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T29

THE COURIER

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

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Friday’s Games

Ada at Hardin Northern Arcadia at Lakota Arlington at Riverdale Carey at Upper Sandusky Cleveland East Tech at Findlay Columbus Grove at Pandora-Gilboa Cory-Rawson at Bluffton Eastwood at Patrick Henry Fremont St. Joseph at Liberty-Benton Gibsonburg at Elmwood Holgate at North Baltimore Hopewell-Loudon at Leipsic Ottawa-Glandorf at Fostoria Senior Tiffi n Calvert at McComb Van Buren at Ridgedale

Saturday’s Games

Danbury at St. Wendelin Ridgemont at Vanlue

Friday’s, Sept. 2 Games

Arlington at Liberty-Benton (BVC) Hardin Northern at Cory-Rawson (BVC) Leipsic at Pandora-Gilboa (BVC) McComb at Van Buren (BVC) Vanlue at Arcadia (BVC)

Colonel Crawford at Upper Sandusky (NCC) Columbus Grove at Allen East (NWC) Spencerville at Ada (NWC) Swanton at Patrick Henry (NWOAL) Ottawa-Glandorf at Celina (WBL) Bluffton at Carey

Elmwood at Hopewell-Loudon Fostoria Senior at Bowling Green North Baltimore at St. Wendelin Reynoldsburg at Findlay Riverdale at Upper Scioto Valley

Arcadia at Arlington (BVC) Cory-Rawson at Pandora-Gilboa (BVC)

McComb at Liberty-Benton (BVC) Van Buren at Hardin Northern (BVC) Vanlue at Leipsic (BVC)

Riverdale at Wynford (NCC) Ada at Columbus Grove (NWC) Bluffton at Delphos Jefferson (NWC) Patrick Henry at Montpelier (NWOAL) Lima Shawnee at Ottawa-Glandorf (WBL) Findlay at Greenville

North Baltimore at Elmwood Northwood at Hopewell-Loudon Tiffi n Columbian at Fostoria Senior Toledo Scott at Carey Upper Sandusky at Mohawk

Saturday’s, Sept. 10 Games

St. Wendelin at Southington Chalker

Arcadia at Cory-Rawson (BVC) Hardin Northern at McComb (BVC) Leipsic at Van Buren (BVC) Liberty-Benton at Vanlue (BVC) Pandora-Gilboa at Arlington (BVC) Findlay at Lima Senior (TRAC) Fremont St. Joseph at Carey (MAL) Hopewell-Loudon at Lakota ( MAL) Mohawk at North Baltimore (MAL) Elmwood at Woodmore (NBC) Fostoria Senior at Genoa (NBC) Lucas at Riverdale (NCC)

Upper Sandusky at Galion Senior (NCC) Convoy Crestview at Bluffton (NWC) Patrick Henry at Liberty Center (NWOAL) Defi ance at Ottawa-Glandorf (WBL) St. Wendelin at Troy Christian Upper Scioto Valley at Ada

Columbus Grove at Lima Cent. Cath. (NWC)

Arlington at Leipsic (BVC)

Cory-Rawson at Liberty-Benton (BVC) McComb at Vanlue (BVC)

Pandora-Gilboa at Hardin Northern (BVC) Van Buren at Arcadia (BVC)

Tol. Cent. Catholic at Findlay (TRAC) Mohawk at Hopewell-Loudon (MAL) North Baltimore at Seneca East (MAL) Eastwood at Elmwood (NBC) Otsego at Fostoria Senior (NBC) Buckeye Central at Riverdale (NCC) Ontario at Upper Sandusky (NCC) Bluffton at Ada (NWC)

Spencerville at Columbus Grove (NWC) Evergreen at Patrick Henry (NWOAL) Ottawa-Glandorf at Kenton (WBL)

Carey at Tiffi n Calvert (MAL)

St. Wendelin at Cleveland Heights Lutheran East

Arcadia at Liberty-Benton (BVC) Hardin Northern at Leipsic (BVC) McComb at Cory-Rawson (BVC) Van Buren at Arlington (BVC) Vanlue at Pandora-Gilboa (BVC) Findlay at Toledo St. Francis (TRAC) Carey at Lakota (MAL)

