2009 Hoover Opponent Previews

August 2, 2009

JJ Huddle

Louisville Leopards (12-1) - week 2

The Leopards were the No. 2 seed in the Region 7 playoffs last year and they advanced to the regional finals

where they fell to Columbus DeSales (which has moved down to D-III this year). Louisville defeated Columbus

Independence and Logan in the first two rounds of the postseason.

This year, the Leopards must say goodbye to graduated quarterback Neal Seaman who was Ohio’s co-Offensive

Player of the Year in Division II last year.

The good news is that they return WR Bobby Swigert who was a second-team All-Ohio selection last year (first-

team all-district, first-team all-league). He is ranked as the No. 45 senior in the state by Ohio High and has

scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Colorado, Eastern

Michigan, Indiana, Kent State, Miami U., Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Toledo, Western

Michigan and Wisconsin.

Hunter Potts was a second-team all-league selection last year at linebacker and Joe Poyser was named honorable mention all-league as a defensive lineman.

The team captains for 2009 are Swigert, Potts, OT/DT Bob Gothot and TB/LB Jake Adkins.

Head coach Paul Farrah is entering his 10th season at Louisville and has a career mark of 84-24. He is a former player at Louisville and also played college football at Baldwin-Wallace as a defensive back.

Lexington Minutemen (11-1) - week 3

The Minutemen were the No. 3 seed in Region 6 last year and their only loss of the season came at the hands

of eventual Division II state champion Sylvania Southview in the regional semifinals. This season, they have

larger plans in mind.

Courtney Avery has verbally committed to Michigan and is ranked as the No. 28 senior in the state by Ohio

High. He will play corner in college and he previously committed to Stanford before switching to UM. Avery has

been Lexington’s varsity starting quarterback since the first game of his freshman year and he was named first-

team All-Ohio as a defensive back last year. He was also stellar as a quarterback in 2008 when he threw for

2,600 yards with 26 touchdowns and just three interceptions (and completed 71 percent of his passes). Avery

was named the Ohio Cardinal Conference offensive player of the year.

Kevin Smith returns to lead the defense from his linebacker spot and he had 80 tackles and seven sacks last

year. He was named honorable mention All-Ohio, first-team all-district and first-team all-league. OL/DT David Willis is entering his third season as a starter and he was named honorable mention all-district and second-team all-league. Zach Myers and Willis are very comparable players. They are similarly-sized linemen that start both ways and they claimed identical postseason awards last year (HM all-district, second-team all-league).

Terrance Cyphers plays next to Smith at linebacker and was nearly as productive last year. Cyphers had 78 tackles, five sacks, one interception and was named second-team all-league. Tyler Hamman is steady at strong safety and last year he had 65 tackles, one interception and was named second-team all-league.

As if they weren’t already stockpiled with talent, the Minutemen also welcome in a pair of talented transfers from Mansfield Senior in Shaquille Jefferson and Kenya Coombs. Jefferson is the younger half-brother of former Ohio State safety Jamario O’Neal and has scholarship offers from Bowling Green and Central Michigan. Coombs was a starter at quarterback and wide receiver at Mansfield, but he won’t play any QB for Lexington unless something unfortunate happens to Avery.

Youngstown Boardman Spartans (5-5) - week 6

The Spartans want to get back into the playoffs this year after missing the field a year ago. Coach D.J. Ogilvie,

back for his sixth year at Boardman, has four starters back on offense and three on defense.

“We have a big senior class, but we do not have that much experience on either line,” Ogilvie said. “We have a

lot of kids the same size. I told them this summer I have no idea who is going to play (on the lines).”

DE J.T. Moore accepted an early scholarship offer from Ohio State.

“The number one thing with J.T. is he has a great motor,” Ogilvie said. “He plays both ways for us. He is a good,

quality kid with good grades. The thing I like about him is he is a good leader.”

Rob Boyd started at quarterback last year.

“Rob has a great arm and he is very accurate,” Ogilvie said. “He has a great throwing motion. He has a rifle for an arm.”

Canton McKinley Bulldogs (6-5) - week 8

Former Miami (Ohio) assistant Ron Johnson took over the McKinley program last year and led the Bulldogs to

playoff berth in his first season. McKinley dropped its playoff opener to Federal League rival GlenOak 14-7.

“It was very encouraging,” Johnson said. “We came in following a 3-7 season and took the program over. We

came in and played so many young guys. We started out 0-2, but then we went on a pretty good run.”

Johnson welcomes back six offensive starters and 10 on defense.

“It’s very exciting,” Johnson said. “Our kids are locked in and focused. They got after it this off-season. I think

this is a mature, seasoned group and they have high aspirations.”

One of the youngsters that got playing time in 2008 was Kyle Ohradzansky, who started at quarterback as a

sophomore. He threw for 1,400 yards with 15 touchdowns against just seven interceptions.

DE Steve Miller is considered one of Ohio’s top five junior prospects as he tallied 100 tackles, 11 sacks and 23 tackles-for-loss. He earned first-team All-Ohio honors as a sophomore and is in line for a number of major college offers.

“He just plays with great effort,” Johnson said. “He takes coaching very week. He is strong, uses good technique and just plays very hard.”

McKinley could be a team to watch in the Federal League. Nonleague games with Cleveland East Tech, Huber Heights Wayne and rival Massillon Washington (which won that Week 10 showdown 17-0 last year) all loom large.

Canton GlenOak Golden Eagles (10-3) - week 9

Scott Garcia returns for his third year as the coach at GlenOak, which welcomes back four starters on offense

and five on defense. GlenOak advanced to the regional final before losing to Federal League rival North Canton

Hoover 14-0. This season, the Golden Eagles are looking to build on last year's long playoff run.

Players to Watch – ILB/FB Andrew Garman (6-0, 210, Sr.), QB Brandon Martin (5-10, 170, Sr.), ILB/FB Spyro

Spondyl (5-8, 190, Sr.), TB/SS Colin Mitchell (5-11, 185, Sr.), OLB Thomas Ross (5-11, 205, Sr.).

“We have a lot of experience at the skill positions,” Garcia said. “We only have one starter back on the offense

and defensive lines. We need some inexperienced guys up front to step up if we’re going to be able to get back

to where we want to be.”

Garcia hopes the playoff run will provide his team some momentum for 2009.

“We made it to the third round, so we got those three extra weeks of practice,” he said.

Martin passed for over 1,000 yards and rushed for close to 800.

“We are a multiple offense,” Garcia said. “We will run out of the I-formation, but we will also run some out of the shotgun with Brandon running the ball.”

Ross will be a three-year starter at OLB. Garman led the team in tackles (107) as a sophomore in 2007 and had a team-high 125 stops last year. He also scored three defensive touchdowns for the Golden Eagles.

“Andrew has been a pretty good player for us,” Garman said. “He needs four tackles to become the all-time leading tackler at the school.”

As always, the Federal League schedule will be a challenge. GlenOak also plays Massillon Washington and Green outside the league.

“North Canton Hoover has a lot of guys back, including (Mr. Football winner) Erick Howard,” Garcia said. “Canton McKinley is going to be loaded. Austintown Lake will be a good football team. There will be a lot of good teams in our league again.”

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2009 Hoover Opponent Previews