty, elusive. Tipple is the typical wing-T back we’ve had in the past,” Besancon said. “I also think our wingbacks will be in the mix a little more, carry the ball a little more than what we’ve usu-ally done in the past.”

Still, the Green Machine has a bunch of greenhorns ready to handle the ball. It’s a good thing they’ll have an experienced line to run behind. At season’s end, five of the six up front, including tight end Colt Ull-man, were active in the rotation. Right tackle Eddie Sherwood, right guard Lance Bohlen, left guard Wyatt Loving and left tackle David Myers all lettered in 2013. Center Harold Kennedy is the lone newbie.

“This whole offseason that group was looking for-ward to returning as a core. They wanted to put this team on their shoulders,” Besancon said. “It’s a self-imposed pressure they put on themselves, and with strong reps, they should get better week after week.”

Defensively, Smithville has traditionally showed a 4-4 front. It’s likely to see a little more 4-3 this season with lack of depth at linebacker, but a wealth of defensive backs returning. Safety Colin Cottrell will be one to watch, while Fath and Trent Shane battle for another safety spot. The cornerbacks are strong with Ajian, Viator and Schonover in the rotation. Ryan Smucker will be an inside backer with much importance. Out-side backer Gus Boyd, defensive tackle Roger Gehring and defensive end Brent Rosenbaum are one-way players, all looking to help shore up a defense that sur-rendered 7.1 yards per carry in 2013.

Keys to a memorable fallA challenging non-league gauntlet will be a good

measuring stick. That schedule includes Tuslaw, which looks to be significantly improved, traditional-pow-er Mogadore, and Fairless, which returns many key

E12 — Thursday, August 28, 2014 LegendsoftheFall THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

Aaron Dorksen photo/www.buydrphotos.comSmithville football legend Larry Kolic’s talents took him to Ohio State, where he was MVP of the Cit-

rus Bowl in 1985, and then to the Miami Dolphins for parts of three seasons (1986-88). Kolic returned to share some knowledge with current Smithies (from left) Eddie Sherwood, Lance Bohlen and David Myers at the historic Smithville Inn.

Tipple

Loving

Besancon

Kolicmasterof‘oldschool’football

Larry Kolic said it had been more than 30 years since he graced the streets of Smithville. “Probably 1985. After I won the Cit-rus Bowl MVP and left the trophy on (Smithville coach Keith) Schrock’s doorstep,” Kolic said.

Kolic returned this August for our Legends of the Fall preview, agreeing to spend some time with part of this year’s Smithie team — three lineman in particular who are ready to return Smithville foot-ball to a physical style.

“Coach Besancon has honestly been talking about ‘old-school Smith-ville football,’ and that’s kind of become our motto,” senior lineman Eddie Sherwood said.

Fellow senior linemen David Meyers and Lance Bohlen, who join Sher-wood as returning start-ers, also participated in the day’s activities.

They knew all about Kolic, who was the 1980 WCAL MVP, a starter at Ohio State and spent a stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins.

“Coach (Besancon) talks about how important the weight room is, and from what I understand, Kolic was the king of the weight room,” Meyers said. “I heard the fans used to call him a tank, because

he made his way through anything.” The three play-ers and Kolic were photo-graphed at various spots in town, but the Smithville Inn — which opened in 1818 — was ultimately the natural choice for a leg-endary site. It’s also where Kolic ate Sunday dinners with the Besancon family.

On the gridiron, Kolic ate up the competition. The fullback-linebacker, who was just 16 as a senior at Smithville, hit people with vigor —whether he was carrying the ball or tackling.

“People talk about Stark County, where they pro-duce a lot of Div. I ath-letes,” Kolic said, “but pound-for-pound, and for the amount of schools and kids there are in Wayne County compared to Stark County, Wayne County is equally impressive.”

It was surreal for Kolic to see the old high school and middle school being torn down in Smithville, and also admitting that he’ll turn 50 on Aug. 31.

But it didn’t take Kolic long to embrace the O-linemen from this year’s team. He took them for a ride in his decked-out Hummer, providing smiles around. After a 1-9 season this past year — its worst since 1977 — the Smithies’ hope to provide their fans some smiles like Kolic did in the early 1980s.

By ZACH BOLINGERSports Staff LarryKolicfile

High School highlights: Tackles and yards rush-ing will always be part of Kolic’s legendary status, but as Kolic said in 1999, when he was No. 8 in The Daily Record’s Top-50 athletes of all time series: “Truth be known, I’m more proud of my track career than my football career. I was a better run-ning back than linebacker. I don’t know how I was an all-state linebacker, but that’s politics.” Kolic was an all-state first-team ‘A’ division linebacker.

Collegehighlights:Kolic played on special teams, goal-line defenses and was a second-team line-backer his first two seasons at Ohio State, but he was redshirted his junior season because of the depth at linebacker. He started at inside linebacker in 1984 with eventual long-time NFL star Pepper Johnson, with Chris Spielman joining the Buck-eyes, which led to Kolic eventually being shuffled out of the rotation. Kolic accepted a move to nose-guard his final season and the Buckeyes finished 9-3 with a 10-7 victory over Brigham Young in the Citrus Bowl, a game in which Kolic intercepted two passes after dropping into coverage.

Favoritefootballmemory:“I’d have to say being the MVP of the (1985) Citrus Bowl,” Kolic said. “(Ohio State coach) Earle (Bruce) basically moved me to nose guard to punish me that year, and then I’m the MVP. In high school, it has to be winning the (1980) WCAL championship and just basically starting the turnaround. Guys like Bob Perry, Scott Rehm, Ray Fiscus — and some others — helped

turn things around.”Life today: Kolic lives in

Canton with his wife, Sarah (Steiner), who was his high school sweetheart. He owns a landscaping busi-ness and a general con-tracting company, working with the government to build low- and medium-income housing. The Kolics have three children, Luke, 28, Matt, 26, and Eric, 24.

Smithville roSterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.3 KentMast 6-0 230 RB/LB7 GusBoyd 5-11 190 WB/LB10 IsaiahAjian 5-8 175 QB/DB12 TylerKing 6-0 145 WR/DB23 AndyBenchoff 5-8 135 WB/DB32 JordanBuss 5-7 180 RB/DB44 RyanSmucker 6-1 175 TE/LB51 JonMiller 6-3 205 OL/DL55 HaroldKennedy 5-8 215 OL/DL66 LanceBohlen 5-10 200 OL/LB67 RogerGehring 5-6 175 OL/LB71 DavidMyers 6-0 225 OL/DL73 EddieSherwood 5-5 215 OL/DL

JUNIORS1 NoahSchonover 6-0 165 QB/DB5 CollinCottrell 5-11 170 QB/LB11 IsaiahViator 6-2 170 WR/DB21 MichaelLengacher 5-5 145 RB/DB22 CodyTipple 5-11 190 RB/LB

40 ColtUllman 6-0 230 TE/DL43 JustinKauffman 6-4 170 TE/LB53 JacobGriffith 6-0 215 OL/DL56 ColtonBrummage 5-8 205 OL/DL62 RyanJames 6-1 185 RB/LB65 WyattLoving 6-2 215 OL/DL68 JasonSchaffter 5-11 220 OL/LB74 BrentRosenbaum 6-5 205 OL/DL80 NateSmith 6-1 170 WR/DB

SOPHOMORES20 DylanDavis 5-10 130 WR/DB24 GavinBrummage 5-6 185 RB/LB25 SpencerAnderson 5-6 175 RB/DB30 AidanHostetler 5-8 145 WB/DB31 JasonNewlan 5-10 165 RB/LB33 TylerBanton 5-10 150 WB/DB34 BaileyBlair 5-11 150 RB/OLB39 JustinFath 5-10 170 QB/DB50 MichaelThompson 5-8 205 OL/DL52 JohnKelbly 5-9 200 OL/DL61 GarrettCarraway 5-9 155 OL/DL

63 TristenStoll 5-1 190 OL/DL64 JoshCalender 5-6 175 OL/DL72 KelbyHartshorne 5-9 280 OL/DL77 BrettBauman 6-0 195 OL/DL88 HunterSnell 6-2 200 TE/LB97 SebastianSamayoa 5-9 130 WR/DB

FRESHMEN42 TrentShane 6-0 160 QB/OLB49 GarrettFetzer 5-5 130 RB/DB58 EthanSnyder 6-2 230 OL/DL59 ShaneChristman 5-8 230 OL/DL60 BrandonSugg 5-8 205 OL/DL75 JaredWyatt 5-9 150 OL/DL76 AlexLukezic 5-10 165 OL/DL78 BrettEndsley 5-9 170 OL/DL82 ColeSmith 6-2 180 TE/LB84 JeremyWoodarski 5-8 135 QB/DB86 RileySmucker 5-6 130 WR/DB94 TrentKauffman 6-0 155 RB/LB95 ZackSmith 5-9 180 RB/LB99 TommyStewart 5-7 125 WR/DB SeePg.E13—SMITHVILLE

smithvillesmithies

E12Fall Sports


Second-half running clock in blowouts to debut this fall

Are you ready for some faster football?That’s the question that needed to be

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

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

According to the release, after the first half, any time the score differential reaches 30 points or more, the clock will only be stopped when: n An official’s timeout is called either for

an injured player or following a change of team possession;n A charged timeout is called;n A quarter ends;n A score occurs.Other than those four scenarios, the clock

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

The rule also will apply to games at the seventh- and eighth-grade and freshman and junior varsity levels. And while it seems the OHSAA has good intentions with the

idea — which it says is already used in dif-ferent variations in other states — some area coaches say they don’t have to like it.

“I think there are coaches that play their starters deep into the fourth quarter no matter the score and you just get teams that get humiliated. Well I couldn’t get my starters out quick enough,” said Loudon-ville coach Justin Todd, whose squad was on the good side of six games decided by more than 30 points last fall. “In 80 percent of our regular-season games (in 2013), our starters didn’t play the fourth quarter, and our younger guys got a lot of really cool experience; they want to play on Friday nights under the lights.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thut, who will lead the Huskies in a game for the 150th time in Week 3, said he is not a fan.

However, Hillsdale’s Tom Williams (entering 12th season) said he could see the benefits of the new rule.

Williams said he doesn’t recall ever see-ing a high school team overcome a 30-point deficit — and he’s never been involved in many games that had leads in the 20s that grew tense at the end. He said the Fal-

cons are used to running the ball and the clock as much as they can in blowouts, and even though his team was 2-3 last season in games decided by at least 30 points, he isn’t putting much into the new rule.

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

Some have suggested that making the number 40 points for the running clock would be more logical. When asked by the Times-Gazette if the OHSAA considered a higher number, Rugg said he looked at four or five states using the rule, and while some were higher than 30, some were lower, too.

He said the OHSAA settled on 30 with the thought that it was the equivalent of five touchdowns without extra points.

Either way, the speed-up rule is sure to impact plenty of Friday nights throughout Ohio this season. “We are interested to see what the feedback is as the season pro-gresses and we have games that actually fall into this rule,” Rugg said. “Everything now is conjecture. We know the environ-ment in blowout games is awful in many respects and we think this rule will make these games better for coaches, players, fans and officials.”

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

By DOUG HAIDETTimes-Gazette

Daily Record file photoChippewa’s Austin Durbin celebrates his sack on Columbia Station’s

quarterback Jay Banyasz in last year’s first-round playoff game, which the Chipps walloped the Raiders 62-28. Under this year’s new blowout rules, a running clock would have been used in the second half when the Chipps were up by 30 points or more.

components. “We really haven’t looked any farther than Tuslaw,” Besancon said. “It’s been a while since we were 1-0, so right now, we’re only looking forward to opening night.”

The Smithies will need some sort of threat at the quarterback position, be it throwing the football or running it. Smithville QBs completed just 41 passes (39.8 percent) a year ago, with nearly a 1-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio. Ajian, a senior, is listed at the top of the depth chart for the moment being. “His age, leadership, calmness in the huddle — those are all things we like,” Besancon said. And Fath, an up-and-coming sophomore, is right on his heels. “He has a lot to learn yet,” Besancon said, “but he has impressed us with a lot of the things he can do.”

Besancon also joked that it was fit-ting The Daily Record’s football preview took on a “Legends of the Fall” theme this year. He’s been pushing that the Smithies get back to “old-school” foot-ball, where power running and stingy defense are a staple. Those, ultimately, will be Smithville’s keys to a competi-tive, or winning, season.

— Zach Bolinger

(From Page E12)

Smithville

E13Smithville


TYLER GRAIN & FERTILIZER CO.

1860 2013

SMITHVILLE • 330-669-23411-800-772-9566 • FAX 330-669-3933

www.tylersfertilizer.com

Beaver WholesaleMeats, Inc.

Serving: Fine Restaurants - Health Care - Schools

P.O. Box 376 • SR 585Smithville, OH 44677

330-669-2141

Residential & Commercial

Free Estimates

855-7751Fax: 855-7855800-787-7751

• Custom Draperies •• Window Treatments •

P.O. Box 305 • 57 South Main St. • Marshallville, OH 44645Mon. - Fri. 8:30 - 5:00 • Sat. 8:30 - 12:00 noon


TIRE & AUTO CENTER



GOOD LUCK SMITHIES!

6848 Back Orrville Rd., Wooster OH

(330) 683-6744

LEACH’S GARAGEComplete Automotive & Truck Service

The Latest Hunter DSP600Alignment – with code link

General Repair & Tires

Clutches

GOOD LUCK SMITHIES!GOOD LUCK SMITHIES!GOOD LUCK SMITHIES!GOOD LUCK SMITHIES!

6848 Back Orrville Rd., Wooster OH

(330) 683-6744

LEACH’S GARAGEComplete Automotive & Truck Service

The Latest Hunter DSP600Alignment – with code link

General Repair & Tires

Clutches


E14Fall Sports

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED

HAS ALL THE HIGH SCHOOLFOOTBALL SCHEDULES

SANTMYER OIL COMPANYSANTMYER OIL COMPANY

CHIPPEWAAug. 29 at MapletonSept. 5 WATERLOOSept. 12 at TuslawSept. 19 RITTMANSept. 26 at NorwayneOct. 3 at WaynedaleOct. 10 DALTON Oct. 17 at SmithvilleOct. 24 HILLSDALEOct. 31 at Northwestern

CLOVERLEAFAug. 29 at NorthwestSept. 5 KEYSTONESept. 12 at BuckeyeSept. 19 at RevereSept. 26 at NordoniaOct. 3 WADSWORTHOct. 10 GREENOct. 17 at CopleyOct. 24 TALLMADGEOct. 31 HIGHLAND

DALTONAug. 29 at GarawaySept. 5 TUSLAWSept. 12 at TimkenSept. 19 NORTHWESTERNSept. 26 at RittmanOct. 3 NORWAYNEOct. 10 at ChippewaOct. 17 WAYNEDALEOct. 24 SMITHVILLEOct. 31 at Hillsdale

HILLSDALEAug. 29 at ManchesterSept. 5 WILLARDSept. 12 at LoudonvilleSept. 19 at SmithvilleSept. 26 WAYNEDALEOct. 3 NORTHWESTERNOct. 10 at RittmanOct. 17 NORWAYNEOct. 24 at ChippewaOct. 31 DALTON

LOUDONVILLEAug. 29 SPA. HIGHLANDSept. 5 at CrestviewSept. 12 HILLSDALESept. 19 LOGANSept. 26 WILLARDOct. 3 LUCASOct. 10 at Bishop ReadyOct. 17 at DanvilleOct. 25 at Gilmour AcademyOct. 31 at Shelby

NORTHWESTERNAug. 29 FAIRLESSSept. 5 BLACK RIVERSept. 12 COLUMBIASept. 19 at DaltonSept. 26 SMITHVILLEOct. 3 at HillsdaleOct. 10 at WaynedaleOct. 17 RITTMANOct. 24 at NorwayneOct. 31 CHIPPEWA

NORWAYNEAug. 29 at WellingtonSept. 5 CVCASept. 12 ONTARIOSept. 19 at WaynedaleSept. 26 CHIPPEWAOct. 3 at DaltonOct. 10 SMITHVILLEOct. 17 at HillsdaleOct. 24 NORTHWESTERNOct. 31 at Rittman

ORRVILLEAug. 29 TOL. ROGERSSept. 5 TRIWAYSept. 12 at NorthwestSept. 19 at LexingtonSept. 26 MANSFIELDOct. 3 WEST HOLMESOct. 10 at AshlandOct. 17 MADISONOct. 24 CLEAR FORKNov. 1 at Wooster

RITTMANAug. 29 NORTHSept. 5 GROVE CITY CHR.Sept. 12 MAPLETONSept. 19 at ChippewaSept. 26 DALTONOct. 3 at SmithvilleOct. 10 HILLSDALEOct. 17 at NorthwesternOct. 24 at WaynedaleOct. 31 NORWAYNE

SMITHVILLEAug. 29 TUSLAWSept. 5 at MogadoreSept. 12 at FairlessSept. 19 HILLSDALESept. 26 at NorthwesternOct. 3 RITTMANOct. 10 at NorwayneOct. 17 CHIPPEWAOct. 24 at DaltonOct. 31 WAYNEDALE

TRIWAYAug. 29 WEST HOLMESSept. 5 at OrrvilleSept. 12 at WaynedaleSept. 19 TUSKY VALLEYSept. 26 at FairlessOct. 3 TUSLAWOct. 10 CVCAOct. 17 at Indian ValleyOct. 24 at ManchesterOct. 31 TIMKEN

TUSLAWAug. 29 at SmithvilleSept. 5 at DaltonSept. 12 CHIPPEWASept. 19 at Indian ValleySept. 26 CVCAOct. 3 at TriwayOct. 10 TUSKY VALLEYOct. 17 MANCHESTEROct. 24 at TimkenOct. 31 FAIRLESS

Santmyer Oil Co., Inc.