Fremont St. Joseph at Hopewell-Loudon (MAL) Tiffi n Calvert at North Baltimore (MAL) Fostoria Senior at Woodmore (NBC) Lake at Elmwood (NBC) Riverdale at Crestline (NCC)

Upper Sandusky at Buckeye Central (NCC) Allen East at Bluffton (NWC)

Paulding at Ada (NWC) Patrick Henry at Delta (NWOAL) Wapakoneta at Ottawa-Glandorf (WBL) Evergreen at Columbus Grove St. Wendelin at Ridgemont

Friday’s, Oct. 7 Games

Arcadia at Leipsic (BVC) Arlington at McComb (BVC) Cory-Rawson at Vanlue (BVC) Hardin Northern at Liberty-Benton (BVC) Pandora-Gilboa at Van Buren (BVC) Toledo Whitmer at Findlay (TRAC) Hopewell-Loudon at Seneca East (MAL) North Baltimore at Carey (MAL) Eastwood at Fostoria Senior (NBC) Elmwood at Genoa (NBC) Riverdale at Galion Senior (NCC) Wynford at Upper Sandusky (NCC) Ada at Convoy Crestview (NWC) Delphos Jefferson at Columbus Grove (NWC) Spencerville at Bluffton (NWC)

Bryan at Patrick Henry (NWOAL) Ottawa-Glandorf at Elida (WBL)

Saturday’s, Oct. 8 Games

Grove City Christian at St. Wendelin

Arlington at Hardin Northern (BVC) Leipsic at Cory-Rawson (BVC) Liberty-Benton at Pandora-Gilboa (BVC) McComb at Arcadia (BVC)

Van Buren at Vanlue (BVC) Oregon Clay at Findlay (TRAC) Carey at Hopewell-Loudon (MAL) Fremont St. Joseph at North Baltimore (MAL) Elmwood at Rossford (NBC)

Lake at Fostoria Senior (NBC) Bucyrus at Riverdale (NCC) Lucas at Upper Sandusky (NCC) Allen East at Ada (NWC) Columbus Grove at Paulding (NWC) Lima Cent. Cath. at Bluffton (NWC) Patrick Henry at Archbold (NWOAL) St. Marys Memorial at Ottawa-Glandorf (WBL)

Washtenaw, Mich. at St. Wendelin

Arcadia at Hardin Northern (BVC) Liberty-Benton at Leipsic (BVC) Pandora-Gilboa at McComb (BVC) Van Buren at Cory-Rawson (BVC) Vanlue at Arlington (BVC) Findlay at Toledo St. John’s (TRAC) North Baltimore at Lakota (MAL) Seneca East at Carey (MAL) Tiffi n Calvert at Hopewell-Loudon (MAL) Fostoria Senior at Elmwood (NBC) Colonel Crawford at Riverdale (NCC) Upper Sandusky at Bucyrus (NCC) Ada at Delphos Jefferson (NWC) Bluffton at Paulding (NWC)

Columbus Grove at Convoy Crestview (NWC) Lima Bath at Ottawa-Glandorf (WBL) Lima Perry at St. Wendelin

Patrick Henry at Dayton Belmont

Arcadia at Pandora-Gilboa (BVC) Cory-Rawson at Arlington (BVC) Hardin Northern at Vanlue (BVC) Leipsic at McComb (BVC) Liberty-Benton at Van Buren (BVC) Findlay at Fremont Ross (TRAC) Carey at Mohawk (MAL)

Hopewell-Loudon at North Baltimore (MAL) Elmwood at Otsego (NBC)

Rossford at Fostoria Senior (NBC) Riverdale at Upper Sandusky (NCC) Ada at Lima Cent. Cath. (NWC) Bluffton at Columbus Grove (NWC) Wauseon at Patrick Henry (NWOAL) Ottawa-Glandorf at Van Wert (WBL)

Louisville, Ky. Evangel Christian at St. Wendelin

Area Composite Football Schedule

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than the NOL and that will be a great experience for our kids, our coaches and our fans.”

Fostoria was one of the smallest schools as far as enrollment in the NOL. It will be in the middle of the pack in the NBC.

One other plus for Fostoria will be shorter travel time for conference games. The furthest Fostoria trip in the NBC will be the 35-mile ride to Rossford. As a member of the NOL, Fostoria had just one road trip that length or shorter.

