Bounce back.
A rather simple motto this time around for the John Glenn High football team, but one that is very appropriate as the Muskies attempt to put the bad taste of last year’s 2-8 record in the rear-view mirror.
“It was a disappointing year last year,” acknowledged veteran coach John Kelley, set to begin his 16th year at the Muskies’ helm. “Our motto is ‘bounce back’' and we think the kids have done everything they can to make that happen.
“I think we're going to be competitive,” said Kelley, who is one win from the 100-victory mark at JGHS and just three shy of 200 for his coaching career. “We've got an experienced quarterback and several other returning starters, but we’ll have some new people in there, too.”
Kelley enters the 2010 campaign with a 99-59 record at John Glenn and a 195-142-2 overall mark.
“Skill-wise, I thin we’re as good as ever,” the Muskies’ boss related. “Our overall team speed is good, although we don’t have any Olympic sprinters out there.
“Our offensive line is a work in progress,” Kelley offered, “and they’ll have to come around if we are going to be successful.
“Defensively, we’ve got our secondary back and some solid players in the front line and at linebacker,” he said.
The Muskies started out 0-4 last year; won two straight against Morgan and Crooksville; and then lost four in a row to end the season.
Consistency is the key to getting back on track, according to Kelley.
“We’ve been successful by being consistent at running the football and playing good defense,” he stated. “We’re always good in the kicking game, too, and we’re solid there again this year.”
The Muskies suffered a big loss even before scrimmages began when senior fullback-linebacker Tyler Bosson (6-2, 215) suffered a knee injury and will miss the entire season. Bosson, a two-year letterman, toted the leather 74 times for 325 yards and seven touchdowns last fall.
Another regular sidelined during the preseason and not expected back until at least week two is junior tight end-linebacker Cody Lake (6-3, 160), a letterman who suffered a broken collarbone in a 7-on-7 scrimmage.
“In high school, you're always battling depth so those were a couple of key injuries we'll have to overcome,” stated Kelley.
A focal point of the Muskies will no doubt be returning senior quarterback Jake Heagen (6-4, 185). A multi-talented athlete who is a three-year letterman, is also is a key performer on defense and special teams. Last year, Heagen completed 47-of-134 passes for 725 yards and four TDs while adding 518 yards rushing and two TDs on 120 carries.
Heagen, of course, doubles as the team’s punter. After averaging 41.6 yards on 41 kicks last fall, he’s being courted by a host of colleges at that position. He earned second team all-Eastern District Division II recognition last year for his efforts.
“Jake is an outstanding athlete,” said Kelley, “and we want to utilize his talents in both the running and passing game. He’s also a big weapon for us as a punter.”
Kelley also has a more than capable back-up at quarterback in junior Joey Ferguson (6-0, 185). Other signal-callers are sophomores Gage Snider (6-2, 190) and Zach Swingle (5-10, 175).
With Bosson out, the all-important fullback position in the Muskies’ wing-T attack will be handled by senior Derrick Berry (6-0, 170), with junior letterman Josh Thomas (6-1, 200) also getting his share of carries.
Returning at one wingback position is junior letterman Jared Larson (5-8, 155), and there are several contenders for the other slot — seniors Christian Norman (5-11, 170) and letterman Jorden West (6-0, 160); junior letterman Carl Wiensek (5-9, 155); and sophomores Grant Hall (6-1, 160) and Travis Parker (6-3, 170).
Larson had 46 carries for 231 yards and one TD and caught 11 passes for 106 yards a year ago.
Other running backs are sophomore fullback Jordan Moore (5-9, 170) and sophomore wingback Cole Bennett (5-5, 130).
Slated for primary duty at the split end position are senior two-year letterman Brandon Dolick (6-0, 160), junior Heath Dodson (6-3, 160) and senior letterman Jordan Parker (5-10, 165).
Other wideouts include senior letterman Chris Buckey (5-8, 180); juniors Zach Payne (6-0, 140) and Karl Klein (5-5, 130); and sophomores Austin Parker (5-6, 130), Blaide Woodburn (5-2, 125), R.J. Glosser (5-8, 135) and Hunter Smith (6-1, 145).