BULK PLANT & AUTOMATED FUELING SYSTEM

Santmyer Oil Co. now has a 24 hour automated fueling system located at 1011 Jacobson Ave., Ashland, Ohio. The system features all fuels in a well lighted location. The Ashland site also sells all major brands of oil & lubricants as well as fuel & oil fi lters. Offi ce and business hours are: 6:30 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. Sunday.



Santmyer Oil Company now has a 24 hour automated fueling system located at 9090 Columbus Rd., Mt. Vernon, Ohio. This site is operated by Rowe Oil Co. a division of Santmyer Oil Co., Inc. The system features all fuels in a well lighted location and accepts all major credit cards. The Mt. Vernon site also sells all major brands of oil & lubricants and has a convenient store. Offi ce and business hours are Monday through Saturday 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.



Santmyer Oil Company now has a 24 hour automated fueling system in the Wooster, Ashland and Mount Vernon locations. The system features all fuels, in a well lighted location with generator back up for emergency power outage. Offi ce and business hours are: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

VISIT US TODAY1097 W. OLD LINCOLN WAY, WOOSTER

WAYNEDALEAug. 29 at Tusky ValleySept. 5 at RidgewoodSept. 12 TRIWAYSept. 19 NORWAYNESept. 26 at HillsdaleOct. 3 CHIPPEWAOct. 10 NORTHWESTERNOct. 17 at DaltonOct. 24 RITTMANOct. 31 at Smithville

WEST HOLMESAug. 29 at TriwaySept. 5 NEW PHILADELPHIASept. 12 at CoshoctonSept. 19 MADISONSept. 26 at AshlandOct. 3 at OrrvilleOct. 10 MANSFIELD Oct. 17 at LexingtonOct. 24 WOOSTEROct. 31 CLEAR FORK

WOOSTERAug. 29 at Med. HighlandSept. 5 WADSWORTHSept. 12 at GreenSept. 19 ASHLANDSept. 26 at MadisonOct. 3 CLEAR FORKOct. 10 LEXINGTONOct. 17 at Mansfi eldOct. 24 at West HolmesNov. 1 ORRVILLE

THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTERSept. 6 at Washington & JeffersonSept. 20 at OberlinSept. 27 HIRAMOct. 4 at WabashOct. 11 ALLEGHENYOct. 18 WITTENBERGOct. 25 at DenisonNov. 1 DEPAUWNov. 8 KENYONNov. 15 at Ohio Wesleyan

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Legends of the Fall Thursday, August 28, 2014 — F1

High school highlights: Ron Williams earned 14 varsity letters, and also pointed out that fresh-men weren’t allowed to letter in football under coach Ken Black. He was the offensive and defen-sive line anchor for Doylestown teams which won Wayne County League championships in 1954, 55 and 56. The ’56 season was the first with seven teams in the WCL, with the Chipps outscoring league opponents 274-19. Williams was one of three Chipps on the ’56 squad to be named among the Daily Record’s Top 100 athletes of all time.

College highlights: Williams lettered as a junior and senior at Bowling Green, playing both ways. He was strongest at middle guard on defense, by his own admission. Falcons were undefeated and won the 1959 collegiate division national champi-onship, with Williams earning honorable mention Mid-American Conference honors.

Favorite football memory: “Probably beating Ohio University my junior year. The only game they lost was to us,” Williams said. “In high school, we didn’t have that many close games. So I would say the Manchester games both my junior and senior year (20-6 and 20-12 victories).”

Life today: Wil-liams retired after 41 years as an educator, Williams lives in his beloved Doylestown with his wife, Mary. Williams just celebrat-ed his 75th birthday and enjoys gardening and spending time with his five children, 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchil-dren.

Chippewa’s taleBegan playing in

1912. Have made playoffs twice, back in 1999 (10-2) and then last season (9-3). Play in the Wayne County Athletic League and at Doylestown Com-munity Stadium. Coached by second-year boss Michael Bohley. Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 16.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Mapleton W, 47-7Sept. 5 WATERLOO W, 61-13Sept. 12 at Tuslaw L, 26-27 OTSept. 19 RITTMAN* W, 53-14Sept. 26 at Norwayne* W, 48-38Oct. 3 at Waynedale* W, 28-24Oct. 10 DALTON* W, 27-12Oct. 17 at Smithville* W, 46-25Oct. 24 HILLSDALE* W, 20-13Oct. 31 at Northwestern* L, 14-28* Wayne County Athletic League game

Meet the startersOFFENSEPos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Bailey Breitenstine 5-7 165 Jr.RB Nick Zollinger 5-7 170 Sr.RB Jake Hecker 6-0 170 Jr.RB Adam Vasilatos 5-11 170 Sr.WR Austin Durbin 5-6 150 Sr.WR Jerry Bennett 6-1 170 Jr.TE Matt Blair 6-3 190 Jr.T Trent Harrell 6-2 215 So.G Aaron Indermuhle 5-11 195 Sr.C Josh Prichard 6-0 225 Sr.G Travis Moore 6-2 205 So.T Jake Gamble 6-6 290 Sr.K C. Gerstenslager 5-8 140 Jr.

DEFENSEDE Marty Harrell 6-1 190 Jr.DT Jake Gamble 6-6 290 Sr.DT Nick Willig 6-1 275 So.DE Lance Zierau 6-3 170 So.OLB Nick Zollinger 5-7 170 Sr.ILB Aaron Indermuhle 5-11 195 Sr.OLB Trent Abel 6-0 185 Sr.CB Jerry Bennett 6-1 170 Jr.CB Austin Durbin 5-6 150 Sr.S Bailey Breitenstine 5-7 165 Jr.S Luke Brown 5-9 160 So.P Jerry Bennett 6-1 170 Jr.

Chippewa plotCan they do it again? Bohley’s first season (2013)

guiding the Chipps was one of the school’s most mem-orable. Not many expected the Chipps — who were picked to finish in the bottom half of the WCAL after a 1-9 season in 2012 — to be in the league hunt and playoff picture a year ago. But they only lost one league game (Northwestern) and whipped the region’s top seed, Columbia Station, before falling to eventual state champion Coldwater. And while Bohley will say his team lost some key pieces, the squad has a long list — 20 to be exact — of returning letterwinners. “All off-season we’ve put an emphasis on staying focused, stay-ing grounded. Our mantra or motto has been ‘Take the next step,’” Bohley said. “‘Take the next step’ could be a personal goal, it could be a certain team goal — not just winning the league, or making the playoffs again.” First things first, as the Chipps have had just one instance (1999-2000) of back-to-back winning seasons in the last 38 years. The Chipps have returners at nearly each level of the defense and a three-year starter at QB (Bailey Breitenstine) to lead a deep skill-position offense. “To go from Week 1 last year, where we were playing in front of the band and mostly parents, to winning a playoff game and having half the school celebrate on the field — it was kind of surreal,” Bohley said. “To lose to the eventual state champ is never a bad way to finish. Now we just need to build on that.”

Words of wisdom“It’s a lot of the same kids we had last year. In fact,

our offseason numbers have been bigger than last year, so they’ve kind of embraced it,” Bohley said. “Dur-ing two-a-days we’ve had some phenomenal days and there have been lulls. For the most part we’re happy with their intensity and athleticism ... but to say every practice has been laser-point focused would be a lie.

“I do feel like we have a lot of experience back, so we shouldn’t be shocked by anything,” Bohley added. “I don’t think there will be any situation too big for our kids. They should be accustomed to tight games and situations that come with it.”

Main charactersIn Breitenstine, the Chipps have a signal caller who

has ‘been there, done that.’ The junior completed just 95 passes last season, but 23 went for TDs. He also rushed for nine more scores, and according to Bohley, is primed for his best season yet. “The biggest differ-ence is his body,” Bohley said. “Yes, he’s still five-foot nothing, but he’s been the first kid in the weight room all offseason. ... He’s our vocal and emotional leader and the other kids feed off him.” Senior Nick Zollinger will join him in the backfield after rushing for 800-plus yards and scoring 12 TDs a year ago. In the Chipps’ wing-T attack, running backs Jake Hecker and Adam Vasilatos look to be primary options. On the outside, Austin Durbin (20 receptions last year) and Jerry Ben-nett will be starters, while TE Matt Blair (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) is a big target. The Chipps’ offensive line will have four letterwinners returning, anchored by 290-pound tackle Jake Gamble and seniors Aaron Inder-muhle (G) and Josh Pritchard (C). “Now that we’re in the second year of the system, I think we’ll evolve and expand both philosophy wise and schematically,” Boh-ley said. “Our main goal, like many teams, is to have equal balance between the run and pass.”

Chippewa will have six players going both ways, as the starting defense will include Bre-itenstine (S), Zollinger (OLB), Durbin (CB), Bennett (CB), Indermuhle (ILB), and Gamble (DT). Durbin and Bre-itenstine each had 5 interceptions last season, while Trent Abel (OLB) also returns and led the squad with 96 tack-les a year ago. Sophomore DT Nick Wil-lig, at 275-pounds, is highly touted and will help clog the middle with Gamble.

“There is an old saying that offense puts people in the stands and defense wins important games,” Bohley said.

F1Norwayne

Art Holden photoChippewa legend Ron Williams knows a little bit about winning football games, as his high school

team had a streak of 21 victories in a row when he graduated in 1957. Looking to keep up their win-ning ways after last year’s playoff run are current Chipps (from left) Bailey Breitenstine, Jacob Gamble and Nick Zollinger. The four are pictured at the Doughboy Monument in the center of Doylestown.

Abel

Durbin

Bohley

ChippewaChipps

Chipps looking for ‘bling’ like Williams’

Ron “Butch” Williams is proud that each and every play started with him. For the legendary Doylestown and Bowling Green cen-ter, the finished product wasn’t bad, either.

The Chipps had won 21 consecutive games when Williams graduated in 1957. Moreover, BGSU was undefeated in 1959 and the “collegiate” divi-sion national champion. So, when Williams joined current Chippewa play-ers Bailey Breitenstine, Jake Gamble and Nick Zollinger at the legend-ary “Dough Boy” statue in the middle of town, he flashed more than just a smile at the photo shoot. Williams showed a little bling — a hefty ring — from that 1959 title team, but he still holds his high school days in higher regard.

“That class of ’57 still gets together a lot,” Wil-liams said. “We have lunch the first Friday of each month at a local restaurant. We have an annual picnic at the Bus-son Pavilion and we have a Christmas party. It was a special group.”

Williams and Co. fin-

ished the 1954 (7-2) sea-son with three wins, then went 9-0 in both 1955 and 1956. Those final two years, the Chipps out-scored opponents by an average of 37-7 with Wil-liams earning All-Wayne County League honors at center and middle guard (nose tackle). His senior year also included a bas-ketball season in which the Chipps lost just two games, and a baseball campaign in which the state championship game was the only contest Doylestown lost.

Williams’ first wife was a classmate of Ron’s, and kept extensive scrap-books. There were count-less games and milestones to reflect back on, but one of Williams’ top memories was actually after a game.

“Dalton had a brand new field, and it rained all day Thursday and Friday,” Williams said. “The game was postponed to Satur-day, but it downpoured Saturday morning, too. The field was solid mud, so before each play I would find a puddle to clean my hands. After the game and bus ride, I had to walk home and carry my equipment and uni-form. That was tougher than the game.”

By ZACH BOLINGERSports Staff Ron Williams file

Chippewa rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.6 CalvinHolbert 6-0 170 WR/DB14 MarcusReyes 5-6 180 RB/LB23 AustinDurbin 5-6 150 WR/DB26 NickZollinger 5-7 170 RB/LB32 TrentAbel 6-0 185 RB/LB33 AdamVasilatos 5-11 170 RB/LB54 AaronIndermuhle 5-11 195 OL/LB59 JakeGamble 6-6 290 OT/DT62 JoshPrichard 6-0 225 OL/DL74 ZachEvans 6-0 290 OL/DL76 DevinHawkins 6-2 265 OL/DL89 BrentZacour 6-0 175 WR/DL

JUNIORS2 RaySales 5-11 155 WR/DB5 ZackZollinger 5-9 135 RB/DB

7 JerryBennett 6-1 170 WR/DB9 MikeSabbetta 5-10 185 QB/LB12 BaileyBreitenstine 5-7 165 QB/DB13 GarrettHall 5-6 150 RB/DL16 ChandlerGerstenslager5-8140 P/K21 DougPrice 5-9 165 RB/LB24 JTKoprivec 5-5 140 WR/OT40 MartyHarrell 6-1 190 TE/DL45 JakeHecker 6-0 170 RB/DB51 AbeNagy 5-11 205 OL/DL71 NickThompson 5-11 235 OL/DL75 TimmyJohnson 5-8 180 OL/DL88 MattBlair 6-3 190 TE/DL

SOPHOMORES3 D’MichaelKing 5-6 170 WR/DB10 LukeBrown 5-9 160 RB/DB30 RamsdenShy 5-4 130 RB/LB

41 LanceZierau 6-3 170 WR/DL43 TylerRowe 5-8 155 WR/DL44 JakeHall 5-9 175 TE/LB48 CodySpry 5-10 175 RB/DL52 TravisMoore 6-2 205 OL/DL53 BenEpling 6-1 190 OL/DL56 TrentHarrell 6-2 215 OL/DL72 NickWillig 6-1 275 OL/DL

FRESHMEN4 AlexKramer 5-5 125 WR/DB46 JustinKing 5-10 140 TE/LB60 ClayTroup 5-6 175 OL/DL64 DakotaHensel 6-1 185 OL/DL66 AnthonyBrown 5-8 155 OL/DL79 EliMuckley 5-8 220 OL/DL



TIRE & AUTO CENTER



See Pg. F14 — CHIPPEWA

F2 — Thursday, August 28, 2014 Legends of the Fall THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

F2Chippewa

Tomassetti

Underation

Norwayne’s tale

Started football in 1953. Made playoffs four times. Play in Wayne County Athlet-ic League. Play at Bob-cats Stadium. Coached by Adam Indorf (0-0 entering first year leading Norwayne). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 19.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LASTYEARAug. 29 at Wellington W, 47-7Sept. 5 CVCA L, 28-32Sept. 12 ONTARIO W, 42-34Sept. 19 at Waynedale* W, 41-30Sept. 26 CHIPPEWA* L, 38-48Oct. 3 at Dalton* W, 54-14Oct. 10 SMITHVILLE* W, 41-20Oct. 17 at Hillsdale* W, 42-6Oct. 24 NORTHWESTERN* L, 0-30Oct. 31 at Rittman* W, 42-0* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB John Dreher 5-10 145 Jr. Elmer Zollinger 6-2 165 So.RB Jeremy Miller 6-0 205 Jr.WR Noah Tomassetti 5-7 150 Sr.WR Nick Underation 5-10 160 Sr.WR Nate Weinman 6-4 170 So.WR Devin Reed 5-7 145 Sr.T Coit Anderson 6-2 225 Jr.G Brendon Meng 6-0 175 Sr.C Tavis Stika 6-0 220 Jr.G Chris Scruggs 6-0 240 Sr.T Christian Steiner 6-1 260 Sr.K Kollin Moore 5-10 165 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Brendon Meng 6-0 175 Sr.DT Christian Steiner 6-1 260 Sr.NT Lane Brown 6-0 220 Sr.DE Jacob Sattelmaier 6-0 195 So.SS Clayton Wheeland 5-9 165 Sr.ILB Jeremy Miller 6-0 205 Jr.ILB Austin Jones 6-2 200 Sr.WS Zach Steiner 5-11 165 So.CB Devin Reed 5-7 145 Sr.CB Nick Underation 5-10 160 Sr.FS Noah Tomassetti 5-7 150 Sr.P John Dreher 5-10 145 Jr. Elmer Zollinger 6-2 165 So.