Forming the n e w l e a g u e , though, was seri-ously messy busi-ness. W h e n t h e Suburban Lakes League couldn’t ag re e on a n eighth member t o r e p l a c e Lakota, which left the SLL and

joined the Midland Athletic League, the league’s administrators created a plan for a 12-team, two-division league upon the request of Eastwood’s super-intendent. They voted 6-0 (with one abstention) to begin inviting schools into the league.

There was a road block, however. The SLL constitution had a bylaw stating that 75 percent of the league’s schools had to agree to accept any new member. With Lakota’s depar-ture, that meant at least six of the remaining seven schools had to be in agreement on any expansion. Muster-ing those six votes proved to be futile.

Because of the deadlock, five SLL schools — Genoa, Eastwood, Otsego, Woodmore and Lake — met without SLL members Elmwood and Gibson-burg and voted to withdraw from the league in 2009. Those five schools met

with Rossford officials soon after to form the NBC.

Suddenly left without league affili-ation, Elmwood and Gibsonburg peti-tioned the MAL for admission, but both were denied.

Elmwood and Fostoria, which was looking to get out of the NOL and align with schools closer in proxim-ity and enrollment, applied to and were admitted into the NBC. Gibson-burg by then had packed its bags and headed to the Toledo Area Athletic Conference.

Even though six of the confer-ence’s eight members were part of the SLL, it’s not a continuation of the old league, according to NBC commis-sioner Larry Jones.

“If you knew all of the things we did the last two years to get ready for this you would know that this isn’t just the continuation of an old confer-ence. It’s a brand new conference,” Jones said at the conference’s media day.

F o r E l m -wood, the new league is the best of all worlds. The Royals get to continue their 40-year rivalries with old opponents in the SLL while developing a new rivalry with Fostoria, which is just seven miles down the road.

“With Fostoria and Rossford coming in, it’s going to look like a different league, it really is,” said Elmwood football coach Vic Meyer, an Elmwood alum.

“It will be fun playing Fostoria. They are going to be one of those teams that will be a pain in the butt for us every year. I think a lot of years they are going to be a team with maybe the best athletes in the league.

“I know they really struggled there last year, but I think they will be able to get things back on track really soon.”

Fostoria

Continued from page T3

“We’re not looking in

the past, we’re looking

forward. And we’re really

looking forward to the

new league.”

BEAU CARMON FOSTORIA FOOTBALL COACH

“Our communities, people work together and the kids know each other, and I think that’s what creates a nice rivalry,” he said.

“That’s kind of what we’ve been missing in the NCC. We are out here on an island all by ourselves. It’s like we’re in Indiana and everybody else is in Ohio. Now, with Upper, our kids go to church together and I think it will benefit both schools being league schools together.”

Riverdale is the league’s only school located in Hancock County. Wynford, Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford, Galion, Crestline and Buckeye Central are in Crawford County while Lucas and Ontario are farther east in Rich-land County.

“I tell our coaches, every time we get on a bus for a league game it’s an hour trip,” Taylor said. “Our closest league school was Wynford, and that’s still 45 minutes away. Upper is 15, 20 minutes away.”

Ehrman said travel was the prime concern for Upper Sandusky as well. Bellevue and Norwalk were particu-larly long trips for the Rams in the NOL.

“Within a 20-mile radius we have Bucyrus, Wynford, Colonel Crawford and Riverdale,” Ehrman said. “There will be some schools a little bit more our size. Galion is going along with us, so that’s attractive, too.

“Our parents and our fans will be able to get to a few more contests and save a little bit of money on gas, as well as helping our bank account.”

Ehrman said the Rams, a found-ing member of the NOL in 1944, will maintain basketball rivalries with their former league mates.

“We’ll play several NOL teams non-conference in basketball,” he said. “That will help keep some of the old-school people happy, and it will be good competition for us and keep some of those old rivalries alive. We’ve always had good relations with schools from the NOL, so we want to maintain those.”

Rams

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Good Luck

This

Season!!!

