Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
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Monday, August 2, 2010
Football preview: Oakwood
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
OAKWOOD (D-III, Region 12)
League: SWBL Southwestern
Coach: Paul Stone (14 years)
2009 record: 1-5, 1-9
Key returners:
Matt Carpenter, sr., QB/DB
Trent Jervis, jr., RB/LB
Tucker Jones, sr., OL/DL
Kevin Lee, sr., RB/DB
Levi Miller, jr., WR/LB
Colin Morris, sr., RB/DB
Dan Roll, jr., RB/LB
Extra points:
The bad news: The Lumberjacks relied heavily on sophomores last season. The good news: Those sophomores are now juniors and bring back some hard-knock experience. Of the 48 players on the roster in 2009, 17 were sophomores. Or to put it another way, just two less than the senior and junior classes combined.
“To be honest a lot of them weren’t ready for it. Now as juniors they feel a lot better and the game is going to slow down for them. We don’t have a lot of seniors, but the ones we do have are tremendous leaders,” Stone said.
Eight seniors are on the roster this season, including Carpenter, Jones, Lee and Morris.
Carpenter toured college camps this summer and is getting looks from the MAC and Ivy League, especially for his defensive talents.
“Matt has really caught some eyes, not just offensively but defensively, too. … As a quarterback the MAC schools have talked about him, but they really like him as an outside linebacker or free safety type player. Princeton has been very interested in him. Northwestern has shown interest. … I told Matt the best recruiting he can do is to win games. But he’s going to play football next year, that’s for sure,” Stone said.
The losing season was Stone’s first at Oakwood. A 17-14 win against Bellbrook in Week 9 was the Lumberjacks’ lone win.
“To be honest we haven’t even mentioned 1-9. We just talk about getting better and getting stronger. Faster and stronger always makes you a better coach, in my opinion,” Stone said.
Depth and size continue to be a concern for the Lumberjacks, but they hope to counter some of that with improved speed and quickness. The team showed some flashes last season but struggled to score points. Oakwood scored 14 points or less in seven games. Opposing offenses, meanwhile, scored 28 or more points in eight games.
OAKWOOD
Fri., Aug. 27 Bishop Fenwick
Fri., Sept. 3 at Milton-Union
Fri., Sept. 10 Carlisle
Fri., Sept. 17 at Valley View
Fri., Sept. 24 Eaton
Fri., Oct. 1 at Brookville
Fri., Oct. 8 Waynesville
Fri., Oct. 15 Monroe
Fri., Oct. 22 at Bellbrook
Fri., Oct. 29 at Franklin
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TweetFootball preview: Carroll
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
CARROLL (D-II, Region 8)
League: GCL North
Coach: Steve Bartlett, 16th season at Carroll, 25th season as a head coach
2009 record: 5-2, 6-4
Key returners:
Ryan Adams, sr., K
Ryan Blanford, sr., DL
Neal Cates, sr., OL
Matt Fornshil, sr., WR
Kyle Johnson, sr., LB
Ben Lange, sr., DL
Alex Wolodkiewicz, sr., RB
Extra points:
Two years ago, Carroll broke a significant playoff streak with an unusual 5-5 season. That was because many of the players Bartlett was forced to use were sophomores.
“They had to kind of take their lumps,” Bartlett said.
But this season could be the benefit. With plenty of experience returning - including last season’s team MVP Johnson, defensive player of the year Lange and offensive player of the year Fornshil - Bartlett said he’s confident Carroll to burst out of the two-season, 11-9 stretch that has built the current senior class.
Carroll, after all, has always been focused on two things: Stern defense and the running game. Experience returns in both. Wolodkiewicz, in eight games last season before some minor injuries limited his time, rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in his first season as a starter.
“He has some decent breakaway speed, and he’s not afraid to put his shoulder down,” Bartlett said.
Johnson will begin his third season as a starter and pairs with Lange to lead an experienced defense that improved last season as Carroll won five of its final seven games to miss the playoffs by one spot.
“He calls the entire defense, he just runs that defense on the field,” Bartlett said of Johnson. “He’s kind of our heart and soul out there.”
Carroll also claims an often overlooked and important weapon: An extremely skilled kicker. Bartlett said Adams was invited to a camp supposedly including the nation’s top 400 kickers in Wisconsin this summer and finished with the 34th-best performance. He is ranked Ohio’s No. 5 kicker in the Class of 2011 by Ohio Varsity, an Ohio-focused arm of Rivals.com.
“He doesn’t have any major offers yet, but he’s hearing from LSU, Alabama, Kentucky, UC, West Virginia, a lot of the big schools,” Bartlett said. “He gives us that part of the game we need, too.”