Norwayne plotThe Bobcats are coming off the winningest five-year

run in program history and one of the best ever in the area with a 48-13 record under coach Joe Harbour, highlighted by winning the Div. IV state title in 2011. This is a major transition year, though, as Harbour stepped down as coach for family reasons after going 7-3 last year and assistant Adam Indorf took over the program. Norwayne also graduated two Div. I signees — Kaleb Harris (Marshall) and Trevahn Beery (Bowl-ing Green) — along with record-setting QB Joe Dre-her. The cupboard is hardly bare, though, as the rest of the coaching staff is also back, along with leading rusher Jeremy Miller and all but one starting lineman. The Bobcats are confident they can continue their win-ning ways, although the style may be a little different with more of an emphasis on the running game.

Words of wisdom“I feel pretty confident that if we continue to work

hard through the season we’ll be able to at least compete week-in and week-out,” Indorf said. “It all depends on how quickly our young skill guys gain experience and they progress as to how we’ll ultimate-ly finish in the league.”

Main charactersNorwayne will hang its hat on a strong running game

out of its shotgun-spread offense and a veteran line. Junior RB Jeremy Miller carried the ball 181 times for 991 yards and 11 TDs last year and will have returning starters Christian Anderson and Coit Anderson at T, along with C Tavis Stika and G Chris Scruggs back to lead the way.

“Jeremy definitely has a lot of experience and we’re going to have to start there and see where he can take us,” Indorf said. “As the other skill guys come along, I think we can utilize them more and become more balanced.”

After graduating Joe Dreher (2,710 yards passing, 39 TDs last year), who ranks among the all-time Wayne County leaders in numerous passing categories, the Bobcats have had quite a QB battle in camp between sophomore Elmer Zollinger and junior Jon Dreher (Joe’s brother).

“We’re just waiting to see,” Indorf said. “It might be a rotation or clear-cut winner. They both do a lot of good things and we’re trying to see who does the least nega-tive things and who will benefit us most.”

Devin Reed is the top returning WR after catching 26 passes for 306 yards and four TDs, but Indorf believes he has a “slew” of players who can step up. WR-DBs Nick Underation and Noah Tomassetti also are key players to watch.

Assistant coach Jude LaChance will continue to call the offensive plays, while Indorf will direct the 4-2-5 defense.

“Defensively, I think we have a good crew,” Indorf said. “It’s pretty balanced. I’d like to say the D-line is the best being their position coach, but I think we have a lot of good kids everywhere.”

Miller returns as the leading tackler at ILB after making 113 stops last year, while Austin Jones saw lots of action at ILB. Other regulars back include DTs Christian Steiner and Lane Brown and DBs Zach Steiner and Tomassetti.

Keys to a memorable fallWith most of the coaching staff back and plenty of prov-

en veterans the Bobcats still have the look of contenders. If the Bobcats’ QB and WRs can progress enough to complement Miller’s running, the offense will be hard to stop again. Norwayne has built quite a tradition in recent years and still knows how to win despite the changes.

“We have a few third-year starters and a good num-ber of second-year guys,” Indorf said. “We have to rely on them for their knowledge and composure during the games to bring the young guys along. We’re really worrying about getting better in practice every day and if we do that the big picture will fall into place.”

— Aaron Dorksen

NorwayNe rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.1 DevinReed 5-7 145 WR/DB12 NickUnderation 5-10 160 WR/DB13 KollinMoore 5-10 165 K/P17 ClaytonWheeland 5-9 165 RB/DB/LB21 NoahTomassetti 5-7 150 WR/DB48 AustinJones 6-2 200 RB/LB53 GarretBall 6-0 185 OL/DL61 GarrettJones 5-11 230 OL/DL64 ChrisScruggs 6-0 240 OL/DL66 BrendonMeng 6-0 175 OL/DL71 ChristianSteiner 6-1 260 OL/DL76 LaneBrown 6-0 220 OL/DL89 ZachPine 5-10 155 WR/DB

JUNIORS9 JaredDavis 6-2 175 WR/DB14 TylerHankins 5-6 150 WR/DB15 JohnDreher 5-10 145 QB/DB26 JeremyMiller 6-0 205 RB/LB37 CJKeith 5-11 140 K/P38 WesleySchwartz 5-9 145 K/P55 GrantHolcomb 6-4 220 OL/DL57 TavisStika 6-0 220 OL/DL63 TrentHankins 5-7 155 OL/DL65 DavidAnderson 5-7 140 OL/DL75 ElliotGerber 5-9 250 OL/DL

77 CoitAnderson 6-2 225 OL/DL83 TylerArmbrust 5-6 130 WR/DB

SOPHOMORES2 ZachSteiner 5-11 165 WR/DB5 BrevinHarris 6-4 170 WR/DB8 NateWeinman 6-4 170 WR/DE10 QuintynHall 5-6 140 WR/DB11 ElmerZollinger 6-2 165 QB/DB22 SpenzerArnold 5-10 160 WR/DB23 BrevinHostetler 5-8 146 WR/DB24 JoshuaWhite 5-10 170 WDR/DB32 ChaseGasser 5-11 190 RB/LB50 BryceRohrbaugh 6-1 165 OL/DL58 WyattWyckoff 5-7 200 OL/DL60 JakobRobinson 5-8 168 OL/DL62 JacobSattelmaier 6-0 195 OL/DL67 DillionPittman 5-8 155 OL/LB

FRESHMEN16 GavinStika 5-4 124 QB/DB28 WestonGarman 5-7 159 RB/DB33 BenBurke 5-7 171 RB/LB44 ColinGerber 5-6 136 RB/LB59 DakotaMorrison 5-11 152 OL/DL68 HunterMcCord 6-0 165 OL/DL74 BretHall 5-7 230 OL/DL

Mike Plant photo/www.buydrphotos.comJust 21, Adam Wallace (left) became legendary in 2011 when he led Norwayne to the Div. IV state

title. Current players sitting with Wallace at the United Producers, Inc.’s Livestock Sale Barn, next to the high school in Creston, are (from left) Devin Reed and Christian Steiner, who were freshmen on the 2011 squad, and Jeremy Miller, who watched from the stands as an eighth-grader. The livestock sale barn is owned and operated by farmers.

Indorf

Seniors had good look at title team

When Adam Wallace was leading Norwayne to the 2011 state champi-onship, Devin Reed and Christian Steiner had two of the best vantage points in Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

As freshmen, the two dressed for the Bobcats’ five-game playoff run, and were on the sidleines when Wallace capped maybe the best overall individual season in area history. He finished with more than 4,000 yards and 60 TDs at quarterback and 188 tack-les at linebacker.

“He was the go-to guy and the leader on and off the field,” said Reed.

“Everyone respected him,” Steiner added. “He always had the last say and he could back it up.”

Wallace, now 21, is a red-shirt outside linebacker at Ashland. It’s been almost three years since he led the Bobcats down the field to the winning TD in the final minute of a heartstopping 48-42 vic-tory over Kenton for the Div. IV state crown.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s

been that long,” Wallace said. “Once we did it, it didn’t really sink in, it was like we had another game to get ready for. We bring it up here and there, and people in the county will come up and say how awesome it was. It’s nice to have that support still.”

Jeremy Miller was an eighth-grader that cham-pionship season. Last year, as a sophomore, he just missed a 1,000-yard rushing season and Nor-wayne just missed another playoff berth and WCAL title.

“I expect a lot out of our team,” Miller said. “We’re practicing hard and I think everyone is focused on what we have to do.”

If he has time, Wallace plans to make it to some Norwayne games this fall, when he’ll be the one watching those who once watched him.

“High school is the best time of your life, especially that last season,” he said. “They should just enjoy it with their friends, and have faith in each other. They need to believe that they can achieve the greatest goals, that they can be the best.”

By MIKE PLANTSports Writer Adam Wallace file

High School highlights: Adam Wallace quar-terbacked Norwayne to the 2011 Div. IV state championship in one of the best finals in Ohio history. Wallace and the Bobcats won the WCAL’s first state crown on his touchdown pass in the final minute to beat Kenton and finish 14-1. Also excelled as an inside linebacker, and lettered four times.

College highlights: Wallace is currently a red-shirt sopho-more at Ash-land Univer-sity, where he is set to start at outside line-backer in the Eagles’ opener next Saturday against Lake Erie College.

F a v o r i t e football mem-ory: Winning the 2011 Div. IV state foot-ball champion-ship.

Life today: Wallace turned 21 recently, and is in his third year as a student at Ashland Uni-versity.

norwaynebobcats


F3Dalton



TIRE & AUTO CENTERTERRY SANTMYEROFFICE (330) 262-6501



www.spidellfuneralhome.com

15900 Main Street, Mount Eaton 209 Chestnut Street, NW, Brewster

330-857-4511

Family owned and operated Serving the area since 1888

THE KIDRON AUCTION, INC.

Competitive Livestock Marketing Since 1923Phones:

Office - 857-2641Residence - 857-3431

John Sprunger, ManagerPO Box 39 Kidron, OH 44636

GO BULLDOGS!HOME APPLIANCE

COMPANY406 N. Erie StreetMassillon, Ohio

800-207-9810

Best in Product • Best in Service • Best in Price

330-832-6320

1006138283 S. Cochran St.

Dalton, Ohio 44618

Transmission & Auto Repair330-828-0058

www.jimsofdalton.comLarge and Small

Repairs

GO BULLDOGS!

Dalton Hair Designs35 W. Main St., Dalton(330) 828-0880

12955 Emerson RoadP.O. Box 42 • Kidron, Ohio 44636

(330) 857-7251

Certified Public Accountants

Himes, Slater, & Hershberger







Dalton’s tale

Started football in 1924. Made play-offs 10 times. Play in Wayne County Ath-letic League. Play at McFarren Field. Coached by Mike Doty (9-21 entering fourth year leading Dalton). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. VI, Region 19.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Garaway L, 28-35Sept. 5 TUSLAW W, 27-21Sept. 12 at Timken L, 29-32Sept. 19 NORTHWESTERN* L, 12-47Sept. 26 at Rittman* W, 36-0Oct. 3 NORWAYNE* L, 14-54Oct. 10 at Chippewa* L, 12-27Oct. 17 WAYNEDALE* L, 19-31Oct. 24 SMITHVILLE* W, 14-0Oct. 31 at Hillsdale* L, 7-41* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Zach Ryder 6-0 155 Sr.RB Mario McFarren 5-11 190 Sr.RB Patrick McGinty 5-9 170 Sr.WR Jesse Mann 5-10 170 Sr.WR Brandon Werntz 5-10 155 Sr.TE Conner Clark 6-6 240 Sr.T Hayden Amstutz 6-3 280 Sr.G Isaiah Miller 6-0 235 Sr.C Andy Caillet 5-10 220 Sr.G Tristan Fitzwater 5-10 230 Sr.T JD Murphy 6-1 310 Sr.K Conner Clark 6-6 240 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Isaiah Miller 6-0 235 Sr.DT JD Murphy 6-1 310 Sr.NT Tristan Fitzwater 5-10 230 Sr.DE Mario McFarren 5-11 190 Sr.OLB Jesse Mann 5-10 170 Sr.ILB Jerry Morehart 6-3 210 Sr.ILB Cody Fitzwater 5-10 175 So.OLB Patrick McGinty 5-9 170 Sr.CB Zach Ryder 6-0 155 Sr.CB Brandon Werntz 5-10 155 Sr.S Mitchell Clark 6-4 185 So.P Patrick McGinty 5-9 170 Sr.

Dalton plotThe challenge for coach Mike Doty and his team in

2014 can be boiled down to this: Get back to playing Dalton football. That means a power running game, hard-nosed defense and, most importantly, winning football games. In his fourth year as head coach after a longtime tenure as an assistant, Doty thinks he has the players to have a winning season for the first time since the Bulldogs made the playoffs in 2010. The Dawgs have eight starters back on both sides of the ball, with the offensive line and linebacking corps looking to be among the strongest in the WCAL. If Dalton can limit turnovers, it could make a run at the postseason.

Words of wisdom“We want to be a much more stingy, hard-nosed

defense this year,” Doty said. “We want to bring back the identity that Dalton has had over the years, which I think is that of having a tough defense and an offense that is just going to grind it out, control the clock and win games in the fourth quarter.”

Main charactersDalton doesn’t have a lot of players, but Doty feels he

has plenty of quality in terms of returnees and newcom-ers. A combined 10 returning letterwinners all played at least some on both sides of the ball and will do so again. A strong freshmen class didn’t lose a junior high game and a few of those players could see early action, while a mix of juniors and sophomores will contribute as well.

Mario McFarren returns at RB after carrying the ball 139 times for 564 yards last season. Looking to add depth in the backfield as Dalton will go to more two-back sets out of its no-huddle, shotgun spread offense are Cody Fitzwater, Patrick McGinty and Jerry Morehart.

Leading the QB derby to replace graduated Jack Burke is senior Zach Ryder, who saw limited action in passing for 45 yards last year. Sophomores Mitch-ell Clark and Evan Hershberger, along with freshman Dominic Dalessendro are also competing for the job.

“All four of those guys have the potential to play somewhere on Friday nights if they’re not at quarter-back,” Doty said.

The big offensive line is led by returning starters JD Murphy, Isaiah Miller and Hayden Amstutz, with a fourth senior in Andy Caillet vying to play C and Tristan Fitzwater joining the group as well after mainly play-ing DT last year. Add in 6-7 Connor Clark (23-for-339 receiving last year, 2 TDs) at TE and it’s one of the big-ger lines you’ll see in Div. VI.

The Bulldogs return their top two tacklers to lead the defense in Morehart (121) and Fitzwater at ILB, while OLBs McGinty and Jesse Mann are also playmakers.

“That’s a pretty strong linebacker group,” Doty said. “I think they’ll compete to be the best four in the league. Up front we’re bringing back some good experience as well and I think our depth in the secondary is the best since I’ve been here.”

Murphy, Tristan Fitzwater, Miller and Connor Clark will be on the defensive front, while the switch of McFarren to DE from LB gives them a playmaker opposite Clark.

Ryder (5 INTs) is the lone returnee in the secondary, but Mitch Clark, Cody Steiner, Anthony Weaver and Brandon Werntz all looked good in the preseason.

“I feel real good about our team,” Doty said. “We have a real good senior group that worked hard in the offsea-son like you’d expect. They’re just a real positive group.”

Keys to a memorable fallDalton seems to have the talent to move up in what

most people think will be an extremely competitive, evenly matched WCAL race. Limiting the mistakes that plagued them last year will be one of the biggest keys for the Bulldogs.

“We have a winning tradition and we’re setting our goals high,” Doty said. “We feel the league is going to be pretty competitive this year, with a lot more parity, and we feel that we’re going to be a league contender.

“That’s always a goal as well as making the postseason. We don’t want to just make it to the playoffs, we want to be able to get some games in and see what happens.”

— Aaron Dorksen

By AARON DORKSENSports Editor

Zuercher loves this year’s Dalton line

Larry Zuercher couldn’t have picked a more com-forting group to help wel-come him back to Dalton. Even though it’s been 53 years since he starred as a running back for the Bull-dogs, he still appreciates a big, strong offensive line.