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T31

THE COURIER

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

FINDL AY

COACH: Mark Ritzler (6th year, 23-27)

LAST YEAR: 5-5 overall, 4-1 Greater Buckeye Conference

LAST GBC TITLE: 2009

OFFENSIVE SCHEME: Spread

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: 4-4

STRENGTHS: Team speed and quickness, especially at the

skilled posi-tions. Trojans return two of their top three running backs and two of their top four receiv-ers. Cosiano and Niswander also add a running back athleticism to the quarterback position that could be a nice complement to Findlay’s passing game.

WEAKNESSES: Overall size, youth. Only two of Findlay’s five starting offensive linemen weigh over 205 pounds. The defensive front four averages 218. And while there are a number of lettermen returning, eight of the 11 starters on offense will be juniors.

By DAVE HANNEMAN

STAFF WRITER

“Big” is a popular buzz word when the discussion turns to Three Rivers Athletic Conference football.

But Findlay’s Mark Ritzler is talk-ing “small”.

“This is one of our smaller teams,” said Ritzler, entering his sixth season as FHS head coach. “Offensively, though, I think this is also one of our faster teams overall. We have a lot of guys who can make things happen when they have the ball in their hands.

“Our linemen are small. But they are faster, too, and we want to try and take advantage of the fact they can move by doing more outside zone stuff, getting them out in open space where they can get out in the second level and onto the defensive backs.

“As far as execution and move-ment, we liked what we saw on film of our first scrimmage. We looked like

we were a fast football team, moving quickly and with purpose.”

Intraleague TRAC play won’t get underway until the fourth week of the season. But comparisons are already being made, fueled mostly by the per-sonnel that can dictate a team’s style of play.

“When you look at the teams picked at the top of the league, (Toledo) Whitmer and (Toledo) St. John’s, those are two big football teams with big running backs, big offensive and defensive lines, Division I type guys,”

Ritzler said.

“(Toledo) St. Francis was also voted up there, and I’m sure their coach would prefer to throw the ball maybe five times a game and just hand it off to their big running back behind that big offensive line.

“Then you have teams like Fremont Ross that can throw the ball around a little bit and has a lot of speed and quickness. We can throw it around, and Lima Senior, has a lot of speed.”

DEPTH CHART

*Returning starters in bold

GRIDIRON GURU QUICK FACTS KEY TO THE SEASON

2010 LEADERS

Schroeder Newton

Ritzler

PASSING ATT COMP YDS TD INT

Spragg 218 133 1,687 21 10

RUSHING ATT YARDS AVG. TD

Henry 128 583 4.6 9 Settlemire 47 208 4.4 0 Kupferberg 69 396 5.7 1

RECEIVING REC YARDS AVG. TD

Blunk 34 505 14.9 7 Ramsey 40 368 9.2 4 Orwick 31 357 11.5 3 Romantic 22 343 15.6 4

O FFE N S E

According to offensive guard Alex Schroeder: “To be success-ful offensively we can’t take any plays off. We have to eliminate mistakes like turnovers and pen-alties. The main thing is we can’t be intimidated.”

D E FE N S E

According to defensive tackle Joe Newton: “We’re not as big as some teams, but I think our guys are pretty strong. Our speed and quickness is going to be huge.”

Findlay has the skilled players to move the football. Pound for pound, though, FHS will be out-manned by most teams. Speed and quickness, execution and the elim-ination of mistakes can level the playing field a bit. But it’s a good bet teams will try to hammer on the Trojans, wear them down. The move to the TRAC has created a schedule turnover that could prove beneficial. Findlay’s first three games are definitely all winable and could be a proving ground for the young players to get valuable Friday night experience.

Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt.

O F F E N S I V E U N I T

Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt. Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt.

D E F E N S I V E U N I T QB Paul Cosiano Jr. 6-1 208 RB Ben Kupferberg Sr. 5-8 169 RB Vance Settlemire Jr. 5-10 172 WR Dylan Blunk Sr. 5-11 181 WR Jimmy Orwick Jr. 5-10 178 WR Joseph Davidson Jr. 6-7 190 WR Wyatt Krupp Jr. 6-0 166 C Jon Bonnoront Sr. 6-0 205 G Alex Schroeder Sr. 6-0 203 G Kyle St.-Jean Jr. 6-1 261 T Kory Knox Jr. 6-2 252 T Derek Gray Jr. 6-2 203 QB Austin Niswander Jr. 6-2 180 RB Devin Dennard Jr. 5-11 179 RB Austin Gutting So. 6-3 231 WR Nick Kovaleski Sr. 5-9 148 WR Nate McKinnis Sr. 6-0 156 WR John Strzempka Jr. 6-3 182 WR Nick Kairys So. 5-9 161 C Bryce Burnside Jr. 6-1 200 G Justin McCarroll Sr. 6-2 215 G James Shoemaker So. 5-9 216 T Eric Beard So. 6-1 198 T Tad Riley Sr. 5-11 245