The Muskies have several capable tight ends, headed by seniors two-year letterman Nick Fraunfelter (6-1, 175), two-year letterman Laine Crawford (6-2, 195) and letterman Corey Marsh (5-10, 170), with Lake also in the mix when he returns from the injury.
Also at tight end are senior lettermen Noah Hill (6-2, 160), Logan Miller (5-10, 160) and David Burch (6-0, 150); junior Michael Kuhns (6-2, 175); and sophomore Jordan Halasi (6-0, 170).
At the center of the offensive line will be senior letterman Wyatt Glass (6-0, 200), with senior letterman Barry Ransbottom (5-9, 160) and sophomore C.J. LaCroix (6-0, 215) providing solid depth.
The top three in the mix for the guard positions are junior two-year letterman Dallas Morgan (6-4, 230), senior letterman Kyle Dumolt (5-8, 175) and junior Cole Mathers (5-11, 180) while the offensive tackles will come from juniors Matt Rice (6-1, 240), Garrett Bradley (5-9, 230) and John Seevers (6-2, 240), and senior letterman Michael Flesher (5-8, 200).
Additional line support includes juniors Austin Norton (6-0, 280) and Clayton Larimer (6-2, 225); and sophomores Collin Babcock (5-11, 210), Ryan Patterson (5-9, 175), Travis Brock (5-8, 210), Adam DeLong (5-6, 200) and Reid Bugglin (5-10, 240).
John Glenn’s defense returns several key performers, headed by Crawford at linebacker.
He led the team in total tackles with 83, including 54 solo stops with one quarterback sack, one fumble recovery and one interception.
For his efforts on “D”, Crawford earned all-Ohio Division III special mention and all-Eastern District first team accolades.
Other top inside linebackers for the Muskies are Dumolt, Berry, Marsh and Buckey.
The outside ’backers are headed by Fraunfelter, Larson, Norman, Travis Parker, Wiencek and Ferguson. Fraunfelter was credited with 32 tackles (21 solo) and two interceptions last season.
Also at linebacker are Jordan Parker, Burch, Kuhns, Snider, Swingle, Moore, Doane and Halasi.
The Muskies return a veteran secondary featuring Heagen and Dolick. Heagen was charted with 62 tackles last fall, including 48 solos, with one fumble recovery and two “picks” while Dolick had 43 stops (32 solos).
Heagen will open at safety, with Dolick at cornerback along with Dodson and West.
The rest of the defensive backs are Klein, Payne, Woodburn, Glosser, Hall, Bennett, Smith and Austin Parker.
Up front, Glass, Thomas and Mathers are the frontrunners at the terminals while the tackles will come from Morgan, Rice, Bradley and Seevers.
Other D-linemen are Flesher, Ransbottom, Hill, Miller, Norton, Larimer, Babcock, Patterson, Brock, DeLong, LaCroix and Bugglin.
While Heagen is the punter, Crawford will handle the team’s placekicking responsibilities.
Graduation claimed 15 players from last year’s squad.
Those gaining all-star recognition included Avery Allender, first team all-MVL, second team all-Eastern District D-II and a participant in the Muskingum Valley-Licking County All-Star Game; Jake Ratliffe, first team all-MVL and a participant in the Muskingum Valley-Licking County All-Star Game; Craig Luburgh, first team all-MVL and second team all-Eastern District; Ethan Bennington, second team all-Eastern District and special mention all-MVL; Guy Long and Austin Ross, both honorable mention all-MVL.
Others gone are Tyler Gaiters, Kade Davis, B.J. Parrish, Kyle Jackson, Trent Reed, Skyler Jones, Matt DeLong, Bobby Fair and Heath Prater.
The varsity coaching staff includes B.J. Scott, Doug Joy, Brad Barclay, Matt Abbott and Michael Dunlap.
Guiding the freshmen are Ryan Haynes and Chris Merry while the junior high coaches are Mike Bennett, Luke Ford, Jeremy Rice and Brian Wilfong.
John Glenn’s schedule is identical to last year, with the season opener against Barnesville and a week nine matchup with New Philadelphia in the MVL-ECOL crossover game in addition to the eight league contests.
Kelley cites Sheridan as the preseason MVL favorite, but says it should be a dogfight every week.
“Year-in and year-out it’s a very competitive league,” he stated. “On paper, Sheridan looks to be the strongest team, and everyone else has the ability to contend.”
Comments