“That would be nice to have ran behind those guys, they could have real-ly opened up some holes,” Zuercher said with a smile, as he looked at the all senior lineup of center Andy Caillet (5-foot-10, 220), guards Tristan Fitz-water (5-10, 230) and Isa-iah Miller (6-0, 235), tack-les JD Murphy (6-1, 300) and Hayden Amstutz (6-3, 280) and tight end Connor Clark (6-7, 240). “I had a pretty good line when I played, but the players back then were nowhere near as big as today.

“We didn’t lift weights back then. Our biggest lineman was Bob Geisler and I think he was about 6-1 and just over 200 pounds.”

The Dalton linemen knew all about Zuercher, one of the all-time legends in not only Dalton but

area football history.“First-down Larry,”

Murphy said, when asked if he’d heard of Zuerch-er’s exploits.

“We’ve heard just a lit-tle,” Clark answered sar-castically, as they visited at the Dalton Dari-ette, a legendary location in the town that’s been around for many decades. “He averaged 10 yards a carry for his entire career — that’s amazing. I look at the teams they had and it would be cool to do some of the things they did.”

At 5-8, 165, Zuercher averaged an astonishing 14 yards a carry in his senior year of 1961. He ran for 1,585 yards and 29 TDs on just 113 carries as Dalton went 8-0-1 (5-0-1).

“Dalton’s had a lot of good coaches, good fami-lies and good kids to build its football tradition,” said Zuercher, who went on to teach and coach in the district.

Miller hopes the current line can help establish Dalton as a powerful team again.

“I think we can help pro-vide a smashmouth iden-tity for our team,” Miller said. “We want to make it easier for our backs.”

Dalton rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.2 PatrickMcGinty 5-9 170 RB/LB3 ConnerClark 6-7 240 TE/DE5 JerryMorehart 6-3 212 FB/LB7 ZachRyder 6-0 155 QB/DB9 MarioMcFarren 5-11 190 RB/DE11 JesseMann 5-10 170 WR/LB33 BrandonWerntz 5-10 155 WR/DB52 TristanFitzwater 5-10 230 G/DT55 IsaiahMiller 6-0 235 G/DE74 HaydenAmstutz 6-3 280 T/DT76 AndyCaillet 5-10 220 C/DT78 JDMurphy 6-1 300 T/DT85 RyanConner 6-1 170 WR/LB

JUNIORS4 AnthonyWeaver 5-11 145 WR/FS12 CodySteiner 6-2 165 WR/DB14 TaylorReynolds 5-10 155 FB/LB

SOPHOMORES10 MitchellClark 6-4 185 QB/FS13 BrocAugust 5-8 150 WR/CB17 EvanHershberger 6-1 155 QB/FS21 CodyFitzwater 5-10 175 RB/LB51 ColeBoggs 5-8 220 C/LB53 LoganMenuez 5-9 215 T/DT64 IkeNeuenschwander 5-5 165 G/DT

FRESHMEN20 KentonTroyer 5-9 155 RB/LB24 SpencerHorst 5-7 140 RB/LB25 DerekRamseyer 5-6 135 WR/DB28 AJKandel 6-0 160 TE/LB32 AlexAlger 5-9 180 FB/LB34 DominicDalessandro 5-11 160 QB/DB50 NathanNussbaum 5-11 185 T/DE54 DylanHackett 5-6 150 T/LB67 ColeGeiser 5-10 180 G/DE75 LandryAmstutz 5-10 245 T/DT77 NathanBasinger 5-10 180 C/DE86 TommyCaillet 5-11 158 WR/DB

Aaron Dorksen photo/www.buydrphotos.comMost people who drive through Dalton see the Dalton Dari-ette located off of US route 30 and even

though Larry Zuercher played for the Bulldogs more than five decades ago most sports fans there know his name, too. Zuercher (center), who averaged more than 10 yards a carry for his career, posed for a photo with Dalton linemen (from left) Connor Clark, JD Murphy, Tristan Fitzwater, Andy Caillet, Isaiah Miller and Hayden Amstutz.

Ryder

Morehart

Larry Zuercher fileHigh School highlights: “First-down Larry” aver-

aged 10.6 yards a carry over four-year career, rack-ing up 3,861 yards and 60 TDs. He averaged 14 yards a carry as a senior in 1961, when he rushed for 1,585 yards and 29 TDs on only 113 carries for WCL champs.

College highlights: A member of Kent State’s team for four years, Zuercher saw his bulk of action as an underclassman before being ham-pered by separated shoulder.

Favorite football memory: “The games I remem-ber most are the ones we lost,” said Zuercher, whose teams were fourth, second, third and, finally, first in the WCL. “One win that stands out was the last one my sophomore year when we trailed Nor-wayne 20-0 at the half. Coach (Billie J.) McFarren really got on us in the locker room and when we came back out Dutch Martin hit me with a perfect

touchdown pass to get us going. We wound up winning 34-20.”

Life today: Zue-rcher, 70, lives with his wife, Connie, in Granger, Ind., near the Michigan bor-der. The couple has two daughters, a son and five grandkids. The retired teacher was voted Daily Record area’s No. 13 greatest athlete of 20th century in 1999 series.

Doty

DaltonBulldogs

F4Fall Sports


Williams

Hillsdale’s taleStarted football in

1963. Made playoffs three times. Play in Wayne County Ath-letic League. Play at Community Stadium. Coached by Tom Wil-liams (68-48 entering 12th year leading Hill-sdale). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. VI, Region 19.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Manchester L, 6-8Sept. 5 WILLARD DNPSept. 12 at Loudonville L, 13-46Sept. 19 at Smithville* W, 50-13Sept. 26 WAYNEDALE* L, 14-36Oct. 3 NORTHWESTERN* L, 7-41Oct. 10 at Rittman* W, 25-0Oct. 17 NORWAYNE* L, 6-42Oct. 24 at Chippewa* L, 13-20Oct. 31 DALTON* W, 41-7* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Troy Marksberry 5-7 160 Sr.FB Craig Cline 5-9 180 So.RB Corbin Mager 5-11 185 Sr.RB Doug Cline 6-0 160 Sr.WR Eric Pickering 6-4 175 Jr.WR Cole Figley 5-7 145 Sr.LT Joey Nebergall 6-3 265 Jr.LG Skyler Ward 6-3 255 Sr.C Ryan Markley 6-0 220 So.RG W. Summerfield 6-0 240 Sr.RT Chaim Nethero 6-3 230 Sr.K Sam Kellogg 5-9 155 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Ben Rogers 6-4 195 So.DT Skyler Ward 6-3 255 Sr.NT Taylor Kirby 5-8 170 Sr.DT W. Summerfield 6-0 240 Sr.DE Eric Pickering 6-4 175 Jr.LB Dale Cable 6-0 170 Sr.LB Luke Summerfield 5-9 175 Jr.SS Corbin Mager 5-11 185 Sr.SS Craig Cline 5-9 180 So.FS Doug Cline 6-0 160 Sr.CB Cole Figley 5-7 145 Sr.CB Jake Bon 5-9 150 Sr.P Brice Derr 6-1 170 Jr.

Hillsdale plotA rash of injuries and inexperience last fall snapped

a streak of six consecutive winning seasons. Prior to 2013’s 4-6 campaign, the Falcons were in the midst of the most successful run in program history, making the playoffs three times in four seasons.

Hillsdale has the personnel to make last year’s per-formance seem like an aberration. Due to the injuries last fall, some of underclassmen may have been thrust onto the field before they were ready. However, that may pay dividends this year, with a bevy of returners that are ready to return Hillsdale toward the top of the WCAL and in contention for a playoff spot.

Words of wisdom“Some of our guys that are returning got thrown into

the action because of other guys getting hurt,” Wil-liams said. “We’re expecting them to play much better this year than last year.”

Main charactersArguably no player’s return in the whole area will

have a bigger impact than RB Corbin Mager. As a sophomore in 2012, Mager set the school’s single-season rushing record with 1,574 yards and 18 scores. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain during two-a-days last fall and was never quite right, notching just 440 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder is back to 100 percent this year and that gives the Falcons one of the top playmakers in the area.

“He’s big and fast,” Williams said. “He’s able to take any play and make it a long touchdown run if guys can seal some blocks off. Usually as a high school coach, you don’t have a lot of home-run hitters and he’s one of ours.”

Mager’s return should certainly make things easier for senior QB Troy Marksberry. As a junior, Marks-berry completed just under 50 percent of his passes (58 of 129, 946 yards, 11 TD, 11 interceptions) and Williams expects him to gain more confidence in his second year under center.

“We expect him to make that progression from being a first-year starting quarterback to being a second-year starter,” Williams said. “He’s seen things before and you’re able to make decisions a little bit easier and quicker.”

Meanwhile, success for every team starts up front, but that’s especially true in Jeromesville. During the Fal-cons’ WCAL title seasons in 2010 and 2011, as well as its playoff runs in 2009, 2010 and 2012, Hillsdale dominat-ed the line of scrim-mage with an offen-sive unit that pushed a r o u n d front sevens like shop-ping carts. The Falcons

Hillsdale rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.3 ColeFigley 5-7 145 WR/DB8 DougCline 6-0 160 WR/DB10 TroyMarksberry 5-7 160 QB/DB12 CorbinMager 5-11 185 RB/DB15 ClaySloan 5-9 150 RB/LB16 JakeBon 5-9 150 WR/DB21 SamKellogg 5-9 155 WR/DB31 DylanMiller 5-8 170 RB/DB36 TrevorMcCoy 5-9 205 RB/DL43 DaleCable 6-0 170 RB/LB51 ChaimNethero 6-3 230 OL/DT52 TaylorKirby 5-8 170 OL/LB56 SkylerWard 6-3 255 OL/DL59 BrodyButdorff 5-9 180 OL/LB61 DylanChio 5-11 265 OL/DL76 WalkerSummerfield6-0 240 OL/DL

JUNIORS4 EricPickering 6-4 175 WR/DE5 ZachGlass 6-1 155 QB/DB14 IversonTraylor 6-2 145 WR/DB23 LukeSummerfield 5-9 175 RB/LB26 BriceDerr 6-1 170 RB/DB37 TylerOhl 5-7 150 RB/LB60 LoganFinley 5-8 265 OL/DL72 ChristopherMiller 5-10 310 OL/DL74 JoeyNebergall 6-3 265 OL/DL83 RodPfahler 5-11 155 WR/DB

SOPHOMORES7 EthanElliott 5-8 150 RB/DB9 BenRogers 6-4 195 TE/DE11 AndrewWolf 5-11 150 RB/DB22 CraigCline 5-9 180 RB/LB24 GunnarRichter 6-1 160 RB/DB41 AidanGraham 5-11 160 OL/DE53 SeanFitzsimmons 5-10 210 OL/DL

54 ColeCasdorph 5-7 155 OL/LB55 DanGarn 6-0 165 OL/LB71 RyanMarkley 6-0 220 OL/DL

FRESHMEN2 TreyWilliams 5-11 145 QB/DB6 KennyCarpenter 5-6 115 WR/DB17 JoshVinsack 6-0 140 WR/DB18 ColeShifflet 5-8 130 RB/DB30 TraceStiltner 5-11 160 RB/DB32 LucasMarkley 5-10 160 RB/LB40 Dannygarman 5-8 150 RB/LB62 KameronKoster 5-8 160 OL/DL65 ChristianPfahler 6-2 180 OL/DE66 CalebRitter 5-10 215 OL/DL67 GregHeifner 5-6 140 OL/LB77 KyleMartin 5-10 190 OL/DL80 WillYeater 5-6 120 WR/DB81 CalebBretz 5-6 115 WR/DB85 JeremiahKurtz 5-7 130 WR/DB

Austin, Falcons seek the good times

Doug Cline and Corbin Mager are more than a pair of All-Ohioans and two-way starters for the Hillsdale Falcons. They were salesmen recently for the Hillsdale Booster drive, and made a stop at 1986 graduate Drew Aus-tin’s house.

What the two didn’t realize at the time is that Austin was one of the few bright spots between the 1973 and 1992 sea-sons at Hillsdale. Austin was the leader of the Fal-cons’ 1985 team, which posted the only winning gridiron campaign (6-4) in a 20-season stretch for the school. He was also a three-year starter at fullback and linebacker, earning Honorable Men-tion AP “AA” All-State honors as a senior.

“I can remember my brothers’ teams getting stomped 50-0 and 60-0 at times. It wasn’t pretty for a long time,” said Austin.

Times have changed at Hillsdale, which had its streak of six consecutive winning seasons snapped last year (4-6).

Mager, a 1,600-yard rusher as a sophomore,

missed most of last sea-son due to an ankle injury. The LB-RB will be back at 100 percent this season, hoping to cap a career in memorable fashion — much like Austin, who played the same postions, was able to do in 1985.

Austin, who graduated at 145 pounds — aver-aged more than 6 yards per carry and ran for 1,200 yards and led the Wayne County League in scoring with 92 points. Austin ran for more than 2,200 yards total in three seasons, but the 1985 cam-paign will forever carry a special spot.

As Austin put it, “We were all like one big fam-ily. ... Guys who were part of the first flag football program the school start-ed, all the way up through high school. Our line averaged something like 225 (pounds), which was huge for back then.”

To which Mager replied: “That sounds about like our line this year. They should be pretty good.”

“I think we’re looking for something like 8-2 and 9-1. And the play-offs,” said Cline.

To which Austin said, “Good luck. I’ll be there to watch.”

By ZACH BOLINGERSports Staff Drew Austin file

High School highlights: Leading the Wayne County League in scoring and helping post just the third winning season in school history at that time were important to Austin. Hillsdale started football in 1963, with the six victories in 1969 and Austin’s 1985 season setting the school standard. Not until 1999 did Hillsdale finally hit the seven-win mark. Earning All-Ohio honors and getting to play in the North Central Ohio All-Star Football Classic.

College highlights: The big schools didn’t come calling, but Austin received plenty of interest from Div. III schools such as Baldwin Wallace, Oberlin and others. “I still have the letters they sent to me,” Austin said. “My parents would’ve had to pay for mostly all of it, and even though my dad worked hard his entire life, I knew we didn’t have the money for me to do that. I wasn’t about to ask them to do that.”

Favorite football memory: Hillsdale had never beaten Chippewa, but Austin busted loose for 267 yards and four scores in a season-ending 46-0 victory. Austin had an 80-yard TD run called back due to penalty that night and didn’t even play the fourth quarter. “I also remember (Chippewa) had an interception near the end zone, and I was on the other side of the field. I came all the way

across the field, had the angle, and ran him down. It made it so we could shut them out.”

Life today: Austin lives just outside of Jeromesville. He is a concrete foreman for Fechko Concrete, based out of Medina. Austin raised four daughters and now has one grandchild and another on the way.

Nethero

MarksberryMike Schenk photo

Hillsdale legend Drew Austin (1986) poses with current Falcons Doug Cline (left) and Corbin Mager at the Hayesville Opera House. The Opera House was built in 1886, and still hosts live plays, concerts and movies.

See Pg. F14 — HILLS-

DALE

hillsdalefalcons

F5Hillsdale



TIRE & AUTO CENTER

Fickes Furniture63 North High Street

Jeromesville, OHQuality Furniture At AnAffordable Price Since

1941M & F 9-5 T & TH 9-8

Wed. 9-12 Sat. 9-4Phone: 419-368-6021

Fax: 419-368-8321www.fickesfurniture.com

FickeSFuNeral

HOMeSince 1905

Serving Families for Four Generations

Complete Funeral ServicesTraditional - Cremation - Memorial

Pre-planning - Pre-financing

Phone: 419-368-6011Toll Free: 1-888-820-9003

Licensed Funeral DirectorsLicensed Embalmers

Don E. Fickes• Mark A. Fickes

Mohican HillsGolf Club

25 C.R. 1950, Jeromesville419-368-3303

Go Falcons!




Stanley

Riebe

Zuercher

Jon Thompson fileHigh school highlights: Jon Thompson was the back in

Waynedale’s back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1972 and 1973. The two-time Wayne County Athletic League player of the year rushed for 1,066 yards as a junior and 1,339 yards as a senior — in a little over six games of action. Playing for two of the highest scoring teams in school history, he holds the school record for most touchdowns in a game: seven against Northwestern in 1973. He also holds the school record for most rushing yards in a game, busting free for 336 stripes against Triway in 1973.