RANDY ROBERTS / The Courier FINDLAY HIGH senior defensive lineman Corey Bern goes through warmup drills during a practice session prior to the 2011 opener Friday.

DE Matt Dillon Jr. 6-2 198 DE Corey Bern Sr. 5-10 237 DT Joe Newton Sr. 5-11 222 DT Dan Carpenter Sr. 5-10 216 LB Devin Dennard Jr. 5-11 179 LB Jon Bonnoront Sr. 6-0 205 LB Ben Kupferberg Sr. 5-8 169 LB Austin Niswander Jr. 6-2 180 CB Damarious Whitten Sr. 5-9 138 CB Nick Kovaleski Sr. 5-9 148 SS Jordan Widman Sr. 5-11 174 P Joseph Davidson Jr. 6-7 190

DE Bailey Duvall So. 5-8 215 DE Marcus Winklejohn So. 5-10 170 DT Bryton Mathis Jr. 6-1 266 DT Andy Strzesynski So. 5-11 240 LB Austin Gutting So. 6-3 231 LB Luke Coale Sr. 5-9 183 LB Aaron Doty Sr. 5-8 153 LB Taylor Opp Jr. 5-11 186 CB Dylan Blunk Sr. 5-11 181 CB Thomas Womack Se. 15-11 152 SS Joseph Davidson Jr. 6-7 190

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T34

THE COURIER WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

FINDL AY

2010 5-5 2009 5-5 2008 6-4 2007 3-7 2006 4-6 2005 10-2 2004 4-6 2003 6-4 2002 12-2 2001 6-4

2010 RESULTS RECORD BOOK 2011 SCHEDULE

Ben Kupferberg (1), Connor Redd (2), Damarious Whitten (3), Dylan Blunk (4), Larson Storer (6), Zach Armstrong (8), Austin Niswander (9), Nick Kovelski (11), Paul Cosiano (12), Jimmy Orwick (13), Matt Price (14), Austin Gutting (15), Jordan Widman (16), Joseph Davidson (18), John Strzempka (19), Wyatt Krupp (20), Jon Runion (21), Isaiah Romero (22), Vance Settlemire (23), Nate McKinniss (24), Matt Atkins (25), Nolan Rodman (26), Paul Pruden (27), Aaron Doty (28), Thomas Womack (30), Devin Dennard (31), Jesse Ludwig (32), Nick Kairys (33), Sid Hoover (34), Marcus Winkeljohn (35), Anthony Jenkins (36), Zach Young (37), Alex Fletcher (38), Nick Koester (40), Matt Dillon (41), Benson Schumacher (42), Anfernee Willingham (43), Taylor Opp (44), Corey Bern (45), Jordan Dean (46), Mitchell Perry (47), Marcus Molina (50), Kory Knox (51), Jon Bonnoront (52), Bryce Burnside (53), Kyle St.-Jean (54), Luke Coale (55), Bryton Mathias (56), Joe Newton (57), Bailey Duvall (58), Caleb Shaffner (59), Andy Strzesynski (60), Justin McCarroll (61), Dan Carpenter (62), Ryan Golden (64), Tyler Harris (65), Eric Beard (66), Devon Stewart (67), James Shoemaker (68), Ben Rooney (70), Jordan Garey (72), Derek Gray (73), Jon Cole (74), Brendon Hoelscher (75), Alex Schroeder (76), Tad Riley (77), Anthony Gallagher (78), Patrick Galvin (79), Ryan Runion (80), Avery Roberts (81), Steven Bowlin (82), DeAndre AbneyLegette (83), Scott Anast (84), Colton Hutchinson (85), Dalton Duvall (86), Jeff Norton (87), Chase Kempher (88), Brandon Tate (89), Brandon Shanahan (99). Head coach: Mark Ritzler. Assistants: Todd Armstrong, Brad Burrows, Andy Mangas, Jarrett Buckosh, Marc Bosworth, Chris Ireland, Jeff Stutzman, Chris Schneider, Mike Magnes, Ryan Sprout.