CARROLL
Fri., Aug. 27 Xenia
Fri., Sept. 3 at Beavercreek
Fri., Sept. 10 Bellbrook
Sat., Sept. 18 at Badin
Fri., Sept. 24 at Roger Bacon
Fri., Oct. 1 at Purcell Marian
Fri., Oct. 8 Alter
Fri., Oct. 15 at Chaminade Julienne
Fri., Oct. 22 McNicholas
Fri., Oct. 29 Fenwick
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TweetFootball preview: Wayne
This is another in a series of capsules previewing area high school football for the 2010 season:
WAYNE (D-I, Region 4)
League: GWOC Central
Coach: Jay Minton (13 years; 20 overall, including 7 at Boca Raton, Fla.)
2009 record: 4-1, 7-4
Key returners:
Michael Bonner, sr., DB
Braxton Miller, sr., QB
Tre Moore, sr., DB
Lovell Peterson, so., OL
Seth Stuart, sr., WR
Anthone Taylor, sr., RB
Trey Thomas, sr., DB
Teven Williams, sr., LB
Extra points:
The Braxton Miller promotional machine has been whirring non-stop since spring. After verbally committing to OSU, the 6-3, 200-pounder vaulted to the top of virtually every .com recruiting service. Then came the topper, a full-page feature in the Aug. 2-9 Sports Illustrated.
How is a QB of such stature able to cope?
“He’s at the point that he can handle all of this,” Minton said.
Former Fairmont head coach Brian Blevins is Wayne’s new offensive coordinator, and Minton said his impact on Miller has been immediate.
Protection to Miller, both on the field and from injury, is key to the Warriors’ success. And that hasn’t been easy. A gifted runner and thrower, he’s missed nine games - nearly a regular season - in his three previous Wayne seasons to an assortment of ankle and leg injuries.
“He’s probably in the best shape he’s ever been health-wise and strength-wise,” Minton said. “He means a lot for what we do. It’s important that he stays healthy.”
Much of that pocket protection will be provided by Wayne’s next great recruit, 6-3, 270-pound sophomore left tackle Lovell Peterson, who Minton likens to a man-child. Peterson’s switch from guard to tackle in midseason made an instant impact on the Warriors’ featured QB.
“Braxton’s total demeanor changed when we put (Peterson) in there,” Minton said. “Recruiters look at him and just shake their heads.”
Defensively, Wayne is set up front and three of its DB’s - Bonner, Moore and Thomas - already have MAC offers.
The Warriors will open at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29 vs. Moeller at Cincinnati St. Xavier in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown. Advance tickets are $10 and are available at the Wayne athletic department. That’s also good for the earlier 3 p.m. contest featuring St. X vs. Good Counsel (Md.), both of which are nationally ranked.
The following Sunday Wayne will square off with Canton McKinley at OSU’s Ohio Stadium in the Kirk Herbstreit Series at 3:30 p.m. The Warriors blitzed the Bulldogs 27-14 at Canton last season. Two additional meetings have been locked up, at Canton in 2011 and at Wayne in 2012.
Adult tickets for the McKinley game are $15 and $10 for students. They’re also available at the athletic department and the event’s web site. Both the Moeller and McKinley games will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Wayne’s home opener is Week 3 vs. Seneca (Ky.) Louisville, a one-year deal that Minton, also the AD, was fortunate to fill. Greeting home fans at Heidkamp Stadium will be a rebuilt home side and new press box.
Wayne’s front end of the schedule is stacked and it doesn’t let up later: Weeks 8-9 are reserved for Centerville and Northmont, both on the road. Those games will make or break the Warriors’ playoff hopes.
Even with Miller and a great supporting cast, it’ll be tough for Wayne to go unscathed during the regular season. Minton conceded potential perfect records long ago for, ironically, his players.
“There’s coaches who always want to go 10-0, but it’s more important to me that the kids get exposed and you can’t get that not playing these kinds of teams,” Minton said.
“I can’t send out enough film. However we come out of it, it’ll be worth the national exposure. Playing in the Horseshoe, how can you deny a kid an opportunity to play in that?”
WAYNE
Sun., Aug. 29 vs. Cin. Moeller at St. Xavier, 7 p.m., Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, ESPNU
Sun., Sept. 5 vs. Canton McKinley, at Ohio Stadium, 3:30 p.m., Kirk Herbstreit Series, ESPNU
Fri., Sept. 10 Seneca (Ky.) Louisville
Fri., Sept. 17 Trotwood-Madison
Fri., Sept. 24 at Xenia
Fri., Oct. 1 Springfield
Fri., Oct. 8 Beavercreek
Thu., Oct. 14 at Centerville, ESPNU
Fri., Oct. 22 at Northmont
Fri., Oct. 29 Fairmont
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