College highlights: Thompson attended Wittenburg and saw the field toward the end of his freshman season, but in his own words, “college really wasn’t for me.” It looked as if Thompson might play at the Div. I level before a serious ankle injury derailed his senior season early in Game 7.

“I really thought I was going to Minnesota, but at the last minute they called and said they were cutting back on their scholarships,” Thompson said. “The game I got hurt my senior year, scouts from Ohio State and Michigan were there. ... The Michigan scout was nice enough to still come talk to me after the game, but he took one look at me and said, ‘Sorry, you’re too small.’”

Favorite football memory: “The Triway game my senior year, when I had a whole crud load of yardage,” Thompson said. “Or just playing on some great teams and playing for Kjerrumgaard. ... There was one year he had a dress mailed to the school and the note said it was from (Dalton coach) Bill McFarren. And there was another time we warmed up at Waynedale before a game with Dalton, rode the bus over and got off and went straight to the field for kickoff. We actually got a penalty for delay of game.”

Life today: Thompson has been a mason for 40 years, own-ing his own business (Thomp-son Masonry) since 1979. He officially lives in Wooster, but is quick to point out it’s in the Waynedale district. Thompson lives with his wife of 34 years, Deb, and enjoyed watching his children, Stacy (1999 graduate) and Seth (2001), play sports at Waynedale.

Waynedale’s tale

Started football in 1955. Made playoffs nine times. Play in Wayne County Ath-letic League. Play at Golden Bears Stadi-um. Coached by Matt Zuercher (45-39 enter-ing ninth year leading Waynedale). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 16.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Tusky Valley W, 18-8Sept. 5 at Ridgewood W, 40-19Sept. 12 TRIWAY L, 14-29Sept. 19 NORWAYNE* L, 30-41Sept. 26 at Hillsdale* W, 36-14Oct. 3 CHIPPEWA* L, 24-28Oct. 10 NORTHWESTERN* L, 18-49Oct. 17 at Dalton* W, 31-19Oct. 24 RITTMAN* W, 49-6Oct. 31 at Smithville* W, 36-13* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Brevin Riebe 5-10 170 Jr.RB Reid Stanley 5-10 162 Jr.RB Nick Strausbaugh 6-0 176 Jr.WR Ant-juan Lewis 6-1 170 Jr. WR Aaron Spidell 6-1 170 Jr. TE Carter Brewer 6-0 195 Sr.T Tristan Anderson 5-11 212 Jr.G Tyler Sidle 5-11 260 Sr.C Kristian Wanner 6-3 220 Jr.G Shayne Weaver 6-0 225 Jr.T Sam Farrar 6-0 230 Jr.K Jarrett Wonsick 6-0 195 Jr.

DEFENSEDE Tristan Anderson 5-11 212 Jr.DT Shayne Weaver 6-0 225 Jr.DT Nathan Fetzer 6-0 205 Sr.DE Ty Straits 5-9 230 Fr.OLB Ant-juan Lewis 6-1 170 Jr.ILB Reid Stanley 5-10 162 Jr.ILB Carter Brewer 6-0 195 Sr.OLB Titus Bixler 6-0 165 Jr.CB Brevin Riebe 5-10 170 Jr.CB Isaiah Menuez 5-7 145 Jr.S Nick Strausbaugh 6-0 176 Jr.P Jarrett Wonsick 6-0 195 Jr.

Waynedale plotNow this is more like it. A year ago the Golden Bears

were coming off the first winless campaign in school his-tory, but went on to become one of the area’s biggest turnaround teams in 2013. At 6-4, they finished in the top half of the WCAL thanks to a much improved turnover differential as well as a strong running game.

While dynamic dual-threat QB Rhen Weaver is gone, Waynedale has a solid core returning, including a talented junior class. The goal this fall is to continue last year’s pro-gression and that means be in contention for the WCAL title.

Words of wisdom“Being able to get back, be competitive in every game

and win more than we lost, the bar’s been raised,” Zue-rcher said. “The expectations are pretty high. The kids have worked hard. They’ve built off that momentum and they’re not satisfied being 6-4.”

Main charactersReplacing Weaver will be a tall order. The fleet-footed

senior ran for 1,248 yards (8.7 yards per carry) and 13 scores, passed for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns and was the catalyst for the offense. Brevin Riebe takes over under center and while the junior can’t match Weaver’s running ability — for that matter, hardly anyone can — he should be able to get the ball downfield to the Bears’ receiv-ers. Riebe started one game last year when Weaver was injured and on the year completed 16-of-35 passes for 171 yards, with three scores and three picks.

“Brevin’s not the same type of dynamic runner that Rhen was, but Brevin has strengths Rhen didn’t,” Zuerch-er said. “He throws the ball better.”

Reid Stanley is the team’s leading returning rusher after amassing 952 yards and eight touchdowns last year. As much as Zuercher wants to establish the running game, he’d like to lighten Stanley’s load on offense in order to maximize his productivity at LB.

“Reid was one of our main horses,” Zuercher said. “He became more effective on both sides of the ball as the season wore on and he didn’t have to carry the load 100 percent at running back.”

Look for Nick Strausbaugh to also get carries in the backfield. Ant-Juan Lewis will be Riebe’s main target after catching 21 balls for 371 yards and four scores. Tyler Sidle and Shayne Weaver are back as standouts on the line, along with Tristan Anderson and Nathan Fetzer.

Defensively, Stanley returns as the leading tackler with 118, followed by Lewis, who had 94 stops and was tops on the team with three interceptions. In addition to those two standouts, Strausbaugh, who also had three picks, figures into the mix at LB.

Shayne Weaver, at DT, returns as a starter on the line with Tristan Anderson, a DE. After a strong freshman sea-son, DE Kyle Ice should demonstrate improvement in the trenches as well. Riebe, Titus Bixler and Isaiah Menuez all provide experience in the secondary.

Zuercher feels his team’s fortunes hinge on that side of the ball. “It starts defensively,” he said. “We improved drastically last year but we still weren’t good enough to win the biggest games on that side of the ball.”

Keys to a memorable fallOn paper, the Bears have their best chance at returning

to the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and a share of their first WCAL title since 2008. However, that’s predi-cated on the fact that the offense can match last year’s productivity despite Rhen Weaver’s departure as well as further progression on defense.

“The focus has been on getting back to a championship defense around here,” Zuercher said. “We’ve had a tradi-tion of that — especially when we’ve been good. We have to force turnovers and be a little more aggressive on that side of the ball. When we’re aggressive, we’re always in a good position to win.”

The Bears probably won’t rack up as many yards on the ground this fall, but should be more balanced with Riebe throwing to Lewis, who’s now in his third year as a starter. If the offense moves the ball and avoids turning it over, the Bears should be right in the thick of the title race.

— Andrew Vogel

Thompson knows importance of line

When Jon Thompson was first contact-ed about the Legends of the Fall preview, and asked to participate, he deflected the praise. The 1974 graduate would’ve rather talked about the great offensive lines he ran behind, or the fact the 1972 and 1973 teams were both unbeaten. So when three offensive linemen from this year’s team — Nathan Fetzer, Lloyd Latsch, Tyler Sidle — showed up for the photo shoot at The Apple Creek Bank-ing Co., he was thrilled.

“Make sure you mention the offensive linemen and my fullback. It was like a Div. I line,” Thompson said. “You know, they were really good both years. When you have an argument about whether the line was better my junior or senior year, you know they were good.”

Thompson’s comments sat well with the Golden Bears’ current trio of senior linemen.

“(Coach Matt) Zuercher always says to play for Waynedale on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back,” Latsch said. “Play for the brother next to you, not just for yourself.”

Thompson was literally playing for, and with, his brothers. He was the third in the line of Thompsons to suit up for Waynedale, joining Jim, Jeff, Joe and Josh. In 1972, the Golden Bears fin-ished 8-0-1 overall and a Wayne County League best 6-0-1. Only three league opponents scored on the Bears. In 1973, the Golden Bears were 9-0, 7-0. Thomp-son led the conference in scoring both years, including 102 points in just six games his senior season, which was shortened due to injury.

“If we had played 10 games both years, I think we would have made the play-offs,” he said. “We didn’t have enough points for the system at that time. But it was still quite a run for us. (Coach Bill) Kjerrumgaard had us in run-and-shoot as freshmen and sophomores, to a power team as junior and seniors.”

By ZACH BOLINGERSports Staff

F6Hiland

Waynedale rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Wt. Pos.2 DillanGalehouse 5-5 142 RB/LB30 DakotaFincham 5-11 172 RB/LB44 CarterBrewer 6-0 195 TE/LB64 NathanFetzer 6-0 205 C/GD/DT66 LloydLatsch 5-10 255 GD/DT76 TylerSidle 5-11 260 GD/DT

JUNIORS3 AaronSpidell 6-1 170 WR/S4 BrevinRiebe 5-10 170 QB/S5 TitusBixler 6-0 165 RB/CB10 IsaiahMenuez 5-7 145 RB/CB15 ZachCoblentz 6-0 160 WR/CB19 JacobWelker 5-11 135 WR/CB23 GarrettHiggins 5-5 160 WR/OLB

26 Ant-juanLewis 6-1 170 WR/OLB28 ReidStanley 5-10 162 RB/LB32 NickStrausbaugh 6-0 176 RB/OLB40 RyanChabak 5-9 145 WR/S46 JarrettWonsick 6-0 195 TE/LB52 KristianWanner 6-3 220 C/DE53 SamFarrar 6-0 230 T/DE54 TristanAnderson 5-11 212 T/DE55 ShayneWeaver 6-0 225 GD/DT62 DavidYoder 5-10 220 GD/DT85 JakeFox 6-0 190 TE/DE

SOPHOMORES12 ColtenPurdy 5-9 145 QB/DB16 MattZimmerly 6-0 135 WR/CB25 StephenSpidell 5-10 170 WR/OLB29 KyleIce 5-11 185 RB/DE

63 PierceChristensen 6-3 260 GD/DT65 AustinFraelich 6-0 210 C/DE78 ColeGeiser 6-1 220 GD/DT

FRESHMEN24 CarsonLedford 5-10 135 QB/S33 EvanHostetler 5-9 136 RB/LB34 AustinRogers 5-11 168 RB/LB36 RyanWeaver 5-6 100 WR/CB42 JaredGeiser 6-2 130 TE/OLB48 LoganStanley 5-10 148 RB/OLB50 TyStraits 5-9 230 T/DE/LB51 DylanAmstutz 5-11 255 C/DT56 BenFarrar 6-1 200 T/DE69 KeithYoder 5-7 140 C/DE70 AbeChristensen 6-0 190 T/DE75 BrandonWonsick5-10 195 GD/DT

Jon Zeltman Photo/www.buydrphotos.comJon Thompson (front), a 1974 Waynedale grad and two-time Wayne County Athletic League MVP, is

shown here with current Golden Bears (from left) Tyler Sidle, Lloyd Latsch and Nathan Fetzer in front of the Apple Creek Bank, a venerable financial institution in the village since 1904. This year’s Bears are hoping to cash in on their experience and make a run at the WCAL title.

waynedalegolden bears



GO MUSTANGS!HOME APPLIANCE


800-207-9810


330-832-6320

10061382


TIRE & AUTO CENTER



Colts much improved after taking their lumps in ’13

LODI — A year ago, Cloverleaf saw a good start, with wins over Keystone and Buckeye to go 2-1 through its first three games of the season, evaporate into the cool Friday Night winds. With a young roster and a tough Suburban League schedule, the Colts stumbled to 0-7 throughout the rest of the season to finish at 2-8 and the highlight was a week 9 loss to Revere 21-14.

So with a year under the belts of the young players, Cloverleaf will be look-ing to make noise in the jungle known as the SL.

Words of wisdom“We have more experience,” said Colts

coach Bob Lake. “Many of our players saw considerable playing time last year and our numbers are up which should provide more depth.”

Main CharactersOne of the key returning players will

be senior quarterback Garrison Flora, a returning three-year starter for Clo-verleaf.

Flora, who last year, tossed for 1,603 yards last year on 125-of-223 passing, will be looking to improve on a throw-ing efficiency that saw him complete 56 percent of his passes. More importantly and key to the Colts’ air attack will be his ability to take care of the football where a year ago, he threw 12 intercep-tions to go with his 12 touchdowns.

A key steppingstone to Flora’s success will be derived off the three returning lettermen on the offensive line where he will welcome back seniors Kevin Ches-ter and Jon Keene and junior Jon Doty. With an improved line protection, Flora will look to build chemistry with a new batch of receivers and break in some new backfield mates.

Headlining his receiving corp will the Tyler Hisson and Kyle Sasinkam while Jared Talmon, Tate Surrarrer, John Nespeca and Ryan Powell will anchor the running game.

“We must stay healthy,” said Lake. “And continue to develop the wide receiver and defensive back position.”

A key piece to the Colts’ success will be the play of the defense as they will look to slow down and contain the tal-ent that is in the SL and give themselves a chance. Colton Tompot will anchor the defensive line from his nose tackle position and he will be joined by Levi Grimm on the defensive line, while Connor Carneal and Surrarer will lead the linebacking group. Hisson will com-mand the defense from his strong safety slot.

Keys to a memorable fall“We have to improve and be more

physical,” said Lake.Overall, the team has a strong corp of

senior leadership as it features 15 12th-graders.

“As a team we have a group of high character young men,” added Lake. “They devoted themselves to accom-plishing their goal of achieving the play-offs.”

By JOSH McWILLIAMSDaily Record Sports Staff

Held hoping team chemistry equals team success

The biggest challenge facing coach Nate Held during the offseason was developing chemistry. With 11 seniors on this year’s squad, and a mix of underclassmen who saw limited varsity playing time, the ninth-year Mustang mentor admits that meshing together early will play a vital role in the success of the 2014 season.

“Being young last year gave a lot of kids experience, and the opportunity to see playing time on Friday nights,” Held said. “In the offseason, our objective was to build chemistry among our kids in different grade levels, and so far our guys have done a great job understand-ing the TEAM concept.

“Our seniors have provided great leadership here in the preseason, and our younger guys have matured as well. We won’t know, obviously, until we get on the field in our opener, but if our kids continue to understand and accept their roles, this could be a very exciting group to watch develop.” Words of wisdom

“Even though we are excited about our season, we also know we have to come out of the gates early and do well,” Held said. “We’re at Smithville and Dalton to open up, then have Chip-pewa, who is coming off a great season with a lot of kids returning. We then start our PAC schedule with Indian Val-ley after that, one of four teams in our league to make the playoffs. CVCA,

Tusky Valley, and Timken are also improved, and throw us in the mix too, and it should be a very exciting year in the PAC-7.” Main Characters

“Offensively, we are still kind of a multiple mixed style. Junior Harley Sny-der has settled in as our QB, with senior Gage Lau playing a big role for us at receiver and in the secondary defen-sively. Scott Wohlheter, Devon Barker, and Andrew Hall provide us with some experience up front.”

Two-way starter Mason Karn also returns for the Mustangs.

“We are going to have to sustain drives and move the football, which will help us tremendously,” Held said. “Last year we didn’t do a good enough job of

that defensively, keeping offenses off the field. We are going to have to be much improved in that area this year.”

Keys to a memorable fall

After seven playoff appearances between 1998 and 2008, the Mustangs would love to make a run at a postsea-son spot, but Held knows that will be a tall order.

“I’m not shooting for a straight num-ber of wins, but more so of seeing improvement each and every week,” he said. “This is true for any of a number of teams, but our ability to stay healthy, and as I pointed out, our success in developing chemistry and seeing the improvement early in the season, are our two biggest keys to our season.”

By RANDY WORRELLSports Staff



TIRE & AUTO CENTER



Parker & Son Funeral Homes

Lodi, Ohio210 Medina St.330-948-1122

Spencer, Ohio202 E. Main St.330-648-2180

• Pre-Arrangements • Monuments

Good Luck ColtsPadgett • Young& Assoc., Inc.

People committed to serving youLodi, Ohio

330-948-1375/330-725-1375Insurance

F7Rittman




TIRE & AUTO CENTER14004 Kauffman Ave., Sterling

330-939-4531

Go Bobcats!