Findlay

Brunswick 30-39 Toledo St. Francis 13-17 Greenville 62-8 Cincinnati Moeller 31-49 Dayton Dunbar 7-13 Fremont Ross 35-43 Sandusky 49-14 Lima Senior 24-14 Marion Harding 42-19 Napoleon 21-12

TROJANS

August 26 Cle. East Technical H September 2 Reynoldsburg H 9 Greenville A 16 Lima Senior A* 23 Tol. Cent. Cath. H* 30 Tol. St. Francis A* October 7 Tol. Whitmer H* 14 Oregon Clay H* 21 Tol. St. John’s A* 28 Fremont Ross A* * - Three Rivers Athletic Conference games All games 7 p.m.

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Ritzler knows playing in the TRAC will be challenging. But it’s not like the Trojans haven’t seen top-notch teams in the past.

“We’ve traveled to Cincinnati to play Moeller and to Columbus to face DeSales. We’ve played St. John’s and St. Francis and our seniors scrim-maged Whitmer a couple of years, so I don’t think it’s going to be a big shock to our kids and I don’t think they will be intimidated,” Ritzler said.

Offensively, Findlay will do what it has done well over the years, run the spread. With junior quarterbacks Paul Cosiano and Austin Niswan-der replacing two-year starter Matt Spragg (1,687 yards, 21 TDs passing), Findlay may even add a few wrinkles.

“We think we have four good run-ning backs, and when we have two of them on the field, plus a quarterback who can run, it puts a lot more pres-sure on the defense to cover those pos-sibilities,” Ritzler said.

“We want do some things with the pistol (formation). We’re still in the spread, but you can throw some option (running) into it and still have the boot game off of that, like we’ve done before.”

An adaptation of the shotgun for-mation, the “pistol” moves the quar-terback closer to the line of scrimmage and is designed to add more running to a team’s spread.

In the “pistol”, quarterbacks must be able to chuck it up or tuck it in. And in Cosiano (23 of 45 passing, 275 yards and 2 TDs, and Niswander, who had 54 tackles as a starting linebacker in 2010, Ritzler feels he has two play-ers who can fill that role.

“Austin is a great athlete. He could be a running back in any offense,” Rit-zler said. “He plays 100 miles-an-hour on every play, and the option things we want to do are perfect for him. He’s willing to run the ball on the zone read, which is the first option, and he has a great arm.

“Paul isn’t afraid to run the ball, either. He’s a little more north and south than Austin, and at 200 pounds he carries a bit more of a load when he runs.

“Both have the ability to be Friday night quarterbacks, and that’s nice to have.”

Two veteran running backs return in senior Ben Kupferberg (396 yards) and junior Vance Settlemire (208 yards). Also handling the rock will be junior Devin Dennard and 6-foot-3, 231-pound sophomore Austin Gutting.

Two of last year’s top receivers are back in senior Dylan Blunk (34 recps., 505 yards, 7 TDs) and junior Jimmy Orwick (31, 357, 3). Other receivers include Joseph Davidson, an excellent target at 6-foot-7, and junior speedster Wyatt Krupp.

Though not big the offensive line does return experience in Alex Schro-eder (6-0, 203, sr.), a two-year starter at guard, center Jon Bonnoront (6-0, 205, sr.), tackle Kory Knox (6-2, 252, jr.) and Justin McCarroll (6-2, 215, sr.).

Defensively, Findlay returns Den-nard (78 tackles) and Niswander at linebacker and free safety Jordan Widman (21 tackles).

“We’re smaller up front so we’re going to a four-man front,” said Rit-zler, who ran a 3-3-5 last season.

Seniors Corey Bern, Joe Newton and Dan Carpenter and junior Matt Dillon will man the defensive front.

Dennard, Bonnoront, Kupferberg and Niswander will be the lineback-ers, with Damarious Whitten and Nick Kovaleski the corners and Widman at safety.

Davidson, who earned third-team all-Ohio averaging 36.5 yard a kick, returns as Findlay’s punter. Brandon Shanahan will do the placekicking.