Bradley’s of Sterling

Good Luck Bobcats!Your used car Leader!


GOOD LUCK BOBCATS!ALWAYS A BOBCAT

WILBER BOWERSAUCTIONEER

330-435-6704STILL SERVING

BOBCAT COUNTRY!

BEST OF LUCK BOBCATS!

Helen Uhler,Realtor

[email protected]

Good Luck Bobcats!

128 S. Main St. CRESTON330-435-6668




330-624-53731876 W. Britton Rd. • Burbank, OH 44214

www.ronburgetrucking.com

TRUCKING

HAUL IT TO THE END ZONE CATS!

11970 Canaan Center Rd. Creston • 330-435-4778

OLD FASHION BUTCHER SHOP

Home of the Aged Steaks • Custom Processing

RETAIL STORE ROASTINGHOGS

FREEZER BEEF

WHOLE HOGSAUSAGE

GOOD LUCK BOBCATS!

13701 Eby Rd. Creston, OH 44217

330-939-4192

GOOD LUCK BOBCATS!

211 S. Main St. •Creston, OH 44217

330-435-6853

BOBCAT SPIRIT CAN’T BE STOPPED!

GOOD LUCK CATS!GOOD LUCK CATS!GOOD LUCK CATS!GOOD LUCK CATS!GOOD LUCK CATS!GOOD LUCK CATS!

COFFEY INSURANCE AGENCY

Auto • Home • Business • Life • Health

PO Box 3333 • 102 Bank St.Creston, OH 44217

330-435-6362Fax: 330-435-6363

BOBCAT PRIDE!

Go Bobcats!

STOP IN FOR PIZZA AFTER THE GAME!

Mon-ClosedTues-Fri 6a-8p

Sat - 7a-8pSun 7a-2p

Starting Sept. Open till 11pm after the game!

How far can this year’s Redbirds go?

With a host of starters and lettermen return-ing from last year’s 10-2 playoff team, the biggest question surrounding this season’s squad isn’t how good Loudonville will be, but instead, how deep of a postseason run can the Redbirds make in 2014.

Third-year coach Justin Todd feels he has all the pieces in place for another memorable year.

“We have significant experience on both sides of the football,” he said. “We have an experienced defense with lots of speed, and we have a big, strong, offensive line who has the

By RANDY WORRELLSports Staff

See Pg. F14 — ’BIRDS

F8Loudonville



TIRE & AUTO CENTERWalt & Kimberly Lindsey

Brice Wiltrout419-994-3030

or 1-800-387-4388

Go Birds!Go Birds!Your used car Leader!



F9Tuslaw

2105 Glen Drive, Millersburg, OH330-674-7075

GO TEAM!


GO GOLDEN BEARS!www.lemspizza.com

GO GOLDEN BEARS!HOME APPLIANCE


800-207-9810


330-832-6320

10061382

Applecreek’s home for great homemade ice cream treats & food!

LET’S GO

GOLDEN BEARS!

GoodLuck

GoldenBears!

For FAST, RELIABLE SERVICE call now!




Massillon, Ohio 44646330-837-8100

1-888-331-5163



1-877-331-5163


330-682-70001-800-331-5163

10061408

Art Weaver • Main St., • Apple Creek, OH 330-698-1211

APPLE CREEK DRIVE-THRU

CongratulationsFALL Sports Teams! BUNKER

CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

Donald W. Bunker, D.C.Office Hours By Appointment

330-317-1445

3693 Kidron Rd • Suite DPO Box 203Kidron, Ohio 44636

1006

1419

12955 Emerson RoadP.O. Box 42 • Kidron, Ohio 44636

(330) 857-7251

Certified Public Accountants

Himes, Slater, & Hershberger


TIRE & AUTO CENTER TERRY SANTMYEROFFICE (330) 262-6501





OPEN: Mon. - Tue. - Wed. and Sat.Walkins Welcome or Call 330-317-1445

FREDERICKSBURG CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

DONALD W. BUNKER, D.C.located at the corner of S. Mill and Water St. in Fredericksburg.




1457 Old Lincolnway W., Wooster



330-345-1524

Go Golden Bears!


West Holmes’ tale

Started football in 1964. Made playoffs four times. Play in Ohio Cardinal Confer-ence. Play at Knights Stadium. Coached by Kevin Maltarich (23-20 entering fifth year at West Holmes). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. III, Region 9.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LAST YEARAug. 29 at Triway W, 54-35Sept. 5 N. PHILADELPHIA DNPSept. 12 at Coshocton W, 55-7Sept. 19 MADISON* W, 42-14Sept. 26 at Ashland* L, 21-48Oct. 3 at Orrville* W, 28-23Oct. 10 MANSFIELD* L, 17-23Oct. 17 at Lexington* W, 55-33Oct. 24 WOOSTER* L, 34-41Oct. 31 CLEAR FORK* L, 13-42* Ohio Cardinal Conference game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Brody Miller 6-0 205 Sr.HB Luke Ogi 6-1 215 Sr.FB Michael Workman 6-0 210 Jr.HB Sam Young 5-10 185 Sr.WR Trenton Bridenthal 5-11 165 So.WR Cody Straits 6-0 160 Jr.TE Levi Jones 6-5 215 Sr.T Josh Goudy 6-5 263 So.G Alex White 6-2 260 Sr.C Wyatt Snow 6-0 215 Sr.G Matt Eastep 6-0 235 Jr.T Trevor Kiner 6-5 255 Jr.K Logan Gallion 5-9 155 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Jake Mullet 6-2 175 So.DT Luke Eastep 5-9 185 So.DT James Baker 5-9 190 Jr.DE Garrett Ervin 5-10 190 So.LB Luke Ogi 6-1 215 Sr.LB Sam Young 5-10 185 Sr.CB Trenton Bridenthal 5-11 165 So.CB Cody Straits 6-0 160 Jr.FS Connor Roach 6-0 165 So.SS Levi Jones 6-5 215 Sr.S Colt Tennant 5-9 155 Sr.P Logan Gallion 5-9 155 Sr.

West Holmes plotThe Knights have some established starters, including

one of the area’s best RBs in Luke Ogi and QB Brody Miller, but elsewhere will be relying on first-year start-ers.

“We’ve got a mix of kids, most of them haven’t seen the field before, so they’re going to be greenhorns and learning on the run, but we’ve got a good mix of athletes and bigger kids and we’ve got to throw them into the fire and put them in positions to succeed, just put them out there and let them go,” head coach Kevin Maltarich said.

“The kids are excited to prove themselves. A lot of these kids have waited their turn. Everyone knows we lost (RB) Layne Perone and (WR) Brady Arnold and a few linemen up front, and the kids kind of feel cheat-ed when they hear people say we won’t be that good. Our kids are eager to go out and prove themselves.”

Words of wisdom“Each year is different and these kids want to make

their own mark. I do think they don’t accept 6-4, and I think they’re starting to think that we’re getting to a bigger and better level, and the kids want to maintain that. I think now we’ve got the mindset that when we take the field, we can win every game. Now, it’s a mat-ter of going out and doing it.”

Main charactersOgi (6-1, 215) has put on 20 pounds since last year,

but hasn’t lost any of his 4.5 speed. He gained 1,400 yards in eight games as a junior — at over 10 yards a carry — and will be the focal point in the Knights’ run-oriented offensive scheme, and the centerpiece of the defense at ILB.

“Luke’s a game-changer, he’s one of those kids who can completely change a game,” Maltarich said. “He can take it to the house from anywhere on the field, he’s a threat to make a big play defensively. He’s one of the better all-around kids I’ve ever coached. He’s got an extreme amount of talent, and teams are gonna gameplan around him and we’re gonna game-plan around him. We’re gonna get the ball in his hands as many ways as we can ... If he gets in the open field, not many are gonna catch him.”

Maltarich said Miller, now over 200 pounds as well, will be utilized in different ways this year, while Mike Workman is a typical WH FB at 210 pounds and Sam Young and Michael Kashuba will be outside threats.

Up front, TE Levi Jones (6-4, 200), G Alex White and C Wyatt Snow are seniors, G Matt Estep and T Trevor Kiner are juniors and T Josh Goudy a sophomore.

“There’s something about this group I really like,” Maltarich said of his line. “We’ve got a couple of 6-5, 250-pound tackles, we’ve got a 260- and 230-pound guard, and a 6-5 tight end. So we’ve got some size there, there’s some athleticsm there that I like, but we’ve got to develop that toughness component. Our kids are getting better every day and I think they can develop into something special.”

Ogi and Young hold down the LB spots on defense, but the rest of the defense is young. The Knights will start three sophomores and a junior up front, and the back end, although Jones has great range at safety, includes a pair of sophomores and a junior first-year starter.

“They’re not really big, but they’re quick,” Mal-tarch said of his front of sophs Jake Mullet, Garrett Ervin and Luke Estep along with junior James Baker. “They’re the type of kids if you tell them to go hit that brick wall 100 times, No. 100 is going to be as hard as No. 1. I like that aspect of them. The other aspect is that we keep the big lineman off the field. We’re only going to have three kids going both ways.

“We’ve got young kids in the secondary, too, with two sophomores and a junior first-year starter, and Levi is a 6-5, 200-pound safety who can run and cover some ground. I really, really like our talent there, but we’re

F10West Holmes

Dan Starcher photo/www.buydrphotos.comJoe Norman (left), shown here with current West Holmes players Luke Ogi (front), Brody Miller (7)

and Alex White at the courthouse in Millersburg, made a great case for the defense when he played for the Knights. His 217 tackles in 1972 is still the best for a single season in area history, and he went on to play at Indiana and for the Seattle Seahawks.

Norman did it all — and then some

Brody Miller is the quarterback of this year’s West Holmes Knights, while Luke Ogi is the team’s top running back and an inside linebacker.

When Joe Norman played for the Knights from 1972-74, he did all that, and more.

Norman was a rare com-bination of quarterback and inside linebacker at West Holmes. “I was a quarterback wearing a neckroll,” he said with a laugh.

He went on to become an All-American line-backer at Indiana and play six seasons in the NFL with Seattle.

“I know he’s the best player to ever come through here, and that he went to the pros,” said Ogi, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior who could also become one of the rare Div. I football recruits from the school. “You go into Pizza Hut and his picture’s up on the wall there.”

“It motivates us to be the best we can,” added Alex White, a senior line-man. “Not many people are able to do what he did, and he came from

West Holmes.”Last season, the Knights

followed up an 11-win campaign with a 6-4 record, with all four losses coming in the OCC. Ogi, who ran for 1,400 yards as a junior in just eight games, will look to exceed that in head coach Kevin Maltarich’s ground-ori-ented offense.

“We’ve just got to work hard, now that we’re com-ing to the football part of it,” Ogi said. “Coach Mal-tarich has established the ground work here. We know what we’re sup-posed to do, and if we all do our jobs, we’ll be ok. We’ll be ready.”

Miller threw just 46 times a year ago, for 51 yards a game. Even Nor-man threw more than that in the mid-70s, and as a 6-1, 210-pound sig-nalcaller himself, he’d be a perfect fit at his alma mater today.

“It’s a system, and Coach Maltarich takes what he has and fits it into his system,” Nor-man said. “Everything’s familiar, all the way down to the junior high and maybe even the (Peewee) Cobras.

“Besides, you are what your record says you are, and it’s been pretty good.”

Joe Norman fileHigh School highlights: QB/LB was a three-year

letterman for West Holmes from 1972-74. His 217 tackles in 1972 are still the area record for a single season

College highlights: Earned full-ride scholarship to Indiana, where he was a two-time team MVP, All-Big Ten first-team and an NEA All-American as a senior. Also MVP in the Japan Bowl.

NFL highlights: Second-round pick in 1979 of Seattle Seahawks. Starting MLB by third year, but suffered knee injury and missed the next year. Came back and started in 1984, for six seasons overall.

Favorite football memory: “Two from high school: My junior year, we beat Orrville for the first time in school history, and two, when I was a senior, we went up to Woodridge as an under-dog and beat them 43-14, and it was probably my best game as a quarter-back.”

Life today: Joe Norman, 57, now in I n t e r n e t sales, lives in Wooster with wife of 34 years Sallie, with three grown children.

Maltarich

Jones

West Holmes rosterSENIORSNo. Name Ht. Pos.1 BrodyMiller 6-0 QB/DB10 LoganGallion 5-9 K17 LeviKinstle 6-3 SE/DL20 ColtonTennant 5-9 RB/DB22 SamuelYoung 5-10 RB/LB31 LukasOgi 6-0 RB/LB40 MattCasey 5-10 RB/DB45 LeviJones 6-5 OL/LB63 BryceBurgett 6-0 OL/DL74 AlexanderWhite 6-2 OL/DL75 WyattSnow 6-0 OL/DL

JUNIORS8 MichaelKashuba 5-10 RB/DB13 EverettBaker 5-5 RB/LB34 CodyStraits 6-0 SE/DB52 DamonHarris 6-0OL/DL

54 TrevorKiner 6-5 OL/DL55 JamesBaker 5-9 OL/DL58 AaronButts 5-8 G/DL66 MatthewEastep 6-0 OL/DL69 MichaelWorkman 6-0 OL/DL

SOPHOMORES2 IsaacWine 6-2 OL/DL5 ConnorRoach 6-0 QB/DB6 TrentonBridenthal 5-11 SE/DB12 BoKandel 6-1 OL/LB25 TerrellYoder 5-7 RB/DB26 ColtonBaker 5-9 RB/DL36 GarrettErvin 5-10 RB/DB50 JordanHoyman 5-10 OL/LB53 AustinCutright 5-9 OL/DL56 JacobMullet 6-2 OL/DL65 RitchieMiller 5-11 OL/LB67 LucasEastep 5-9 OL/DL

73 JoshGoudy 6-5 OL/DL76 JedadiahAlexander 6-0 OL/LB80 JohnnyLeeWhite 6-0OL/LB

FRESHMEN1 BryceMyers 5-8 QB/DB4 BraydenChaney 5-8 RB/DB11 MichaelTaylor 5-11 RB/DB15 EthanKinsey 5-9 SE/DB28 SkylarCline 5-8 RB/DB61 BlakeJudson 5-6 OL/LB68 JarrettSnow 5-3 OL/DL77 EricBarbey 5-11 OL/DL78 MarkLowe 6-4 OL/DL79 JeremyButler 5-7 OL/DL81 BraydenVess 6-2 OL/DL

*weightsnotprovided

By MIKE PLANTSports Writer

Workman

See Pg. F14 — WEST HOLMES

West Holmes

knights

count out Ashland and I think this is the class Madison has been waiting on. Clear Fork has numbers problems but they have a lot coming back. Senior’s always talented, and Orrville’s Orrville. Even Lexington, I heard they’ll be better. It’s like the SEC, it will be a gauntlet.”

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

5CLEAR FORK (7-3, 5-2) — Senior QB Kadin Chrastina is one of top returning players in the OCC after

racking up 2,621 total yards last year. How-ever, the Colts may not have enough other experienced players to make another play-off run.

Clear Fork could start as many as six freshmen or sophomores on offense and five on defense. Ninth-grader Thomas Staab (5-9, 150) will be the starting tailback.

“We have good speed,” Colts coach Dave Carroll said. “We need to play with disci-pline and heart.”

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

6MADISON (3-7, 2-5) — The Rams were hit harder by graduation than any team in the league, with 20

seniors leaving after a tough season. That leaves only two returning starters on each side of the ball.

Coach Sean Conway has had a winning resume´, though, and believes he has many talented newcomers to pick from and a

big, strong line that could help the Rams surprise some people.

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

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

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

7 ORRVILLE (4-6, 1-6) — After opening 2013 with four straight wins, Orrville struggled the rest of the way

with six losses to close the season.The Red Riders suffered significant grad-

uation losses and will open 2014 with just 32 combined players in grades 9-12 and only seven seniors. There are some good play-

makers in the likes of QB Luke Smith, RB Keontae Owens and RB Austin Domer.

Coach Doug Davault is used to low num-bers at Orrville and along with his staff will try to get everything they can out of the small squad. He’s pointing to archrival Wooster as the team to beat.