Findlay opens the season at home against Cleveland East Tech and Reynoldsburg.

“Hopefully, we can get off to a good start, especially with a young team,” Ritzler said. “We have a lot of new faces, and one thing you can’t substitute for is kids playing with confidence.”

Trojans

Continued from page T31

Findlay High football coach Mark Ritzler was succinct and to the point when addressing the other Three Rivers Athletic Conference coaches at the 2011 Fall Sports Preview.

“Some of you guys have more Divi-sion I players on your teams (this season) than we’ve had in the last 10 years,” Ritzler said.

“But we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Ritzler hit the nail on the head. Traditionally strong schools, the TRAC is well-stocked with some top-caliber Division I talent. Throughout the league there are several athletes who will play on Friday nights this year and Saturday afternoons next season.

Toledo Whitmer can lay claim to a number of players who are on the radar screen of Division I colleges across the country. They were the nucleus of a relatively young team that reached the Division I state semifinals a year ago.

They are also the veterans of a Whitmer team predicted to win the TRAC and make another long journey in the playoffs.

Despite its veteran experience and D-I talent, Whitmer outdistanced Toledo St. John’s by only one point (46-45) in the TRAC coaches pre-season poll. Central Catholic (32) was predicted to finish third, Fre-mont Ross and St. Francis (31) tied for fourth, followed by Findlay (19), Lima Senior (12) and Oregon Clay (8).

With the first-ever TRAC football season about to begin, here’s a run-down of league teams in the order in which they were predicted to finish.

Toledo Whitmer

COACH — Joe Palka, 6th year (44-16). 2010 RECORD — 12-2.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES — (13) — 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1979.

SYNOPSIS — Palka has 11 starters returning, including three fi rst-team all-0hioans in RB Jody Webb (1,139 yards, 9.8 yards per carry, 19 TDs), DB Mark Myers (75 tackles, 3 ints.) and 6-foot-6, 250-pound DE Chris Wormley (58 tackles, 13 tackles for losses), who has committed to Michigan ... Tre Sterritt (8.0 yards per carrry), who rushed for 884 yards and fi ve TDs as a sophomore, returns along

with leading WR Alonzo Lucas (30 recps. 298 yards, 3 TDs) ... Panthers lost four starters on the offensive line as well as third-team all-Ohioan LB Jamar Ridely, whose career has been ended by an enlarged heart ... The jury is still out on Nigel Hayes, a talented 6-7 athlete who played football as a freshman and sophomore, but is reportedly concentrating on basketball.

Toledo St. John's

COACH — Doug Pearson, 10th year (69-32). 2010 RECORD — 11-2.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (11) — 2010, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1991, 1990.

SYNOPSIS — Whitmer and St. John’s may be headed for another Region 2 rematch ... St. John’s does not return as many skill-position starters after graduating RB Nate White (798 yards, 11 TDs), Toledo City League Player of the Year WR Cheatham Norrils (46 recps, 886 yards, 11 TDs) Zach Steinmetz (18, 283, 3)... But the Titans have a highly-touted QB in Brogan Roback (2,193 yards, 25 TDs, 4 ints.) ... St. John’s also graduated two outstanding linemen in Jack Miller (Michigan) and Nick Brunner (Saginaw Valley State), but C Nate Pearson returns, along with RG Troy Favorite (6-6, 300) and RT Miles Ashleman (6-2, 250) ... Kent Kern, a second-team all-Ohio LB, will likely be the featured running back. Junior Matt Miller, a two-way starter, returns, but the defensive secondary must be replaced ... In Brandon Smith (43-45 PATs, 7-10 FGs) the Titans have another excellent kicker ... Titans have 84 players out for the varsity team and 64 freshmen in the program.

Toledo Central Catholic

COACH — Greg Dempsey, 12th year (95-31). 2010 RECORD — 8-3.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (12) — 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 (1st), 2004, 2002, 2001, 1987, 1985, 1977.