“Wooster’s got to be considered the top dog, if they can run the ball like they did at the end of last season,” Davault said. “They can run as many athletes out there as anybody, and you won’t find a better lineman in the league than Tyson Jackson. So I’d put them on top, I haven’t heard much about Mansfield Senior, if they’ve got the kids out, and you’ve got Ashland. West Holmes, with their offense, they’ll be in the mix and keep games close. Clear Fork is small in numbers, but they’re all players, Madison plays tough, ball-control football ... the OCC is strong, and if we can find a

way to get three or four OCC wins, we can get in the (postseason) and win there.”

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

8LEXINGTON (1-9, 0-7) — Taylor Gerhardt is the new head coach of the

Minutemen after serving as an assistant the last three years. He has a tough job to do as he takes over a program that won just one game last year and will have many new starters. He’s hoping a ball-control offen-sive philosophy and veteran defense can give his team a chance to pull out some more victories.

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

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

(NOTE: The Mansfield News-Journal contributed to this story.)




TIRE & AUTO CENTER

GOOD LUCK, KNIGHTS!

330-496-2361

TROY MILLER AGENCY L.L.C.

www.troymilleragency.com

GO KNIGHTS!

Shreve567-2626

Berlin893-2446or 5420 Co. Rd. 349, Millersburg

330-674-0865

Holmes RedimixGo Team, Go!

MELWAYPAVINGCOMPANY, INC.

ASPHALT PAVING SINCE 1964An Equal Opportnity Employer

Best of Luck!

Collision Insurance

GO KNIGHTS!

[email protected]

MILLERSBURG OIL, INC.

We commend the effortsof the “Knights”

Millersburg, OH(330) 674-2096

AUTOMATIC DELIVERY SERVICE

784 WOOSTER ROAD - MILLERSBURGTOLL FREE 1-800-292-8842 • 674-2055

V Millage otors1457 Old Lincolnway W., Wooster



330-345-1524

Go Knights!

(From Page E7)

OCC

F11West Holmes

2105 Glen Drive, Millersburg, OH330-674-7075

330-674-1015981 Wooster Rd. • Millersburg, OH 44654

www.pomerenehospital.org

Good Luck West Holmes

Knights!Full Service Christian Bookstore

4900 Oak St., Berlinwww.mygospelbookstore.com

330-893-2523

BOOKS • OFFICE SUPPLIES • CARDS • BOOKS

• Chevrolet• Buick• GMC

7190 SR 39, Millersburg, Ohio

330-674-4015

784 WOOSTER ROAD - MILLERSBURGTOLL FREE 1-800-292-8842 • 674-2055

V Millage otors

Conveniently Located 1/4 Mile off St. Rt. 39

330-674-49067361 CR 623

SNYDER BROTHERSSALES & SERVICE INC.





Conveniently Located 1/4 Mile off St. Rt. 39

330-674-49067361 CR 623

SNYDER BROTHERSSALES & SERVICE INC.

Northwestern’s tale

Started football in 1963. Made playoffs five times. Play in Wayne County Ath-letic League. Play at Husky Stadium. Coached by Mike Thut (82-65 enter-ing 15th year lead-ing Northwestern). Assigned by OHSAA to Div. V, Region 16.

Dates to rememberDATE OPPONENT LASTYEARAug. 29 FAIRLESS DNPSept. 5 BLACK RIVER W, 35-12Sept. 12 COLUMBIA L, 42-43Sept. 19 at Dalton* W, 47-12Sept. 26 SMITHVILLE* W, 35-2Oct. 3 at Hillsdale* W, 41-7Oct. 10 at Waynedale* W, 49-18Oct. 17 RITTMAN* W, 57-0Oct. 24 at Norwayne* W, 30-0Oct. 31 CHIPPEWA* W, 28-14* Wayne County Athletic League game


Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.QB Cameron Taylor 6-2 185 Sr.RB Jonah Ours 6-0 220 Jr.WR Ryan Sheridan 5-10 185 Sr.WR Isaac Sadzewicz 6-3 180 Jr.WR Nate Schwartz 5-11 170 Jr.TE Derek Koch 6-8 220 So.T Billy Smith 6-0 180 So.G Logan Ickes 6-0 220 Jr.C Brandon Edgell 5-11 175 Jr.G Josh Burns 5-10 185 Sr.T Will Bell 6-2 185 Sr.K Andrew Orosz 5-9 150 Sr.

DEFENSEDE Derek Koch 6-8 220 So.NG Jared Grassman 6-0 250 So.DE Logan Ickes 6-0 220 Jr.LB Josh Burns 5-10 185 Sr.LB Dave Agnes 5-10 190 So.LB Chris Topovski 5-9 175 Sr.LB Ryan Schwartz 5-9 170 So.LB Kyle Cayse 5-9 155 Jr.DB Hunter Edwards 5-8 150 Jr.DB Nate Schwartz 5-11 170 Jr.DB Ryan Sheridan 5-10 185 Sr.P Cameron Taylor 6-2 185 Sr.

Northwestern plotThe Huskies are coming off back-to-back playoff

appearances, led by a 16-member senior class that in 2013 captured the school’s first WCAL title since 2007. However, that leaves large voids up and down the roster this fall, with just one returning starter, LB Josh Burns, back on either side of the ball. Those starting spots will be filled by many players on last year’s JV team, which went 8-0 last year. The Huskies’ success depends on how well the new crop of starters adjust to varsity play.

Words of wisdom“This year there’s a lot more competition,” Thut said.

“Last year there were a lot of three-year starters so it was just a matter of fine-tuning things. Now we have to explain exactly what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. We spend more time teaching. It’s a whole different team with a whole different mindset than the year before.”

Main charactersAs the Huskies try to replace 10 starters on each side

of the ball, there aren’t many returners to list off. Burns is the only holdover, back at LB after being a key member of last year’s stingy defense that allowed just 13.5 points per game. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior will be relied on especially as a team leader, as many of the new starters get acclimated to the positions and schemes on defense.

On offense, Burns is a converted RB, but will play up front this year due to the team’s need for linemen. “He’s a tough kid,” Thut said. “He made the sacrifice for the team and he’s looked really impressive.”

Under center, senior Cameron Taylor will step in for Malachi Nolletti at QB. Taylor has big shoes to fill as Nolletti was a three-year starter who led the Huskies to a pair of playoff appearances. While Taylor isn’t as mobile as his predecessor, Thut said Taylor has dem-onstrated plenty of arm strength to lead an attack that will likely pass more than it did a year ago.

“He just got stuck behind Malachi,” Thut said. “He could’ve started for a lot of teams last year. He did a great job on our JV team and passed for a lot of yards.”

WR Ryan Sheridan will likely be Taylor’s top target. One of the Huskies’ other intriguing receiving pros-pects is 6-foot-8 sophomore TE Derek Koch, who had a standout freshman season in basketball. Chris Top-ovski and Jonah Ours will get the bulk of the carries as the Huskies replace Tyler Smith, who finished as the area’s all-time leading scorer.

Along with Burns, Will Bell should be one of Thut’s top performers on the OL.

Even in replacing a talented backfield duo in Nolletti and Smith, right now the Huskies’ biggest question mark is on the line. After possessing one of the biggest units up front last year, the Huskies will now have one of the smallest.

“The skill positions are light years ahead of the line-men on both sides of the ball,” Thut said. “It’s hard to coach your offensive linemen in the summer. In our 10 camp days, we went over how to do it, but until you get the pads on, you can’t really block.”

Sheridan (DB), Topovski (LB) and Taylor (DB) will go both ways, also playing big roles on defense. Nate Schwartz, Isaac Sadzewicz and Hunter Edwards all provide depth in the secondary.

Keys to a memorable fallThere’s no way around it — the Huskies have new

starters at virtually every single position. Then again, for Thut, the longest-tenured coach in the area, this isn’t exactly the first time he’s been through the pro-cess. The Husky coach was in a similar position six years ago when the Huskies had to start a new era after

F12 — Thursday, August 28, 2014 LegendsoftheFall THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

Andrew Vogel photo/www.buydrphotos.comNorthwestern legend Travis “Coop” Morris returned to West Salem and posed for a photo outside

“Koenig’s Korner,” a popular take-out restaurant and convenience store that serves as a landmark into town. Morris was a little-known sophomore in 2005 before bursting onto the scene and helping the Huskies reach the playoffs for the first time. As they replace nearly all of the starters from last year’s WCAL championship team, (from left) Ryan Sheridan, Josh Burns, Cameron Taylor and Chris Topovski also hope to pull off a surprising breakthrough season.

Koch

Bell

Thut

Huskies’Morris‘cameoutofnowhere’

Before Travis “Coop” Morris went on to reel off over 3,700 career rushing yards, the 2008 North-western grad was a little-known sophomore buried on the depth chart. In fact, he only had the chance to start the opener after the player ahead of him on the depth chart was sus-pended.

“He started Game 1 and I didn’t know what to expect,” said North-western coach Mike Thut. “You talk about a guy that came out of nowhere, he was the one.”

Likewise, the bevy of new starters on this year’s Huskies team will also look to make the most of their opportunity.

Linebacker Josh Burns is the only returning start-er back on either side of the ball this fall for the Huskies, who last year won the Wayne County Athletic League with a 16-member senior class. This year that means the onus is on players like quarterback-safety Cam-eron Taylor, wide receiv-er-safety Ryan Sheridan and running back-line-backer Chris Topovski to jump into the start-ing lineup and make an immediate impact — just like Morris did.

As a sophomore in 2005, Morris led the area in

rushing with 1,776 yards and 17 touchdowns. Dur-ing that year, he helped the Huskies to the first playoff appearance in school history as North-western advanced to the Div. V regional final. As a junior, he ran for 841 yards and as a senior logged 1,092 more, with the Huskies winning the WCAL in both 2006 and 2007.

Before his sophomore year, though, the 5-foot-7, 170-pounder never had any idea he’d have that type of impact. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he’d come out for the team.

“I wasn’t really expect-ing to play much,” he said. “I almost didn’t play and joined the golf team.”

With so many new faces, the Huskies aren’t expect-ed to match the success of the last two years, when the Huskies notched two playoff trips. However, Burns, who was a running back but has switched to the offensive line, feels this year’s core is ready to step in and contribute.

“There are some big shoes to fill,” he said. “But they’ve played together for a while so I think they can handle it.”

“I think we can surprise a lot of people,” Taylor said.

If they need an inspira-tion for an underdog, they need to look no further than Morris.

By ANDREW VOGELSports Writer CoopMorrisfile

High School highlights: Travis “Coop” Morris was a little-known sophomore prior to the 2005 season, but went on to lead the area in rushing with 1,776 yards and 17 scores, helping the Hus-kies to the first playoff appearance in school his-tory as they reached the Div. V regional final. In 2006, he ran for 841 yards and in 2007 he rushed for 1,092 yards and 14 scores, as well as making 70 tackles. He was named the WCAL MVP as a senior after helping the Huskies to three straight playoff appearances and WCAL titles in 2006 and 2007.

Collegehighlights: Morris opted not to play col-lege football and attended the Ohio State Agrig-ultural Technical Institute.

Favorite football memory: Far and away the greatest moment of Morris’ career was the Hus-kies’ unlikely playoff run, including the 14-13 vic-tory over Barnesville in the first round on Nov. 4, 2005.

“It was the first playoff game in school history and Al Yambor blocked the extra point to win the game,” Morris said. “It was nerve-wracking, but it was awe-some as a team to do that.”

L i f et o d a y : M o r r i s lives in Wo o s t e r and works as the a s s i s t a n t s u p e r i n -t e n d e n t at Beech-m o n t C o u n -try Club in East Cleveland.

NorthwesterN rosterSENIORSNo. Name Pos.4 RyanSheridan WR/DB10 AndrewOrosz K22 CameronTaylor QB/DB24 ChrisTopovski RB/LB54 JohnnyWorkman OL/DL58 DonnieMartin OL/LB59 JoshBurns RB/LB63 WillBell OL/DL68 SpencerSloan OL/LB

JUNIORS7 NathanSchwartz WR/DB8 LoganMalott WR/DB14 IsaacSadzewicz WR/DB23 JonahOurs RB/LB28 KyleCayse RB/LB46 AngelRivera WR/DB51 BrandonEdgell OL/DL

60 DaltonBloom OL/DL61 TravisFeltner OL/LB65 LoganIckes OL/DL75 JohnSecrist OL/DL81 HunterEdwards WR/DBSOPHOMORES6 TristanAmmon WR/DB12 BrockThut QB/LB21 BrandonReed WR/DB26 NickLetterly RB/LB30 KeatonEdwards WR/LB34 RyanSchwartz WR/LB39 NickPraisler WR/DB50 KyleWharton OL/DL53 TrevorThompson OL/DL55 BillySmith OL/LB64 DavidAgnes OL/LB72 IsaacRivera OL/DL76 JaredGrassman OL/DL82 DerekKoch TE/DL

85 NateKoch TE/LBFRESHMEN25 AdamTanner QB/DB31 MasonWilhelmy QB/LB32 IsaiahPeterson RB/DB33 DerekDuvall RB/LB36 NickHinton WR/DB37 JaredLeasure RB/LB52 ParkerSmith OL/LB56 JaredAlberts OL/DL57 RobertStinemetz OL/DL62 ChrisOrosz OL/DL70 AustinWood OL/LB71 CodyStarling OL/DL73 JacobSkelly OL/DL74 MattPinkley OL/LB80 DevinSmith WR/DB83 CodyTegtmeier WR/DB88 GarrettDever TE/LB89 TJCromer TE/LB SeePg.F14—NORTHWESTERN

Northwestern

Huskies

F12Fall Sports


Past Ohio Mr. Football honorees2013 — Dante Booker,

St. Vincent-St. Mary, LB, 6-4, 220, sr. Led the Fight-ing Irish to their second straight state champion-ship, and became the ninth Ohio Mr. Football to play for Ohio State. He was only the second defensive player to win Mr. Football since 1995 when Andy Katzenmoyer was honored.

2012 — Mitch Trubisky, Mentor, QB, 6-3, 200, sr. Completed 264 of 393 passes (.672) for 4,065 yards and 42 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, ran for 835 yards and 18 TDs on 197 attempts, scoring 108 points for the Cardi-nals in the regular season and playoffs. Led team to 9-1 record, No. 7 ranking in regular season before several huge games in taking it to the state semi-finals. North Carolina.

2011 — Maty Mauk, Kenton, QB, 6-2, 185, sr. Set national career pass-ing records for yards (18,006), attempts (2001), completions (1,287) and touchdowns (209). Dur-ing regular season led team to a 10-0 record, and also to state champion-ship game. As a senior, completed 274 of 401 passes for 3,744 yards and 48 touchdowns with eight interceptions, plus ran for 1,204 yards. He and 2002 winner Benny Mauk become the first brothers to win the award. Mis-souri.

2010 — Akise Teague, Youngstown Ursuline, RB, 5-8, 176, sr. Carried 164 times for 1,756 yards (10.7 ypc) and 26 touch-downs for the season. Also

caught 25 passes for 545 yards (21.8 ypc) and five TDs. Returned 10 kicks for 328 yards and one TD, and 13 punts for 283 yards (21.8 ypr). As a DB, inter-cepted five passes and returned three for TDs while totaling 47 tackles, 3.5 for minus yardage. Accounted for 3,132 all-purpose yards and 35 TDs for state’s No. 1 team in Division V. Accounted for 212 points on 217 touches for the season, averag-ing 14.4 yards every time he touched the ball. Had 418 all-purpose yards in one game and scored six times. Ran for 112 yards and three TDs on nine carries in last year’s state championship game. Uni-versity of Cincinnati.

2009 — Erick Howard, North Canton Hoover, RB, 5-11, 205, senior. Car-ried 337 times for 2,056 yards and 27 touchdowns for the season. In the regular season had 299 carries for 1,957 yards, 26 TDs; 102 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, caused 4 fumbles, 1 interception. Career: 6,013 yards rush-ing, 79 TDs, 478 points — all Stark County records. Yardage total ended up in the top 20 all-time in the state. Only second two-time Mr. Football (Rob-ert Smith, 1988-89). Serv-ing 30-year sentence for a home-invasion robbery and rape.

2008 — Erick Howard, North Canton Hoover, RB, 5-10, 210, jr. Carried 285 times for 1,795 yards and 25 touchdowns for No. 8 team in final AP rankings. Also had 2,322 all-purpose yards and

totaled 28 touchdowns. Led team to state semifi-nals for first time in more than 20 years, totaling 2,387 rushing yards and 32 TDs.

2007 — Bart Tanski, Mentor, QB, 6-2, 190, sr. Led Cardinals to second consecutive Division I state championship game. Completed 161-of-273 passes for 2,385 yards and 20 TDs with 4 intercep-tions during regular sea-son. Also ran for 8 TDs. Walked on at Bowling Green.

2006 — Brandon Saine, Piqua, RB, 6-1, 219, sr. Heading into state cham-pionship game, has 281 carries for 2,035 yards and 30 TDs; 19 receptions for 345 yards and five TDs; 400 in return yards and one TD. A two-time defending state champion in the Division I 100 and 400 meters, state record holder in the 100 at 10.31 seconds. Ohio State.

2005 — Delone Carter, Copley, RB, 5-10, 200, sr. Rushed for 2,788 yards on 302 carries (9.2 average) with 49 total touchdowns (47 rushing, two receiv-ing) in 12 games (10 regu-lar season, two playoffs). In 2004, carried 324 times for 2,556 yards and 28 touchdowns in 13 games (three in playoffs). Spent first two seasons at Akron Hoban as backup to 2004 Mr. Football Tyrell Sut-ton. Syracuse.

2004 — Tyrell Sutton, Akron Hoban, RB, 5-10, 194, sr. 2004: 354 carries for 3,232 yards (9.1 aver-age), 38 total TDs, 36 rushing, one receiving, one kickoff return, 228

points. Career: 117 TDs, 112 rushing, 1,090 car-ries for state-record 9,426 yards; 455 receiving yards; 1,038 return yards; state-record 10,919 all-purpose yards. Rushed for 100 or more yards in final 38 games. Northwestern.

2003 — Raymond Wil-liams, Cleveland Bene-dictine, RB, 5-11, 185, sr. Averaged 8.1 yards per carry, totaling 2,099 for regular season along with 27 TDs for state’s No. 1-ranked team in Division III. Totaled more than 6,000 career yards. After Benedictine won a state championship, he was arrested for his role in the death of a teammate and pleaded guilty to involun-tary manslaughter. Wil-liams was put on proba-tion; a three-year prison sentence and a $100,000 fine were suspended. West Virginia rescinded a scholarship offer after his arrest.

2002 — Benny Mauk, Kenton, QB, 6-2, 200, sr. Completed 434-of-668 passes (64 percent) for 6,528 yards and 76 touchdowns; rushed for 1,385 yards and 18 touch-downs; set national career records for yards passing (17,523) and touchdowns (178); Led Kenton to Division IV title in 2001. Transferred from Wake Forest to Cincinnati, where he led Bearcats to bowl game.

2001 — Maurice Clar-ett, Warren Harding, RB, 6-0, 230 pounds, sr. Car-ried 139 times for 1,369 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season; also had 14 catches for 253

yards and three touch-downs, returned four punts for touchdowns and had another on a kickoff return. Led Ohio State to national championship as a freshman in 2002, then was suspended for lying to NCAA and university investigators looking into improper benefits. Sued NFL for early entry but lost in court. Serving jail time after pleading guilty to having a hidden gun in his sport utility vehi-cle and holding up two people outside a bar in a separate case.

2000 — Jeff Backes, Upper Arlington, RB-DB, 5-10, 180 pounds, sr. Set state record for rush-ing yards in a season with 3,353, including the Golden Bears’ run to the state title; scored 44 touchdowns on 354 car-ries, averaging 224 yards a game; also a standout at safety. Northwestern.

1999 — Brandon “Bam” Childress, Bedford Cha-nel, DB-WR-KR, 5-10, 175 pounds, sr. Only seven passes thrown his way in 14 games; one was completed for a 3-yard gain, he intercepted two, returning one for a touchdown, batted down two and two were over-thrown; 41 receptions for 754 yards and 11 touch-downs; more than 700 yards on punt returns and 600 yards on kickoff returns. Ohio State. NFL.

1998 — Ryan Brewer, Troy, RB, 5-10, 205, sr.: 315 carries for then-state-record 2,856 yards and 40 touchdowns; 14 straight games over 200 yards rushing; more than 7,700

career yards; punted for 44-yard average; kicked four field goals of 30 or more yards; two intercep-tions as defensive back. South Carolina.

1997 — Antoine “Tony” Fisher, Euclid, RB, 6-1, 203, sr.: 186 carries for 2,130 yards and 40 touch-downs, breaking Robert Smith’s school records for season scoring and yard-age. Notre Dame. NFL.

1996 — Derek Combs, Grove City, RB-CB-KR, 6-1, 185, sr. Rushed for 2,042 yards on 214 carries (9.5 yards per carry) and scored 24 touchdowns; also caught 20 passes for 400 yards. Ohio State. NFL.

1995 — Andy Katzen-moyer, Westerville South, LB-RB, 6-4, 235, sr.: 53 solo tackles, 35 assists, 16 for minus yardage, 8 sacks, 6 caused bad pass, 8 passes broken up, 6 fum-bles caused; also rushed for 250 yards as blocking back on offense. Ohio State. NFL. Retired due to injury.

1994 — Charles Wood-son, Fremont Ross, RB-DB, 6-1, 190, sr.: 218 carries, 2,028 yards and 38 touchdowns; 2,596 all-purpose yards and 230 points. Michigan. Won Heisman Trophy. NFL.

1993 — Curtis Enis, Union City Mississinawa Valley, RB-LB, 6-3, 232, sr.: 256 carries for then-state-record 2,764 yards (10.8 yards per attempt) and 37 touchdowns rush-ing; games of 440 yards and seven touchdowns, 371 yards and four touch-downs and 343 yards and four touchdowns. Penn

State. NFL. Retired.1992 — Marc Edwards,

Norwood, RB-LB, 6-2, 220, sr.: 234 carries for 1,721 yards and 26 touch-downs; 2,114 all-purpose yards; 113 tackles on defense. Notre Dame. NFL. Retired.

1991 — Derek Kidwell, Fostoria, QB-DE, 6-4, 225, sr.: 85-for-144 for 1,526 yards and 15 touch-downs with eight inter-ceptions passing; rushed for 379 yards on 60 carries and five touchdowns; had 21 solos, 23 assists, two sacks and four fumbles recovered as defensive end. Bowling Green. Suc-cessful high school coach.

1990 — Bob Hoying, St. Henry, QB, 6-5, 210, sr.: 105-for-180 (58 percent), 1,736 yards and 20 touch-downs with five intercep-tions passing; rushed for 201 yards on 39 carries with four touchdowns; as free safety intercepted seven passes. Ohio State. NFL. Retired.

1989 — Robert Smith, Euclid, RB, 6-2, 195, sr.: 203 carries for 2,042 yards and 31 touchdowns; career 548 carries for 5,038 yards, 67 touch-downs. Ohio State. NFL. Now a TV college foot-ball analyst.

1988 — Robert Smith, Euclid, RB, 6-2, 185, jr.: 177 carries for 1,564 yards (8.8 yards per carry); averaged 31 yards on 10 punt returns.

1987 — Buster Howe, Zanesville, WB, 5-11, 182, sr. All-purpose single-wing back, scored 25 points a game; also played defensive back, kicked. Ohio State.

F13Northwestern


Locally Owned & Operated for nearly 90 years

210 S. Buckeye St. • WoosterKevin Covert

www.300tire.com Ph: [email protected] Fax: 300-263-4466


TIRE & AUTO CENTER

Mohican HillsGolf Club

25 C.R. 1950, Jeromesville419-368-3303

Go Huskies!






GEORGE’SALIGNMENT

Brakes - ExhaustCar & Truck Tires - Shocks

George Gray, Owner419-846-3065

Local Call8034 Gable Rd.

West Salem

RENTALS

Wooster Bounce House, LLCDari-Land Ice Cream, LLC • 330.263.1700EMAIL:[email protected] • WEB: www.DarilandIceCream.com

ICE CREAM MACHINESGreat for company outings, Graduation Parties, Weddings& Special Events

INFLATABLE BOUNCE HOUSES

Wooster Bounce House, LLC


GO HUSKIES!GO HUSKIES!

Orrville

Wooster

Tim and Buddy Vaughan

Sun. Noon-9pm; Mon.-Thurs. 6am-9pm;Fri. 6am-10pm; Sat 9am-10pm

Summer Hours (May-Sept.) Open 1 hour later!

PIZZA • FRIED CHICKEN • WINGS

6636 N. Elyria Rd.Corner of SR 301 & SR 302

419-846-3301

We have DRINKS, SNACKS & ICE for your tailgating!


potential to develop in to one of the best we’ve had in my tenure.”

Loudonville returns 16 starters from last season, but Todd says the Redbirds may be a little different team from the one fans saw in 2013.

“We will put a major emphasis on throwing the ball this season, in an effort to distribute the ball to what we feel are a group of very dynamic athletes” he said. Main characters

The Redbirds return a very talented group led by third-team all-Ohio QB Kolton Edmonson. Edmonson set a school-record for rushing yards last fall, while throwing for over 1,000 more.

“Last season we relied heavily on the running game with Kolton and Ryan Weber,” Todd said. “While we feel our offensive line will be a great strength in time, we want to limit the hits Kolton takes, at least early on.”

Also returning offensively are receivers Tristan and Tucker Bender, TE Joey Artrip, RBs Lane Harper and Josh Weber, and linemen Blake Cary, Kyle Graham, and Bryce Skok. Jordan Wright, Austin VanSickle, Luke Scarberry, and Garrett Quickle also are expected to be key players in the Redbird attack this season.

“Health is always going to be a factor, but the plan is to stretch the defense laterally and vertically, all the while trying to maintain the inside running threat of Kolton,” Todd said. “Defensively, we are going to a stack, which we toyed with at times last season with success, to take advantage of our overall team speed.

“We are hoping to employ that defense full time this year in an effort to defend all areas of the field as offenses to continue to evolve.”

Words of wisdom

“The MBC has only three teams playing football, so we are basically an independent this year,” Todd said. “Danville always has an excellent program, and Lucas will be much improved. We are also playing a very demanding schedule overall, adding Bishop Ready and Gilmour Academy.”

The Redbirds also play Sparta Highland, Crestview, Hillsdale, and Logan, all traditionally strong programs.


If Loudonville stay healthy, an even deeper run in to the postseason looks likely for the Redbirds in 2014. Edmonson leads an arsenal of weapons that are as talented as any in the area. But as talented as the Red-birds are, depth, and a demanding schedule are areas of concern for Todd.

“Like a lot teams, overall depth will play will be a key factor for us, along with our schedule. We finish with four straight road games (Ready, Danville, Gilmour, and Shelby), too, which will be a challenge in its own right.”

(From Page F8)

’Birds

have another sizable group this year, with three returning starters in seniors Walker Sum-merfield (6-0, 240), Sky-ler Ward (6-3, 255) and Chaim Nethero (6-3, 230). Junior Joey Nebergall (6-3, 265) and sophomore Ryan Markley (6-0, 220) join them to give them a starting five that averag-es over 240 pounds from tackle to tackle.

“For us offensively, we want to establish the run,” Williams said, “so it’s important for our linemen to do a good job up front. It sets up everything we do.”

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons will have to replace 6-7 DE Ryan Bee, who set the school record for sacks in a season (15) and career (32). However, nine other starters return. DB Doug Cline, also a returning starter at receiver, led the team in interceptions (6) and was a second-team All-Ohioan. Ben Rogers and Eric Pickering should be a solid tandem at DE, while Summerfield and Ward give them big bod-ies on the interior. Mager will also play linebacker.

“We have a lot of guys there that are recogniz-

able names,” Williams said. “We expect to be solid on that side of the ball.”


After being in conten-tion for the WCAL crown for a number of years, the Falcons are almost a preseason afterthought thanks to last year’s 4-6 ledger. However, in a year when there’s not as much of a clear-cut league favor-ite, the Falcons have as good a shot as anyone to capture their third WCAL crown in league history.

“If we’re able to stay healthy and a couple of things go our way,” Wil-liams said, “we can be as good as we’ve been. On any given Friday night, we should be able to match up with anyone on our schedule.”

With a healthy Mager running behind one of the biggest lines in the WCAL, the Falcons should get back to their trademark smashmouth running attack and, with nine starters back on defense, that unit shouldn’t be too shabby either. The Fal-cons should be a healthy pick as one of the area’s bounceback teams.

— Andrew Vogel

(From Page F5)

Hillsdale

really green. Those kids will have to grow up very quick.”

Logan Gallion is anoth-er Knights weapon as one of the area’s best kickers.


An upgrade to the sched-ule adds New Philadelphia in place of River View, sandwiched between tra-ditional rivals Triway and Coshocton, and then OCC action kicks off.

“I really like our schedule, there are really no weeks off,” Maltarich said.

“The league is a big ques-tion. I think Wooster eas-ily has the most athletes of anyone in the league. They can throw the ball, they can run the ball, they’ll have

some great athletes on defense. I think they’re the leaders this year. You can never count out Ashland and I think this is the class Madison has been waiting on. Clear Fork has numbers problems but they have a lot coming back. Senior’s always talented, and Orrville’s Orrville. Even Lexington, I heard they’ll be better. It’s like the SEC, it will be a gauntlet.

“What I told my kids, we’ll be as good as we want to be,” Maltarich added. “If we want to be a great foot-ball team, we can be. It’s all about that thing between their ears. If they work hard and hustle and really get into this thing, the sky’s the limit. If we have mental breakdowns, we could go the opposite direction.”

— Mike Plant

(From Page F10)

West Holmes

“We will be a strong 4-3 team, but can shift to a 4-4 rather easily if we need to. We gave up 18 (points) per game last season and I would like to improve that.”

The Harrell brothers, Trent (OT) and Marty (DE) are expected to give the Chipps strong minutes, while fel-low returing letterwinners Travis Moore (OG), Zack Zollinger (RB-LB), Devin Hawkins (OT), Calvin Hol-bert (S), Doug Price (LB) and Lance Zierau (DE) give the Chipps varsity experi-ence and depth.

“Guys like Stoney (Epling), who had 16 (receiving) TDs and was a great safety and punter, Josh Miller and Luke Willig at linebacker, and Bo Whetsell (1,142 yards rushing) will certainly be missed,” Bohley said. “There are some holes we need to figure out and fill, but I think we’ve brought the younger

kids along and we’ll do well finding people to fill their roles.”


Chippewa seems to have enough size, athleticism and overall talent to be among the favorites in the WCAL. How will they handle that tag? Avoiding an off night, like its overtime loss to Tus-law last season — one of just two wins for the Mus-tangs — will be key for the Chipps’ momentum. And a mid-season stretch against many of the other WCAL favorites will be important. Breitenstine only threw six interceptions a year ago, while Chippewa as a team returned five picks for TDs itself. The Chipps were also relatively slow starters a sea-son ago, outscoring oppo-nents just 80-50 in the first quarter.

— Zach Bolinger

(From Page F1)

Chippewa

three consecutive playoff trips in 2005-07.

“You have different skills for your kids and different levels from where you have to start from to get ready,” he said. “I love the challenge of it.”

Well, given that the Huskies had so many new faces in pre-season that they may as well have worn nametags, he can rel-ish the work cut out for him this fall.

The silver lining is that his starters know how to win — the JV went undefeated last year. Then again,

there’s quite a differ-ence playing on Fri-day nights compared to Saturday morn-ings.

With a smaller and more inexperienced unit up front, look for the Huskies to go to the air more than the last two years, when they utilized a run-heavy attack.

Expectations are certainly much dif-ferent than they were a year ago, but Thut, as well as his first-year starters, seem eager for the chal-lenge.

The challenge starts Friday, when the Huskies host Fairless.

— Andrew Vogel

(From Page F12)

Northwestern

F14Fall Sports

9260 CR 192 • Fredericksburg

330-695-2212

Now Open for Lunch!

Hours Tue - Thu: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Fri: 11:00 am - 12:00 amSat: 11:00 am - 12:00 amSun: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

legends of the fall

Documents

team legendary

legendary creatures

high school football

rbdbbeating triway

sides football

ryan sheridan

legendary movie characters

state championship