SYNOPSIS — Dempsey led Fighting Irish to a Division II state championship in 2005 and has had just one losing season and missed the playoffs only twice in his 12 years as head coach ... Despite that success, Dempsey says Central Catholic will be “revamping” things a bit after graduating all 11 offensive starters, including three all-Ohio linemen in fi rst-teamer Kyle Cameron (Toledo) and second-teamers Chris Boles (Illinois) and Delroy Chance (Adrian) ... The Irish also graduated Chris Castillo, a fourth 280-plus-pound lineman who led the way for RB Caleb Goings (1,246 yards, 20 TDs) ... senior DL Levi Pickerel, a state wrestling qualifi er, headlines a defense that returns fi ve starters.

Fremont Ross

COACH — Derek Kidwell, 8th year (50-24). 2010 RECORD — 9-2.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (6) — 2010, 2006, 1997, 1994, 1989, 1983.

SYNOPSIS — Fremont Ross has 63 sophomores, juniors and seniors and, according to Kidwell, 28 freshmen “on a good day.” Kidwell is counting on quality over quantity, however, and the junior class has its share of talented players in twins Dylan and Drew Starks (WR/ DB), QB Tyler Wolf (1,248 yards passing, 8 TDs), and 6-5, 245-pound TE Nick Streacker ... Greater Buckeye Conference Back of the Year Tyler Troutwein (1,329 yards rushing, 13 TDs) and Greg Brown (409 rushing, 378 receiving, 11 TDs) graduated. Trent Stout, a three-year starter on defense who also rushed for 272 yards and 4 TDs, is back, and senior WR/DB Skylar Reffner (32 recps, 511 yards, 3 TDs) is drawing MAC interest ... Senior Jordan Garcia is the veteran in a linebacking corps that will be rounded out by four juniors.

Toledo St. Francis

COACH — Michael Blochowski, 2nd year (4-6). 2010 RECORD — 4-6.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (13) — 2009, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 (1st), 2000, 1999, 1997, 1995, 1992, 1984 (1st), 1982 (2nd), 1980.

SYNOPSIS — St. Francis will try to do this season what Central Catholic did in 2010, load up behind a big offensive line and pound people ... Blochowski has 32 seniors and some of them are huge. The strength of the team is the interior line that returns seniors Hunter (6-3, 275) and Cam (6-4, 270) Stanley, Andrew Villolovos (6-4, 284), Zach Kolacki (6-1, 290) and tight end Nathan White (6-1, 225). All fi ve started on the 2009 team that reached the Division II regional fi nals ... St. Francis is not as deep or as explosive at the skilled positions as many teams in the TRAC. But the

Knights do return a veteran QB in senior Andy Meinert and their ball control, time-consuming style will make them hard to stop and diffi cult to come back on.

Lima Senior

COACH — Brett Lee, 1st year 2010 RECORD — 2-8

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (6) — 1999, 1997, 1996 (1st), 1993, 1989, 1988

SYNOPSIS — Lima Senior won Ohio’s Division I state championship in 1996 and made the playoffs twice after that. But the program has struggled the past decade, winning just 19 of its last 100 games ... Lee plans to change that with a blend of discipline and structure, and he has the background to implement those qualities into the program. Lee, an assistant the past six years, retired after 32 years on the Allen County sheriff’s department, and has made it his mission to devote his time and energy into rebuilding the program ... Numbers are up with 74 players out. The Spartans will be young and inexperienced in the trenches, but like many TRAC schools, they have depth and talent at the skilled positions ... Keithie Lazenby returns in the backfi eld. He rushed for 1,200 yards last season and might have led the GBC in that category if not for some nagging late-season injuries ... Isiah Stinson returns at linebacker after leading Lima Senior in tackles in 2010. Brooklyn Shurelds will be a starter at wide receiver and defensive back and fi rst-year player Reggie Perkins is another talented all-around athlete ... Devon Allen will step in at QB. Allen, a junior who was also the point guard on the basketball team and should be a heady fi eld general for the Spartans.

Oregon Clay

COACH — Mike Donnelly, 5th year (21-19). 2010 RECORD — 4-6.

PLAYOFF APPEARANCES (1) — 2004.

SYNOPSIS — One of fi ve Division II schools in the TRAC, Clay will suit up one of the smaller teams with 50 players out from the 10th, 11th and 12th grades. The Eagles return just six starters and 11 lettermen ... Ryan Adams was ineligible after transferring in last year, but the 6-6, 310-pound lineman could be a big asset for the Eagles.